[Ads-l] Antedating of "Oldie"

Mon Sep 14 03:53:57 UTC 2020

Fred Shapiro wrote:
> oldie (OED, 2., 1938)
> 1937 _Variety_ 13 Jan. [record review] in Elijah Wald _How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll_ (2009) 276

Excellent work. Here is a citation a few years earlier for the desired
sense of oldie. For completeness I include an OED excerpt.

[Begin excerpt from OED]
oldie, n.
 2. Something old or familiar, esp. an old song, tune, or film which
is still popular; also in oldie-but-goodie. Also: a well-known or
hackneyed idea or joke; a cliché.
[End excerpt]

Date: May 13, 1931
Periodical: Variety
Periodical Location: Los Angeles, California
Section: New Acts Reviews
Article: KRAMER and BOYLE (2)
Quote Page 71, Column 4

[Begin excerpt]
KRAMER and BOYLE (2)
Comedy, Songs
16 Mins.; One . . .
After a separation, Dave Kramer and Jack Boyle have re-united. In this
they have a strong offering . . .
However, their opening bit revolving around the pronunciation of the
letter A is an oldie that is fairly familiar to audiences. They can
afford to omit that.
[End excerpt]

Garson

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