[Ads-l] Fw: Square

[Shapiro, Fred]

I see that Ben also posted (in 2008) a 1939 citation for "square" = "unhip".  See below.

Fred Shapiro


> On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 4:53 PM, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at ling.upenn.edu<http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/ads-l>> wrote:
>>> On Wed, Sep 03, 2008 at 03:57:30PM -0400, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:
>>>> ---
>>>> 1939 _New York Amsterdam News_ [Dan Burley's "Backdoor Stuff"] 27 May
>>>> 20/1 "Lawd! I'm a square from Delaware, a Lane from Spokane, a killer
>>>> from Manila and a Home from Rome," Allen Drew beats out.
>>>> ---
>>>> 1940 _New York Amsterdam News_ 2 Mar. 21/2 So don't be the "square
>>>> from Delaware," just lace up your boots and "dig this jive."
>>>> ---
> [...]
>>
>> So do we have anything earlier for "square" = 'unhip person (from
>> Delaware or elsewhere)'? The 1939 Amst News cite doesn't imply
>> unhipness, but the 1940 one certainly does.
>
> Unhip (non-Delawarean) squares from 1939:
>
> 1939 _Atlanta Daily World_ 22 June 5/5 Most of the crowd, it is
> anticipated, will be "the country squares who will come from here 'n'
> there to 'dig' the N.Y. World's Fair."
>
> ["Galento No Bet in Harlem" by Eddie West, on opinions from Harlem
> about the coming title fight between Joe Louis and "Two Ton" Tony
> Galento.]
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>



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