[Ads-l] Slight But Important Antedating of Term "Oscar"

[Stephen Goranson]

For conversation('s) sake, without much research, I'll say that I find the three stories about a putatively associated individual named Oscar not (yet) persuasive (e.g., no "Uncle" citations). What about the then-current U. S. generic term for a guy (wherever that may have come from)? OED Oscar, n. 2 has a 1929 "dumb Oscar." Green's Slang has a 1928 "dumb Oscar." Actors may have affected indifference whether they won that thing. Or, then, the Talkies were just coming in.... Anyway, more examples of generic Oscar might could help.


Stephen Goranson

Ben Zimmer:
"...but if this new evidence suggests Skolsky wasn't in fact the originator,
then I don't know where that leaves us."

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