putting kibosh questions

Garson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Fri Jun 18 00:47:10 UTC 2010


I think that the article in True Sun contains a second instance of
kibosh that may be of interrest.

Cite: 1835 May 15, True Sun, Police Intelligence: Mansion-House, Page
4, Column 4, London. (NewspaperArchive)

(The article begins:)

  A German Jew, named Myers, summoned two
officers of the synagogue for having urged on other
Jews to assault and otherwise molest him and his
wife.
  Myers said, in the phraseology of the foreign Jew,
that a great prejudice was raised against him by the
defendants, who accused him of having been natu-
ralized in order to have a good excuse for attacking
him.

(Skipping to second instance of kibosh:)

  The Lord Mayor—Can your husband swear that
they struck him?
  Myers—I don't think I can swear; but they gets
other Jews to give me the kibosh upon me, and its all
the same to me which of the whole set struck me.
All I say, is, that me and my poor vife vill be killed
at last by 'em. They are all against us—all the Jews.
  The Lord Mayor—"Perhaps the defendants can clear
up the matter?

(May contain errors in transcription)

On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 7:31 PM, Sam Clements <SClements at neo.rr.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Sam Clements <SClements at NEO.RR.COM>
> Subject:      Re: putting kibosh questions
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Stephen--Yep, that's confirmed.
>
> "Please you, my lord, I an't no such a thing; I am a real Jew, and I never
> was naturalized.  They say so to rise the kibosh against me, and my vife,
> vot I vas a valking mid, vhen they comes down upon us.  Ve goes reflar to
> the synagogue, and the gentlemen knows it.  I'm as good Jew as any on um
> all, and so is my poor vife."
>
> Sam Clements
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephen Goranson" <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 09:05
> Subject: putting kibosh questions
>
>> Kibosh is known in English from at least 1834, often in "put the kibosh
>> on." Another possibly early use (unconfirmed newspaperarchive
>> preview--could Sam Clements or another confirm this?)):
>> True Sun [London] May 15, 1835 "They say so to rise [raise?] the kibosh
>> against me, and my wife."
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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