Jane Austen and slang - article in UK newspaper

[Hugo]

> Perhaps there's confusion here between being first to use phrases in print, and coining them?

Yes, and also between being first to use phrases in print, and being the first to use phrases in print that dictionary compilers happen know about right now and have published. :)

(See my next mail for an Austen antedating.)

Hugo

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org