[Ads-l] Origins of "Bulldyke" and Related Terms

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Green’s Dictionary of Slang lists the 1892 citation in brackets within
the entry for bull-dyke. Green points to the Daily Rev. of Decatur,
Illinois instead of the Daily Inter-Ocean located by Dave.

https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/x3tzlsa

On Wed, Mar 27, 2024 at 6:56 PM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> The Muscatine article is a reprint of a piece that appeared in Chicago's Daily Inter-Ocean the previous day. It was reprinted in a number of other papers as well.
>
> Harvey Neal shows up in two other Daily Inter-Ocean articles. One on 12 November 1892 when Hattie Washington stabbed him in the back with a small knife (Good for her, I say; he sounds like a delightful fellow). As in the earlier article, this one does not specify Neal's gender. But the second article, 29 May 1896, reporting on Neal's being arrested for another matter, clearly identifies him as a Black man. It is possible, I guess, that Neal could have been a trans-man, but I doubt 1890s newspaper editors were so enlightened as to take care not to misgender him.
>
> Unless "bulldyke" had some slang currency in the sense of an overly masculine person, I think that Neal's nickname is unrelated to the later use of "bulldyke."
>
>
> “A Negress Runs Amuck.” Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), 28 July 1892, 9. NewsBank: America’s Historical Newspapers.
>
> “Brief Mention.” Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), 12 November 1892, 7. NewsBank: America’s Historical Newspapers.
>
> “Celestial and Negro Quarrel.” Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), 26 May 1896, 8. NewsBank: America’s Historical Newspapers.
>
> [ https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/dyke ]( https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/dyke )

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