[Ads-l] gorp (1951)

[Ben Zimmer]

"Gorp" as applied to various kinds of trail snacks is in OED3 from 1972,
while Barry Popik has two cites from 1962.

https://barrypopik.com/blog/gorp_granola_oats_raisins_peanuts_good_old_raisins_and_peanuts

Here are a few cites from the 1950s:

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https://archive.org/details/sim_sierra_1951-05_36_5/page/85/mode/1up
Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 5, May 1951, p. 85
"A Trans-Sierra Ski Tour" by William W. Dunmire
We were up by dawn and on our way after a breakfast of cold "gorp" (a dry
cereal, powdered milk, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc., mixed
together in a single pot).
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https://www.newspapers.com/article/peninsula-daily-news-gorp/173586789/
Port Angeles (Wash.) Daily News, Sept. 4, 1958, p. 6, col. 6
"First day of beach hike was easy, only one point to climb over" by Clayton
Fox
We reached Cape Alava at noon, and those of us who were not members of
hiking or mountaineering clubs made our first acquaintance with "gorp."
No one in the group could tell us what the name meant, though this hiker's
lunch is composed of raisins, peanuts, and small chocolate candies. It
supplies quick energy, but we soon discovered it requires water, and plenty
of water, to keep it washed down.
---
https://archive.org/details/sim_national-parks_1959-01_33_136/page/57/mode/1up
National Parks and Conservation Magazine, Jan. 1959, p. 8, col. 1
"Hiking the Wild Olympic Shoreline" by Grant Conway
Each night skunks sauntered around our camps searching for scraps. Margaret
Tomkiel and Donna Osseward, keepers of the camp commissary, sat up the
first night to guard against the persistent inroads of a skunk trying to
raid the "gorp." "Gorp" -- the staple food of the party -- is a mixture of
raisins, nuts and M&M candy. Many in the party, after carrying a supply of
this food for a couple of days, would have been happy to contribute their
"gorp" to the foraging skunks.
---

One of Barry's 1962 cites (also noted by Michael Quinion
https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa-gor1.htm) has an unusual acronymic
explanation of "gorp":

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https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-crescent-gorp/173586635/
Appleton (Wisc.) Post-Crescent, July 24, 1962, p. C1, col. 2
"Gorp" is taken by all campers and canoers. (Named for the flavors grape,
orange, raspberry and pineapple, "gorp" becomes a tasty thirst-quencher
when mixed with cool water.)
---

But the typical acronymic expansion is "good old(-fashioned) raisins and
peanuts," which Barry has documented from 1974. Here are two cites from
1968:

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https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-gorp/173587870/
Sacramento Bee, Aug. 25, 1968, p. E6, col. 1
"Alpine Pedal Pushers" by Steven M. Gibson
Lunch almost always included lunchmeat sandwiches and small plastic bags of
an energy-producing mixture of peanuts, candy-covered chocolate and raisins
known to bicyclists as gorp (good old raisins and peanuts).
---
https://archive.org/details/traveltipsfortee0000daly/page/102/mode/1up?q=gorp
_Travel Tips for Teen-Agers_ by Sheila John Daly (1968), p. 102
Learn to like what hostelers call GORP -- Good Old-fashioned Raisins and
Peanuts. Mixed together and carried in a plastic bag, GORP is the standard
instant energy snack for hostelers who pull into the side of the road for a
"pit stop" -- a brief breather to get a second wind and gather up the
necessary energy to make it up that steep hill or to face the last leg of
the day's journey.
---

--bgz

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