Slang a la the NYT

[Joel S. Berson]

I didn't waste much time, but ...

I don't know whether the Dude of The Big Lebowski 
fits either of the first two senses of "dude" in 
the OED, but both do predate Lebowski by over 100 years (both 1883 vs. 1998).

If "the Dude" is merely "More generally, any man 
who catches the attention in some way; a fellow 
or chap, a guy. Hence also approvingly, esp. 
(through Black English) applied to a member of 
one's own circle or group." (draft additions 
1993), then the predating is merely 80 years (1918).

Joel

At 10/5/2014 03:52 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:

>[T]he word “dude” predates the Dude of 
>“The Big Lebowski” fame by over 100
>years.
>
>http://goo.gl/sq2KHJ
>
>It does?! For real?!!!
>
>Lest anyone waste his running it down to me, no, I'm not serious. I'm
>annoyed that someone can simply pull bullshit out his ass and get it
>published in the NYT, even when it has nothing to do with politics.
>
>Youneverknow.
>
>--
>-Wilson
>-----
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-Mark Twain
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org