[Ads-l] Antedating of "Gang Bang"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Which is why, if HDAS ever does cite Longstreet's book, the date it gets is
"1970."

I also have strong suspicions about the Longstreet-promoted  _Lower Than
Angels_ (1980), by a pseudonymous "W. W. Windstaff,"  a "World War I flying
ace."

JL

On Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 8:03 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> JL's reference work also has a 1945 citation.
>
> [ref] 1994, Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang,
> Edited by J. E. Lighter (Jonathan E. Lighter), Volume 1: A to G,
> Entry: gangbang, Quote Page 862, Random House, New York. (Verified
> with scans) [/ref]
>
> [Begin except]
> gangbang n. 1. an occasion on which a number of people copulate
> successively with one person; (also) gang-rape; (also) a sexual orgy.
> 1945 in Valant Aircraft Nose Art 206: Gang Bang.
> [End excerpt]
>
> On Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 7:00 AM Shapiro, Fred
> <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > gang bang (OED 1957)
> >
> > 1945 United States v. First Lieutenant Ronald A. Kramer (Opinion of the
> Board of Review) 327 (LexisNexis)
> >
> > After a brief conversation, accused and McKenna went outside.  A
> "gang-bang" was suggested.
> >
> > NOTE: Green's Dictionary of Slang cites use of "gang bang" in Nell
> Kimball's book American Madam (1930).  Green's Dictionary of Slang is an
> incredible contribution to slang lexicography and is the more impressive
> when it is considered as the work of a single person.  However, its
> citation standards are less rigorous than those of the OED.  According to
> Wikipedia, the book American Madam was a hoax.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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