[Ads-l] Earliest True Acronym

[Jonathan Lighter]

The "Telegraphic" connection reminds of the time in 1994 when a former
telegraph operator assured me that he and others had idly and jocularly
used "SNAFU" in Morse shortly before WW2.

I've never been able to confirm this.

JL

On Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 7:59 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:

> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, December 2, 2010 2:32 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Earliest Acronym
>
> I apologize if someone else has already pointed this out, but Bill's
> second citation below is very significant in that it may establish the
> claim that SCOTUS is the earliest known acronym in the English language
> (although, depending on the precise definition of "acronym," there are some
> other abbreviations in the 1879 Phillips Telegraphic Code that may be tied
> with SCOTUS for this honor).
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Mullins, Bill AMRDEC [Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL]
> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 11:02 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Antedating SCOTUS (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
>
> Walter P. Phillips _The Phillips Telegraphic Code for the Rapid
> Transmission by Telegraph_ Wash, DC:  Gibson Brothers, 1879.
>
>
> p. 59 col 2:
> "Pot -- President of the."
>
> p. 65 col 2:
> "Scotus -- Supreme Court of the United States"
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
> > Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 9:27 AM
> > To: 'American Dialect Society'
> > Subject: Antedating SCOTUS (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >
> > Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> > Caveats: NONE
> >
> > _Milwaukee [WI] Sentinel_ 12/6/1891, p 10 col 1 [Gale 19th Cent
> newspapers]
> >
> > "For instance, the receiver's sounder will tick out the letters
> "scotus."
> > There is no meaning in this combination of letters, but the operator
> gets a
> > hustle upon himself as soon as he hears it and writes down, "the
> Supreme court
> > of the United states." "
> >
> > _Charlotte [NC] Observer_ 10/18/1892 p 1 col 4 [GenealogyBank]
> >
> > "The case then came to Scotus.  The case was argued last Tuesday."
> >
> >
> > >
> > > A slightly earlier cite is found at America's GenealogyBank.
> > > 14 April 1895, _Birmingham(AL) Age-Herald_ 21/3
> > >
> > > Talking about the United Press "code" in use for about seven years
> on the
> > > telegraph-to-newspaper circuit.
> > >
> > > "In addition the more frequent phrases are skeletonized to the limit
> of
> > > safety.  "Scotus" is "supreme court of the United States;" "potus,"
> > > "president of the United States;"
> > >
> > >
> > Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> > Caveats: NONE
> >
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
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>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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