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#32808 06/20/01 12:07 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 76
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journeyman
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journeyman
B
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 76
I've heard and used the phrase since I was a lil' one ... used around the New England seacoast meaning the weather has changed and a cool wind is coming off the sea ... specifically it's a Summertime word used when the weather has been hazy, hot, humid (3H weather) then there is a sea change and the wind comes across the cold ocean waters to cool us all off.

When I read this response, I also thought that maybe the use of the term has legitimately evolved. After all, it's being used by people actually near the ocean, with a vested interest, and a familiarity in the surrounding environment.

So, it seems to me that it could have once been a fresh metaphor, but now is in the doldrums.


#32809 06/20/01 07:16 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
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wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Bean > the odd thing is that's not really a sea change, but a change of wind direction. wow's example is also called a sea breeze or onshore wind.

Oh, yes, Bean! Here in NE, though, we distinguish ... the sea change being the actual turn of the breeze relieving the 3H conditions and a sea breeze is a type of weather, continuous mostly, as is an on shore wind.
Surfers are not fond of the onshore breeze .. they turn the waves to mushy froth.


#32810 06/22/01 04:08 PM
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10
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stranger
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stranger
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10
Max: Aah, but tsuwm, many of the nice people here are none too keen on the idea of a transferral of meaning.

To a-me-you'll-be-right; 'transferral of meaning' would only pejorate the language. One would be silly to disagree...


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