[Ads-l] odd duck

[sclements at NEO.RR.COM]

Using Newspapers.com, found it as early as 1875 in the Chicago Trib.  

Sam Clements
---- Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM> wrote: 
> My first thought is the Hans Christian Andersen story, The Ugly Duckling.
> 
> There were several cartoon versions produced in the 30s with the baby swan
> being rejected by a mother duck and her ducklings.
> 
> DanG
> 
> On Fri, Aug 21, 2015 at 1:57 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      odd duck
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I was just asked via twitter about the etymology of the phrase "odd
> > duck". The Oxford English Diction has no matches for "odd duck" even
> > within quotations. Barry Popik does not cover the term. I do not see a
> > listing in JL's Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang.
> >
> > Perhaps a list member can help.
> >
> > Wikitionary has an entry with a first citation in 1936.
> > https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/odd_duck
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > odd duck =E2=80=8E(plural odd ducks)
> >
> > (idiomatic) An unusual person, especially an individual with an
> > idiosyncratic personality or peculiar behavioral characteristics.
> >
> > 1936 Dec. 11, Bill Lush, "Kelley Reveals Technique of Successful Pass
> > Play," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. 27 (retrieved 28 July 2010):
> >
> > This lad Kelley is an odd duck in many ways. . . . Unlike most college
> > youngsters, he has no hobbies.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
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> >
> 
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