[Ads-l] Earliest Use of "Cook the Books"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Mark Mandel wrote:
> The word "by" appears to be missing here:
>
> ...was only to be discovered ^ the closest investigation...

Thanks for remarking on this, Mark. Yes, my transcription accidentally
omitted the word "by" which was present in the original page image.

The information in my posts sometimes contains errors, e.g., typos,
and omitted words. Please double-check the data in my posts before
using it. I usually specify the germane database. If you need to
examine a page scan, and you are unable to access the database, then
please let me know off list.

"To Err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine," said Alexander Pope. He wrote
"Humane" instead of "Human". You may wish to verify this yourself.

Garson

> On Mon, Feb 4, 2019, 1:29 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> > Good work, Ben and everyone. Here is an instance of the desired phrase
> > in 1850 from the British Newspaper Archive. The word cook is enclosed
> > in quotation marks.
> >
> > Date: 21 January 1850
> > Newspaper: The Globe
> > Newspaper Location: London, England
> > Article: The Latest News: The Aylesbury Savings Bank
> > Quote Page 3, Column 2
> > Database: British Newspaper Archive
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > The mode which Stratton adopted to mystify the accounts and to "cook"
> > the books of the bank, to deceive the trustees and managers, as well
> > as Mr. James, the Secretary, was of a character to disarm suspicion,
> > and was only to be discovered the closest investigation and the
> > strictest scrutiny.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org