Thirteen and the odd

[Douglas G. Wilson]

On 11/13/2013 6:01 AM, Michael Quinion wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Michael Quinion <wordseditor at WORLDWIDEWORDS.ORG>
> Organization: World Wide Words
> Subject:      Thirteen and the odd
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Can anyone help with the early history of this American expression?
>
> A reader found it in a story by Damon Runyon, Melancholy Dane, of 1944.
> Runyon describes people waiting to enter a theatre as being dressed "in
> the old thirteen and odd."
>
> The first instance I've so far found was in the Cincinnati Enquirer in
> November 1908 and the last - apart from Runyon's - was in a short story by
> George Ade, The Fable of Mr. Whipple's Dress Suit, syndicated in
> newspapers in 1933.
>
> Early examples make clear that the thirteen and the odd was formal evening
> wear of white tie and tails, specifically not the Wodehousian soup and
> fish, which was black tie or tuxedo.
>
> I have found nothing that indicates where it comes from.
--

I failed to explain this one myself a few years ago:

http://tinyurl.com/ls2zzdw

... and I'm sad to say I don't have anything useful to add now.

But some of the savants have bigger and better databases and other
resources.

Popik mentions this in passing (apparently equivalent to "soup-and-fish"
in at least one instance):

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/soup_and_fish_a_dinner_suit

-- Doug Wilson

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