Antedatings of "Right Stuff"

[Fred Shapiro]

On Wed, 4 Apr 2007, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:

> We are planning an entry for this. It seems that the first
> example we have of this sense is from 1864. (We have an 1825
> example of the slang sense 'money'.)

1856 _Harper's New Monthly Mag._ Mar. 477  The old mate will roysterously
bellow forth -- "If I didn't know as you've got the right stuff among ye,
I should think I'd found a lot of chicken-hearted greenhorns.

1861 _Harper's New Monthly Mag._ Jan. 249  If you have the right stuff in
you, you will not be put down.

Fred Shapiro


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