[Ads-l] Antedating of "Wannabe" (Adjective)

[Shapiro, Fred]

Very nice antedating, Garson.

Fred

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2026 8:25 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Wannabe" (Adjective)

Fun topic, Fred. Nice work, Bill.  Here is an unambiguous instance of
the adjective "wanna-be" in 1954.

Date: April 29, 1954
Newspaper: The Malden Press
Newspaper Location: Malden, Missouri
Article: Ladies Day May 3 At Country Club
Quote Page 1, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers.com%2Farticle%2Fthe-malden-press-wanna-be%2F193834112%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C1985a009984240ecede408de86e05e3b%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C639096495392269167%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=cpWoqeV2mMiqdX%2Frh9GeJ3fDUpVQmC8%2FE1jv%2BTC3kaE%3D&reserved=0<https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-malden-press-wanna-be/193834112/>

[Begin excerpt]
All the ladies, both the golfers and the wanna-be golfers are invited
and urged to attend.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM Shapiro, Fred
<00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> wannabe, adj. (OED 1986)
>
> 1972 Sarasota Journal 20 Oct. 1/1 (Newspapers.com)
>
> The big chief of the National Congress of American Indians, Lee Cook, introduces his wife as a Wannabe (want-to-be) Indian.  She's a pretty Swedish girl with not an ounce of Indian blood.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
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