[Ads-l] "V.D." antedating

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent citation, JL. Here is a slight improvement.

V.D. was used as an abbreviation many times in the following report
which was published in 1916 based on evidence collected up to June 21,
1915.

Date: 1916
Title: Royal Commission On Venereal Diseases
Title Continued: Appendix To Final Report of The Commissioners
Title Continued: Minutes of Evidence 27th April 1914 to 21st June 1915
Publisher: Printed Under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office
Section: Digest of Evidence

https://books.google.com/books?id=Jsg9AQAAMAAJ&q=%22V.D.+%3D+Venereal%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt page 435]
Abbreviations
V.D. = Venereal Disease
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt page 436]
Much of the disease in rejections of recruits both
from V.D. and other causes, is due to superior
ability of recruiting sergeants in selecting men.
This will markedly affect V.D. returns, as also will
the improvement in the class of recruits.

Within the Army there is no concealment of V.D.;
men can be "crimed" for concealment. Each
case of V.D. has one "admission" at the start;
another only if active symptoms reappear.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, Apr 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Slightly earlier, perhaps:
>
> 1918 _Public Health Reports_ (May 24)  802: The V. D. campaign, as waged by
> the United States Public Health Service, by the ‘‘Section on combating
> V. D.” of the Surgeon General’s Office, United States Army, and by the “Law
> Enforcement Division, of the Commission on Training Camp Activities.”
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Aug 9, 2008 at 6:06 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > OED has 1920.
> >
> > *1918 *in George Walker *Venereal Disease in the American Expeditionary
> > Forces *(Baltimore: Medical Standard Book Co., 1922) 188: The list (b)
> > above is tabulated as follows: Expressed intention not to be exposed in
> > Paris, for following reasons: I. Feared v.d.: Won't take chance without
> > taking prophylaxis and won't take prophylaxis because it is painful or too
> > much trouble: Don't believe prophylaxis is effective and don't want v.d
> > ....15. *Ibid. *190: [O]ne private severely criticized one of his own
> > officers for giving them a lecture on prostitution and v.d. and then being
> > "half-stewed and loving up" a prostitute in a Paris cafe.
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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