[Ads-l] "Pay It Forward" Not in OED

Thu Dec 26 05:55:55 UTC 2024

Interesting topic, Fred. The phrase "paying it forward" with the
pertinent sense appeared in the religious periodical "Unity" within an
article discussing the death of conductor Theodore Thomas who was the
founder and first music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
(according to Wikipedia).

[ref] 1905 January 12, Unity, Volume 54, Number 20, (Untitled piece
about conductor Theodore Thomas), Quote Page 307 and 308, Unity
Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois. (Google Books Full View) link
[/ref]

https://books.google.com/books?id=q3FJAQAAMAAJ&q=%22paying+it%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
We cannot see how it could have been
otherwise as a private venture, but Theodore Thomas
ought to have been a public investment, a municipal
contribution to the public life of the city. Let those
who have been taught by the great band-master the
elevating power of a great orchestra justify their great
endowment, show their appreciation, acknowledge their
debt by paying it forward, as all high debts must be
paid. Great music should be made as cheap as good
air and pure water in a city as great as Chicago.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Dec 25, 2024 at 8:55 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> The common phrase "pay it forward" does not appear to be in OED.  According to Wikipedia, it appears in the books Lily Hardy Hammond, In the Garden of Delight (1916) and Robert Heinlein, Between Planets (1951).
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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