[Ads-l] bucket brigade

[Jonathan Lighter]

Not in OED.

MW: "a chain of persons acting to put out a fire by passing buckets of
water from hand to hand."  Earliest: 1899.

1859 _ Bendigo [Australia] Advertiser_  (Dec. 12) 2 [Newspapers.com]: As
usual, the bucket brigade got in at the rear of the premises, and did good
service previous to the arrival of the engines.

1864 _Buffalo [N.Y.] Courier_ (May 4) 3 [Newspapers.com]: Columbia Hose
Company XI,...by organizing itself into a bucket brigade, did the most
effective service in extinguishing the flames.

1866 _Daily Evening Traveller_ (Boston) (March 29) 2 [GenealogyBank]: Many
of the older citizens doubtless remember the famous bucket brigade, and
some have still stored away the bucket used upon the occasion of a fire in
forming a line from the water to the hand engines playing upon the
conflagration.

1866 _Wheeling Register_ (July 31) 4 [GenealogyBank]: For a time it was
feared the fire would extend to adjacent property, but fortunately the
"bucket brigade" prevented its doing so.

Etc., etc.

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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