[Ads-l] Antedating of "Rug Cutting" and "Cut a Rug"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent conjecture. Thanks, Ben.
Garson

On Fri, Oct 9, 2026 at 10:30 AM Ben Zimmer
<00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> I'd guess that "strug" here is short for "struggle," which could mean "a
> party or dance." See GDoS:
>
> https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/wqdkx4q
>
> On Fri, Oct 9, 2026 at 10:15 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> 00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > Excellent citations, Fred. Here is "cut a rug" and "cut the rug" with
> > the desired sense on the same day in November 1937.
> >
> > Date: November 27, 1937
> > Newspaper: Detroit Tribune: The Leading Negro Weekly of Michigan
> > Newspaper Location: Detroit, Michigan
> > Article: East Detroit News
> > Author: Katie Jones
> > Quote Page 9, Column 8
> > Database: GenealogyBank
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > Did you want to cut a rug? You should have gone to the society strug
> > given by the East Detroit Smart Set Social Club. There was a large
> > crowd but it wasn't so snug. There was dancing, entertainment and
> > plenty of fun.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > I do not know the meaning of "strug". You may wish to examine the scan
> > in GenealogyBank to double-check that word. It is not in the OED.
> >
>
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