"steal (someone's) thunder", 1858; OED 1900--

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Here is the distinctive phrase "steal my thunder" in 1747:

http://books.google.com/books?id=OscGAAAAQAAJ&q=%22my+thunder%22#v=snippet&

On Sat, Oct 5, 2013 at 12:27 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> Here is Fred's information in the Yale Books of Quotations:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> John Dennis
> English writer, 1657–1734
>
> [Upon hearing thunder sound effects invented by him used in a
> performance ofMacbeth,after his own play featuring the effects had
> closed following a short run at the same theater, 1709:] They will not
> have my play, yet steal my thunder. Quoted in A New and General
> Biographical Dictionary new ed. (1798). Alexander Pope, The Dunciad
> (note to book 2) (1729), quotes Dennis: ‘‘S’death! that is my
> thunder!’
> [End excerpt]
>
> On Sat, Oct 5, 2013 at 12:09 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>> Subject:      "steal (someone's) thunder", 1858; OED 1900--
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> " ... nothing strongly marked or ludicrous
>> escaped her. She would constantly tell me of
>> these things, and add: 'Now, I shall use that
>> some day; so don't steal my thunder.' "
>>
>> Godey's Lady's Book, vol. 56 (1858), p. 346, col.
>> 2.  By Alice B. [Neal] Haven, "Personal
>> Reminiscences of Miss Eliza Leslie."  GBooks, full view.
>>
>> Antedates OED2 "thunder, n." 3.d., 1900--.
>>
>> Since, as the etymology of the OED says, this is
>> "Derived from the utterance of John Dennis
>> (1657–1734)", one might expect to find something
>> between him and 1858.  I didn't in GBooks.
>>
>> Joel
>>
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