cootie-catchers

[Jonathan Lighter]

The First World War brought the word "cootie" to popular attention.

I have little doubt that it stems from the British phrase "lousy as a
coot."

JL

On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 5:17 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> Subject:      cootie-catchers
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Maybe a male to female evolution can be traced.
>
> Unconfirmed:
> 1918 Charlotte [NC] Observer, page 14 November 12, 1918 Headline: At
> Showhouses. At the Keith House. {Readex]
> [Ch. Chaplin in "Soldier Arms"] He is a "cootie" catcher of the first water
>
> 1919 Montgomery [AL] Advertiser, page Eight, vol. XC, iss. 117 April 27,
> 1919  Headline:
> Wonderful Drama of the "Fighting 4th" Alabamians Engage in Another
> Thrilling Drive at St. Mihiel Haumont Completely.
> ...a suggestion for the next war, as follows:
> "One official 'cootie' catcher, preferably a monkey, for each commander
> and each platoon."
>
> 1927 Michigan Methodist Poets: a collection of poems (New York : Printed
> for the author by the Methodist Book Concern) p. 49
> William C. S. Pellowe - 1927 - Snippet view
> Now, if I were young an' giddy, An' a lookin' fer a wife, Fer a girl
> that's good to look at, Good to live with all my life : I could blink at
> "cootie-catchers," Never mind her cobweb hose, Nor be shocked at nothin' on
> her From her shoulders to her ...
>
> 1949 Journal of the Indiana State Medical Association v.42 p.105 [GB]
> ... during his two years in the army not one half of one per cent would
> ever join any Reserve Corps again, said he was going to publish a book
> entitled, “The Confessions of a Cootie Catcher,” dedicated to the Regular
> Army Medical Corps.
>
> 1954 Newsweek v.44 pt.1 p.52 [GB]
>  LIFE AND LEISURE trend wasn't even having a show. Her name, Gabrielle
> Chanel, was once the most honored signature in Paris fashion. Some 35 years
> ago, when girls were made of whalebone, plackets, cootie catchers, and
> frills, ...
>
> 1963 Honestly, Katie John! (Scholastic Book Services) p. 89 [GB]
> Mary Calhoun, Paul Frame
> When class started, she quietly pinched her cootie- catcher at the hair of
> the girl sitting in front of her, though not actually touching the unaware
> girl. Each "cootie" that Katie caught she pretended to deposit in a little
> box she'd rummaged out of ...
>
> Stephen Goranson
> www.duke.edu/~goranson
>
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