[Ads-l] Gitmo (1945)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Undoubtedly rather older.  "Gtmo" had been a usual abbreviation for many
years.

1919 _Salubridad y Asistencia Social_ XXI 221 [Google Books]: Gtmo. Sugar
Co.  1920  _A List, with Brief Records, of the Alumni and Students of
Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia, who Served in the World War_ (Richmond,
Va.: pvtly. ptd.) 54:  WHALEY, John Hughes (Ex. '18) : ... overseas 6
months 7th Regiment, U. S. Marines, Cuba; 14 months Naval Dispensary, Gtmo.
Bay, Cuba; 4 months U. S. S. Arkansas; promoted ph. m-1; discharged
Receiving Ship, Washington, D. C, Aug. 5, 1919.  1933 _The Daily Gleaner_
(Kingston, Jamaica) (June 10) 2: IN MEMORIAM In loving memory of my beloved
husband, Richard E. Johnston, who fell asleep in the Arms of Jesus on the
10th June, 1931 at Gtmo, Cuba.  1945 _Troy_ (N.Y.)_ Record _ (Apr. 12) 20:
Having volunteered for foreign duty, she was sent to the GTMO Naval Base in
Cuba at the end of her basic training [in 1943].

JL

On Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 12:04 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Bill Mullins previously shared two cites for "Gitmo" as shorthand for
> "Guantanamo Bay" from 1947.
>
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-November/055506.html
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-February/096311.html
>
> Here it is a couple of years earlier.
>
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109793395/gitmo/
> Boston Globe, Aug. 6, 1945, p. 5, col. 2
> Martin Sheridan, "School in Jap Warfare Is Run at Guantanamo"
> And during that month everyone must familiarize himself with every detail,
> because once the ship shoves off for "Gitmo" she must undergo a gruelling
> final examination.
> ---
>
> --bgz
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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