[Ads-l] "sucker punch" 1910 etc.

[Stephen Goranson]

I was asked about "sucker punch." No special knowledge here, but a few notes.
OED has it from 1947. Green's from 1917.
In boxing, a (defensively) high-risk but potentially (offensively) high-payoff lead with a right. Outside of boxing (later? figurative), a sudden, unwarned attack. If it "works," the punchee, a sucker; if not, the puncher.

Aug. 7, 1910 Duluth News-Tribune p. 4 col. 1-2 [AHN]
....McFarland has excused himself for his showing in that battle because he said he did [/] not think a boxer of Bronson's ability would resort to such a "sucker" punch. The result of the bout showed who was the sucker.

Dec. 9, 1919 Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia) p. 19 col. 6 [N.com]
Benjamin crossed his right, a short punch, less than six inches, as he and Murphy stepped back from the breakaway. Many of the spectators did not see the blow that laid the West Philadelphian low. It was a 'sucker punch" as Nick Hayes would have it.
[Nick Hayes, the early collocation adopter, was, maybe, a former boxer turned manager and eventually promoter and referee...as they say, out of Philadelphia.]

Jan. 31, 1926 Greensboro Record (NC)  p. 20 col. 6 [AHN]
Then, with less warning than a swooping hawk, the Frenchman unleashed a swinging right hand. It was what is known in the argot of the ring as a "sucker punch."

Feb. 20, 1936 The Advertiser (Adelaide, Aus.) p. 9, col. 4
Charley came around, trying to get me to lead a right hand to the body next time I boxed Corbett. That's a sucker punch you know--nobody would try it against a fast man.
[For more context:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/74154311?searchTerm=%22sucker%20punch%22&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc

Stephen Goranson
http://people.duke.edu/~goranson/
Stephen Goranson's Home Page - Duke University<http://people.duke.edu/~goranson/>
Stephen Goranson. goranson "at" duke "dot" edu. Jannaeus.pdf. My paper on the history of Alexander Jannaeus as the Qumran- and Essene-view "Wicked Priest" and Judah the Essene as the "Teacher of Righteousness" (3 August 2005 [revised 12 January 2006]; 34 pages), "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene ". Dura-Europos.pdf "7 vs. 8: The Battle Over the Holy Day at Dura-Europos"
people.duke.edu



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