Friday, October 9, 2009

Plaid really warmer

Good to remember as it gets colder:



From Here’s to Warmth! (Sheboygan: Plaid Manufacturers Council, 1954).

comments: 6

Anonymous said...

Do you have any idea why plaid is pronounced "plad" and not "played?" This has always bothered me.

Michael Leddy said...

The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the New English Dictionary (1907) has that pronunciation. Why we say “plad,” though, I don’t know.

T. said...

When I was taking a ballet workshop in England at the age of 10 and had to braid my hair for class, my (British) classmates called my plaits "platts."

By coincidence, I bought a plaid skirt today... :)

Michael Leddy said...

Yep, that’s the British pronunciation, though I didn’t know it before looking it up. (Thank you, OED.)

Forever Plaid said...

Plaid is not a fabric. A cotton shirt with a plaid pattern is no warmer than a cotton shirt with a floral pattern.

Plaid manufacturers council? Where did you find this?

Michael Leddy said...

There is (was) no Plaid Manufacturers Council. I wrote this dowdy Q&A and used the Futura font and colors to make it look age-appropriate. I thought the joke would be obvious, but maybe not.

But as for the claim that plaid is no different from a floral pattern, well, I stick by my post’s title: “Plaid really warmer.”