[Ads-l] Antedating of "Playa"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The song title below is ambiguous, but examination of the lyrics might
bring clarity.

Date: April 25, 1997
Newspaper: Goldsboro News-Argus
Newspaper Location: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Quote Page 11A
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
Billboard lists top audios, videos
R&B singles ...
16. "Don't Wanna Be a Playa," Joe (Jive)
[End excerpt]

Note, OED has "player" with the pertinent sense in 1968:
[Begin OED citation]
1968 Player, a man or woman who goes out with many members of the opposite sex.
Current Slang (University South Dakota) vol. 3 ii. 37
[End OED citation]

Garson

On Sun, May 4, 2025 at 4:45 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> playa (OED 1998)
>
> 1997 Flint (Mich.) Journal 3 Dec. 7/2 (Newspapers.com)
>
> If a man has four or five girlfriends, he's a playa or mack.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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