[Ads-l] Antedating of "Shimmy" (Noun and Verb)

[Shapiro, Fred]

shimmy (OED, n.2, 1916 [1 July])  1916 Evening Record (Greenville, Pa.) 24 June 4/4 (Newspapers.com)  The party was shown the new dances which appeared to be pre-historic heel-and-toe steps set to new and euphonic titles of "Shaking the Shimmy" and "Walkin' the Dog."

shimmy (OED, v.1, 1919)  1918 Variety 9 Aug. 15/1 (ProQuest)  A chorus line told of "walking the dog and ballin' the jack all the way to Berlin and shimmying back."

Fred Shapiro



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