more -gates

[Garson O'Toole]

Here is an earlier cite for "Winegate". Now the "Winegate" and
"Volgagate" cites are only a day apart.

Cite: 1973 August 28, Seattle Daily Times, French government probes
'Winegate', [UPI],
Page 2, Column 4, Seattle, Washington. (GenealogyBank)

[Begin excerpt]
French government probes 'Winegate'
PARIS — (UPI) — The Finance Ministry acknowledged yesterday that tax
inspectors were looking into reports of a wine scandal involving cheap
red wine sold under famous Boreaux labels.
[End excerpt]


On Thu, Mar 22, 2012 at 11:51 AM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: more -gates
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A larger excerpt is needed to show more context for the earliest cites
> of -the gate suffix in the OED . There are three different early
> cites.
>
> [Begin excerpt]
>
> -gate, comb. Form
>
> A terminal element denoting an actual or alleged scandal (and usually
> an attempted cover-up), in some way comparable with the Watergate
> scandal of 1972. Appended to:
>
> 1. The name of the place where such a scandal (allegedly) occurred, or
> that of a place in some way associated with the scandal, as
> Dallasgate, Hollywoodgate, Irangate, Koreagate, etc.
>
> 1973   National Lampoon Aug. 27/2   There have been persistent rumors
> in Russia of a vast scandal.‥ Implicated in ‘the Volgagate’ are a
> group of liberal officials.
>
>
> 2. The proper name, nickname, etc., of a person or organization
> implicated in the scandal, as Billygate, Floodgate, Totegate, etc.
>
> 1975   Wall St. Jrnl. 24 Apr. 1/6 (heading)    Motorgate: how a
> floating corpse led to a fraud inquiry and ousters by GM.
>
>
> 3. A common noun (or occas. another part of speech) that specifies the
> commodity, activity, etc., at the centre of the scandal.
>
> 1973   Saturday Rev. World (U.S.) 20 Nov. 45/1   Inevitably, the
> brouhaha of Bordeaux became known as Wine-gate.
>
> [End excerpt]

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