"Watch" [Was: "Got"] your back"

[Joel S. Berson]

The OED has "to watch a person's back: to protect
or guard a person against potential attack
(sometimes literally from behind); (also) to
support or assist a person" only from 1974, where it refers to spies:
      1974 ‘J. le Carré’ Tinker, Tailor xvii.
145   Clear a foreign letter box, prime a safe
house, watch someone's back, spike an embassy.

The next citation is also from the spying genre:
      1986    M. Hartland Third Betrayal ii.
20,   I imagine you'll take someone to watch your back.

By 1991 it was generalized.

The OED has "to get (also have) a person's back":
= to watch a person's back" from 1975.

It dates "To watch one's [own] back" (to be on
one's guard; to be alert to a possible (physical)
threat to oneself (sometimes literally an attack from behind)" from 1949.

Joel

At 12/29/2011 12:28 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>(I assumed it was either police or military in
>origin, although I confess my evidence for this
>supposition comes entirely from watching movies, TV shows, and genre novels.
>
>--LH)
>
>Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at mst.edu>
> > Date: December 29, 2011 12:01:51 PM EST
> > To: <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> > Subject: FW: Re: "Got your back"?
> >
> > Laurence,
> >    I tried sending the message below to
> ads-l, but somehow it didn't go through.  I'd
> be very grateful if you would forward it to the listserv.
> >
> > Best. -- Jerry
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > From: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> > Sent: Thu 12/29/2011 10:39 AM
> > To: American Dialect Society
> > Subject: Re: "Got your back"?
> >
> >
> > I've always thought that the specific
> reference was to a a police raid, in which
> policeman A would tell policeman B "I have your
> back," i.e. policeman B could concentrate
> entirely on what's in front of him and not have
> to worry about being shot or otherwise attacked
> from the rear. Policeman A was behind him and would protect him there.
> > -----Gerald Cohen
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Laurence Horn
> > Sent: Thu 12/29/2011 8:51 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: "Got your back"?
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the
> mail header -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: "Got your back"?
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > On Dec 29, 2011, at 9:25 AM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
> >
> >> Headline:  "Need to Run Windows on Your Mac? Parallels Has Got Your =
> > Back"
> >>
> >> I suppose "has got your back" means "takes care of you".  New one to =
> > me.
> >>
> >>
> > http://chris.pirillo.com/need-to-run-windows-on-your-mac-parallels-has-got=
> > -your-back/
> >
> > It's not new.  The OED has it from 1975:
> >
> > N. Amer. colloq. (orig. in African-American usage). to get (also have) a =
> > person's back : =3D to watch a person's back.
> >
> > 1975    J. De Jongh Hail, hail, Gangs! (Electronic ed.) 6   Two of them =
> > and one of you, but I got your back. Kick both of them in the ass.
> > 1985    Washington Post 29 Mar. e5/3   Don't worry, Coach, I've got your =
> > back.
> >
> > as a variant of 'to watch a person's back':
> >
> > to watch a person's back : to protect or guard a person against =
> > potential attack (sometimes literally from behind); (also) to support or =
> > assist a person.
> >
> > 1974    =91J. le Carr=E9=92 Tinker, Tailor xvii. 145   Clear a foreign =
> > letter box, prime a safe house, watch someone's back, spike an embassy.
> >
> > LH
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society -
> http://www.americandialect.org <http://www.americandialect.org/>
> >
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org