[Ads-l] "my first ask"

[Peter Reitan]

A quick search of the text string "that's a big ask" on newspapers.com 
shows hits as early as 1988.  But every single hit from 1988 through 
2006 is either from an Australian newspaper, or quotes a native 
Australian, typically athletes.  Several examples of high-profile 
Australian tennis players and golfers being quoted in US newspapers - 
perhaps that's how it seeped into the language here.  The earliest 
non-Canadian result was from Canada in 2006.  The earliest US result 
that is apparently not from a native Australian speaker is only from 
2010.

------ Original Message ------
From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
To: ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu
Sent: 1/4/2019 4:11:03 PM
Subject: Re: "my first ask"

>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Re: "my first ask"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I've been hearing "ask," n., frequently from TV newspersons for maybe a
>year, maybe more. They say it instead of "request," which is boring.
>
>JL
>
>On Fri, Jan 4, 2019 at 4:26 PM Margaret Winters <mewinters at wayne.edu> wrote:
>
>>  Yes, I got the personal note from Ms. Pelosi too.  "ask" as a noun is
>>  standard development-speak and has been for decades, at least among
>>  university fund-raisers.
>>
>>
>>  best,
>>
>>  Margaret
>>
>>
>>  ----------------------------
>>  MARGARET E WINTERS
>>  Former Provost
>>  Professor Emerita - French and Linguistics
>>  Wayne State University
>>  Detroit, MI  48202
>>
>>  mewinters at wayne.edu
>>
>>
>>
>>  ________________________________
>>  From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
>>  James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
>>  Sent: Friday, January 4, 2019 4:18 PM
>>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>  Subject: "my first ask"
>>
>>  (in reply to a post I unfortunately deleted and cannot locate in the
>>  archives)
>>
>>  At 2:07 PM today Speaker Nancy Pelosi send out a fund-raising e-mail with
>>  the subject line "re: my first ask"
>>
>>  - Jim Landau
>>
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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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