spaz(z), n.

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 19:57:28 -0700, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM> wrote:

>"Spazz," n. & v., were both in daily use on the West Side of Manhattan in
>the fall of 1959. At least among us kids.  I remember because I'd never
>heard them before. The same was true of "retard," n.

I posted the Russell Baker quote on the alt.usage.english newsgroup, and
it elicited this response from Joe Fineman (Caltech class of '58):

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http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.usage.english/msg/bded7888abdc8c8c

Here, FWIW, is the entry in my journal (1956) from a section on the
language of Caltech students:

  SPAZ, n.R  (shortened from _spastic_)  1. _Obsolete._  A person
  lacking in the common social skills & virtues.  See TWITCH.  2.
  To surprise a person in a way that causes him to take some time to
  react. v.R

The "R" means "regional or national" -- i.e., I was aware at the time
that this was not just Caltech slang.  The noun was, of course,
obsolete only at Caltech, where it had been replaced by the allusive
"twitch".
-----

Thank goodness for college kids keeping slang journals! It's fascinating
that "spaz" was already considered obsolete as early as 1956 at Caltech.
Might this suggest a West Coast origin (or at least early popularization)?
While Manhattanites were picking up "spaz", the Caltechies had already
moved on to "twitch". Any other college reminiscences?


--Ben Zimmer