[Ads-l] Antedating of "Zoot Suit"

[John Baker]

The New York Times article indicates that the suit in 1940 was known as the “killer diller,” so it appears to be evidence only for the history of the suit itself, not the term “zoot suit.”

John Baker


> On Apr 29, 2025, at 8:06 PM, mr_peter_morris at outlook.com wrote:
> 
> 
> https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/269941/does-anyone-happen-to-know-more-about-the-word-zoot-and-this-use-of-speech-cal
> 
> American Notes & Queries, volume 3 (July 1943)
> 
> "Another white haberdasher in Harlem, Charlie Kelly, has a variety of 
> documents to back up his claim that he sold the first complete zoot suit 
> in 1937. The New York Times evidence (June 11, 1943, p. 21) carries the 
> zoot suit back to only February, 1940, "at Frierson-McEver's in 
> Gainsville, Ga."
> 
> Worth checking the NYT article.
> 
> I wonder  if Charlie's alleged documents can be found today.
> 
> 
> 
> ------ Original Message ------
> From "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Date 29/04/2025 20:50:23
> Subject Antedating of "Zoot Suit"
> 
>> zoot suit (OED 1942)
>> 
>> 1941 Los Angeles Evening Citizen News 5 Aug. 6/7 (Newspapers.com)
>> 
>> Pot, Pan and Skillet ... have rapidly become comedy favorites by virtue of their performances in "Jump for Joy," the all-Negro musical revue which stars Duke Ellington .... highlighted by a side-splitting performance in "Made to Order," a tailor-shop sketch ... in which Pot orders a "zoot suit with a reet pleet."
>> 
>> Fred Shapiro
>> 
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>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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