"lob-lolly boy", 1773 & 1807

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Sat Feb 27 15:37:07 UTC 2010


Perhaps useful interdatings, between 1748 and 1836?  From EAN
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Connecticut Journal [New Haven]; Date: 09-03-1773; Issue: 307; Page:
[3] col. 2:

There is not a loblolly boy in the fleet, but knows, that a Tar
despises the underground tacticks of a timorous Landman, and is ever
fond to face his enemy aboveboard; ...

This letter "to Fusee" is headed "A living ass, is better than a dead
lion."  More on the latter later.
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People's Friend & Daily Advertiser [New York]; Date: 03-19-1807;
Volume: I; Issue: 169; Page: [2], col. 2:

He who could think of such a thing, is a fit loblolly to the
apothecary of Jaffa.

Joel

At 2/26/2010 10:34 PM, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
>Actually, if you move down a bit you'll see that OED has an
>entry for the compound _lob-lolly boy_, that includes the
>sense 'an errand-boy, man of all work', with a quotation from
>1836, so it's not a real interdating, but it's a good quote.

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