Charlie

[Jonathon Green]

George Thompson wrote:

>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
>Subject:      Charlie
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Here is an antedating for U. S. use, and also, it seems, the first wild-
>caught passage in which the word is used, the OED's two earlier cites
>(from England) were taken from dictionaries.
>
>
1821 Egan Life in London (1859) 269: Tom had the CHARLEY in his box down
in an instant

How the OED missed this - with several other potential 'Charley' cites
it comes in a three page (plus Cruikshank illustration) episode in
which 'our heroes' 'mill a charley', apparently a popular sport for
contemporary young bloods - I cannot say. But if 'wild caught' extends
to both sides of the Atlantic, then this might claim the palm. Within
that passage Egan includes 'an old Flash song' in which the term is used
('We ... tumbled the old Charley in the Street!'), but frustratingly
fails to date it.

Jonathon Green