[Ads-l] mulligan (golf)--warning: speculative

Mon Jun 7 14:10:19 UTC 2021

I consider it plausible

As for semantic drift, if I remember correctly (I'm away from home and unable or unwilling at the moment to check my notes closely), my first impetus to look at "Mulligan" was when someone on this list found an early example (I think 1921 or so?) from cricket, in which a hard-hit ball (or should I say "bowl") was apparently called a "mulligan."

Also, I recall several of the early golfing  mulligan references involving baseball players on the course, which made it seem even more plausible to me.

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of dave at wilton.net <dave at WILTON.NET>
Sent: Monday, June 7, 2021 6:04:53 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: mulligan (golf)--warning: speculative

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       "dave at wilton.net" <dave at WILTON.NET>
Subject:      Re: mulligan (golf)--warning: speculative
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=0AI see it very much as a slam dunk. It's a classic case of semantic drift=
. If you follow the progression of citations it goes from a big swing in ba=
seball to a big drive in golf to a second chance to make a "mulligan" (i.e.=
, big drive) in golf to a do-over in golf.=0A =0ASupporting that is the fig=
ure of the fictional "Swat Milligan/Mulligan," who is all but forgotten tod=
ay, but was well known to sportswriters and their readers in the opening de=
cades of the 20th century. So, the idea of Mulligan hitting a long ball was=
 very present in the minds of sportswriters and their readers when writing =
about golf.=0A =0A =0A-----Original Message-----=0AFrom: "Shapiro, Fred" <f=
red.shapiro at YALE.EDU>=0ASent: Monday, June 7, 2021 8:05am=0ATo: ADS-L at LISTS=
ERV.UGA.EDU=0ASubject: Re: [ADS-L] mulligan (golf)--warning: speculative=0A=
=0A=0A=0AI agree with Stephen that Peter=E2=80=99s website and his research=
 are truly outstanding. But I also agree with Stephen=E2=80=99s implication=
 that a connection between a big swat and a do-over is very implausible, on=
 semantic grounds.=0A=0AFred Shapiro=0A=0A=0AFrom: American Dialect Society=
 <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>=
=0ASent: Monday, June 7, 2021 6:49 AM=0ATo: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at L=
ISTSERV.UGA.EDU>=0ASubject: Re: mulligan (golf)--warning: speculative=0A=0A=
Peter's website is indeed quite impressive.=0ABut the leap from a fictional=
 baseball slugger to a flubbed golf swing sub rosa re-do may not be a slam =
dunk.=0A=0ASG=0A________________________________=0AFrom: American Dialect S=
ociety <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of dave at wilton.net <dave at WILTON.N=
ET>=0ASent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 11:24 AM=0ATo: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS=
-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>=0ASubject: Re: mulligan (golf)--warning: speculative=
=0A=0A=0APeter Reitan pretty definitively found the origin of "mulligan" a =
few years back. [ https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=3Dhtt=
ps%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fesnpc.blogspot.com%2F2017%=
2F05%2Fhey-mulligan-man-second-shot-at-history.html__%3B!!OToaGQ!7cBOFxHYQp=
720c_jmUw3dO-x9NC5nzSXHWl-iBzzslHriok2z55N7eSptvnyAkVV%24&data=3D04%7C01%7C=
fred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C77e9fe7f00914085e12d08d929a1ee9a%7Cdd8cbebb21394d=
f8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C1%7C637586597739555308%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJ=
WIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0&sdata=
=3D7kBiy5qj%2F4%2FP7bAsbjy1CokOb8Hi3Hb%2B%2BNbFV1yh6ec%3D&reserved=3D0 ]( h=
ttps://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Furldefen=
se.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fesnpc.blogspot.com%2F2017%2F05%2Fhey-mulligan=
-man-second-shot-at-history.html__%3B!!OToaGQ!7cBOFxHYQp720c_jmUw3dO-x9NC5n=
zSXHWl-iBzzslHriok2z55N7eSptvnyAkVV%24&data=3D04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale=
.edu%7C77e9fe7f00914085e12d08d929a1ee9a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%=
7C0%7C1%7C637586597739555308%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLC=
JQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0&sdata=3D7kBiy5qj%2F4%2FP7b=
Asbjy1CokOb8Hi3Hb%2B%2BNbFV1yh6ec%3D&reserved=3D0 )=0A=0AAll the stories ab=
out golfers giving their names to it are false. It actually arose in baseba=
ll sports writing.=0A=0AMy own write up, which cribs heavily from him: [ ht=
tps://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Furldefens=
e.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wordorigins.org%2Fbig-list-entries%2Fmulli=
gan__%3B!!OToaGQ!7cBOFxHYQp720c_jmUw3dO-x9NC5nzSXHWl-iBzzslHriok2z55N7eSptu=
wC2uFU%24&data=3D04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C77e9fe7f00914085e12d08=
d929a1ee9a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C1%7C637586597739555308%=
7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWw=
iLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0&sdata=3D9f8KrhdzFFlZLZ%2BdNSD74EGHY9xeu%2BZXfIyjF1imgrs=
%3D&reserved=3D0 ]( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=3Dh=
ttps%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wordorigins.org%2Fbi=
g-list-entries%2Fmulligan__%3B!!OToaGQ!7cBOFxHYQp720c_jmUw3dO-x9NC5nzSXHWl-=
iBzzslHriok2z55N7eSptuwC2uFU%24&data=3D04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C=
77e9fe7f00914085e12d08d929a1ee9a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C1=
%7C637586597739555308%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV=
2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0&sdata=3D9f8KrhdzFFlZLZ%2BdNSD74EG=
HY9xeu%2BZXfIyjF1imgrs%3D&reserved=3D0 )=0A=0A=0A-----Original Message-----=
=0AFrom: "Stephen Goranson" <goranson at DUKE.EDU>=0ASent: Sunday, June 6, 202=
1 9:43am=0ATo: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU=0ASubject: [ADS-L] mulligan (golf)--w=
arning: speculative=0A=0A=0A=0A(warning; speculative)=0AWhich golfer Mullig=
an (if any) putatively gave the name to take a mulligan, a re-do swing, is =
disputed.=0A(First, never mind the old ballad Finnegan=E2=80=99s Wake, publ=
ished in 1864.)=0AAn additional (post-Honeymooners) addressing the ball.=0A=
Mull it over, again=E2=80=A6=0A=0AStephen Goranson=0A=0A=0A----------------=
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