push comes to shove (1924)

[Robin Hamilton]

I'm not sure how relevant this is to the current thread, but in Larrikin
(Australia, Sidney, working class, late 19thC) speech, "push" was the term
used for a gang.  ("Gang" in the sense of a grouping of like-minded usually
male persons, not necessarily, and indeed probably very much not,
criminals.)

Thus, as one larrikin poem describes at great length, "I gave up the push
for my donah."

Robin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Arnold Zwicky" <zwicky at STANFORD.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: push comes to shove (1924)


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Arnold Zwicky <zwicky at STANFORD.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: push comes to shove (1924)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Feb 26, 2010, at 8:14 AM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>
>> The latest OED draft entry for "push" has "if/when push comes to
>> shove" from 1940. Some earlier cites (the first three are from "The
>> Week," by Defender columnist Roscoe Simmons): [1924, 1926, 1931,
>> 1932, 1935, 1937]
>
> there are also instances of truncated "push comes to shove", with no
> overt "if/when". *huge* number of examples in titles (Twyla Tharp
> dance, for example), but some in text:
>
> The United States has no national interests in Georgia; Russia does.
> Push comes to shove, we won't go to war for Georgia and should
> therefore not indicate or imply that we would, it makes the Georgian's
> take excessive risks.
>   http://broadsunlituplands.wordpress.com/2008/08/
>
> also instances of headlines where what's conveyed is 'push has come to
> shove':
>
> Push comes to shove in Pa. budget process
>
> http://blog.pennlive.com/lehighvalley/2007/06/push_comes_to_shove_in_pa_budg.html
>
> arnold
>
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