[Ads-l] cliffhanger (UNCLASSIFIED)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Joel wrote:
> Also, as Jon suggested, I did not find the word "cliffhanger" earlier
> than the OED's 1937.

Fred shared an earlier citation for "cliff hangers" with list members
back in Jun 2014:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2014-June/133157.html

[Begin excerpt]
1931 _Variety_ 14 Jan. 22 (Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive)  U
Will Glorify Cliff Hangers in 4 Serials -- Maybe 6 ... Glorifying the
firemen and the brave lads of circuses and plains in its current
serials, Universal will continue its Ziegfieldian activities next
year. ... Henry McRae, in charge of the cliff hangers, is searching
for story material.
[End excerpt]

I found matches in the Variety database for related terms that
occurred a bit earlier. Follow the link to see more contextual
details. These matches should be verified by examining the scanned
pages before being used in publications. I have not seen the scanned
pages.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2014-March/131546.html

{Begin excerpt]
"cliff-hanging heroines" Sept 3 1930
"when cliff hanging was an art" Nov 15, 1930
[End excerpt]

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