[Ads-l] Antedating "Easter egg"

[Bill Mullins]

>   "Early 1570s." Heh heh.
>
>   JL
>
>   On Sat, Apr 4, 2026 at 9:28 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> In recognition of tomorrow's holiday  . . .
>>
>> OED (2) 1986
>> The OED suggests that the term comes from computing.  Online sources claim
>> that it comes from the world of video games, and state that the 1981 cite
>> below is the origin of the term (although actual Easter eggs are documented
>> back into the early 1970s).

I should have been more clear.  Jon is right — the classical Easter Eggs, the
decorated ones given on Easter and that are presumably laid by the Easter Bunny,
go back to the 1570s.

The ones that I was referring to, that go back to the early 1970s, are examples of
the hidden bonus information that the OED (2) entry applies to.  They existed for years
before they came to be called "Easter Eggs."

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