[Ads-l] Early (?) infixing

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Nice discussion thread. Excellent citation, Ben.
Here is "inde-blooming-pendent" spoken in London in 1886.

Date: November 6, 1886
Newspaper:  The Sporting Times
Newspaper Location: London, England
Section: Sporting Notes
Quote Page 1, Column 3
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
Coins were slowly and reluctantly disgorged.
“This is not all,” said William. “Fetch out the rest. To have plenty
with one makes you feel more "inde-blooming-pendent."
“No,” responded the spouse.  “Economy is the thing, and the rest I save.”
[End excerpt]

Here is a nineteenth century instance of "inde-blooming-pendence".

Date: June 11, 1892
Newspaper: Sporting Times
Newspaper Location: London, England
Article: Killing A Holiday
Author: Shifter
Quote Page 6, Column 1
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
I mayn't like cold pork for supper, but if Lubbock and Co. come along
and say, "You mustn't have cold pork for supper," the impulse at once
is to say, "What the blue blazes is it to do with you?" And have my
frigid pig accordingly to show my inde—blooming—pendence.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 2:59 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Here's "inde-bloody-pendent" from 1901:
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113892403/american-slang-abroad/
> Burlington (Vt.) Free Press, Aug. 17, 1901, p. 7, col. 6, "American Slang
> Abroad"
> When they [the British] do try for the striking they are frequently
> labored. One man told another he was "too inde-bloody-pendent."
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 2:11 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > The following antedates the 1909 citation in the OED entry for
> > expletive infixed instances of 'absolutely' which I posted previously.
> >
> > Date: March 24, 1906
> > Periodical: Notes and Queries
> > Topic: Portmanteau Words and Phrases
> > Correspondent: Chas. A Bernau
> >
> >
> > https://books.google.com/books?id=aGYEAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Abso-blooming%22#v=snippet&
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > "Abso-(blooming)-lutely" is atrocious, but worth recording on account
> > of its ugliness.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 1:22 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
> > <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Interesting topic, Ben.
> > > The Oxford English Dictionary has pertinent information within the
> > > entry about 'absolutely'.
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > absolutely, adv. and int.
> > > B. int. colloquial.
> > > 2. With an expletive infixed for humorous emphasis, as
> > > abso-blessed-lutely, abso-bloody-lutely, abso-blooming-lutely, etc.
> > > 1909   R. E. Beach Silver Horde xi. 147   'Did you rustle this money
> > > without any help?' he demanded. 'Abso-blooming-lutely!'
> > > 1912   A. M. N. Lyons Clara xxiv. 265   His Information was
> > > abso-blessed-lutely good and all the very latest; right Up-to-Date.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > Garson
> > >
> > > On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 10:54 AM Ben Yagoda <byagoda at udel.edu> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > From Walt McDougall, “Old Days on the World,” American Mercury,
> > January 1925. McDougall, an illustrator, is writing about his time on The
> > World in the 1880s and ‘90s.
> > > >
> > > >  “[Joseph] Pulitzer and [John A.] Cockerill were the most profane men
> > I have ever encountered. I learned much from them, for their joint
> > vocabulary was extensive and in some respects unique. When J. P. was
> > dictating an editorial upon some pet topic, such as Collis P. Huntington's
> > ill-gotten wealth, Jay Gould's infamous railroad wrecking or Cyrus Field's
> > income, his speech was so interlarded with sulphurous and searing phrases
> > that the whole staff shuddered. He was the first man I ever heard who split
> > a word to insert an oath. He did it often, and his favorite was
> > ‘indegoddamnpendent.’”
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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