No Irish Need Apply (1854); Charm Offensive (1956); Duck Soup

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NO IRISH NEED APPLY

   "No Irish Need Apply" is the title of an article in the NEW YORK TIMES,28, February 1887, pg. 1.  This probably pre-dates the NEW YORK TIMES (1851-), but it's here a lot.
   This new George Thompson guy might have something.  That Judge Crater fill-in was awful.
   From the NEW YORK TIMES, 10 November 1854, pg. 5 classified ad:

GIRL WANTED--In a small private family--a young ril, 14 or 15 years old, either American or German, to take care of a young child.  SHe must have good references.  Wages $3 a month.  No Irish needapply.  Call at No. 89 McDougal St.

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CHARM OFFENSIVE

   I was asked about a follow-up on "charm offensive."  The gaps are too large here for me to make an opinion.  I'd like to try the online WALL STREET JOURNAL here also.

   5 December 1956, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 7:
   Back from a trip to Europe, WIlliam Randolph Hearst, Jr., editor-in-chief of the Hearst newspapers, said here yesterday that the Hungarian situation had apparently put an end to the Soviet "charm offensive" in Europe.

   5 November 1968, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 16:
   A Western diplomat called the Viet Cong's choice "part of their charm offensive."

   17 November 1985, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. SM16:
("Summit Speak" in ON LANGUAGE by WIlliam Safire--ed.)
   ...part of the _charm offensive_ unless they are part of the general _stonewalling_...

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YA GOTTA BELIEVE

   I was asked about a follow-up to YGB.
   This is not Yogi Berra's phrase.  It was popularized by reliever Tug McGraw in the fall of the 1973 season, when the New York Mets lost the World Series to Cincinnati in seven games.  It wasn't even Tug's--he found the expression on a banner that some fans carried to the stadium.
   I searched for "gotta believe," and there were hits before 1973, but not quite relevant.  The 19 October 1973 NEW YORK TIMES has YGB in three different places, such as page 29:

   ...Tug McGraw noticed Mayor Lindsay holding a sign that proclaimed, "Ya Gotta Believe," the team's battle cry.  "When I saw him," McGraw said later, "I just yelled, 'Yeah, you gotta believe.'"

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DUCK SOUP

   I was asked about an early "duck soup."  I couldn't find "duck soup."

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BLUE SHIRT/ BLUE COLLAR WORKER

   OED has 1950 for "blue collar" worker, and this always seemed a bit late to me.  "White collar" dates from the 1910s.  Does this date from WWII?

   30 March 1943, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 10
   Blue shirt workers dominate the awards.
("War Workers Win WPB Honors"--ed.)

   15 July 1945, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 15:
   Simplification of the efficiency rating system for "blue collar workers" to make it more easily understood by employes.

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APACHE DANCE

   OED has 1914.
   From the NEW YORK TIMES, 12 September 1908, pg. 7:

   Laura Gerite and Bert French will introduce a version of the French "apache dance" in "The Mimic World" at the Casino Theatre next Wednesday night.

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"WINDY CITY" ERROR FOR TODAY

   From the DAILY TELEGRAPH (Dow Jones database), 31 August 2002, pg. 19:

   "Don't forget that the nickname 'Windy City' came about 'cause we're mouthy, not because of the weather--though it does tend to get a bit breezy here."

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"BIG APPLE" ERROR FOR TODAY

   Courtesy of Microsoft ENCARTA (http://encarta.msn.com/quiz/quiz.asp?QuizID=90):

 Big Apple Quiz: What Do You Know About New York?
  No other American city inspires more fervent opinion, more dubious lore, or more undying devotion than does New York. As novelist Thomas Wolfe once wrote, "One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it in five minutes as much as in five years." Spend five minutes with the Big Apple quiz and see how much you belong.
 (...)

3.  Among the following, which is considered one of the origins of New York City's nickname, "The Big Apple"?

a)
On a map, the city's borders appear in the shape of a giant apple, with Long Island forming the stem
b)
As the cultural center of the United States, New York City is considered "the apple of the nation's eye" or, simply, "the big apple"
c)
In the 1600s Dutch settlers in present-day New York City planted prolific apple orchards that earned a reputation even in Europe for producing singularly large fruits
d)
Among jazz musicians, "the big apple" was slang for "the big time," and to play the clubs of Harlem or Broadway was to be at the top of the jazz world