Antedating of "Hijack" / "Hijacking"

[Jonathan Lighter]

It's all coming back to me now, Jerry.

OED has yet to take advantage of this rich vein of research.

Pilfer > steal > rob >  take unlawful control of > take control of (a
political movement or party) and point in a radical new direction.

JL

On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 11:05 AM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Hijack" / "Hijacking"
>
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>
> Before "hijack" meant "rob," it referred to the pilfering of high grade
> "zinc" (jack) in the zinc mines of southwest Missouri. At least some miners
> would slip a bit of it into their pockets or boots when they left work for
> the day and were known as "highjackers."  The term then spread to the hobo
> jungles, where it meant "someone who robbed from a fellow hobo while he's
> asleep." (This was a major offense in the jungles).
>
> The term then spread to the oil fields, where it referred to a hold-up.
>  Then (in Prohibition): to steal bootlegged liquor.
>
> I wrote an article on all this a while back, first in my Comments on
> Etymology and then in the Studies in Slang series I've been putting out.
>  Tomorrow I'll be back at my office and will send you the bibliographic
> reference.
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> ________________________________________
> Jonathan Lighter Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 9:53 AM wrote:
>
> See HDAS.
>
> To "hi(gh)jack" originally meant to rob, hence to take, at gunpoint.
>
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 10:49 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Hijack" / "Hijacking"
> >
> >
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> >
> > Do I see variations in meaning in these early instances, that perhaps
> > should be separated?  The OED has one definition, essentially "taking
> > something that is moving", and a catchall "transf."
> >
> > I see the following 4 variations:
> >
> > 1)  Taking something valuable illicitly.  (This example does not
> > involve goods on the move.)
> >
> >  From Fred:
> > >1918 _Miami District Daily News_ (Miami, Oklahoma) 19 May 4
> > >(America's Historical Newspapers)  Mulcting four soldiers of $35 by
> > >the Joplin authorities might be termed legalized "Hijacking."
> >
> > 2)  The main sense.
> >
> > At 2/11/2013 08:44 PM, Nathaniel Sharpe wrote:
> > >...
> > >Date: Wednesday, August 9, 1916  Paper: Tulsa World (Tulsa, OK)  Volume:
> > >XI  Issue: 280  Page: 1, Tells of Shooting Osage "High Jack"
> > >(GenealogyBank.com)
> > >According to a story told by R. W. Smith, an oil man of this city, there
> > >will be one less "high-jack" to contend with in the Osage hills for a
> > >time at least, as a result of his marksmanship, displayed in a pitched
> > >battle on the old ridge road late Sunday afternoon.
> > >Smith says he was showing some of his friends a lease near Keystone and
> > >was returning to Tula when he was confronted by a lone highwayman who
> > >commanded Smith and his party to "stick-em up."
> >
> > 3)  [I'm having difficulty coming up with a definition for the next;
> > it's not goods on the move nor physically forceful.]
> >
> >
> > >Date: Saturday, April 1, 1916  Paper: Tulsa World (Tulsa, OK)  Volume:
> > >XI  Issue: 169  Page: Four, The Man About Town (GenealogyBank.com)
> > >Knowing their immense wealth, pickpockets would immediately high-jack
> > >the whole crowd.
> >
> > 4)  Forceful takeover.
> >
> > An OED quotation:
> > >1970   Daily Tel. Mag. 16 Jan. 17/2   When a virus enters a cell it
> > >hijacks it, and makes it do what it wants.
> >
> > Joel
> >
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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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