Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 01:47:17 EST From: Bapopik Subject: Craps; Shindig Here are two major antedates ("craps" and "shindig") I found today on my search for--ah, well--Canuck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- CRAPS OED has 1843. This is from the New York Daily Express, 9 July 1842, pg. 1, col. 3: A TAX ON GAMBLING.--At the First Municipality Council an ordinance was passed, imposing a tax or license of $2000 per annum on the keepers of all games of _Craps_, and $3000 on all games of _Keno_, within the municipality. It provides a fine of $1000 a day on the parties for their neglect to take out such licenses. (Seems high, but I can't read a decimal point here--ed.) A section was offered for the prevention of young men, under twenty-one years of age, entering these gambling rooms under penalty of a fine of $25 on the keepers of the game.--N. O. Picayune. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- SHINDIG OED has 1859. AMERICA IN SO MANY WORDS has "shindig" as the word-of-the- year for 1857. This (POOR ORIGINAL COPY!) is from the New York Daily Express, 10 May 1842, pg. 2, col. 1: COURT OF GENERAL SESSIONS. Before Judges Nash and Lynch. The Court imposed a fine of $5 on each of four petit Jurors for non- attendance. TRIAL FOR ASSAULT AND BATTERY.--William Lambert, Gilbert Lambert, William Nash, and William McLaughlan, were put upon their trial on an indictment for an assault and battery on Robert Barnard alleged to have been committed on the 13th of December last whilst attending a dance, or as one of the witnesses termed it a _shin dig_ held at the grog store of Wim. Maxwell, on the corner of 9th Avenue and 42d street. It appeared that a party of ladies and gentlemen had assembled at this place for the purposes of amusing themselves with dancing, raffling, &c., and that while a party was on the floor dancing and her mess came in and commenced singing Jim along Josey and Old Zip Coon, upon which a general fight ensued, in which the ladies participated plying their broom sticks and fire pokers with the (??). The result was that Barnard got the worst of it. His head was so badly bruised that for several weeks he was confined to the house. The testimony altogether was very conflicting, a part of the witnesses swore that it was a ticket ball, others swore that there were no tickets used on the occasion. The lady who gave the entertainment did not pretend to dignify it with any higher title than a raffle. The Court charged the Jury that if they found that Nash had done any thing more than what they considered necessary for self defence, they would find him guilty--against the other three there was no testimony. The Jury found a verdict of not guilty. (...)