M-W vs. Grant Barrett on "ginormous"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Thu, 19 May 2005 08:19:44 -0400, Barnhart <barnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM> wrote:

>Yes, indeed, ginormous has been in "a" dictionary since at least 1985!!!!
>Try _The Barnhart Dictionary Companion_ (vol. 4.1-2).  What's most
>embarrassing is that the earliest quote is 1977.  How come it took the big
>boys (as Barry might call them) over 25 years to give it entry status?
>Somebody's been asleep at the switch.  It's a term for Allan Metcalf's
>list of sleuth terms.

Eric Partridge has you beat by a mile.  It's in his 1948 _Dictionary of
Forces Slang_, according to OED2.  It's also listed in Wilfred Granville's
1962 _Dictionary of Sailors' Slang_.


--Ben Zimmer