benny?

[Jonathan Lighter]

Wilson, was this in common use in the army in the '50s?  Could you provide a context or an example of the bennies referred to?

JL

Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: benny?
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On Jun 15, 2005, at 4:09 PM, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Jesse Sheidlower
> Subject: Re: benny?
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> --------
>
> On Wed, Jun 15, 2005 at 03:04:39PM -0500, Rachel Shuttlesworth wrote:
>> From a story in the Chicago Tribune, located at
>> http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi
>> -0506150258jun15,1,6069459.story?page=2
>>
>> "We don't really talk about healthy anywhere in our restaurant,"
>> Hirshberg said. "That's very intentional. Not because it isn't. We
>> want
>> them to enjoy the food for the food, and then to feel that health is a
>> benny."
>>
>> I can find "benny" in the OED meaning overcoat and Benzedrine. Trying
>> to
>> find other examples of this usage online brings up Benny's Hinn, Hill,
>> Goodman, etc. I found one case of British slang where "benny" is
>> defined
>> as losing one's temper
>> (http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/fullmonty/def/benny.htm). What is its
>> meaning above? Is it being used to mean "added benefit" or something
>> else?
>
> Yes, it's "benefit". HDAS has this with a Military label, first example
> 1970, though Ben or Bill will now post an example from 1915.

I certainly hope so, since I first heard it in the Army in the
'Fifties. Naturally, there's no documentation, not even a grafitto on
the exterior wall of a consolidated messhall at Fort Devens, MA, about
which source some putz has already complained.

-Wilson Gray

>
>
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>


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