El Lay

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 11:43:13 -0400, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:

>-----
>Los Angeles Times, Oct 30, 1944, p. 2/1
>Admiralty Islands -- After the show I looked up Staff-Sgt. Sid Rogers,
>the technical director who also does a comedy skit.
>"'Stars and Gripes' is a great G.I. show," I said. "The Army must have
>combed Hollywood for you guys."
>"Hollywood?" said Sid.
>"Yep," I said. "Good old Hollywood. Guess the boys would be pretty hard
>up for entertainment if it weren't for Hollywood. Where you from?"
>"New York," said Sid, "but I once played the Biltmore in Ellay."
>-----

Earlier still, in college football usage...

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Los Angeles Times, Oct 13, 1937, p. II13/2
And say, Mister Dyer, are those Oregoners in a swell spot or are they.
Nobody ever gives 'em a tumble down in Ellay, but here they come with the
momentum of the Stanford victory and the Gonzaga walloping and probably
they'll find the Trojans a bit on the large-domed side after last week's
show.
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Oakland Tribune, Oct 14, 1944, p. 7/7
Stub Allison's artful athletes finally convinced whoever needed it that
they're a pretty good football outfit. As college football outfits go
these days. They got a 6-6 payoff with the Trojans in Ellay last Saturday.
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--Ben Zimmer