"the X arm of the law" (1792)

[Baker, John]

        The earliest "arm of the law" I see on Westlaw is this dramatically-worded example from 1802, referring to the court's power to find against parties who play a secret role in fraud:  "But the arm of the law is not shortened, that it cannot save, and courts and jurors will with eagle eyes trace fraud through all its secret and crooked paths, and render both the agent who appears, and the prime mover who plots in darkness, amenable."  Windover v. Robbins, 2 Tyl. 1 (Vt. 1802).

        "Arm of the law" citations are frequent, but "long arm of the law" does not even show up on Westlaw until 1937.  This makes me think that "long arm of the law" may have originated as a blend of "(strong) arm of the law" and "long arm (of the court)."


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Joel S. Berson
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 11:06 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "the X arm of the law" (1792)

OED2 does not have "arm of the law" as a phrase; the earliest quotation text containing it is 1871.

[All from Early American Newspapers]

"the X arm of the law"

I did not find X = long; and the earliest "the arm of the law" is later than the first of my two citations below.

X = cold, vindictive:

An execution in a republic is like a human sacrifice in religion. it is an offering to monarchy, and to that malignant being, who has been stiled a murderer from the beginning, and who delights equally in murder, whether it be purpetrated by the cold, but vindictive arm of the law, or by the angry hand of private revenge.

State Gazette of South-Carolina, 4 Oct. 1792, page 2, col. 3.

X = strong:

I trust we will shew that the strong arm of the law is able to crush any factions or designing set of people, whose wish is to overturn the constitution.

Salem Gazette, 14 May 1793, page 2, col. 2 [Ïrish House of Lords. Friday, March 1.]

Joel

At 10/3/2007 09:12 AM, Stephen Goranson wrote:
>Milwaukie Sentinel, (Milwaukee, WI) Saturday, July 13, 1844; Issue 43;
>Page 1,col D
>     Multiple News Items
>Category: News
>[col E top]
>....A Mr. Neville, of Western New York, has married a Miss Amanda Drop,
>while having another wife. The long arm of the law dropped down on him,
>and walked him off to prison for bigamy.
>
>Stephen Goranson
>http://www.duke.edu/~goranson
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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