nabe (attrib.) 'neighborhood': 1922, 1938

[Ben Zimmer]

Here is the article from the reporter who was asking about "nabe",
Henry Grabar of The Atlantic Cities (he cites both Michael Newman and
me):

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/08/nabe-or-hood-brief-history-shortening-neighborhood/3074/


On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 3:51 PM, Michael Newman wrote:
>
> Actually, I paired nabe with hood in my (draft of) my New York City
> English book. I wasn't focusing on coinage, however, but current use.
>
>
> Nabe tends to be applied to middle class areas like Brownstone Brooklyn,
> it seems to me. So it opposes hood in an interesting way.
>
> On Aug 21, 2012, at 8:25 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>
> >
> > Responding to a reporter's inquiry I took a look at "nabe", which OED3
> > dates to 1933 in the sense of 'neighborhood cinema' and to 1942 in the
> > more general sense of 'neighborhood' (n. and attrib.). Here are earlier
> > attrib. uses for the general sense from Genealogybank:
> >
> > 1922 _Denver Post_ 2 Dec. 10/8 (head & text) Cagers Will Attend 'Nabe'
> > Gym Smoker. Practically every basketball player in the city has promised
> > to attend the benefit smoker at the Neighborhood House gym, Tenth and
> > Galapago, Monday night.
> >
> > 1938 Tommy Dorsey and Geo. D. Lottman "Love in Swingtime" (syndicated
> > serial) _Times-Picayune_ (New Orleans) 9 Aug. 12/2 "Biggest flopperoo of
> > year, so far," wrote Green [sc. Abel Green of Variety] "was the highly
> > touted preeming of Biff Brown's band at the Ritz, nabe dancery near
> > Bridgeport."
> >
> > 1938 Tommy Dorsey and Geo. D. Lottman "Love in Swingtime" (syndicated
> > serial) _Times-Picayune_ (New Orleans) 9 Aug. 12/3 Glossary of Swing
> > Words in this Chapter. ... Nabe dancery: Neighborhood ballroom.

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