[Ads-l] Antedating "hat trick" (three wickets in cricket)

[Stanton McCandlish]

On Fri, Aug 23, 2024 at 4:11 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> If you Google "Extended Oxford English Dictionary" (in quotes) you get a
number of media citations to it. Most are in reference to "hat trick," but
there are ones for other terms as well.

There's a possibility of Wikipedia "citogenesis" here.  Even though most
newswriters would not try to rely on WP itself as a source, some might rely
on and regurgitate citations it provides. Even if they took the time to
track down the source and verify the content in it, one might copy-paste
WP's citation data as a typing time saver and not notice that the title
wasn't quite right. News (and related media) publishers frequently
cannibalize from each other, so the somewhat faulty citation could spread
easily.

To rely a little on Pickyweedia again, I think we can likely identify the
electronic publication in question:

"*Electronic versions*: Once the dictionary was digitized and online, it
was also available to be published on CD-ROM. The text of the first edition
was made available in 1987. Afterward, three versions of the second edition
were issued. Version 1 (1992) was identical in content to the printed
second edition, and the CD itself was not copy-protected. Version 2 (1999)
included the *Oxford English Dictionary Additions* of 1993 and 1997. These
CD-ROM editions are for Microsoft Windows only. Version 3.0 was released in
2002 with additional words from the [ongoing third edition project] and
software improvements. Version 3.1.1 (2007) added support for hard disk
installation, so that the user does not have to insert the CD to use the
dictionary. It has been reported that this version will work on operating
systems other than Windows, using emulation programs. Version 4.0 of the CD
has been available since June 2009 and works with Windows (7 or later) and
Mac OS X (10.4 or later). This version uses the CD drive for installation,
running only from the hard drive."

So, what's probably wanted for this is (in theory) the v2 CD-ROM of 1999.
It's possible I have an archive of this on my NAS, but I'm halfway through
a cross-town move and don't have access to that right now.  I say "in
theory" because I would think that the later versions include this
material, too; perhaps also the subscription-only 3rd ed. website version
does.

If one wanted any/all of the CD-ROM originals, they turn up on eBay pretty
often. But for high (even inflated) prices. E.g., I see a v4 listing for
US$450, and several for more than double that (none for v2).

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