[Ads-l] Phrase: Oh for crying out loud

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> I think the baby dropped the ball on "Oh, for crying out loud."
> Newspapers.com has it from 1917, and non of the early exx. are from comic
> strips.

Excellent work, JL.
The expression did appear in Tad Dorgan's single-panel comic "Indoor
Sports" in 1925. The line was spoken by an animal. The key word was
spelled "cryin'" instead of "crying". Here are the details and a link:

Date: September 16, 1925
Newspaper: Kansas City Post
Newspaper Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Comic Strip: Indoor Sports
Author: Tad Dorgan
Quote Page 14, Column 3
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-post-cryin/192637094/

[Begin excerpt]
OH FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD
[End excerpt]

Optical character recognition (OCR) on text in comics is often poor
and inaccurate. Phrases in comics are sometimes not recognized. This
causes searches to fail. Hence, it is possible that Dorgan used the
expression before 1925.

A comics enthusiast suggested that Tad Dorgan's "Indoor Sports" began
in 1913. Hence, it might be possible to antedate the citation above.

Website: Stripper's Guide
Article: Tad Pokes Fun at the Boys in the Bullpen
Posted by: Allan Holtz
Date on webpage: December 29, 2005
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2005_12_25_archive.html

[Begin excerpt]
Regarding Indoor Sports, I don't have a start date for it though I'm
pretty sure it started in 1913.
[End excerpt]

Here are the details for a 1917 citation as JL indicated. The phrase
was spoken by a Ziegfeld girl.

Date: November 18, 1917
Newspaper: The Tennessean
Newspaper Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Article: In the New York Theatres
Author: Emory B. Calvert
Section: Society, Quote Page 12, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-crying/192673324/

[Begin excerpt]
And Betty Hale, in the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic, on the New Amsterdam
Roof, is splitting things wide open--but--as she says, "Oh, for crying
out loud!"
[End excerpt]

Garson

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