"Grass Roots"

[Michael Quinion]

> Michael Quinion, I believe, asked about this recently.  I searched
> ProQuest Historical Newspapers/American Periodical Series, and the
> hits there seem to start in July 1912, the same month as the OED's
> first use. It does seem that the term started then in connection with
> the Roosevelt "Bull Moose" candidacy for president.

Many thanks for the follow-up on this. One on newspaperarchive.com is
slightly earlier, though also linked to that Roosevelt campaign:

1912 Evening News (Ada, Oklahoma) 26 Jan. 4/5 "The Roosevelt
Sentiment, as cropping out at Coalgate, was but the forerunner, as it
was plain to him, he said, that the grass roots were for the ex-
president".

It seems likely that somebody connected to the campaign coined it,
probably from the existing expression "gold from the grass roots
down" for a rich gold strike.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <wordseditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>