cop a sunny

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 00:51:16 -0500, Mullins, Bill
<Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL> wrote:

>>From a documentary on Sam Peckinpah on the cable tonight, Ben Johnson
>speaking:
>
>"Sam was always wanting to get into a fight, always wanting to cop a
>sunny on someone."

I take it this is simply a regional variation of "cop a Sunday" (HDAS: "to
deliver a punch or blow, esp. without warning").

Earliest cite in HDAS for "cop a Sunday" is from 1935, but here are a few
antedatings:

-----
1926 _L.A. Times_ 26 Sep. A7/7 It is likely that Buddy will be out for the
rest of the season, for, according to Angel players, the Solon skipper
copped a "Sunday" on Van Grafian while the arbiter had his back turned.
-----
1927 _Oakland Tribune_ 20 Jan. 15/2 Perhaps Mr. Wills does not hit very
hard, but we know one Scot who is not going to let Young Harry cop a
Sunday on him.
-----
1927 _Oakland Tribune_ 24 Feb. 15/6 They could not glimpse the crafty Mr.
Dempsey taking a chance with a crude third or fourth rater who might
forget the ethics of the game and attempt to cop a Sunday.
-----
1927 _Oakland Tribune_ 12 May 31/8 Eddie had a cute little trick of trying
to cop a Sunday on his opponent as he arose at the count of nine and twice
he landed long, winging right hands to the chin.
-----

HDAS says the expression is suggested by "Sunday punch".  I guess there's
a bit of semantic drift there, since a "Sunday punch" is a boxer's *best*
punch, his knockout blow, rather than a sneaky sucker punch.

OED has a first cite of 1929 for "Sunday punch" from Damon Runyon, but
Runyon was using it back in 1915:

-----
1915 D. RUNYON in _Washington Post_ 23 May (Sporting Section) 3/3 I boxed
'im one night, and I hit 'im 'ith my Sunday punch right in the puss, and
it didden do no good.
-----

(What's the origin of "Sunday punch" anyway?  Is it related to the concept
of punching someone into next Sunday?  Or is it a boxer's "Sunday best"?)


--Ben Zimmer