[Ads-l] "off the cuff" antedated to 1934

[Joel S. Berson]

At 2/24/2015 07:47 AM, Amy West wrote:
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>Because I am Captain Obvious, the racetrack tip cite and the credit 
>sense really seem connected to me with the development of the use of 
>paper shirt cuffs (which comes in the 'teens?) and so the 
>possibility of writing things on the cuffs.
>
>---Amy West

It was so obvious I didn't add it to my message!  :-)  Truthfully, I 
wasn't sure enough to assert anything.  My memory suggests something 
like bar patrons writing their tabs on their cuffs.  Similar to 
tavern-keepers keeping patrons' running tabs chalked on the wall in 
the 18th century?

Joel


>On 2/24/15 12:00 AM, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
>>Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 19:28:43 +0000 From: "Mullins, Bill CIV 
>>(US)" <william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL> Subject: Re: "off the 
>>cuff" antedated to 1934 (UNCLASSIFIED) Classification: UNCLASSIFIED 
>>Caveats: NONE Yes it does. I wasn't aware of that meaning until I 
>>looked the phrase up in OED (after I posted).
>>> >-----Original Message-----
>>> >From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
>>> >Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
>>> >Sent: Monday, February 23, 2015 1:27 PM
>>> >To:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> >Subject: Re: "off the cuff" antedated to 1934 (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>> >
>>> >---------------------- Information from the mail header ---------------
>>> >--------
>>> >Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> >Poster:       Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>> >Subject:      Re: "off the cuff" antedated to 1934 (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>> >-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> >--------
>>> >
>>> >The 1925 ex. seems unusually  to mean "out of debt."  ("On the cuff" =
>>> >'on
>>> >credit.')
>>> >
>>> >JL
>>> >
>>> >On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 1:38 PM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US) <
>>> >william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:
>>> >
>>>> > >---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>> > >-----------------------
>>>> > >Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>> > >Poster:       "Mullins, Bill CIV (US)"
>>> ><william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL>
>>>> > >Subject:      Re: "off the cuff" antedated to 1934 (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>>> > >
>>>> > >---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> >-
>>>> > >---------
>>>> > >
>>>> > >Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>>>> > >Caveats: NONE
>>>> > >
>>>> > >_Variety_  29 Apr 1925 p 21 col 4
>>>> > >[review of theatrical show]
>>>> > >"Didn't have a chance and producer and theater were smart enough to
>>> >go
>>>> > >afte= r the two for ones.  Kept house from going dark and will just
>>>> > >about get off=  the cuff."

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