Golf "mulligan" (1937)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Sam Clements discovered an April 1938 cite for "mulligan" from United
Press sports writer Henry McLemore, and this cite is now in the OED3 draft
entry:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0401B&L=ads-l&P=R2124

As it turns out, McLemore had already used "mulligan" a year earlier:

1937 _Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Northwestern_ 15 Apr. 17/2 [also: _(Reno) Nevada
State Journal_ 16 Apr. 6/1] This was a shade too good for me, even though
they allowed me to tee up in the rough and gave me a "mulligan" off three
tees, a "mulligan" being the right to hit a second shot worse than your
first.


--Ben Zimmer