another "flivver" antedating (?) the cheap vehicle sense

sclements at NEO.RR.COM sclements at NEO.RR.COM
Sun Jul 15 14:58:44 UTC 2012


---- Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU> wrote:
> In the archives are uses of "flivver" earlier than 1910, which is the date of OED's earliest quote for its sense 1, cheap car etc.; OED's sense 2, failure etc., is attested there only from 1915.
>
> Here is one of the attestations that (on the evidence so far available) suggests the failure sense predated the vehicle sense.
>
> The Green Book Album [Chicago],Vol. 2 no. 9, December, 1909, p. 1290, col. 2.
>
> "We've got a lot of gilt cannons and military uniforms for the chorus," explains the stage director, "that came out of that flivver 'The West Point Girl' that was closed last week. We want to use 'em while they're new and fresh, ...."
>
> http://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22came+out+of+that+flivver%22&tbs=,cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1900,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1909&num=10
>
> Stephen Goranson

Another early use to mean "failuer" by a baseball writer in Cleveland, Ohio in 1910--

_Cleveland Plain Dealer_ 5 April 1910, p.10, col. 5

"The champion Pirates are in trouble.  They fired their first bagger and now don't know whether Flynn, the man they are trying out, will do or will prove a flivver."

Sam Clements

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