"war daddy"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Have never heard of either of these.

JL

Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Jesse Sheidlower
Subject: "war daddy"
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I've been asked about the term _war daddy_ in football,
referring to a very tough or aggressive player. Does
anyone know the inspiration for this, or its history?
I know there was some WWI-era use of _war daddy_ to
describe wealthy men who financially helped soldiers,
or something like that, but this doesn't seem related.

Thanks.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED


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