Canary/Coal Mine (1913, 1976); Shirley Temple (sort of 1946); Sneak Preview (1932)

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CANARY IN THE COAL MINE

   From Mark Steyn in yesterday's  NEW YORK SUN, 10 November 2003, pg. 8, col. 5:

   At present demographic rates, by 2020 the majority of children in Holland--i.e., the population under 18--will be Muslim.  What do you figure that 74% will be up to by then--85%--96%?  If Americans think it's difficult getting the Continentals on their side now, wait another decade.  In that sense, the Israelis are the canaries in the coal mine.

   I thought William Safire did this, but I can't locate it easily.  It's not in OED?


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
      Canaries and Coal Mines.
              Wall Street Journal  (1889-Current file).       New York, N.Y.: Nov 14, 1913.                   p. 2 (1 page)

Politics as Bad Fiction
       WILLIAM GREIDER.       The Washington Post  (1974-Current file).       Washington, D.C.: Oct 31, 1976.                   p. 35 (1 page):
   KURT VONNEGUT, the novelist, once said that artists in a society are like the canaries they used to take down in coal mines to check for poisonous gases.  When the canaries start keeling over, you know the society is in trouble.

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SHIRLEY TEMPLE COCKTAIL

   The LOS ANGELES TIMES is now at May 1948, and a lot of the good stuff isn't here yet.
   This isn't a "Shirley Temple cocktail," but it explains the origin.  The WCTU protested that Shirley appeared to drink in her latest movie.  My first citation (see ADS-L archives) is close to this date.  I don't know how much better I can get.  The absence of "Shirley Temple cocktail" in the story is probably revealing that such a drink did not yet then exist, but would be invented soon.


      W.C.T.U. Hits Shirley Temple Film Scene
              Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Aug 24, 1946.                   p. 2 (1 page):
   CHICAGO, Aug. 23. (U.P.)--The Woman's Christian Remperance Union today asked United Artists Studios to delete a scene from Shirley Temple's forthcoming picture, in which she allegedly sips her first screen cocktail.
   Mrs. D. Leigh Colvin, W.C.T.U. president, said columnists have "announced generally" that Shirley is going to down her first drink in "The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer."
(...)
   In the role of a bobby-soxer visiting Actor Cary Grant's apartment in his absence, Shirley is offered a cocktail, the studio explained.  SHe sips it, makes a wry face, and spits it out.  That, the studio asserted, isn't taking a drink.

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MOCKTAIL

   See the ADS-L archives for "mocktail," another name for the "Shirley Temple cocktail" or cocktail without alcohol.  "Mocktail" is supposedly somewhere in these totally illegible classified ads.


      Classified Ad 4 -- No Title
              Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Apr 16, 1948.                   p. A14 (1 page)

      Classified Ad 19 -- No Title
              Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Jul 9, 1946.                   p. 9 (1 page)

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CAL-MEX

   No "Cal-Mex" cooking to 1948.  There are two citations for "Cal-Mex oil."
   No "Mex-Cal" and no "Tex-Mex," either.


      Display Ad 38 -- No Title
              Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Sep 7, 1927.                   p. A15 (1 page)

      Display Ad 62 -- No Title
              Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Dec 6, 1925.                   p. B18 (1 page)

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SNEAK PREVIEW

   Maybe someone in Chicago is a Roger Ebert fan.  OED has 1939.


Around and About in Hollywood
       READ KENDALL.       Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Mar 11, 1935.                   p. 17 (1 page):
   The audience reaction was what Director Jack Conway wanted when he slipped unnoticed into a sneak preview of his new picture at a Huntington Park theater.

      That Certain Party
       TIP POFF.       Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Jul 15, 1934.                   p. A1 (2 pages) :
   The season's first "sneak preview" of extreme fall fashions was witnessed yesterday when Miriam Hopkins gave an informal affair for friends, at which she modeled several complete changes, from pajamas, to fur coats.

      PREVIEW FANS GET RUNAROUND
       JOHN SCOTT.       Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Jun 12, 1932.                   p. B11 (2 pages):
_Precious Celluloid "Sneaked"_
   _Into Village Shows_
(...)  By JOHN SCOTT
   Warning to all preview-chasers: you are being crossed up by studio executives.  They are reviving the "sneak preview" with a vengeance.


("Caesar" in next post--ed.)