[Ads-l] "America First" and Quotations of the Year

Wed Jan 7 12:36:22 UTC 2026

OH! He said "CO-ROL-LARY" !  CO-ROL-LARY ! What's that mean? Is that really
a word?  It's a word nobody uses. I've never heard of it. Does anybody
know? CO-ROL-LARY.  [Smirks.]

JL

On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 11:10 PM Ben Zimmer <
00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> Would that be the Frost/Nixon corollary of the Humpty Dumpty proposition?
>
> On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 6:00 PM Jonathan Lighter <
> 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > When the President uses a term, it means just what he chooses it to mean
> -
> > neither more nor less. And when he says "America First," it means "a nice
> > knock-down argument."
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 5:31 PM Shapiro, Fred <
> > 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > I should add that, until now, the AP was very supportive and
> > complimentary
> > > about the "notable quotations" lists.
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
> > > Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 5:19 PM
> > > To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Subject: "America First" and Quotations of the Year
> > >
> > > Thanks to Jon Lighter for zeroing in on this remarkable quote.  Aside
> > from
> > > the questionable assertion that the coiner of a term gets to "decide"
> its
> > > meaning, we have here a staggering ignorance of American history.  The
> > term
> > > "America First" was not only introduced a long time before our
> President
> > > was born, it was extremely prominent in the early-to-mid period of U.S.
> > > 20th-century history.  Stephen Goranson has found it in 1855 (see
> > postings
> > > of Stephen and myself below).
> > >
> > > Incidentally, if anyone is wondering why there was no "Notable
> Quotations
> > > of the Year" list from me, the Associated Press has decided to
> > discontinue
> > > its dissemination of these annual lists.  I could try to find a new
> > > disseminator, but I think it best to let it die.  The concept was
> always
> > a
> > > quirky and problematic one, and I have post-traumatic-quote-syndrome
> > > because compilation of the lists forces me to confront the
> extraordinary
> > > awfulness of our contemporary politics and culture.
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> > > Jonathan Lighter <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 9:01 AM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Subject: Another QOTY
> > >
> > > Atlantic (Jan., 2026):
> > >
> > > When I caught Donald Trump by phone this morning, the president wanted
> to
> > > make one thing clear: “America First” means whatever he says it does.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > “Well, considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and
> > > considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m
> the
> > > one that decides that.”
> > >
> > > JL
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Stephen Goranson
> > >     goranson at DUKE.EDU
> > > <mailto:ads-l%40listserv.linguistlist.org
> > >
> >
> ?Subject=Re%3A%20%5BAds-l%5D%20Antedating%20of%20%22America%20First%22&In-Reply-To=%3CBL0PR05MB4772562C2E0CB85CA1862A43B8770%
> > > 40BL0PR05MB4772.namprd05.prod.outlook.com%3E>
> > >
> > >     Sat Mar  2 12:40:54 UTC 2019
> > >
> > >
> > >   *   Previous message (by thread): [Ads-l] Antedating of "America
> First"
> > > <
> > https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-March/154238.html
> >
> > >   *   Next message (by thread): [Ads-l] QOTY: I have lied, but I am
> not a
> > > liar
> > > <
> > https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-March/154240.html
> >
> > >   *
> > > Messages sorted by:
> > >               [ date ]<
> > >
> >
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-March/date.html#154247
> > > >
> > >               [ thread ]<
> > >
> >
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-March/thread.html#154247
> > > >
> > >               [ subject ]<
> > >
> >
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-March/subject.html#154247
> > > >
> > >               [ author ]<
> > >
> >
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-March/author.html#154247
> > >Lighter
> > >   L
> > >
> > > I agree with Churchwell p. 41 that "America first" was "not
> > > suddenly...invented by an individual...."
> > >
> > > E.g., June 18, 1855, Philadelphia Inquirer 1:3;
> > >
> > > "As an American citizen, I prefer this rain [it was raining] or any
> other
> > > reign, than the reign of foreignism. (Applause.) I could have America
> > > first, last, and always. I could go for America first,...."
> > >
> > >
> > > Stephen
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: American Dialect Society <...> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <...>
> > > Sent: Friday, March 1, 2019 4:14:28 PM
> > > To: ...
> > > Subject: [ADS-L] Antedating of "America First"
> > >
> > > The OED's first use citation for the phrase "America first" is dated
> > > 1915.  Sarah Churchwell _Behold, America_ (2018) discusses a number of
> > > earlier uses of "American first" beginning in 1884, at pages 39-40 of
> her
> > > book.
> > >
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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

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