O.K.

[Fred Shapiro]

On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, Clark Whelton wrote:

> certain cachet  New York would always lack.  He made a number of
> comparisons, but the only one that sticks in my mind is his statement that
> (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Boston is where O.K. began.  New York gets the
> credit, but it started in Massachusetts.  In the old days, when trading with
> the Indians, they used to seal the bargain by saying in Indian language, "Ho
> Kay."  It meant, "it is agreed, it is good."  O.K. was used in Boston for a
> long time before it reached New York."

The Indian-language derivation is bogus, but, yes, "O.K." did originate in
Boston (from "oll korrect").

Fred


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