[Ads-l] Antedating of "Tetherball"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

My effort is not completely redundant. The October 16, 1875 citation I
sent to the list is slightly earlier than the December 7, 1875
citation Peter lists in his great illustrated article. Also, the Oct.
16 citation describes a set of rules.  Garson

On Sat, Jan 22, 2022 at 10:31 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Excellent wok, Peter. I missed your top-notch article.
> Garson
>
> On Sat, Jan 22, 2022 at 10:29 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > The OED definition for tether-ball says:
> >
> > [Begin excerpt from OED]
> > tether-ball n. a ball fastened to or suspended from a pole by a
> > string; the game played with this (Webster Suppl. 1902).
> > [End excerpt from OED]
> >
> > The OED gives a 1900 citation and Fred gives an excellent 1892
> > citation. The term "tether-ball" seems to refer to a family of games
> > with varying rules. The core element of each game is a ball fastened
> > to a pole as indicated in the OED definition. Here is an 1875
> > citation.
> >
> > Date: October 16, 1875
> > Periodical: The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News
> > Article: Tether-Ball. A New Game.
> > Quote Page 57, Column 2 and 3
> >
> > https://books.google.com/books?id=4zwOHUzX8E4C&q=tether-ball#v=snippet&
> >
> > [Begin excerpt – double check for errors]
> > TETHER-BALL. A NEW GAME.
> > A new game is introduced to our notice by "Tether-Ball" :— "I think
> > many of our readers will be glad to know of a capital new game, which
> > can be set up at a trilling outlay on a lawn of any size. All that is
> > wanted is a threepenny indiarubber ball, made fast to the end of
> > threepennyworth of elastic cord, the other end of which is tied to the
> > top of a pole some 110 ft high, firmly fixed in the middle of the
> > lawn. The cord should be of such length as to allow the ball just to
> > swing clear of the grass at the foot of the pole. In its simplest form
> > the game is for two players, who stand on opposite sides of a crease
> > drawn from the foot of the pole to right and left, and are armed with
> > battledores or racket-bats. One of the players starts the ball,
> > drawing it away from the pole and striking it a smart blow in any
> > direction he pleases; he will soon learn how best to baffle the enemy.
> > . . .
> >
> > I can promise great entertainment to anyone with a taste for a game
> > who will make trial of this easy and elastic game of tether-ball."
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Jan 22, 2022 at 9:45 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > tetherball (OED 1900)
> > >
> > > 1892 Nottinghamshire Guardian 24 Sept. 4/5 (Newspapers.com)
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org