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

[Jonathan Lighter]

As I read it, the 1899 "sucker punch" means a foolish one.

In  the later exx., the punch is aimed at the sucker; I believe in 1899 it
is thrown by thim.

JL

On Wed, Jul 24, 2019 at 9:13 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Here is an instance of "sucker punch" in 1899. The context is boxing,
> but I am not certain of the meaning. Perhaps you have already seen it.
>
> Date: June 12, 1899
> Newspaper: The Buffalo Review
> Newspaper Location: Buffalo, New York
> Article: "The King Is Dead, Long Live the King"
> Quote Page 1, Column 5
> Database: Newspapers.com
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/354436445/?terms=%22sucker%2Bpunch%22
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> At times one saw the influence of Daly in the use of the left at close
> quarters and the effective high block for which made Fitz's right look
> like a sucker punch. They say that a fighter forgets his pictured
> attitude when in the ring.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Wed, Jul 24, 2019 at 6:26 AM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > 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
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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>


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