[Ads-l] antedating "wilco"

MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY RDECOM AMRDEC (US) william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL
Mon Feb 12 17:36:39 UTC 2018


You are correct.  Peter's post of yesterday slipped by me.

> 
> 
> ----
> 
> Didn't one of the earlier messages in the thread have "Roger" from earlier in 1941?
> 
> https://archive.org/details/TM1-460-1941
> 
> DanG
> 
> On Mon, Feb 12, 2018 at 12:10 PM, MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY RDECOM AMRDEC (US) <william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil>
> wrote:
> 
> > _Muncie [IN] Evening Press_ 31 Jul 1941 p 15 col 1
> >
> > " "Remember your signals.  Save words. 'Willco' means 'will comply.'
> > 'Roger' means 'message received.' " "
> >
> > Note that this may be an antedating of "Roger" as well; OED has 1941
> > Amer Speech 16 168/1.
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > ----
> > >
> > > OED: 1946
> > >
> > > 1941 _Sunday Oregonian_ (Portland) (Dec. 7) 90 [ReadEx]:
> > > The Tower answers, "Tower to four-seven-two. Land in the east.
> > > Wheels
> > down and locked. Go ahead." I say, "Four-seven-two, wilco."
> > >
> > > Earlier, "Tower to four-seven-two. You may take off, Roger."
> > >
> > > The writer is an air cadet at Randolph Field, but this use of "Roger"
> > (no, not his name) seems wrong or archaic (i.e., new to me).
> > >
> > > It should be "Out." Or perhaps "Over." Shouldn't it?
> > >
> > > JL
> > >


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