The color term “sky blue pink” is uniquely American. The earliest examples appear in United States sources near the end of the nineteenth century, within a few years of our own ClockTower:
- “Brilliant colors in masculine garb are beginning to appear in Paris. ... The innovation will be a boon to some of our young men, who will find ample exercise for their faculties in determining whether pea green or sky blue pink would better suit their various complexions.
- The Haverhill Daily Bulletin, Massachusetts, 14 July 1881”
More recent usage tends toward dismissive comment to the effect that color doesn’t matter:
- “He said the fact that they were Irish had nothing to do with the situation and it would have made no difference whether they were green Martians or coloured sky blue pink.
- BBC News, 12 May 2004.”
Color matters.
No comments:
Post a Comment