E for Effort (1940)

[Benjamin Barrett]

Thank you for this interesting history, Barry.

I've heard that version, but I more commonly hear, and I use "A for
effort". When I hear "E", I always wonder if it's a failing grade, so the
"A" is easier to understand.

Benjamin Barrett

>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]
>
>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?