Gin and Tonic (1930)

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:48 PM -0500 2/6/03, James A. Landau wrote:
>In a message dated 2/3/03 5:24:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, Bapopik at AOL.COM
>writes inter alia:
>
>>     OED has 1935 for "gin and tonic."  That's not too bad, considering
>that's
>>  about when Prohibition ended.  I'
>>
>>      31 August 1930, NEW YORK TIMES,
>>
>>      1 April 1934, NEW YORK TIMES,
>
>It is commonly said that the term "gin and tonic" comes from Britishers in
>India (or perhaps in some other country with a similar malaria problem.)  The
>British had to take quinine as their anti-malarial.  Now quinine is extremely
>bitter, so they took gin with the quinine to make it palatable, or perhaps to
>anesthetize their taste buds.  Hence gin came to be called "tonic" because it
>was a widely-used medicinal, and the combination of course became "gin and
>tonic".
>
I believe that's "quinine came to be called 'tonic'", or else we'd be
drinking tonic and tonics.  I don't know whether the story is
accurate or etymythological otherwise.

Larry