On Sun, Sep 12, 2004 at 08:39:27PM -0400, Sam Clements wrote:
> There is a cite in the Washington Post(ProQuest) from 1880, for "pot luck"
> which is used to convey the meaning we know today.
And OED ("Not _always_ terrible on food") has an 1867 example
for _potluck dinner".
Jesse Sheidlower
OED