"Dude" nickname (1876)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

There is a mention of a "Dude Club" or so in the Dubuque newspaper (at
N'archive) from 1877. But who knows for sure what "Dude" means here, or
in a man's nickname?

I don't know why anyone would suppose an etymological relationship
between "dude" and "dud[s]": these don't seem phonetically similar, do
they?

A better match IMHO can be made with [Yankee] Doodle [Dandy] (from the
song), which would have meant either plain "dandy" or "American dandy"
(as "Yankee-Doodle-Dandy" was used by Walter Scott in 1830, I think).

Here is a fragment of a humorous poem from 1831 (from Google Books):

<<

One travels to the real top of Andes --
Another's down,
On the _false top_ that covers _half a crown_
Of _Yankee-doodle-dandies_ --
Who gabble, gape, and gaze.
Like Ships, sharp-braced, they're often seen in _stays;_
They move through ball rooms, under lustres bright,
But not one sconce of theirs contains a light.
In bought or borrowed whiskers still they stare,
Their collars, with mattrasses will compare,
_Stuffed with the best curled hair!_

 >>

Several inexpensive puns are here: I guess "false top" = "toupee" (vs.
"real [mountain]top"), "in stays" = "in corsets" vs. [nautical] "heading
into the wind" or so, "sconce" = "head" vs. "light fixture".

These "Yankee-doodle-dandies" apparently wear corsets, and they are no
intellectual giants, and they (perhaps) have collars which rise above
their hairlines ... maybe they're somewhat like the "dudes" fifty-some
years later as described (e.g.) in Michael Quinion's piece:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dud2.htm

-- Doug Wilson

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