nice language datum from the Times Magazine

[Sam Clements]

It represents the "facts" as far as it goes.

>From a newspaper account the next day.

"The judges accompanied their finding with five reasons for choosing
"scofflaw."
<snip>
"Linked with the statement of ex-President Harding, that 'lawless drinking
is a menace to the republic itself 'or with the statement of the judges of
the American Bar association in their warning to the American people against
those who 'disobey and scoff at this law, or any law'."

"The donor of the prize has offered a further sum of $200 for the statement
of not over 100 words as to the reason why the drinker of liquor made or
obtained illegally should be known as a "scoflaw."

I don't interpret them,  I just report them.

SC

*In my mind, this ranks up there with the $64,000 question.  The answers
were given in advance.  Maybe not quite as blatant.........wait, maybe it
was.

One of the requirements was to link your word to Harding's speech.



From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
Subject: nice language datum from the Times Magazine


> No, not the "On language" column, but the acrostic on today's (that
> is, tomorrow's) puzzle page.  I'll allow some spoiler space in case
> anyone wants to do the acrostic and doesn't want to know the answer
> to clue P,
> "1924 contest-winning coinage for a Volstead Act violator; today, one
> who treats any ordinance with contempt"

> Yes, "scofflaw".  But what's surprising to me is that this does
> indeed seem to represent the facts, as far as I can tell from the OED
> and other sources.  In fact "scofflaw" was apparently proposed
> independently by two contestants, who then got to split the $200
> prize money upon the announcement (1/15/1924), and it's been in the
> lexicon ever since.  Now of course one wonders if there are any
> antedates from before 1924, presumably for violators of other
> ordinances.   The other question is whether there are other words
> with similar creation histories.
>
> larry
>