[Ads-l] "dumpster diver" -- early, but is it an antedating?

[Baker, John]

This strip originally appeared in newspapers on November 30, 1985 (i.e., the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so in that respect matching the continuity of the reprint).  There was also a reference to the "Dumpster Divers" in the strip for the previous day, November 29, 1985.


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Joel Berson
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2015 11:43 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "dumpster diver" -- early, but is it an antedating?

"We're talking now with T-Bird Jones, who plays drums for the Dumpster Divers and who resides on a steam grate near the State Department."


1985, Gary Trudeau, "Doonesbury."  Reprinted 2015 Nov. 28, Boston Globe, page 12B col. 1.  De-capitalization is mine.



The earliest quotation in OED3 (June 2005) is 1985 Computer Decisions 7 May.


Month and day of the Trudeau quotation unknown to me.  I suspect the date of 11-28 in the bottom right corner of the first panel is the date of the reprint (today), not the date of the original publication.  I've asked the Doonesbury site, but maybe someone with greater access and ingenuity than I can uncover the month/day.

In any case, perhaps the quotation will have to be bracketed.

Joel

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