"booster" = shoplifter, antedating to 1911; also "stuss-house" (?)

[Jonathan Lighter]

HDAS cites journalist and short-story writer Alfred Henry Lewis (1855-1914)
extensively. His colorful sketches of western and underworld life almost
certainly influenced Damon Runyon.

JL
On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 11:02 AM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "booster" = shoplifter, antedating to 1911; also
>              "stuss-house" (?)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Fri, Jul 01, 2011 at 10:47:10AM -0400, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> > The OED has "booster" = shoplifter (sense 3) from 1912.  A minor
> > antedating to 1911.
>
> If you look at the OED quotation, you'll see that this is not exactly an
> antedating, rather it's a conversion of the existing quote to its
> earlier periodical appearance.
>
> HDAS has a 1908 example, in any case.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>
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