[Ads-l] antedating of to "gaslight."

[Jonathan Lighter]

1953 _I Married Joan_ (CBS TV)  (Season 1, Episode 19 "Draft Board"):
"Here's the plan. We'll gaslight 'em!" "Gaslight? What do you mean?" "Well,
you saw that picture _Gaslight_, remember? Where they made the woman think
she was crazy, and she really wasn't?"

According to Wikipedia, the episode first aired on February 18, 1953.

As best I can see from the print shown on the Film Detective stream, it
appears to have a copyright date of "MCMLII," though "MCMLIII" is certainly
possible.

You can see the pertinent part of the episode on YouTube beginning at about
1:00.

Persons of a certain age may recall that star Joan Davis (the one with the
plan) was very much the comedic equal of Lucille Ball.

Odds are my mother picked up the word from this show.

JL
-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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