wishful thinking

[Jonathan Lighter]

OED: 1932.

GB coughs up many pre-1920 exx., including some dated to the 19th C., but
AFAICT, all are questionable and most are clearly bogus. In fact, I've
never seen anything like this number of bogus GB hits.

These are real, however, from Chronicling America:

1915 __New-York Tribune_ (June 26) 10: A paper on "Wishful Thinking" by Dr.
Pearce Bailey  [in the June _Scribner's_] repays reading.

1917 Stewart Paton, M.D., in _New-York Tribune_  (March 8) 10: Our vision
is clouded with a fog of sentiment and we have begun to form the habits of
wishful thinking and wishful waiting.

1918 Stewart Paton, M.D., in _The Sun_ (N.Y.)  (March 3) V 4: The
recognition and correction of the insidious and dangerous tendencies
associated with wishful thinking is imperative if we intend to cultivate
sober, sane, and intelligent methods of thinking. The disturbance of the
mental balance caused by wishful thinking may be readily demonstrated in a
mental or nervous breakdown precipitated by pursuing unattainable ends.

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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