[Ads-l] Very Slight Further Antedating of "Riff"

[Shapiro, Fred]

The exact same quotation as the Minneapolis Tribune citation below appeared in the World-News (Roanoke, Virginia), 8 Nov. 1932, page 6, column 8.

Fred Shapiro


________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, July 4, 2024 9:50 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Antedating of "Riff" (Noun and Verb)

riff, n. (OED 1933)

1932 _Minneapolis Tribune_ 13 Nov. 11/3 (ProQuest)

The word "scat" in Harlem has been replaced by "riff," so that a hot soloist is now a "riffer."


riff, v. (OED 1935)

1933 _Afro-American_ (Baltimore) 1 July 8 (ProQuest)

Good Old Harmony Holds Its Own as Riffing and Scat Singers Fade From Scene.


Fred Shapiro



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