gin game

[Baker, John]

        "Gin game" seems to have been a fairly common way to refer to a
game of gin rummy, even before the play of that name debuted in 1976,
and many of the references are to games with money stakes.  An extended
use does not seem too unlikely.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of George Thompson
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2010 6:05 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: gin game

> If the handwriting is scrawly enough, it may be "con game," which
> sounds a
> little weird in the context now but I think didn't in 1909.
>
> JL
>

A good thought.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
Date: Friday, January 8, 2010 5:54 pm
Subject: Re: gin game
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

> If the handwriting is scrawly enough, it may be "con game," which
> sounds a
> little weird in the context now but I think didn't in 1909.
>
> JL
>
> On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 4:51 PM, George Thompson
<george.thompson at nyu.edu>wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> > Subject:      gin game
> >
> >
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
> >
> > From an article in today's NYTimes, section C, p. 33, headlined
> "Navy Yard
> > 'Treasures'", about an archive and museum at the (former) Brooklyn
Navy
> > Yard.
> >
> > "The archive has also received a 1909 postcard showing the yard
paymaster's
> > house; on the back an enraged shipyard worker scrawled to his
girlfriend,
> > "What kind of a gin game you giving me, taking me for a damn fool?""
> >
> > not in HDAS; app. not in OED; not in Chambers Slang Dictionary.
> >
> > 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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