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

Sat Oct 10 01:17:24 UTC 2026

Excellent point about the wordplay rug-strug-snug, Peter. It is hard
(for me) to find matches for "strug" in newspapers.com because the
database prefers showing matches for the syllable "strug-". There was
a black comedy dance team called Strug and Struggie. There are 19
matches between 1930 and 1940 in newspapers.com. I think this supports
the conjecture that "society strug" meant "society dance," as
suggested by Ben and Peter.

Here is an example match for "Strug and Struggie" in the black
newspaper "The St. Louis Argus".

Date: August 13, 1937
Newspaper: The St. Louis Argus
Newspaper Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Article: Joe Johnson Returns to Club Plantation
Quote Page 5, Column 6
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-st-louis-argus-strug/207957045/

[Begin excerpt]
Little Zizzie is slated to premiere his musicale Sept. 19. Gladys
Ellis, a fancy native dancer, will head the big cast. According to
press praises the dancing model will justly hold down the spot. Among
the many performers who will open in the premiere are Pedro and
Delores, clever adagioists; Strug and Struggie, dance team; Katheryne
Raglen and Mercia Marquez.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Oct 9, 2026 at 7:09 PM Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> "Strug" may be the dance, short for struggle, which was occasionally used to refer to dancing, "struggle hall" as a dance hall and "five cent struggle" dance or "jitney struggle" dance were used as early as 1916.
>
> In the Nov 27 1937 example, strug fits a rhyming structure with rug-strug-club-snug-fun.
>
> Some examples of struggle as a dance.
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tulsa-tribune/207951133/
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times/207951083/
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news/207950839/
>
>
> ________________________________
> 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, 09 October 2026 08:28:48
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Rug Cutting" and "Cut a Rug"
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Rug Cutting" and "Cut a Rug"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Another interesting hypothesis. Thanks, Stephen.
> Garson
>
> On Fri, Oct 9, 2026 at 11:15=E2=80=AFAM Stephen Goranson
> <00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Might "society strug" be a typo for "society strut"?
> >
> > On Fri, Oct 9, 2026 at 10:15=E2=80=AFAM 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.
> > >
> > > Date: November 27, 1937
> > > Newspaper: The Billboard
> > > Newspaper Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
> > > Section: Music
> > > Article: Bless You, Sister
> > > Quote Page 21, Column 2
> > > Database: ProQuest
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > At the musicians' union benefit show last Monday Joseph N. Weber, AFM
> > > prez, was really "sent" by the hi-de-hoisms of Cab Calloway. Weber and
> > > his party, which included heads of the near-by locals, couldn't
> > > restrain from mugging the melody of Minnie the Moocher at the callings
> > > of Cab. Following night found Calloway cupping his ear to a phonograph
> > > recording where he got the urge to cut the rug from Rosetta Howard and
> > > the Harlem Hamfats asking Is You a Viper?
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > Garson
> > >
> > > On Thu, Oct 8, 2026 at 4:57=E2=80=AFPM Shapiro, Fred
> > > <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > rug cutting (OED 1937)  1932 Chicago Defender 19 Mar. 7/7
> > > (Newspapers.com)  We have until Saturday, the 26th, to rest before the =
> next
> > > "rug cutting" (dance).
> > > >
> > > > cut a rug (OED 1940)  1939 Birmingham Post 6 Jan. 3/1 (Newspapers.com=
> )
> > > For "10 cents an hour" swing lovers in Birmingham will have opportunity=
>  to
> > > "cut a rug" aplenty the last two weeks in January.
> > > >
> > > > Fred Shapiro
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
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