[Ads-l] Antedating of "Conspiracy Theory"

[Shapiro, Fred]

conspiracy theory (OED 1909)

1863 _New York Times_ 11 Jan. 3/6 (Newspapers.com)  Our masses, having only a rough general knowledge of foreign affairs ... do not appreciate the complications which render such a conspiracy impossible. They only look at the sudden right-about-face movement of the English Press and public, which is most readily accounted for on the conspiracy theory.

Fred Shapiro

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