square from Delaware (1939)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 4:53 PM, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>> On Wed, Sep 03, 2008 at 03:57:30PM -0400, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:
>>> ---
>>> 1939 _New York Amsterdam News_ [Dan Burley's "Backdoor Stuff"] 27 May
>>> 20/1 "Lawd! I'm a square from Delaware, a Lane from Spokane, a killer
>>> from Manila and a Home from Rome," Allen Drew beats out.
>>> ---
>>> 1940 _New York Amsterdam News_ 2 Mar. 21/2 So don't be the "square
>>> from Delaware," just lace up your boots and "dig this jive."
>>> ---
[...]
>
> So do we have anything earlier for "square" = 'unhip person (from
> Delaware or elsewhere)'? The 1939 Amst News cite doesn't imply
> unhipness, but the 1940 one certainly does.

Unhip (non-Delawarean) squares from 1939:

1939 _Atlanta Daily World_ 22 June 5/5 Most of the crowd, it is
anticipated, will be "the country squares who will come from here 'n'
there to 'dig' the N.Y. World's Fair."

["Galento No Bet in Harlem" by Eddie West, on opinions from Harlem
about the coming title fight between Joe Louis and "Two Ton" Tony
Galento.]


--Ben Zimmer

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