Re: Not P but DFW: There’s nothing in the Yellow Pages under Flag.

[Mark Kohut]

Another example of why I am so disliked by many. I didn't have to find and
send this....

?

Yes, the Yellow Pages absolutely had categories for *"Flags"* or *"Flags &
Banners."* Because the Yellow Pages were organized to help consumers find
specific products and services, they utilized a standardized classification
system. For a long time, the most common heading was *"Flags & Banners"* (often
combined because the same manufacturers and retailers usually handled both).
How it worked:

   -

   *Primary Category:* *Flags & Banners—Retail* was the most common section
   for individuals or businesses looking to buy a flag.
   -

   *Wholesale/Manufacturing:* Larger cities often had separate
sections for *Flags
   & Banners—Manufacturers* or *Wholesale*.
   -

   *Related Categories:* Depending on the directory, you might also find
   cross-references under *"Banners,"* *"Advertising Specialties,"* or even
   *"Flagpoles"* (though flagpoles were often a sub-listing under Flags).

Fun Fact

The specific industry codes used to organize these listings (the *SIC Code
2399-05* and *NAICS Code 424310*) specifically cover "Flags & Banners." Even
today, digital versions of the Yellow Pages (like YP.com) still maintain
"Flags & Banners" as a top-level search category.






On Sun, Feb 8, 2026 at 7:54 AM Mike Weaver via Pynchon-l <
pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:

> The Trials and Tolerance of a Translator by Mike Jing
> You are of course right Mike and your proofreader needs to loosen up a
> little. To say there's nothing under... on a list is a way of saying
> there's no such category on the list.
>
> On 08/02/2026 11:32, Mike Jing wrote:
> > The following excerpt is from David Foster Wallace's *The View from Mrs.
> > Thompson's*:
> >
> > The overall point being that on Wednesday here there’s a weird accretive
> > pressure to have a flag out. If the purpose of displaying a flag is to
> make
> > a statement, it seems like at a certain point of density of flags you’re
> > making more of a statement if you don’t have a flag out. It’s not totally
> > clear what statement this would be, though. What if you just don’t happen
> > to have a flag? Where has everyone gotten these flags, especially the
> > little ones you can fasten to your mailbox? Are they all from the Fourth
> of
> > July and people just save them, like Christmas ornaments? How do they
> know
> > to do this? There’s nothing in the Yellow Pages under Flag.
> >
> > I assume this means there isn't a category named "Flag" in the Yellow
> > Pages, is that correct? It seems pointless to have such a category and
> just
> > leave it empty, but that's just what one proofreader thinks is the case.
> > This person is taking everything way too literally and it's getting
> > tiresome.
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>