By gingo!

[Jonathan Lighter]

The Cowley cite beats OED by nearly 30 years.  Burnaby, BTW, has "By Gingo" a second time and "By jingo" once.

JL

Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at RCI.RUTGERS.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Benjamin Zimmer
Subject: Re: By gingo!
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On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 12:25:30 -0700, Jonathan Lighter
wrote:

>The etymology of "by jingo!" being obscure, this example with an initial
"g" may be of interest, particularly as it comes only a few years after
OED's primary citation.
>
>1701 William Burnaby _Ladies Visiting-day_ (London: Peter Buck) By Gingo
>she'll ravish him, good Woman.

Literature Online has:

1700 Mary Pix _The Beau Defeated_ (London), p. 27
'Tis a delicate Age, by Gingo, when the Rake is the fine Gentleman,
and the fine Gentleman is the Lady's Favourite, egad. Mum, she comes.


There's also an earlier "Gingo" without the "by":

1663 Abraham Cowley _Cutter of Coleman Street_ (London), p. 26
Hey, Boys-- Gingo.



--Ben Zimmer

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