"An Arm and a Leg" Antedating

[Fred Shapiro]

Updated OED material has an entry for the expression "an arm and a leg"
with a first citation dated 1956 (Billie Holiday's _Lady Sings the
Blues_).  ProQuest Historical Newspapers yields this antedating:

1948 _New York Times_ 13 June R3  (advertisement) It's very welcome news
to hear of a house that doesn't demand an arm and a leg to buy it.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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