[Ads-l] antedating -zilla, godzilla

Fri Jul 5 05:50:49 UTC 2024

Nice work, Bill. In 1973 a Californian newspaper published a picture
of a cat next to small models of buildings in San Francisco.

Date: June 7, 1973
Newspaper: The Independent
Newspaper Location: Richmond, California
Article: (Photo Caption)
Author:  I.G. Photo
Quote Page 2, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1034679129/

[Begin excerpt]
'CATZILLA' EYES SAN FRANCISCO FERRY BUILDING FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, Jul 4, 2024 at 11:28 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
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> -zilla  – denoting a monstrous or giant example (in size, behavior, or other qualities)
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> [1955 Hawaii Tribune-Herald 20 Nov 5/3
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> Godzilla is a Japanese version of the prehistoric monster theme.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/556515405/?terms=godzilla&match=1  ]
> [antedates OED godzilla, which has 1956]
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> 1976 Akron Beacon Journal 16 Jul 12/1
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> Dogzilla lives!
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/159198828/?match=1&terms=%22dogzilla%20lives%22
> [antedates OED, which has Dec 1976]
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> 1986 Memphis Commercial Appeal 16 May D11/4
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> He'll be basting & turning as Guest Chef in the Hogzilla Booth (No. 8).
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/767254854/?match=1&terms=hogzilla
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> 1989 Hot Rod July v42n7 3/2
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> CadZZooks!  It's the attack of the killer CadZZilla!
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> [image seen on ebay listing]
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> 1993 Tacoma News Tribune 11 Jul B1/s
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> "Cowzilla" was one of the winning entries in an oddball flotilla that bobbed, listed, broke up and sank before 25,000 spectators Saturday at Seattle's Green lake in the 17th annual Milk Carton Derby.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/738853555/
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> 1995 Boston Globe 29 Jun /1
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> She also cautions brides-to-be about turning into Bridezilla, the name wedding consultants bestow on brides who are particularly difficult and obnoxious.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/441110483/?terms=bridezilla&match=1
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> 1997 Radio Control Car Action Magazine May 32/1
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> David Furst of Sebastopol, CA, sent us photos of his DTZ Double Truck Zilla.
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> https://archive.org/details/Radio_Control_Car_Action_Magazine_1997-05/page/n9/mode/1up?q=%22truck+zilla%22
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> 1997 Salt Lake Tribune 19 Dec E3/4
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> Best of all are the mouse's confrontation with "Catzilla" inside a piano, and the exterminator's losing battle with the resourceful rodent.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/612634427/?terms=%22cat%20zilla%22&match=1
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> 1998 Fresno Bee 14 Aug A4/2
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> Curtis Sandage, 6, of Grand Junction, Iowa, sits on his giant boar Hogzilla after winning the Big Boar contest Thursday at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/708183071/?match=1&terms=hogzilla
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> 1999 Elk Point SD Leader Courier 7B/5
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> "RATZILLA" CONTEST IS NO JOKE!  A 14" rat is leading the pack.
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> [Fultonhistory.com]
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> 2003 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 19 Sep 1/3
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> In fact, the researchers from Germany, Venezuela and the United States who identified the creature have nicknamed it "Guinea-zilla" because it looks like a giant guinea pig.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/89800472/?match=1&terms=%22guinea%20zilla%22
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> 2014 Naples Daily News 28 Jun 6E/2
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> "Pot-zilla" is a self-contained holding truck that heats and carries 7,000 pounds of asphalt and works something like a Zamboni smoothing an ice rink.
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/805897330/?match=1&terms=%22pot%20zilla%22
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> 2023 Orlando Sentinel 21 Apr   A2/5
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> The launch system, though, is designed so that eventually, the Super Heavy booster would return to the 469-foot-tall launch integration tower often referred to as "Mechazilla", with a landing achieved with the aid of two pivoting metal arms called the "chopticks."
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> https://www.newspapers.com/image/952212955/?match=1&terms=mechazilla
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> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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