"poser" (before 1990?)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, John. Most useful.

JL

"Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Baker, John"
Subject: Re: "poser" (before 1990?)
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This appears to be a usage from the Boston Globe, 1/31/1981, though it sounds a bit odd and I don't know what that apostrophe or single quote mark is doing after "up-ups":

<>

Here's an unambiguous usage from the New York Times, 4/27/1984:

<>

I'm frankly unsure if I heard this in the 1980s or not, since I wasn't sure whether someone was being called a poser or a poseur.


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 10:35 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "poser" (before 1990?)


Was anybody using the teenage term "poser" before 1990? That's the earliest date I've found on Usenet.

A "poser," for those who in the dark, is a shallow but usu. self-assured show-off with only a faddish interest in some popular activity, social group, musical style, consumer durable, etc.; a "poseur," more or less, but in less refined circles.

JL


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