lunatic fringe

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 1:04 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>
> One entry is interesting because it appears to deconstruct Roosevelt's
> usage. Unfortunately, Google only has a snippet. The reference is from
> Vol. 16 (claimed 1907, p. 271) of Everybody's Magazine.
>
>> "Mollycoddle"? "Undesirable Citizen"? "Malefactors of Great Wealth"?
>> "Race Suicide"? "The Strenuous Life"? "Speak Softly and Carry a Big
>> Stick"? "Lunatic Fringe"? "Outpatients of Bedlam"? "Byzantine
>> Logothete"? Not a phrase-maker? He is a the greatest phrase-maker in
>> our history.
>> Well, Colonel Rooselvelt, we repeat, is /not/ a phrase-/maker/. He is
>> a picker-up of ...
> Unfortunately, the rest is missing. It seems to be a useful clue. I may
> try to sneak into Harvard to check out their copy later this week,
> unless someone beats me to it. The magazine was published from 1899 to
> 1923, with the last listed volume being 48, so the numbers appear to fit.

I have no trouble reading this article in its entirety at either of these links:

http://books.google.com/books?id=0OgtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA271
http://books.google.com/books?id=oW8XAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA271

Issue appears to be from Feb. 1916 (Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 147-276).


--Ben Zimmer

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