Looking for a copy of the OED - and some military slang to atone

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Wed, Nov 13, 2002 at 08:07:16PM -0500, Philip Trauring wrote:
> I can't afford to buy a new copy of the OED ($777 on ebay is the
> cheapest I can find), so I'm looking for a used set (or a really
> really discounted new set). Does anyone know where I might find a set
> for not too much money? I'd like the 2nd Edition.

If it's just the text you're interested in, you can get either
the Compact Edition (requires a magnifying glass) or the CD-ROM,
if you're burdened with a Windows machine. I think either of
these could be had for less than $300 if you look.

> So as not have this be solely a personal posting, I thought I would
> mention some thing I read recently about military slang - being that
> we seem to be on the eve of war.
>
> The 'daisy cutter' bomb which became so famous during the war in
> Afghanistan, was coined such during it's use in the gulf war.

That's not the case. Apart from the fragmentation bomb of WWI that
was called a _daisy cutter,_ the term was applied to a very
powerful conventional bomb during the Vietnam War. Even the specific
use, referring to the BLU-82, is found well before the Gulf War--
early 1980s at latest, but probably earlier; I don't have the cites
on hand. But I think Barry Popik found an example in Fynes Moryson's
_Itinerary_ of 1617; you could ask him.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED