[Ads-l] Antedating of "Jinx" (Noun and Verb)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent citations, Fred. Following your lead I found the phrase "Had
the Jinks Put on Him" in a headline, and the phrase "she'd put the
jinks on him" in the body of an article in November 1900.

Date: November 14, 1900
Newspaper: The Examiner
Newspaper Location: San Francisco, California
Article: TROUBLES OF DAN HOWSER Had the Jinks Put on Him and Then Went
Down the Line
Author: Joseph S. Jordan
Quote Page 3, Column 4
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-jinks/191552875/

[Begin excerpt]
"Venus sang a song to get the house in good humor. I think Tony said
it was 'Don't You Go, Danny, Don't Go.' But Danny wouldn't stand for
it. He said he had to get out and find out how the election went, and
she told him if he pulled his freight she'd put the jinks on him. He
threw out his chest and sang: 'What the Well Do I Care; What the Well
Do I Care!'
"Then she put the hoodoo on him and threw herself at the couch.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 6:56 AM Shapiro, Fred
<00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> jinx, n. (OED 1911)  1903 San Francisco Chronicle 11 Dec. 4/2 (Newspapers.com)  Jockey C. Kelly thinks that the "jinks" are on him.
>
> jinx, v. (OED 1917)  1904 Los Angeles Daily Times 10 Nov. Part II, Page 3/1 (Newspapers.com)  The team has had so many misfortunes this season and the players have been fined so much by Dugdale and jinksed so much by incompetent managers that started out to win the penant [sic] without knowing how to manage ball players, that there is small wonder the men don't play their heads off to snatch a game when they can.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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