[Ads-l] frenemy/frienemy (1891, 1932, etc.)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Back in October 2019 Ben Zimmer posted a message about "frenemy". Here
is a link:

https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-October/155697.html

Ben posted an 1891 citation containing "frienemies", but the meaning
was ambiguous (to me). Ben also posted a Nov 25, 1932, citation in
which Walter Winchell credited Ted Stillman with using "frienemy". The
first citation using the "frenemy" spelling was from 1938.

Here is a 1932 citation with the "frenemy" spelling. This citation
includes the explanatory phrase "friendly enemy".

Date: December 22, 1932
Newspaper: The Detroit News
Newspaper Location: Detroit, Michigan
Article: Experience
Author: Nancy Brown
Quote Page 24, Column 6
Database: GenealogyBank

[Begin excerpt of letter to Nancy Brown from Squall]
I have opened fire at last upon the friendly enemy--the publishers.
...
However, I have had a half dozen poems published in a local newspaper
and magazine--with a bid for more verse! And, not in the least nor
lastly, I am working- on some features and a bit of fiction--a big
drive on "frenemy" so to speak.
[End excerpt of letter to Nancy Brown from Squall]

[Begin excerpt of reply from Nancy Brown to Squall]
I am wishing you success with the "Frenemy" and I am sure you will
achieve it if you persist.
[End excerpt of reply from Nancy Brown to Squall]

Garson O'Toole


On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 12:31 AM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I wrote about the term "frenemy" (also spelled "frienemy") for the
> Atlantic, after Tom Steyer used it in Tuesday night's Democratic debate.
>
> https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/10/cnn-democratic-presidential-debate-frenemies-political-term/600121/
>
> OED3 has it from 1953 in a Walter Winchell column, but that there are
> several antedatings available in the databases (including in an earlier
> Winchell column). I discuss these cites in the Atlantic piece.
>
> ----
> The Norton (Kans.) Champion, Dec. 17, 1891, p. 3, col. 1
> Hon. George A. Spaulding, the Machiavelian diplomatist of Phillipsburg, was
> in the city yesterday on legal business. During an hour's wily interview he
> permitted us to surmise that while not in the hands of his frienemies
> himself, it is an opportunity freighted with big import so shelf-worn
> politicians and subsidized statesmen will not be forced to run for office
> against their professed wishes.
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37259425/frienemies/
> ----
> Courier-Post (Camden, NJ), Nov. 25, 1932, p. 10, col. 3
> Walter Winchell, "On Broadway"
> Ted Stillman has at last discovered the best way to refer to a Broadway
> "pal."
> Call him a frienemy.
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37259479/frienemy/
> ----
> Better Homes and Gardens, Dec. 1938, p. 40, col. 1 [ProQuest]
> Harlan Miller, "The Man Next Door"
> For use in his endless war games with spears and bows and arrows, our
> 5-year-old has coined one of the most useful new words of the year 1938 --
> "frenemy," a person who is your friend part of the time and your enemy the
> rest of the time.
> ----
> Green Bay (Wisc.) Press-Gazette, Apr. 12, 1939, p. 6, col. 3
> Harlan Miller, "Washington"
> If you listen to the chatter in diplomatic circles, you're apt to conclude
> that the alliances and axis in Europe aren't worth the paper clips that
> hold 'em together... In fact, my 5-year-old has coined the word "frenemy"
> which describes these allies perfectly. A frenemy is someone who's your
> friend today, but may be your enemy tomorrow.
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37259545/frenemy/
> ----
>
> The cites from the '30s are straightforward enough, but the 1891 item from
> Kansas is a head-scratcher. Guess you had to be there.
>
> --bgz
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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