| Re: Damnation Alley
I haven't read the books, but certainly the first thing I think of when I hear/read 'corny' is the first (and only) meaning in the OED, which is an informal term meaning 'trite or mawkishly sentimental'. In an earlier sense it meant 'rustic, appealing to country folk'.
Hence the archaic first meaning listed in the MW, I imagine. And the second. But that makes me laugh, to think of it. 'The sauce tasted corny.'
If it's a name, something someone calls another, then I suppose it's an open question as to whether the reference is intentional, if it's never stated explicitly or implied. Same goes for the author's intention, I suppose? |