cop a sunny

[Stephen Goranson]

Quoting Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at RCI.RUTGERS.EDU>:
[....]
>
> 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
>

I don't know the origin of "Sunday Punch,", but given the association with a
KO, might it allude to doing no more work (boxing) on a Sunday? I see Edwin
Newman wrote a book with this title (1979); perhaps he offers something.

Stephen Goranson