[Ads-l] gimmick 1910 (antedate?)

Tue Sep 29 17:08:45 UTC 2020

Nice work, Stephen and John. The article containing the phrase "I
twisted the gimmick" appeared a bit earlier in "The Richmond
Palladium" on February 16, 1908. The pertinent article was clipped by
a researcher back in 2017

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14920050/1908-feb-16-gimmick-as-gadget/

Garson

On Tue, Sep 29, 2020 at 12:11 PM Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com> wrote:
>
> The same piece previously appeared in the Boston Sunday Globe (Mar. 1, 1908) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers).  The OED has 1926 and Merriam-Webster has 1911, so this is an antedating.  The piece may also affect our understanding of the term's history.  The OED suggests that the earliest meaning is  a contrivance for dishonestly regulating a gambling game, or an article used in a conjuring trick, and M-W specifically supports the gambling contrivance theory.  However, this example implies that the more general meaning of a gadget or device may be earlier.
>
>
> John Baker
>
>
>
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Stephen Goranson
> Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2020 11:21 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: gimmick 1910 (antedate?)
>
> External Email - Think Before You Click
>
>
> "In a hotel at Muscatine, Iowa, the other day I twisted the gimmick attached to the radiator, with the intention of having some heat in my Nova Zemblan booth."
> Jan. 8, 1910 v.1 no. 2 p. 37 [GB]
> <https://books.google.com/books?id=PcEfAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA37&dq=%22the+gimmick%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR_4TF0Y7sAhWStVkKHXg2ApYQ6AEwA3oECAEQAg<https://books.google.com/books?id=PcEfAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA37&dq=%22the+gimmick%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR_4TF0Y7sAhWStVkKHXg2ApYQ6AEwA3oECAEQAg>>
> Domestic Engineering and the Journal of Mechanical Contracting
> https://www.google.com/books/edition/Domestic_Engineering_and_the_Journal_of/PcEfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nova+Zemblan+booth%22&pg=RA2-PA37&printsec=frontcover<https://www.google.com/books/edition/Domestic_Engineering_and_the_Journal_of/PcEfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nova+Zemblan+booth%22&pg=RA2-PA37&printsec=frontcover>
>
> SG
> [https://books.google.com/books/content?id=PcEfAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE73JoCgF9gXzKvIP7uFSZ-H-QzVQ4yC03IXnolQTwza934A_o8KQQHW1fr1TD_4NyJxxYBargxMupGip0A0YBz--EdalOY2YM2QMK6uUlOuMZR6Bwpj2w4TyHvAxT5NM7qzw9mNp<https://books.google.com/books/content?id=PcEfAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE73JoCgF9gXzKvIP7uFSZ-H-QzVQ4yC03IXnolQTwza934A_o8KQQHW1fr1TD_4NyJxxYBargxMupGip0A0YBz--EdalOY2YM2QMK6uUlOuMZR6Bwpj2w4TyHvAxT5NM7qzw9mNp>]<https://www.google.com/books/edition/Domestic_Engineering_and_the_Journal_of/PcEfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nova+Zemblan+booth%22&pg=RA2-PA37&printsec=frontcover<https://www.google.com/books/edition/Domestic_Engineering_and_the_Journal_of/PcEfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nova+Zemblan+booth%22&pg=RA2-PA37&printsec=frontcover>>
> Domestic Engineering and the Journal of Mechanical Contracting<https://www.google.com/books/edition/Domestic_Engineering_and_the_Journal_of/PcEfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nova+Zemblan+booth%22&pg=RA2-PA37&printsec=frontcover<https://www.google.com/books/edition/Domestic_Engineering_and_the_Journal_of/PcEfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nova+Zemblan+booth%22&pg=RA2-PA37&printsec=frontcover>>
> /
> www.google.com<http://www.google.com>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org<http://www.americandialect.org>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org