[Ads-l] Tough luck!

[Baker, John]

Here is an antedating to 1860.  This is from an item dated Mar. 10, 1860, appearing in the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, Mar. 15, 1860 (Gale 19th Century U.S. Newspapers):

“LaCrosse is soon to be the head and jumping off place of railroads on the Upper Mississippi for the next two years, as all hopes of railroads in Minnesota are abandoned for the present.  This is “tough luck” for the railroad companies and Minnesotians, but neither party in the Legislature at St. Paul are disposed to make any moves that may damage Presidential calculations next summer.”

In the same database, I also see it used in headings as “In Tough Luck” in the Wisconsin State Register on May 27, 1865, and Nov. 5, 1870.


John Baker


From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Mark Mandel
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020 6:08 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Tough luck!

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Why do you single out the 1874 quotation as sarcastic? ISTM that all of
them have the same meaning as today: It's a bad outcome/fact/state of
affairs, but that's the way it turned out.

Mark Mandel

On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 4:20 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com<mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>>
wrote:

> OED: 1912
>
> Note that 1874 is sarcastic. which seems to me to be the more common
> nuance. (Cf. "Tough!")
>
> 1871 _Chicago Tribune_ (March 12) 3: The latter's small score was the
> aggregation of several 2 and 3 runs, combined with tough luck in the way of
> leaves, kisses, and close misses.
>
> 1873 New Hampshire Sentinel (Keene, New Hampshire) (Aug. 21) 1: Uncle
> Simon was surprised to see the bottom of the meal chest. "Tough luck!" said
> he briefly, "but there's swamp pork to eke it out."
>
> 1874 _Daily Constitution_ (Middletown, Conn.) (June 29) 2: The young man is
> banished to the Caucassus [sic] for life [for handing stolen diamonds over
> to his paramour] and has been deprived of the Cross of St. George which he
> had just won distinguished service in the Khivan campaign. Tough luck!
>
> Newspaper exx. explode at this point, suggesting that the phrase had been
> around for some time.
>
> The "1832" at Google Books is bogus.
>
> JL
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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