# My sociology textbook mentions Cecil and the Straight Dope

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 26, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542 "2018-01-26T19:56:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/1 "2018-01-26T19:56:21Z")

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I’m taking a class on research methods and was so surprised to see a mention of Cecil and the SD in it! The chapter was on conceptualization and the author, Earl Babbie, was talking about the different words we have for snow:

> [@](#):
>
> Cecil Adams, for example, lists “snow, slush, sleet, hail, powder, hardpack,  
> blizzard, flurries, flake, dusting, crust, avalanche, drift, frost, and iceberg” on his website, Straight Dope.

It seemed like two of my worlds collided. What a weird feeling. 😃

Babbie, E. R. (2016). _The practice of social research_ (14th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

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**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/2 "2018-01-26T21:02:03Z")

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Heh, I get the same feeling whenever I see the SD referenced on Fark.

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**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/3 "2018-01-27T14:48:11Z")

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What about “rime?” “Hoarfrost?”

Heh heh. That musta felt cool. By extension, that cite refers also to you, in a way, as you are part of the greater fight against ignorance.

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/4 "2018-01-27T15:22:35Z")

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Seems like some of those are using a pretty loose definition of snow. Calling an avalanche another word for snow is like calling a mudslide another word for dirt.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/5 "2018-01-27T15:32:44Z")

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My grandmother used to call a specific type of snow “[hominy snow](http://didyouknowfacts.com/15-different-ways-say-snowy-weather-across-u-s/).” (IIRC, the small, granular flakes, not the large fluffy ones.)

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**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/6 "2018-01-28T06:45:14Z")

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That column has one of my favorite Cecil lines ever. By memory (I remember it the way I like it); Trying to translate the English phrase “Look at all that fucking snow”, into Eskimo, results in “See the snow. It fornicates.”

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**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sociology-textbook-mentions-cecil-and-the-straight-dope/807542/7 "2018-01-28T07:31:14Z")

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Heh! I remember the Eskimo line.  
Oh, Unka Cec you tickle me!