Freshly-brewed coffee

Question

The other day I saw a commercial for one of those single-serving home coffee/espresso makers. The announcer said to press this button, and out comes a cup of freshly-brewed coffee.
The only problem with that phrase is that "freshly" is an adverb, which means it is modifying the verb "brewed", not the noun "coffee". Therefore, the brewing PROCESS must have been 'fresh'; a more-or-less antiquated USAn term for one who engages in inappropriate physical contact or makes other unwanted advances, usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]The other day I saw a commercial for one of those single-serving home coffee/espresso makers. The announcer said to press ... engages in inappropriate physical contact or makes other unwanted advances, usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.[/nq]
I remember discussing "freshly" here a few years ago. "Freshly" can mean "newly, recently" as in "freshly painted" and "freshly baked," but apparently some speakers are not familiar with this.

American Heritage Dictionary only lists "freshly" at the bottom of the entry for "fresh," which begins:
1. New to one's experience; not encountered before.
2. Novel; different: a fresh slant on the problem.See synonyms at new. 3. Recently made, produced, or harvested; not stale or spoiled: fresh bread.
and continued for many more meanings.

Best Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The other day I saw a commercial for one of those single-serving home coffee/espresso makers. The announcer said to press ... engages in inappropriate physical contact or makes other unwanted advances, usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.[/nq]
That's a newly-fangled way of looking at it.
\P. Schultz

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The other day I saw a commercial for one of those single-serving home coffee/espresso makers. The announcer said to press ... engages in inappropriate physical contact or makes other unwanted advances, usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.[/nq]
As a past participle, 'brewed' functions as an adjective, and adverbs attach to adjectives as well as verbs. The participle 'brewed', modified by 'freshly', attaches to the noun coffee.

john

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]'fresh'; a more-or-less antiquated USAn term for one who makes inappropriate physical contact or other unwanted advances, usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.[/nq]
I forgot to mention that the word "fresh" can also be used in reference to a child who utters smart remarks or comebacks to parental orders, i.e.:
Parent: "Don't let me catch you jumping off the high-diving board" Child: "Not to worry, I promise you that when I do a cannonball off the high-dive, you WON'T catch me!"
Parent: "Don't you get fresh with ME, young man."
Anyone know how a word, which normally referrs to things like fruit recently plucked off the vine, or bread newly pulled from the oven, came to describe a person that acts a little too bold?

Here's yet another use of the word "fresh" to describe a person. A form I was given at a university had a place to check off one's rank. The checklist, probably written by students, read:

GRADUATE
SENIOR
JUNIOR
SOPHOMORE
FRESHPERSON
Ah, political correctness gone awry, since a freshMAN can't be female any more than a mailman or fireman. I think the preferred term nowadays is "First Year".

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Here's yet another use of the word "fresh" to describe a person. A form I was given at a university ... freshMAN can't be female any more than a mailman or fireman. I think the preferred term nowadays is "First Year".[/nq]
"Frosh" is another term for freshmen (or freshwomen).
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I forgot to mention that the word "fresh" can also be used in reference to a child who utters smart remarks or comebacks to parental orders, i.e.:[/nq]
No. That should be 'e.g.' (exempli gratia) not "i.e.", surely? Sorry if I'm being fresh!
[nq:1]Parent: "Don't let me catch you jumping off the high-diving board" Child: "Not to worry, I promise you that when I do a cannonball off the high-dive, you WON'T catch me!" Parent: "Don't you get fresh with ME, young man."[/nq]
I get this A LOT in America. Well, OK, ALL THE TIME. Rarely from my parents, though. They say I'm being 'cheeky'.
[nq:1]Anyone know how a word, which normally referrs to things like fruit recently plucked off the vine, or bread newly pulled from the oven, came to describe a person that acts a little too bold?[/nq]
It's used for a young (ie: 'fresh') person, isn't it? So that's how.

Christopher ('CJ')
(Change 3032 to 77 for e-mail)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Here's yet another use of the word "fresh" to describe a person. A form I was given at a university ... freshMAN can't be female any more than a mailman or fireman. I think the preferred term nowadays is "First Year".[/nq]
When I was at the University of Waterloo (in the 1970s), the only way we referred to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year undergrads was like that, by their year number. "1st-year student" was the official term for 1st-year students, but informally they were also called "freshmen" or more commonly "frosh" (singular and plural, masculine and feminine).
Mark Brader > "I do not want to give the impression I spend all Toronto > my time on the Internet, but in the right hands (Email Removed) > it is a wondrous tool, and in the wrong hands
[nq:1]it is an even better one." Cecil Adams[/nq]
My text in this article is in the public domain.

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[nq:1]Parent: "Don't you get fresh with ME, young man." Anyone know how a word, which normally referrs to things like fruit recently plucked off the vine, or bread newly pulled from the oven, came to describe a person that acts a little too bold?[/nq]
Merriam-Webster's entry gives one explanation, marked "possible" (relates it to similar German word). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang gives a different one. It thinks it came from the earlier meaning of someone innocent and naive, who therefore could be unwittingly impudent.

First written records of that meaning are from 1845 and 1848.

"Fresh," in general, is an old word that's been in a bunch of different languages, and has had many meanings, even if you restrict yourself to English only.

Best Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]'fresh'; a more-or-less antiquated USAn term for one who makes ... usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.[/nq]
[nq:1]I forgot to mention that the word "fresh" can also be used in reference to a child who utters smart remarks or comebacks to parental orders, i.e.:[/nq]
Compare German 'frech' (cheeky). Since this use of 'fresh' was originally exclusive to America, I assume it came from Yiddish.
Rob Bannister

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]'fresh'; a more-or-less antiquated USAn term for one who makes ... usually if not exclusively by a man towards a woman.[/nq]
[nq:1]I forgot to mention that the word "fresh" can also be used in reference to a child who utters smart ... the vine, or bread newly pulled from the oven, came to describe a person that acts a little too bold?[/nq]
I'm thinking they're not of the same origin, that "fresh" in the sense of overbold is related to German "frech".

Frecher Fritz frisst frische Fische,
Chris Green

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