[Ads-l] humblebrag antedating?

[Stephen Goranson]

Not in OED nor Green’s. Though some sites credit Harris Wittels in 2010,
Merriam-Webster claims a 2002 use.
(American Dialect Society “most useful” word of 2011.)

fwiw, Work Life: A Publication on Employment and People with Disabilities
1.4, (Winter, 1988) 24 reprints from USA Today a recommendation to “be a
humble braggart.”
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Worklife/K8zRBCrQXH0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=humble

American Literary Scholarship 1986 - Page 207
books.google.com › books
<https://books.google.com/books?id=YKplAAAAMAAJ&q=%22humble+braggart%22&dq=%22humble+braggart%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5oMXzp_SQAxWa2BoGHRLGHIsQ6AF6BAgHEAM>
American Literary Scholarship
<https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=69bdf2a40b3867bf&udm=36&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1987,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1989&udm=36&q=inauthor:%22American+Literary+Scholarship%22&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5oMXzp_SQAxWa2BoGHRLGHIsQ9Ah6BAgHEAY>,
‎David J. Nordloh · 1988 · ‎Snippet view
. humble braggart , a girlish macho , a sinless killer
https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22humble+braggart%22&tbs=,cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1987,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1989&num=10

sg

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