Muppet (1955)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Muppet (OED3 1970)

1955 _Washington Post_ 15 May J3/4 Mac is also high in his praise of Jim
Henson, the manipulator of the "Muppets." A young University of Maryland
student, Henson works out the puppet acts "just by sitting down and
thinking for a few moments."
[Referring to WRC-TV's show "Afternoon" --
see: <http://www.thejoyboys.com/henson.htm>]

1956 _Washington Post_ 10 Jun. J1/4 On "Footlight Theater," Arnold uses
his talent for character creation to work with Jim Henson's "Muppets." (A
"Muppet" is a kind of puppet.)

1956 _Washington Post_ 2 Sep. G3/2 A "muppet," according to Henson, is a
cross between a hand puppet and a stick puppet. Henson thought up the term
"muppet" in order "to have something distinctive."


--Ben Zimmer