Trash talk

[Grant Barrett]

I'm quoted in the article (which originally ran in the N.Y. Times), but
I didn't make those claims to the reporter.

However, many early cites of "NIMBY" do often appear in conjunction
with discussions of landfills or radioactive waste depots. The earliest
cite I have at my fingertips is from 1980, in the Christian Science
Monitor, from an article concerning landfills.

"BANANA" goes back at to least 1981, as indicated by a cite I have from
the UK. I do not have any significant data on "NOPE."

On Aug 24, 2004, at 23:42, Sean Fitzpatrick wrote:
> Sunday's Phila. Inquirer had an article about NYC sanitation workers'
> jargon. One surprising assertion:  NIMBY originated with the trash
> collection and disposal industry.
> Is this true?

--
Grant Barrett

Project Editor, Historical Dictionary of American Slang
Assistant Editor, U.S. Dictionaries, Oxford University Press
Editor, "Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American
Political Slang" (2004)

Editor, Double-Tongued Word Wrester
http://www.doubletongued.org/

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