Mickey D's=McDonald's

[Laurence Horn]

>While it may be mundane, there is a thread  over at the StraightDope
>which intimates that the origin of the term "Mickey D's" for
>McDonald's was originated in/or for the Black community.  Many
>posters have offered that they first heard it in commercials in the
>1980's, and many offered that Afro-American actors were in the
>commercials.  I can't vouch for any of the memories.
>
>Can any database jockey find a cite for "Mickey D's" ?
>
>Sam Clements

HDAS's first cite (via Nexis) is:

1977 Wash. Post
At midnight, McDonald's--fondly known as Mickey D's to those who
follow the fast-food circuit--is jam-packed with black teenagers who
have just left the roller-skating rink.

The next cite is from the N. Y. Daily News in 1983, a listing in a
"Teentalk glossary", followed by a couple of U. of Tennessee cites.

The given cites are consistent with, but not probative of, an origin
of the type suggested above, and there is a much later (1992) cite
from "In Living Color".  But the 1977 quote would presumably predate
the commercials in question.

larry