None of us washes our rental cars (antedating 1985)

[Jonathan Lighter]

What Victor quotes includes an example of the current "narrative," to which
I've called attention in the past.

JL

On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 1:45 AM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: None of us washes our rental cars (antedating 1985)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> :-)
>
> I guess, it was worth asking. Thanks.
>
>     VS-)
>
> On 1/19/2010 1:07 AM, Garson O'Toole wrote:
> > Victor Steinbok wrote
> >
> >> What's the timeframe on "own up [to]"? Just curious...
> >>
> > OED DRAFT REVISION Sept. 2009 has an 1848 cite for "own up". Below is
> > an antedating to 1843:
> >
> > own, v. 5 c. intr. orig. U.S. colloq. to own up: to make a full
> > admission or confession, esp. when challenged or pressed; to confess
> > frankly (to something). Also with that and clause.
> >
> > Citation: 1843, High Life in New York by Jonathan Slick (pseudonym of
> > Ann Sophia Stephens), Page 129, Edward Stephens, New York.
> >
> > (The spelling in the following quote follows the text.)
> >
> > I own it eenamost kills me to begin, but the truth will out some time
> > or other; and a feller that aint ashamed tu du wrong, must be a
> > sneakin shote if he can't pick up courage tu own up tu the truth, like
> > a man. It's a tough job, though, to own that you've been made a darn'd
> > coot, and a leetle wus than that - but all I've got to du is to grin
> > and bear it.
> >
> >
> http://books.google.com/books?id=94UoAAAAYAAJ&q=%22own+up%22#v=snippet&q=%22own%20up%22&f=false
> >
>
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