[Ads-l] Word: pantser, seat-of-the-pants, seat-of-the-pantser

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent. Thanks for searching, Bill.
Garson

On Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 1:15 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> The article Garson cites below appears a few days earlier in the Washington Post:
>
> 1932 Washington Post Jun. 26 TG5/1
>
> They all learned to fly, however, by the "seat of the pants" method, as they describe flying by instinct, and are starting all over again to learn the new instrument flying.
>
> https://www.proquest.com/docview/150315738/fulltextPDF/DD1EF72310F44B4BPQ
>
>
>
> ----
>
>  The OED does have this entry:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> seat-of-the-pants, adj.
> Of a person: tending to act instinctively, spontaneously, or
> expediently. Of an activity: done on the basis of practical experience
> rather than technical knowledge; informal; inexact.
> [End excerpt]
>
> The OED's first citation for "seat-of-the-pants" is dated 1935. Here
> is a 1932 antedating.
>
> Date: July 3, 1932
> Newspaper: The Atlanta Constitution
> Newspaper Location: Atlanta, Georgia
> Article: Teaching the Pilot To Fly Blind
> Author: Hugh Sexton
> Section: Sunday Magazine
> Quote Page 4, Column 1
> Database: Newspapers.com
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> They all learned to fly, however, by the "seat of the pants" method,
> as they describe flying by instinct, and are starting all over again
> to learn the new instrument flying.
> [End excerpt]
>
> The phrase "seat-of-the-pantser" was in circulation by 1959 although
> the first spelling I encountered used a "z" instead of an "s". The
> domain was amateur driving at a sports car event:
>
> Date: October 28, 1959
> Newspaper: Oakland Tribune
> Newspaper Location:
> Article: Sports Car Events
> Quote Page 58D, Column 1 and 2
> Database: Newspapers.com
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Rally: 1: Buccaneer's Rally. For seniors, novices, Seat-of-the-Pantzers.
> [End excerpt]
>
> The first instance of "pantser" I located appeared in a 1994 book by
> entrepreneur Jim Schell. Schell created the word via truncation
> (although earlier instances may exist). He used the word in the
> business domain:
>
> [ref] 1994 (1993 Copyright), The Brass-Tacks Entrepreneur by Jim
> Schell, Chapter 1: Not Every Small Businessman Is an Entrepreneur,
> Quote Page 5 and 6, Henry Holt and Company, New York. (Verified with
> scans) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt from page 5]
> My favorite? Seat-of-the-pantser. The Gospel of Basic Business
> Strategies According to Matulef: no policy manuals, no precedents, no
> logical order. As in, straight from the seat of the pants. OK,
> seat-of-the-pantser is too long, with too many syllables. We'll
> shorten it to pantser.
> [End excerpt]
>
> [Begin excerpt from page 6]
> The pantser is an unsophisticated, entry-level small business owner
> and is not to be confused with the more sophisticated entrepreneur.
> The pantser's primary business motivations are survival and
> sustenance, the entrepreneur's creativity and growth.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson O'Toole
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - Caution-http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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