"Keep your eye peeled" slight antedating (1848) "keep your eyes skinned" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:30 PM -0700 12/23/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>You can keep your ears skinned too:

and your nose (whence "No skin off *my* nose"), perhaps from too much
contact with the ol' grindstone

LH

>
>1959 David Piper _Trial By Battle_ (N.Y.: Chilmark, 1965) 127: And you must
>keep your eyes and ears skinned for tanks.
>
>Sir David (1918-1991) served in the British Indian Army during WWII. He was
>later first Director of the Ashmolean Museum.
>
>JL
>
>On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 9:34 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
>Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
>>  Subject:      Re: "Keep your eye peeled" slight antedating (1848) "keep
>>  your
>>               eyes              skinned" (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>>  Caveats: NONE
>>
>>
>>
>>  > -----Original Message-----
>>  > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
>>  > Behalf Of Garson O'Toole
>>  > Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 4:56 AM
>>  > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>  > Subject: "Keep your eye peeled" slight antedating (1848) "keep your
>>  > eyes skinned" (1831)
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > (OED DRAFT REVISION Sept. 2009) peeled, adj. b. orig. U.S. colloq. to
>>  > keep one's eyes peeled and variants: to remain alert, be on the
>>  > lookout; to watch carefully for.
>>  >
>>  > OED cite is 1852. This can be antedated to 1848.
>>  >
>>  > Citation: 1848, March, "The Cruise of the Gentile" by Frank Byrne,
>>  > Graham's Magazine, page 136, No. 3, Vol. 32, Philadelphia.
>>  >
>>  > "'We take no note of time,'" spouted the third mate, drawing his watch
>>  > from his pocket. "For'ard, there! strike four bells, and relieve the
>>  > wheel. Keep your eye peeled, look out; and mind, no caulking."
>>  >
>>  >
>>  http://books.google.com/books?id=ZZ7PAAAAMAAJ&q=eye+peeled#v=snippet&q=
>>  > %22eye%20peeled%22&f=false
>>  >
>>
>>  The Daily Atlas, (Boston, MA) Friday, August 02, 1844; Issue 28; col C
>>  "The Whigs of Hampden must keep their eyes 'peeled,' or they'll lose
>>  that banner."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>>  Caveats: NONE
>>
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>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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