Etymology of "mosh"? -- 2nd try

[Douglas G. Wilson]

Sorry, error.

I'm trying to find the etymology of the word "mosh" and/or the phrase "mosh
pit." The closest I've come so far is that it's a variant of "mash" or
"mush." Can anyone help? (A search of the archives turned up nothing.)

Two different stories:

Thorne: "Dictionary of Contemporary Slang" (1990): under 'moshing': "...
invention influenced by such words as jostle, mash, mass, squash, crush and
thrust."

Chapman: "American Slang" (2nd ed., 1998): under 'mosh': "[fr British
dialect, "mash, smash," found by 1848]"

-- Doug Wilson
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