my bad

Thu May 6 19:38:41 UTC 2010

I don't have a copy of the book either, so I can't vouch for what may be in
the main text. OED dates its Wielgus & Wolff citation to "1986."  But it
looks as though it comes not from the _In-Your-Face Basketball Book_ (1980)
but from a sequel.

Somehow, during the discussion, the identity of which "Wielgus & Wolff" book
we were talking about became confused. I apologize if I aided or created the
confusion.

Constant readers will observe that this isn't the first time that one of my
recollections of minute diachronic detail has proved to be mistaken.  I will
bear this in mind to avoid future, bitter humiliations.

At least there *is* a 1980 W & W book about pick-up basketball with a slang
glossary in it.  For this I am thankful.

(An oversize paperback with large print and many illustrations, I hope?)

JL

On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 2:22 PM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: my bad
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I've never seen any edition of the book; I was going on the
> assertion that it was in the 1980 ed.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>
> On Thu, May 06, 2010 at 02:19:20PM -0400, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> > Jon,
> >
> > I have a copy of the 1980 edition of this book, and in a quick glance I
> don't see "my bad" in the glossary.  Do you remember seeing it in the
> glossary or somewhere else in the book?
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
> > Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 1:13 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: my bad
> >
> > Jesse,
> >
> > WorldCat dates Wielgus & Wolff's _In-Your-Face Basketball Book_ to 1980.
> >
> > That's where I saw it. I didn't include "my bad" in the B's because there
> > was only one cite and it sounded too moronicever to catch on.
> >
> > Never say, "too moronic."
> >
> > I trust all is well in the Large Apple.
> >
> > Jon
> >
> > On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 11:47 AM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: my bad
> > >
> > >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Jon,
> > >
> > > What's the 1980 example? I can't recall having seen a print
> > > example that early, and if it's in the archives, I've missed
> > > it there too....
> > >
> > > Thanks.
> > >
> > > Jesse Sheidlower
> > > OED
> > >
> > > On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 11:37:27AM -0400, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > > When this came up last year people had trouble finding a still
> earlier
> > > > discussion in the Archives.
> > > >
> > > > Now I can't find last year's discussion.
> > > >
> > > > Except in my mailbox.
> > > >
> > > > "My bad" was print in 1980, reported as being a common term among
> mostly
> > > > inner-city teenagers in pick-up basketball games. It took quite a few
> > > > years to catch on in the media.
> > > >
> > > > I didn't come across another ex. of "my bad" until 1994-95, when it
> began
> > > to
> > > > become common. If I had, I'd have made a note of it.
> > > >
> > > > JL
> > > >
> > > > On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 10:33 AM, Paul Frank <
> paulfrank at post.harvard.edu
> > > >wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > > -----------------------
> > > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > > Poster:       Paul Frank <paulfrank at POST.HARVARD.EDU>
> > > > > Subject:      my bad
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > >
> > > > > When did people start saying "my bad"? I never heard it in high
> school
> > > > > in the late 70s in England and in university in the early 80s in
> > > > > England. And I can't really remember when I first heard it in grad
> > > > > school in the U.S., but it was probably in the early 90s. Or maybe
> I
> > > > > wasn't listening and people have been saying it for centuries.
> > > > >
> > > > > Paul
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Paul Frank
> > > > > Translator
> > > > > German, French, Chinese > English
> > > > > Huémoz - Aigle - Neuchātel, CH
>  > >  > > paulfrank at post.harvard.edu
> > > > >
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> > > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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