[Ads-l] Antedating of "Blue Note"

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Yellow," of course, has long meant 'afraid; cowardly.'  This, however, is
a narrowing of an earlier nuance, 'having a despicable character or nature.'

Hence both "'yellow' clarinet" and "yellow journalism."  (The letter phrase
antedates the first appearance of the "Yellow Kid.")

1889 _Times-Picayune_ (N.O.) (Aug. 21) 3:  In fact, it is better to hiss
[the umpire] than to hurl at him...such expressions as: "Say, cully, you're
yellow," or "Gaff, that's rotten."  This is the acme of vulgarity.



On Sat, Jul 5, 2025 at 11:33 AM Shapiro, Fred <
00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> Thanks for the clarification, Jon.  What does "yellow" mean in this
> context ?
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Jonathan Lighter <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Saturday, July 5, 2025 9:39 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Blue Note"
>
> Surely a sour note:
>
> 1893 _L. A. Express_ (June 6) 8 [GenealogyBank]:  There was not a single
> reminder of the insidious "blue" note or the shriek of the "yellow"
> clarinet.
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Jul 5, 2025 at 9:26 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Possibly named merely for a note written on blue paper:
> >
> > [1893 _Salt Lake Herald_ (June 20) 5: Beaulah and Blue Note shot under
> the
> > wire, head and head, making a dead heat between them.]
> >
> > Not to be a wet blanket, but I read the U.C. "blue notes" as 'sour
> notes,'
> > not 'blues notes.'  Did Sousa ever employ "blue notes," esp. ep early?
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Fri, Jul 4, 2025 at 8:06 PM Shapiro, Fred <
> > 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> >> blue note (OED 1895 [10 Dec.])
> >>
> >> 1895 Examiner (San Francisco) 3 Nov. 8/1 (Newspapers.com)
> >>
> >> Everything about the game almost was yellow except the few blue notes
> >> blown out by the U. C. Band when the musicians dallied with one of
> Sousa's
> >> marches.
> >>
> >> Fred Shapiro
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
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