[Ads-l] Antedating of "scaredy cat"

[Steven Losie]

SCAREDY CAT
OED3 has 1933. GDoS has 1925.

[begin quote]
The little boys at school called her 'Little Fraid Girl,' and when they
wanted to tease her very much they called her 'Scaredy-cat.'
[end quote]
Source: Pine Bluff Daily Graphic (Pine Bluff, Ark.), 11 Oct 1904, p.3, col.1
Article title: Children's Department. Little Girl Who Was Afraid.
Author: L. Fitzgerald
Database: Newspapers.com

[begin quote]
"Coward, coward, scaredy-cat," said the crowd.
[end quote]
Source: Detroit Free Press, 29 Oct 1905, p.C2, col.3
Article title: Old Man Fogg's Hallowe'en.
Author: Edgar A. Guest
Database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers

[begin quote]
(ps) girlls is scaredy cats also.
[end quote]
Source: Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), 26 Jan 1907, p.5, col.5
Article title: Of Interest To Women / Johnny's Opinion Of Girls
Database: Newspapers.com

My searching also turned up this precursor from a few years earlier:

[begin quote]
The glass made a big noise and scared us kids and we run away, but a kid
said we were all 'scaredy calfs' and then we come back.
[end quote]
Source: Denver Evening Post, (Denver, Colorado), 2 Nov 1898, p.2, col.6
Article title: He Has a Kick
Database: Nineteenth Century Newspapers (Gale)

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