Uncle Sugar Rorschach

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Barry Popik has an entry for "Uncle Sugar" with a first citation in
1943 mentioning "Uncle Sugar Able" which corresponded to the acronym
USA in one of the military spelling alphabets.  JL listed this cite
from the Nevada State Journal in his valuable message. Barry contacted
me to share the data on his website, an extraordinarily helpful
resource that is sometimes overlooked.

Uncle Sugar - Entry from April 06, 2010
http://bit.ly/1aSNicE

Barry also has an entry for "Sugar Daddy" with a first citation in
1923. Perhaps the truncation of "Uncle Sugar Able" to "Uncle Sugar"
was influenced by the existing term "Sugar Daddy".

Sugar Daddy - Entry from June 04, 2006
http://bit.ly/1hX2is3



On Sat, Jan 25, 2014 at 11:54 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Uncle Sugar Rorschach
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm not sure how "Uncle Sugar" could be construed as "racist" except that
> sugar is very white and "Uncle Sugar" is handing out prescriptions to ...
> well, to whom?
>
>
> JL
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 25, 2014 at 11:18 AM, 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:      Re: Uncle Sugar Rorschach
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> At 1/25/2014 10:15 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> >Mike Huckabee has employed the phrase "Uncle Sugar" in a speech lambasting
>> >(wait for it) Democrats for "making [women]  believe that they are
>> helpless
>> >without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each
>> >month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their
>> >reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it...."
>> >...
>> >The point is that people were speculating about 1. what "Uncle Sugar"
>> might
>> >possibly mean, and 2. (wait for it) whether it's racist. or 3. (wait for
>> >it) sexist.
>> >
>> >Somebody ventured the opinion that it was a sexist reference to a "sugar
>> >daddy." Anchor Victor Blackwell said he'd thought Mike was comparing the
>> >federal government "to a pimp."
>>
>> Of course it was -- both of the above -- in Huckabee's intent.  He's
>> using it to add these negative associations to "(present) United
>> States government", and thus tar the Democrats.
>>
>>
>> >  Conservatives since McCarthy days have used "Uncle Sugar" derisively  to
>> >refer to liberal fiscal and welfare policies.
>> >
>> >That's because "sugar," in the '40s, was still a familiar synonym for
>> >"money." Get it? "Uncle Sugar." How clever!
>> >
>> >Anyway, Cain of CNN lamented Huckabee's use of "an obsolete slang term for
>> >the federal government" as the GOP is trying to "improve its brand."  Such
>> >usage, he said, "reeks of old man."
>>
>> And "libidinous old man".
>>
>> Also, I have not heard any commentator -- and I would expect feminist
>> commentators to -- ask why women's libidos need controlling but men's
>> do not.  Huckabee I can understand -- after all, to a fundamentalist
>> women's lust is what lures men into sin.
>>
>> Joel
>>
>>
>> >JL
>>
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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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