c-note (UNCLASSIFIED)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Bill Mullins wote,
>
> _Springfield Republican_ 8/2/1929 p 29 col 1 (story by Damon Runyon)
>
> "My  operatives inform me that a commission has been receive in this
> town from Mr. Al Well, matchmaker of the Queensboro arena, in New York,
> who is betting $100 against
> $266, and taking Canzoneri for his.  Moreover, Mr. Well, more familiarly
> known as Weskit, has laid his "C" note right on the old line."

Excellent! Bill, thank you for locating this instance of c-note in a
Damon Runyon story of 1929. Garson


>> --------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: c-note
>>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --------
>>
>>  Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>> >
>> > In Wiktionary (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/c-note) and in a
>> citation
>> > = in the OED under "benji," but no entry in the OED.=20
>> >
>> > http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/javale-mcgee-100-
>> homel
>> > ess-= man-video-sleeping-street-161840470.html
>> >
>> > On one hand, I think it's cool that JaVale's response to coming
>> across
>> > = someone who could surely use a C-note more than he could is to
> peel
>> > one = off.
>>
>> JL's Historical Dictionary of American Slang has an entry for "C note"
>> with a cite in 1930. Below is evidence for a cite in 1929. I think the
>> OED has been incorporating some material from HDAS over time.
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>>
>> C-note n. [C + NOTE] Gamb. a one-hundred-dollar bill.
>>
>> 1930 Liberty (Oct. 11) 30: We gave him five C notes and two tens.
>>
>> 1954 Schulberg Waterfront 8. He was always good for fifties and
> C-notes
>> peeled off the fat roll.
>>
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> I think there is an instance of "C note" in 1929 in a Damon Runyon
>> short story. Runyon used the term repeatedly in his tales. The excerpt
>> below is from a short story in a collection at Project Gutenberg
>> Australia. The bibliographic data is from an entry in Oxford
> Dictionary
>> of Humorous Quotations This story is part of a group that inspired the
>> Frank Loesser musical "Guys and Dolls".
.. text truncated

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