Jeep

[Jonathan Lighter]

The SD story is pretty accurate.  I researched ths question extensively for
HDAS II and reported the significant findings in a column for the _Atlantic
Monthly_ in the mid '90s.

The biggest inaccuracy in SD is the suggestion that the term "jeep" was
known to the military before the appearance of Eugene the Jeep in "Thimble
Theatre" in 1936. This assertion has no basis AFAIK.

Nor am I sure that the name "jeep" was ever given to a B-17 prototype. It
may have been. It was, however, bestowed on one of Northrop Aircraft's N-1M
Flying Wings prototypes as early as July, 1940.

Elzie Segar's "Jeep" was so called app. because he said nothing but "Jeep!
Jeep!"  My guess is that Segar intended it as a bass version of "Cheep!
Cheep!"  He was magic and could do just about anything. (Or am I thinking of
those annoying "iPad" commercials?)

AFAICT, all applications of the name "jeep" ultimately go back to Segar's
creation: small, new, odd, and unusually capable.

As applied to recruits, "new and odd" was undoubtedly the operative idea.

JL
On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 3:44 PM, David A. Daniel <dad at pokerwiz.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "David A. Daniel" <dad at POKERWIZ.COM>
> Subject:      Jeep
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> If this is old hat, sorry. It was new hat for me. Discussion of origin of
> Jeep at The Straight Dope, here.
>
> http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/336/did-some-japanese-soldiers-hold
> -out-for-years-after-wwii
> It's the second story, bottom of the page.
> DAD
>
>
>
> If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
>
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