As a special journalism project at the University of New Mexico, a senior named Joe Aaron wrote a thesis on classified ads in newspapers. In a survey of 8,000 ads in eight major U.S. dailies,* he found no sectional differences in language, except for "smog free" California real estate. A house is "cute," "a cutie," "adorable," "exquisite," "elegant," "a dandy," "magnificent," "glamorous," "spic & span," "clean as a pin," "a rare find"—and inevitably near everything and a "real bargain." A farm is never a farm but "a rural hideaway," "rustic retreat," or "secluded estate."
Many ads are in a kind of code....
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