"Miss Television" in 1933 (UNCLASSIFIED)

Amy West medievalist at W-STS.COM
Tue Dec 4 14:14:08 UTC 2007


Does this add another layer of meaning to calling Milton Berle "Mr.
Television"?

---Amy West

>Date:    Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:37:48 -0500
>From:    Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>Subject: Re: "Miss Television" in 1933 (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
>At 9:04 AM -0600 11/29/07, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>>Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
>>Caveats: NONE
>>
>>Google Books returns a 1930 hit for the phrase "Miss Television".  As
>>always, it's hard to confirm a
>>date there (the cite is from "The Century Monthly Magazine"), but
>>searching within the volume for
>>"1929" and "1930" returns hits, and "1931" and "1932" do not, so I'm
>>inclined to believe that it's
>>legit.
>>
>>Perhaps "Miss Television" had particular meaning back then.
>
>Thanks.  It may have had a particular meaning for Fitzgerald, in any
>case.  The Matthew J. and Arlyn Bruccoli Collection of Fitzgeraldiana
>at the U. of South Carolina evidently possesses a copy of _Tender is
>the Night_ inscribed to "Miss Television".  Plus in December 1928 the
>Century Magazine Bill mentions published Fitzgerald's story, "Outside
>the Cabinet-Maker's", which contains the following exchange:
>
>"There's the Queen, Daddy. Look at there. Is that the Queen?"
>"No, that's a girl called Miss Television."
>http://gutenberg.net.au/fsf/OUTSIDE%20THE%20CABINET-MAKERS.html
>
>Seems like a worthy candidate for the OED's entry for "television"
>(if we can just figure out what it refers to).
>
>LH

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list