Bigfoot

A discussion of slang and the changes it undergoes.
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Slava
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Bigfoot

Postby Slava » Sat Mar 15, 2014 3:37 pm

I just came across this in an article on The Atlantic and thought I'd share, in case you don't already know this usage.
noun, plural big·feet, big·foots.
1. a prominent or influential person, especially a journalist or news analyst.

verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
2. to assert one's authority or influence (over): lobbyists bigfooting around the Senate; a reporter bigfooted by a senior correspondent.
New to me, obviously. Used to write of one politician upstaging another in New Hampshire.
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Perry Lassiter
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Re: Bigfoot

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:49 pm

I've never heard the word used like that, Only as a mythical monster.
pl

Philip Hudson
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Re: Bigfoot

Postby Philip Hudson » Thu Mar 27, 2014 3:13 am

I cotton to the monster that Perry assures us is mythical. Are you sure about this Perry? Big foot has been sighted in your neck of the woods. :)

I have no interest in using the word as reported by Slava. It is true that clowns usually have extremely big feet.
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bnjtokyo

Re: Bigfoot

Postby bnjtokyo » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:36 am

I used Google and the Google N-Gram viewer to look for examples of "big foot" used as described above, and I found some examples:
Feb 2014:
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/ar ... t-governor
March 2011
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finke ... -bob-gates
Aug 2012
http://www.leftlanenews.com/angered-man ... rmont.html
Note that all of these examples use "big foot" as a verb.

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Slava
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Re: Bigfoot

Postby Slava » Thu Mar 27, 2014 7:28 am

Thanks for these bnjtokyo. It is interesting that it's been around since at least 2011. The last link you give does use it in a different way, though. It is used as a verb, but is placed in quotes, so the author is showing us that it's being used metaphorically. Here it's the idea of stomping on the police cars, as if by a giant monster. As it was a monster truck, that's quite appropriate.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
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Re: Bigfoot

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:56 am

Philip, we have lots of clowns and big feet in our area. Black panthers are regularly spotted although a smart wildlife guy I know assures me they are impossible since cougars lack the necessary melanin.
pl


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