E for Effort (1940)

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E FOR EFFORT--3,270 Google hits, 2,120 Google Groups hits

  Who grades with this letter?
  Not in OED, HDAS, CASSELL DICTIONARY OF SLANG?
  Was this coined by Bing Crosby in ROAD TO SINGAPORE?


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
THE SCREEN; Posting a Proceed-With-Caution Sign on Paramount's 'Road to Singapore'--'Earl of Chicago' Opens
By FRANK S. NUGENT. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 14, 1940. p. 33 (1 page):
   As Bing Crosby remarks in the course of it, never guessing the phrase some day would be turned against him, the Paramount's "Road to Singapore" deserves at least an E for effort.  And C for crooning, B for Bob Hope, D for Dorothy Lamour and SEC for an investigation of the possibilities it has squandered.
(Dorothy Lamour gets a D?--ed.)

The Home Front
Tom Treanor. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif.: Jul 7, 1942. p. A (1 page):
   The best they can get on Portuguese is an E for effort.

Washington Calling; Willkie's Western Tour
By Marquis Childs. The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: Mar 27, 1944. p. 11 (1 page):
   In my book this man gets an E for effort.

E for Effort on the Home Front
By CHARLES HURDWASHINGTON.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Oct 15, 1944. p. SM22 (1 page)

Display Ad 21 -- No Title
Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif.: Sep 30, 1945. p. B2 (1 page):
   Sure, you get an E for Effort.
(Pacquins Hand Cream ad--ed.)

Gala Grid Week Looms As Harvard, BU, BC Play; Crimson Back Stopped
By Frank Waldman Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor. Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current file). Boston, Mass.: Oct 25, 1948. p. 13 (1 page):
  Nonetheless, give the Yanks a nice, big E for effort.

'E for Effort' Saves Day in Morningside
The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: Dec 12, 1950. p. B1 (1 page)

An E for Effort?
Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current file). Boston, Mass.: Dec 23, 1959. p. 4 (1 page)

Game Teachers Score--E for Effort
The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973). Washington, D.C.: Feb 21, 1960. p. F3 (1 page)