"Spud" as nickname

[Jonathan Lighter]

Somewhere I picked up the knowledge that _Spud_ used to be a cliche' nickname for men surnamed "Murphy."

  They both mean "potato," get it ?

  Anyway, this may be an early example. I say "appears to be" because the character's surname is not indicated. But nearly all the people in this book are Irish.

  1905 Owen Kildare _The Wisdom of the Simple_ (N.Y.: Fleming Revell, 1905) 175: What are you grinning about, Spud?

  JL




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