Bikini (June 1947)

Paul Johnson paulzjoh at MTNHOME.COM
Sat May 5 16:02:55 UTC 2007


July 1946 Operation Crossroads,  A-Bomb tests on 6 square mile Bikini
Atoll.  How could that not be mentioned in a 1947 paper?

Dave Wilton wrote:

>The OED has an August 1947 for a citation in French and 1948 for English.
>
>>>From the Syracuse Herald Journal (New York) of 22 June 1947:
>
>First came the famous Bikini model, consisting of three small triangles of
>cloth.
>
>>>From the Nevada State Journal, 23 November 1947:
>
>Nobody knows why the word Bikini has become the synonym for small and
>little...The French double-piece bathing suits, consisting of a G-string and
>another tiny piece for the upper part of the body, are called Bikini. If you
>want a demi-tasse of ersatz coffee you ask for a Bikini...When the piece of
>meat you get in a restaurant is exceptionally small you complain that it "is
>too Bikini."
>
>--Dave Wilton
>  dave at wilton.net
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>
>

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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list