fudge

[George Thompson]

HDAS has "fudge" (= nonsense) from 1814 in an American source, and from 1766 in England.  This is an antedating by 7 years, for America.
   Launched here on the 17th inst, from the yard of Messrs. A. & M. Brown, the beautiful and well built ship FUDGE.  ***
   New-York Gazette & General Advertiser, January 19, 1807, p. 2, col. 6;
   The person who on Sunday took the liberty of filling up the blank in a paragraph which lay on our desk for publication, is informed, that if we knew him, he should not escape public notice.  ***
   N-YG&GA, January 20, 1807, p. 3, col. 1;
   The gentleman who fudged us on Sunday last out of a name for a ship, has come forward, to prevent the innocent from being suspected, and made a satisfactory apology.  ***  N-YG&GA, January 21, 1807, p. 2, col. 6

With reference to the question of how the word "cunnus" and its meaning got into Wessely' Latin dictionary, this is an instance of sabotage to a printer's copy committed by someone from outside the shop.

GAT


George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African
Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998.