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Thursday, March 30, 2006

Curbside Commentary

Posted by on March 30 at 11:51 AM

dumpsterart.jpg
Painted on a Dumpster1 on Bellevue Avenue

1. Anyone have a good synonym to avoid the clunky capping of the trademarked term?


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I believe that stencil was based on a Village Voice cover.

"dumpster" is trademarked???

as an admitted anglophile, i like "rubbish bin."

Yes, indeed, October 2004. Check it out for yourself!

http://www.villagevoice.com/gallery/0543,50thcovers,69196,30.html&pic=50&total=50

As an actual Anglo, I'd have to point out that "rubbish bin" commonly refers to smaller, generally indoor receptacles. I call the large outdoor trash bins "skips," but I think a less slang-y term is a "frontloader bin" or "frontloader container," presumably as they are emptied by front-loading garbage vehicles.

debris box is what I call it.

Oh! Seeing that Voice cover changes it up for me. I didn't notice the fangs or blood in the stencil version; I thought he was boning her in the arse.

Invest in an AP Stylebook:
"Dumpster: Trademark for a large metal trash bin. Use trash bin or trash container instead."

The other day I was taking a bag of garbage out to the Dumpster in the alley adjacent to my building but my access to it was blocked by a large man urinating on it. I wanted to ditch my trash and get back inside, but at the same time I didn't want to embarass or disturb the guy mid-pee, even though I was a little grossed out (I've pissed on many Dumpsters in my life, but this one is the one I use almost daily and it is a part of my home so there was an odd, albeit minor sense of violation). So does anybody know what the proper protocol is for this situation? Do you just ditch the bag and let the pisser finish their business in peace, or do you wait, or do you yell at them, or what? I'm sure this will happen again and I'd really like to know.

Unless you want him to turn around and finish the job on your pants leg, yelling at him is probably not the best solution. Even if he's too far away to get you, you don't want a better view, do you? Wait till he's done. Then yell.

"Skip" is a good word; I wish we had one for it.

Weird, I never knew Dumpster was a trademark. That puts it right up there with Q-Tip, Kleenex, and Band-Aid.

LOL @ another mention of Anglophile on an Amy Kate thread.

You can call it a trash bin.

It was trademarked in 1964, and yes it is still registered. Amazingly.

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=tt9ig0.2.32

Hello, Dylan!
"Trash bin" conjures something much smaller in my mind. Still looking for a good substitute...

You've got to go with what sounds right to you, but if you'd said "trash bin" I would have known exactly what you were talking about. To me, a "trash can" is the smaller, individual version of the larger, communal "trash bin."

The Village Voice cover was painted by Alex Ross.

He's FANTASTIC.

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