That's all she wrote antedatings

[Michael Quinion]

> A documented 1942 currency, in civilian contexts, makes it very unlikely
> that the phrase was inspired - as is often said - by the "Dear John
> letter."

The combination of Garson O'Toole's splendid findings and those found by
Michael Templeton strongly suggests so. My guess is that the popular song
by Ernest Tubb had been performed on radio earlier than the 1942 sheet
music in which it first turns up in print. If so, that makes it a prime
candidate for being the source of the expression. Having appeared, it was
then linked with "Dear John letter" around 1945, initially, I suspect, as
a bitter joke among servicemen.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
Web: http://www.worldwidewords.org

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