[Ads-l] antedating of "gung ho"

Sun Mar 24 20:53:39 UTC 2024

Thanks to Dave for this excellent discovery.

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of dave at wilton.net <dave at WILTON.NET>
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 4:25 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: antedating of "gung ho"

I found one from 19 November 1939 using a different transliteration:

Evans, Jessie Fant. “China’s Co-operatives Form a New Wall, Visitor Says.” Sunday Star (Washington, DC), 19 November 1939, C-10. NewsBank: America’s Historical Newspapers.

"A red blunted triangle inscribed with the white character 'Kung Ho,' meaning 'We Work Together,' is the insignia of these Chinese industrials. It appears upon the some 50 products they turn out."

Other early citations are at [ https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wordorigins.org%2Fbig-list-entries%2Fgung-ho&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ca1c24948799a4f37e0a008dc4c4092ca%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469087448270366%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=cY61gEYzsflXW%2BPAbh8pArME6eep7WBNCi3W8eTtdd8%3D&reserved=0<https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/gung-ho> ]( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wordorigins.org%2Fbig-list-entries%2Fgung-ho&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ca1c24948799a4f37e0a008dc4c4092ca%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469087448277525%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7WjJwT0n8Xi0p00XV3xRVNmDTnVRL48iO9cFZ9txtmU%3D&reserved=0<https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/gung-ho> )

-----Original Message-----
From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 3:37pm
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] antedating of "gung ho"

Nice, Fred.

Earlier than that, the same quote appeared in the _Glen Innes [NSW]
Examiner_ (Dec. 17, 1940), p. 8, with an indication that it was in print
"some months" before:

"Some months ago we ('The Primary Producer') were able to publish a short
series of articles received through the International Labor Office, which
is associated with the League of Nations in Geneva, outlining the plans
made for the national and industrial salvation of China in her struggle
with Japanese aggression through the co-operative organisation of the
industrial, and as much as possible of the social life of the Chinese
people."

Quotation marks around the rest of the article confirm it was a reprint.

JL

"

On Sun, Mar 24, 2024 at 1:50 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:

> "to so" in the citation below is a typo for "so to"
>
> Fred Shapiro
> ________________________________
> From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 1:48 PM
> To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: antedating of "gung ho"
>
> Here's a slightly earlier citation:
>
> 1940 _Cessnock_ (New SouthWales) _Eagle and South Mainland Recorder_ 24
> Dec/ 5/2 (Newspapers.com) "And to so the people of Australia we give our
> salute – Gung-Ho! 'Co-operate in work!'"
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 11:22 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: antedating of "gung ho"
>
> OED: Nov. 8, 1942
>
> 1941 _Evening Bulletin_ (Providence, R.I.) (Jan. 31) 21: There is a new
> battle cry being shouted in China today. It is Gung-ho and it means simply,
> "Work together." ...Gung-ho is the slogan of the Chinese Industrial
> Co-operatives.
>
> 1941 _Oakland Tribune_ (Sept. 19) 33 [ad]: GUNG HO (In Chinese, "Work
> Together") The Story of United China.
> ,
> 1941 _Evening Herald and Express_ (L.A.) (Sept. 5) 21: When Dan Arnstein of
> New York City went to China as President Roosevelt's man to speed traffic
> over the Burma Road, he learned a new phrase. "Gung Ho!" was the phrase,
> meaning "work together," and it's a slogan we need in America
> today....Britain and America still have much to learn about the power of
> "Gung Ho!"
>
> 1941 _Washington Post_ (Dec. 7) III 3: Mrs. Truman Potter will give a talk
> explaining Gung Ho. Gung Ho is Chinese for working together.
>
> The Jan. 31 cite is from a story that had appeared slightly earlier in
> _Survey Graphic_, not online.
>
> These instances show that Lt. Col. Evans Carlson wasn't alone in
> introducing the slogan into English, though doubtless it was popularized
> only by newspaper reports of the attack on Makin I. by his Second Marine
> Raider Battalion on Aug. 17-18, 1942. It was popularized further by the
> movie "Gung Ho!", released in Jan., 1944.
>
> NewspaperArchive finds some twenty occurrences of "Gung ho!" before August,
> 1942.
>
> JL
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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