[Ads-l] Slight Antedating of "Drag" (Cross-Dressing)

[Shapiro, Fred]

A similar usage is in the London Evening Standard, 21 May 1870, p. 5.

Fred Shapiro

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, August 14, 2023 4:07 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Slight Antedating of "Drag" (Cross-Dressing)

drag, n. (OED, 3.g., 1870 [29 May])

1870 _Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper_ 22 May 7/3 (Newspapers.com)  Cross-examined by Mr. Besley: ... he said that he would have some fancy dress affair, and that they would come in "drag," which is the slang term for women's clothes.

Fred Shapiro

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