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Posted by Lewis from the Old World on January 30, 2004

In Reply to: OED up-dates some citations posted by James Briggs on January 27, 2004

: Following the on-line publication of the Old Bailey archived trial reports the OED has changed some of its citations. For instance 'no way', originally said to be 'US 1960' is to be found in the account of a rape case in 1787. Continued use from then on has been documented. The article can be seen at www.timesonline.co.uk

Aha! So expressions going back a few hundred years did not originally surface in the New York Times or Washington Post then. That will be a surprise.

It wouldn't surprise me if "round table" was said to originate in 1956 Oregon News and Mail rather than Chaucer or Mallory. I know that America is the dominant force in world culture, but there was culture before 1776 and even before 1492.

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