cancer stick (1954)

[Ben Zimmer]

This book review mentions that the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang
has "cancer stick" = 'cigarette' from 1959:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/books/review/the-black-eyed-blonde-by-benjamin-black.html

OED3 has it from 1958, and here it is from 1954:

1954 Alton Ochsner _Smoking and Cancer: A Doctor's Report_ 54 Even the
brash youth who throws his quarter on the cigarette counter and says,
"Give me a package of cancer sticks!" is likely to have private
qualms.
http://books.google.com/books?id=lQWaAAAAIAAJ

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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