ROLL'S　ROLE

Todd　Beamer　was　a　passenger　on　the　doomed　Flight　93，taken　over　on　Sept．11　by　terrorists　who　intended　to　use　the　aircraft　as　a　missile　to　destroy　the　White　House　or　the　Capitol．He　had　a　telephone　line　open　to　an　operaor　in　Chicago,who　reported　hearˉing　him　recite　the　Lord's　Prayer　beˉfore　leading　a　group　of　heroic　passengers　to　rush　the　suicidal　hijackers．Then　Beamer　said:“Are　you　guys　ready?Let's　roll．＂
President　Bush　recalled　that　moˉment　in　the　eloquent　peroration　of　a　speech　in　Atlanta　last　month．“We　will　always　remember　the　words　of　that　brave　man　expressing　the　spirit　of　a　great　country,＂he　said．“We　will　no　doubt　face　new　challenges,but　we　have　our　marching　orders．My　fellow　Americans,let's　roll．＂
A　song　with　that　title　was　promptly　distributed　to　radio　disc　jockeys．In　a　Philadelphia　football　stadium,a　fan　called“the　sign　man＂unfurled　a　banner　with　the　words“Let's　roll……out＂to　tumultuous　applause．“The　words　are　every—where,＂reported　Britain's　Guardian．“They　have　become　America's　favorite,bittersweet　and　arˉticulate　bumper　sticker．＂
The　phrase　in　its　currently　populˉar　sense　means“let's　get　going;　let's　move．＂The　original　sense　of　get　rolling　had　to　do　with　the　wheels　of　conveyances,horseless　and　otherwise,and　dates　back　to　the　16th　century．The　crapshooter's　roll'em　was　introduced　early　in　the　20th　century,and　the　moviemakers'　command　to　cameramen,“roll'em,＂（answered　in　an　old　joke　by“anytime　you're　ready,C．B．！＂）was　first　recorded　in　1939．Five　years　later,in　his　novel　“The　Man　With　the　Lumpy　Nose,＂Lawrence　Lariar　wrote:“‘Do　me　a　favor　and　go　home　and　write　it！＇McEmons　stood　over　the　reporˉter　menacingly．‘Get　rolling！＇＂（I　have　an　editor　like　that．）But　the　specific　phrase　let's　roll　in　its　curˉrent　meaning　was　first　cited　in　the　1952　novel“The　Tightrope,＂by　Stanley　Jules　Kauffman:“‘Let's　roll,dreamer,＇said　Perry．＂
In　1950　and　1951，the　blues　artist　Cecil　Gant　（a　k　a　Private　Gant,the　G．I．sing—sation）came　out　with　two　songs　that　brought　roll　onto　the　music　scene．“We're　gonna　Rock＂was　a　remake　of　a　lesser—known　1947　song　by　Wild　Bill　Moore,which　repeated　the　words“We're　gonna　rock,we're　gonna　roll＂for　most　of　the　song．The　second　was“Rock　Little　Baby＂（the　title　bottoms　on“rockabye　your　baby＂），which　included　the　line“Rock　little　daddy,send　me　with　a　rock　and　a　roll．＂By　June　1951，the　disc　jockey　Alan　Freed　promoted　the　revolution　in　popular　music　that　beˉcame　known　as　rock‘n'roll．The　phrase“Let's　rock　and　roll＂was　an　excited　call　to　dance　to　that　music．Later—and　this　is　the　etymological　conjecture　of　a　confirmed　fox—trotter—with　the　rock　clipped　out　，the　phrase　became　a　more　general　exhorˉtation　to　nonmusical　movement　or　acˉtion．
In　a　related　development,as　tranˉsition—hungry　writers　like　to　put　it,a　new　sense　of　to　roll　up　wheeled　into　the　lexicon．It　was　expressed　this　month　by　ABC's　Sam　Donaldson:“It　looks　like　the　Taliban　is　being　rolled　up．＂The　verb　phrase　roll　up,which　might　have　begun　in　the　showˉroom　of　a　carpet　salesman,later　became　the　action　of　arriving　in　a　carriage　or　automobile,and　now　has　the　meanˉing　of　“to　defeat＂　or“to　conclude＂（expressed　by　film　directors　in　a　noun　form　as“that's　a　wrap＂），akin　to　the　military　meaning　of“to　mop　up＂（though　no　soldiers　say“that's　a　mop＂）．
Roll　out,remembered　not　so　fondly　by　former　military　recruits　as　the　command　to　get　out　of　bed,has　also　gained　a　new　meaning　as　a　noun:“a　type　of　release　in　which　a　filmgradually　plays　in　an　expanding　numˉber　of　theaters．＂　This　method　of　distribution　differs　from　the　usual　naˉtionwide　release　．Ira　Konigsberg,author　of　the　1997　Complete　Flim　Dictionaˉry,informs　me　of　the　metaphoric　origin:“The　growing　appearance　of　the　film　is　much　like　the　expansion　of　a　carpet　when　it　is　rolled　out．A　synˉonym　is　platforming．＂
The　old　verb　roll—from　the　Latin　rota,“wheel＂—like　Ol'Man　River,is　unstoppable,creating　newmeanings　as　it　goes,recently　elevating　itself　by　association　with　a　historic　moment．With　the　poet　Byron,we　can　wish　it　ever　more　power:“Roll　on,thou　deep　and　dark　blue　Ocean—Roll！＂