|
|
Ron Hardin wrote:
> There are compound nouns, like whistleblower and gatekeeper and
> wrongdoing, that you hear only on the news.
>
> I think this is because they play roles in soap opera.
>
> And the news is aimed at soap opera junkies.
>
> You could probably mark the year it started from these words.
>
> --
> Ron Hardin
> rhhardin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.
I looked up 'gatekeeper' in the OED (you probably should have done this
first). I get dates of 1572, 1712, 1845, etc. I think it predates
soap operas. I don't think your "hypothesis" stands up.
John
|
|