cancer stick (1954)

Fri Mar 14 16:50:45 UTC 2014

Here is another 1954 cite in an AP article.

[ref] 1954 February 1, Greensboro Daily News, Dumper Up, Or Down,
Smoke Will Find Out,
Section 2, Quote Page 8, Greensboro, North Carolina. (GenealogyBank)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
DURHAM, Jan. 31 (AP)--This cigarette city reacts quickly but is hard
to frighten, The following dialogue Was overheard at a party here last
night.
"Have a cancer stick, dear," said the man.
"Thanks, I need to relax." said the woman.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:32 PM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: cancer stick (1954)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Note also that HDAS cites, in brackets, an Australian example of
> _consumption stick_ from 1919.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
>
> On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:27:41PM -0400, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>> This book review mentions that the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang
>> has "cancer stick" = 'cigarette' from 1959:
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/books/review/the-black-eyed-blonde-by-benjamin-black.html
>>
>> OED3 has it from 1958, and here it is from 1954:
>>
>> 1954 Alton Ochsner _Smoking and Cancer: A Doctor's Report_ 54 Even the
>> brash youth who throws his quarter on the cigarette counter and says,
>> "Give me a package of cancer sticks!" is likely to have private
>> qualms.
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=lQWaAAAAIAAJ
>>
>> --bgz
>>
>> --
>> Ben Zimmer
>> http://benzimmer.com/
>>
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>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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