[Ads-l] Antedating of "Politically Incorrect"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Seems to me these people were incorrect politically only in the most
general sense. I don't think they were "politically incorrect" in the
current sense (i.e., holding illiberal or anti-progressive opinions).

JL

On Sat, Jun 28, 2025 at 9:29 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:

> politically incorrect (OED 1876)
>
> [1862 Philadelphia Inquirer 11 Feb. 8/1 (Newspapers.com)  Calhoun was
> heard to mutter: — "There is no such thing as a nation ... Bishop Gadsden
> is logically and politically incorrect in talking about getting up a prayer
> for the Union."]
>
> 1866 Harrisburg Telegraph 3 Dec. 2/1 (Newspapers.com)  Every man who voted
> in favor of Congress was impressed with the conviction that the President
> was more than politically incorrect — that he was desperately and
> criminally wrong.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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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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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org