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Re: Word usage in group versus out of group.

From:John Cowan <cowan@...>
Date:Friday, May 21, 1999, 20:48
Lars Henrik Mathiesen wrote:

> I remember one iteration of that on sci.lang, where someone eventually > came up with cites from 1840's US papers to show that it came from the > presidential campaign of James van Buren (I think), whose nickname was > Old Kinderhook. Has that been shown to be false?
The Old Kinderhook campaign definitely gave the fad for "O.K." national publicity, as the Democratic Party temporarily renamed itself the "O.K. club". But the usage of "O.K." in Boston newspapers had appeared several years before. Now, of course, the word is very international, and is even accepted in international cables (as a synonym for "we agree"). -- John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org You tollerday donsk? N. You tolkatiff scowegian? Nn. You spigotty anglease? Nnn. You phonio saxo? Nnnn. Clear all so! 'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)