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http://www.bartleby.com/61/35/M0023500.htmlbut who is antonio? Helen, doubtless Faldage intention's vis-a-vis ASp are ... no, I'd better not!
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In reply to:
What I was *trying to say is that I don't see is calling a life vest a mae west as an example of antonomasia.
the term is new to me, but my inclination would be that "Mae West" could be considered a member of the class of "individuals or things which are or appear to be top heavy", in which case the term could be arguably be correctly applied, no? *must the most obvious class to which the personal name would be attributed be the *only class to which it can be antonomastically associated?
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http://www.bartleby.com/61/58/W0095800.htmlAnd in that movie, who was whose little chickadee? strictly honorable, I'm sure you meant to say.<http://wordsmith.org/board/images/icons/prim.gif>
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who was whose little chickadee?
Mae, oui?
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"Mae West" could be considered a member of the class of "individuals or things which are or appear to be top heavy"
Still it seems contrived to me. Consider this: if the life vest were not named after Ms. West, would you lump them together on a test asking you to group items by category?
The word is not as close as some other could be; if there is no word for the process of making an eponym there should be. If it's not eponomasia whatever it is is the word we are looking for.
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Mae, oui?
That's only half an answer, Keiva.
Unless you're saying that Mae was Oui's little chickadee.
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Consider this: if the life vest were not named after Ms. West, would you lump them together on a test asking you to group items by category?Well, if the items on the list were "Mae West, Twiggy, Venus, pencil, pear, life preserver", how would *you categorize them? Hrm, now that I've typed that i can see your point about being contrived. Nevermind. How about eponymy? Eponymy: The introduction of a new word into the language from the names of people with whom the things or practices they stand for were associated.
boycott from Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott;
mesmerize from F. A. Mesmer Hey, check this out 
Date: Tue Sep 21 02:01:30 EDT 1999
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--antonomasia
antonomasia (an-toh-noh-MAY-zhuh) noun
1. The substitution of a title or epithet for a proper name, as in
calling a sovereign "Your Majesty."
2. The substitution of a personal name for a common noun to designate a
member of a group or class, as in calling a traitor a "Benedict Arnold."
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Ye gads but you folks are all *young!
Mae West was an actress, playwriter and movie star amply endowed with a formidable bosom.
She was born in the late 1890s and was in the public eye for many years. Probably one of the earliest "Blonde Bombshells" and "sex symbol."
However, in the early years of WWII for some reason that now escapes me, Mae West had a chest Xray and the Xray was published in LIFE magazine ... Naturally the breasts' shadows were readily visible. Anyways, after the photo was published the American servicemen started calling their life vests Mae Wests. The expression spread like wildfire!
Now, checking OED it says a Mae West is an inflatabale life jacket originally issued to the Royal Air Force in 1939-1945.
That's all I got or could recall, folks.
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the American servicemen started calling their life vests Mae Wests...originally issued to the Royal Air Force in 1939-1945.
Hey, it almost kinda sorta sounds like it could've been a bit of [loose] rhyming slang (isn't that a Brit thing?) Or is rhyming slang a *new linguistic phenomenon?
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As I recall, Cockney rhyming slang is not new -- but it typically creates a one-word slang term out of a two-word phrase. (Mav perhaps can advise?) That process could not create "Mae West" out of "vest".
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