I just read an Economist article titled "Paris-on-sea" which discusses the recent extension of California's cap-and-trade Co2 program to 2030.
What does the phrase Paris-on-sea mean here?
1 Answer
"Paris-on-Sea" is a longstanding English nickname for the French beach resort Deauville, which is regarded as possessing a Parisian chic and sophistication.
The editor borrows that familiar nickname as a pre-title for this article to indicate that California, which includes more than half of the US Pacific coastline, is pressing ahead with plans to adhere to the 2015 Paris Agreement on reductions in emission of 'greenhouse gases', even though President Trump has announced that the US will withdraw from it.
answered Aug 5, 2017 at 18:59
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1@tchrist You think? Could be, but I don't C it--I'd expect something with 'off' rather than 'on' if that were the intent. I think the key is that this is from a British journal. Commented Aug 5, 2017 at 19:18
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5My immediate thought was that this was about California being flooded by rising oceans caused by global warming, to the extent that it would literally be on the sea. As a pun, it is clearly too vague and unclear to be very efficient—so far, we have three different people reading three different things into it and one not getting it at all… Commented Aug 5, 2017 at 20:42
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2Brighton is sometimes called London on sea. What Deauville and Brighton bear in common is that they were early examples of resorts where the urban gentry took the waters. Deauville features strongly in the works of Marcel Proust, whist Brighton was the site chosen by George IV for his Royal Pavilion.– WS2Commented Aug 5, 2017 at 22:29
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2@marcellothearcane Isn't it more general than that, names like Something-on-somebodyofwater are common. IIRC, Dr. Doolittle was from the fictional town Puddleby-on-the-Marsh.– BarmarCommented Aug 5, 2017 at 23:45