catalytic » Cadillac

Chiefly in:   Cadillac converter

Classification: English – /t/-flapping – proper names

Spotted in the wild:

  • “We were a strong competitor throughout the competition, but then the Cadillac converter fell off, which hurt our emissions and place in the overall standings,” said Jonathan Copeland, co-captain, and vice president of SAE. (University of Wisconsin-Platteville press release, Apr. 9, 2003)
  • To take out the old one I had to unbolt from the Cadillac converter, then I ended up cutting it in half to get it out. (Explorer Street)

Analyzed or reported by:

| link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/15 |

Commentaries

  1. 1

    Commentary by Derek Wyckoff , 2006/08/09 at 10:31 pm

    First saw this in a comic strip many years ago–well over a decade, possibly two. I’ll have to look around and see if I can locate the original. (The reference was from a character who had purchased a cheap car, saying roughly: “Now, if only I can get the Cadillac converter to work….”)

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