[forwarded from 19cBB] Huzzah now in modern usage

[Joel S. Berson]

At 3/6/2009 09:52 PM, George Thompson wrote:
>Posted to a listserv of harmless crackpots devoted to the study of
>the history of baseball, and forwarded, with permission, to a
>listserv of . . . .
>
>Mind you, I've said nothing.
>
>A response to this to the original listserv cited the OED, seemingly
>to the effect that its latest references are from the late 19th
>C.  I have been 86ed by my connection to the OED, so I can't verify this.

For the interjection, the latest is 1855.  Of course -- and Jesse
will know better -- this probably simply means the word hasn't been
looked at in a while (the entry is "second edition 1989").

Joel


>Ms. Astifan writes, while giving this permission, that she had seen
>this passage in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle of March 2, 2009.
>
>Original posting follows:
>
>For what it's worth I just read syndicated columnist Kim Komando's
>article, "Microsoft will trumpet new system, but what's the real
>reason behind it?" Naturally I was surprised to find the following
>in the opening paragraph: "When it is released, you can expect brass
>bands, dancing girls and mighty huzzahs. But why?"
>
>This is the first time I've heard the word huzzah outside of 19th
>century baseball or early American history texts. And I've not often
>seen it there. Interesting.
>
>Priscilla Astifan
>
>GAT
>
>George A. Thompson
>Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre",
>Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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