[Ads-l] Zilch

[Laurence Horn]

> On Feb 9, 2016, at 5:05 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Excellent citation, Bill. O. O. McIntyre also helped popularize
> "Minnie Zilch" with his widely-syndicated column, apparently. Here is
> a column in 1927 from O. O. McIntyre stating that the character name
> "Joe Zilch" was used as a convention on Broadway.

Hmmm.  I'm not sure I trust friend McIntyre overmuch; he's been known to etymythologize.  A short piece by "S.K.S." in the 1929 volume of American Speech notes,

In the words of the New York columnist O. O. McIntyre, “In years
agone, the southern matron often remarked a new born babe was ‘the
spirit and image’ of his father or mother, as the evidence offered. The best
the old southern mammy could do with the phrase was ‘the spittin’ image’”

LH
> 
> Date: September 10, 1927
> Newspaper: Charleston Gazette
> Newspaper Location: Charleston, West Virginia
> Column: New York Day by Day
> Columnist: O. O. McIntyre (McNaught syndicate)
> Quote Page 4, Column 3
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Broadway has two mythical characters--Joe Zilch and Joe Doakes. They
> are blamed for many things and accredited with great wonders. Then
> there is George Spelvin. the program name used by an actor for one of
> two roles he portrays.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Michael Quinion's article suggested a link to college slang.
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> This name may have come from college slang of the 1920s, in which Joe
> Zilsch was the archetypal average student. . .
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Garson
> 
> 
> On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 1:43 PM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US)
> <william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill CIV (US)" <william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL>
>> Subject:      Re: Zilch
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Slightly earlier for "Joe Zilch"
>> 
>> Mt Carmel PA _Daily News_ 16 Jun 1925 p 2 col 3 (from O. O. McIntyre syndic=
>> ated column "New York Day by Day") (Newspapers.com)
>> "Frank Tinney used to have a comedy name which brought many chortles.  He u=
>> sed it as a peg upon which to hang an occasional wheeze.  It was Joe Zilch.=
>>  This was real -- the name of a husband of a girl in the show.  She recent=
>> ly divorced him and said among other things she was tired of the comedy nam=
>> e."
>> 
>> _Variety_ 10/7/1925 p 9 col 3
>> "We have been an ardent Vreeland fan ever since he first started his theatr=
>> ical comment column in the "Herald," yet if we met him on the street we wou=
>> ldn't know him from Joe Zilch."=
>> 
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