[Ads-l] antedating ninja

[Bill Mullins]

________________________________
From: Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 12:14 AM
To: American Dialect Society <ads-l at listserv.uga.edu>
Subject:

>   It's a bit implausible that an Episcopal priest from North Carolina was
>   referring to Japanese ninjas in his 1950s inspirational verse.
>
>   https://historicbathsite.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/alex-c-d-noe-a-tribute-during-national-poetry-month/
>
>   My best guess is that "a ninja rubber ball" is eye dialect for "an India
>   rubber ball." OED has "India rubber ball" (s.v. "India rubber") from 1828.

It did seem odd.

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