Significant Antedating for "beaver" and "bearded clam"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 12/2/2008 11:08 PM, Sam Clements wrote:
>Am I the only one that knows the "Onion" is a satirical newspaper on the
>internet the last 5 years or so?

No.  But apparently you don't recognize (my) satire when you read it!  :-)

Joel


>Sam Clements
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 22:54
>Subject: Re: Significant Antedating for "beaver" and "bearded clam"
>
>
>>This can't be genuine -- John Jacob Aster did not arrive in America
>>until March 1784  [Wikipedia]. Apparently I didn't note that fact
>>when I submitted my antedating of "burger" (OED has it only from
>>1939) which is in the same issue [see ADS-L archives, 11 Oct. 2008].
>>
>>And by the way, any submission needs to be dated "circa 6 October,
>>1783" -- that's all the masthead says.
>>
>>Joel
>>
>>P.S.  For those really, really interested, I can provide a short,
>>selective, somewhat random criticism that concludes that the editors
>>of _The Onion_ did not do a very convincing job of emulating an
>>18th-century newspaper.
>>
>>JSB
>>
>>
>>At 12/2/2008 05:54 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>>>Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
>>>Caveats: NONE
>>>
>>>OED has 1927 for this sense (female genitalia) of beaver, and does not
>>>list "bearded clam"
>>>
>>>"John Jacob Astor Out Looking for Beaver"  _The Onion_ October 6, 1783
>>>p. 2 col 5
>>>
>>>"Should the enterprising GERMAN, by the Smile of good Fortune, reach the
>>>fertile back woods of New Hampshire, it is likely he may find him self
>>>secured to his very PUPILS in Beaver, and, we hasten to note, only good
>>>Beaver at that, and None of this foul Skunk Pelt seen in those parts of
>>>late. . . . He takes only a Brief Respite in the month of August, when
>>>the New Found-land Territories open season on the Wild Bearded Clam."
>>>
>>>http://www.theonion.com/content/news/historical_archives_john_jacob
>>>Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
>>>Caveats: NONE
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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