Ofay etymology (speculative)--"au fait" = socially acceptable, genteel

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

Douglas Wilson's additional information on ofay is of course helpful, and I would like to have it appear in an upcoming issue of Comments on Etymology (with due credit, of course). As for the existence of "au fait" (socially acceptable; genteel),
being recognizable prior to the enormously helpful databases, cf.

1) Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington's 1973 _Music Is My Mistress_, p. 12:
"When I first went to Europe on the Olympic in 1933, I felt so au fait with all that silverware on the table." (Olympia, au fait each appears in italics.)

2) _Judge_ (humor magazine published in NYC), March 14, 1896, p. 169; in a cartoon with all black characters "Miss Snoflake" has asked whether Professor Johnson or Deacon Ketchum has the proper handshake. Mr. Jackson replies:
        "Wha, dey's bofe quite au fait..."

3) Robert Gold's 1975  _Jazz Talk_ (under "fay"/"ofay") presents three possible etymologies for the term.  The second is:
                "Jazz critic Martin Williams suggests that the term may derive from Louisiana Creole parents' admonition to children, 'au fait'--show good manners a la genteel whites." -- (accent aigu over the a of a la).

         As for Douglas Wilson being unaware of the "ofay" treatment in Comments on
        Etymology or _Studies in Slang_, the fault is mine rather than his.  I need to
        publish a bibliography of the Comments on Etymology items and the
        Studies in Slang items and put it online so interested scholars can have
        ready access to it..

        Gerald Cohen


> ----------
> From:         American Dialect Society on behalf of Douglas G. Wilson
> Reply To:     American Dialect Society
> Sent:         Monday, September 6, 2004 5:49 PM
> To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject:           Re: Ofay etymology (speculative)
>
>
        ...Back in 1994 it must have been a challenge to establish the currency of this "au fait" (the on-line newspaper databases weren't developed yet in 1994, were they?); my quick search of MoA and other databases shows mostly
> the more 'correct' use of "au fait"
> ("expert"/"familiar"/etc.).
>
> "Different minds think alike sometimes."
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>
>
>