[Ads-l] Antedating of "Blue Note"

[Shapiro, Fred]

I promised I would never doubt Jon Lighter again, but I don't think that the term "yellow journalism" antedates the first appearance of the "Yellow Kid."  I believe that the "Yellow Kid" originated in 1895, and that the term
"yellow journalism" is found earliest in the New York Press, Jan. 31, 1897 (this is the OED's first use, contributed to them by me).

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 12:18 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Blue Note"

"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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> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
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>
> --
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--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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