Deer in the headlights (1986, 1988); Play the "X" card

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DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS

   Another helping of a dear, deer topic.


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
  Dan Quayle's Got The Right Stuff
By Richard N. Perle WASHINGTON. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Oct 25, 1988. p. A31 (1 page)
   But, you may ask, could this be the same man you saw in the debate with Lloyd Bentsen--caught, as one commentator put it, like a deer in the headlights, frozen with fear?

(FACTIVA)
WILLIAMS SMOOTHS THE SHARP EDGES OF THE BAD JOKES IN LIFE
By Jerry Schwartz, The Associated Press
952 words
23 January 1989
The Record, Northern New Jersey
All Editions.=.Four Star B. Four Star P. Two Star. One; Star
b07
English
(Copyright 1989)

Robin Williams traverses the country, ridiculing Republicans. Ronald Reagan is "the world's largest Muppet." Dan Quayle is "the Stepford candidate." George Bush is a political hypnotist: "T'ousand points of light, watch de watch."
(...)
Some audiences balk at political humor, and "they'll look like a deer in the headlights of a Peterbilt [a tractor-trailer!."


(FACTIVA)
THE HUNT // An urge as ancient as man lingers in the air of autumn
Ron Schara; Staff Writer
668 words
7 September 1986
Star-Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities Mpls.-St. Paul
METRO
17C
English
(Copyright 1986)

The Hunt has begun.

The Hunt.

More than seasons and limits. More than a license to kill. On Saturday, grouse and squirrels, rabbits and huns become legal targets in Minnesota. Deer, too, by bow and arrow.

These are but opening dates.

The Hunt in mankind started eons ago. Our canine teeth are duller now but - for some of us - the Hunt lingers in the air of September.

And September has come.

A few of us the other day were discussing the Hunt. Cecil Bell was talking. He's a deer hunter. Hunts with bow and arrow.

It's powerful stuff, the memories of the Hunt. Bell recalled the moment he saw the second largest whitetail buck ever taken in Manitoba. It was ambling toward Bell's ambush site. And he was armed with razor broadheads.

Please remember, millions of folks have seen deer in the headlights, in zoos, in the wild.

But a hunter sees deer differently.
(...)

---------------------------------------------------------------
PLAY THE "X" CARD

   An OED person asked about "play the __ card" today.  On JSTOR, AMERICAN SPEECH "Among the New Words" traces this back to 1978.  JSTOR  features allow better searching, however.  There are lots of hits, summarized below.


(JSTOR)
The New York Building Trades
John R. Commons
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 18, No. 3. (May, 1904), pp. 409-436
Pg. 430:  THese sensations undoubtedly made owners timid and retarded new enterprises; and this timidity of capital was the card, and the only card, that this union had to play.

(in Book Reviews)
Politische Correspondenz Friedrich's des Grossen
Gustav Berthold Volz
Review author[s]: Walter L. Dorn
The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 2, No. 4. (Dec., 1930), pp. 661-665
Pg. 664:  They reflect the monarch's growing consciousness that in contingencies such as this one Prussia had but a single trump card to play--the army--and that, whenever she played the card, the whole existence of Prussia was at stake.

British Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Harold Nicolson
The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1. (Jan., 1937), pp. 53-63.
Pg. 56:  And they took it for granted that, should circumstances require them to play the last card in foreign policy, namely the card of force, the public would automatically support them even if it came to war.

Briefer Notices (in Book Reviews and Notices)
The American Political Science Review, Vol. 25, No. 1. (Feb., 1931), pp. 214-239
Pg. 229:  ...the German decision to play the last card, unrestricted submarine warfare.

Belgium Unvanquished
Roger Motz
Review author[s]: Lady Galway
Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 41, No. 165. (Oct., 1942), pp. 239-240.
Pg. 240:  Already during the last war Germany did her utmost to play the Flemish separatists' card, and exasperate Walloon feelings.

Japanese Uncertainties
R. Guillain
International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 26, No. 3. (Jul., 1950), pp. 329-338.
Pg. 330:  ...economically, to re-make Japan as a factory for Asia, and if possible an American factory; internationally, to make Japan "play the American card".

Catholic Parties in Latin Europe
R. V. Burks
The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 24, No. 3. (Sep., 1952), pp. 269-286.
Pg. 286:  Having lost the electoral game, the Popular Front has now only the power of riot and insurrection.  Should it attempt to play this card, the transition to authoritarianism will be sudden rather than gradual.

The Russian Overture to Germany of December 1924
Zygmunt J. Gasiorowski
The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 30, No. 2. (Jun., 1958), pp. 99-117.
Pg. 110, note 51:  Since Poland was even more alarmed than Russia by the German move, Moscow began to play the Polish card.

Italy's Neutrality and Entrance into the Great War: A Re-examination
William A. Renzi
The American Historical Review, Vol. 73, No. 5. (Jun., 1968), pp. 1414-1432.
Pg.   1425:  To the last both were reluctant to play the "terrible card" of war.

The Political Balance in Saigon
Peter King
Pacific Affairs, Vol. 44, No. 3. (Autumn, 1971), pp. 401-420.
Pg. 405, footnote:  Minh is seen as a big card to play at a certain point in the Paris game.

Sun Yat-sen and the Japanese: 1914-16
Albert A. Altman; Harold Z. Schiffrin
Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4. (1972), pp. 385-400.
Pg. 392:  The following month, when the southern anti-monarchist army still encountered strong resistance, the Japanese finally decided to play their Sun Yat-sen card, but through private, unofficial channels.

National Socialism and Antisemitism: The Case of Maurice Barres
Zeev Sternhell
Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 8, No. 4. (Oct., 1973), pp. 47-66.
Pg. 61:   Fortified by his personal experience, he reproached Boulanger for the General's refusal to play the antisemitic card; his opposition to basing the movement on antisemitism and socialism was the main reason for its defeat.