Peeping Tom (1770, 1773, 1785; 1995)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Today's Word Spy word is "peeping tom tv."  This was influenced by the British cult hit movie PEEPING TOM (1960).  The new phrase is still British to me.
   OED's first "peeping tom" is Grose (1796); Merriam-Webster also uses this date.  The following is from Literature Online:


Thompson, Edward, 1738?-1786 [Author Record]
THE MERETRICIAD. 91Kb, [from The Court of Cupid (1770)]
Found 1 hit:
...Heroines to see, Fighting for  peeping Tom of Coventry . Thee,...

O'Keeffe, John, 1747-1833 [Author Record]
Peeping Tom of Coventry (1785) 86Kb
...O'Keeffe, John, 1747-1833 1580  Peeping Tom of Coventry (1785) ...
Bibliographic details 2Kb
O'Keeffe:  Peeping Tom of Coventry (1785): a...
...1747-1833 O'Keeffe, John, 1747-1833 1747-1833  Peeping Tom, of Coventry. A Comic...
... Peeping Tom of Coventry. Comic opera....
PEEPING TOM, OF COVENTRY. A COMIC OPERA. AS IT IS PERFORMED AT THE THEATRE-ROYAL, SMOCK-ALLEY. 84Kb
 PEEPING TOM, OF COVENTRY . A...
[View context of all hits in this work]

Stevens, George Alexander, 1710-1784 [Author Record]
The trip to Portsmouth [1773] 104Kb
THE Trip to Portsmouth; A COMIC SKETCH OF ONE ACT, WITH SONGS. 102Kb
Found 1 hit:
Main text 94Kb
Scene 4 40Kb
...all staring and gaping, like  peeping Tom of Coventry. No work...



   "Peeping-tom tv" is traced to 1996, but there is earlier:

Headline (HD) Why We Are Fools For Fame Dork TV
Byline (BY) Jim Schembri
Word Count (WC) 1,545
Publication Date (PD)  02/09/1995
Publication Name (SN) The Age
Source Code (SC)  AGEE
Page (PG) 1
Copyright (CY) Copyright of John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd
(...)
Local examples of this type of peeping Tom television include Nine's ratings successes Australia's Funniest Home Videos, where people send in clips of children hitting adults in the groin and of above-ground pools exploding, and Just Kidding, the most watched series on TV last year.
(...)