Thomas A. Dorgan
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Thomas A. Dorgan (April 29, 1877[citation needed] - May 2, 1929[1])("Thomas Aloysius Dorgan," "Tad Dorgan", "TAD") was an American cartoonist who signed his drawings as TAD. He is credited with coining more popular words and expressions than anyone else.
He was born in San Francisco. When he was thirteen years old, he lost the last three fingers of his right hand in an accident with a factory machine. He took up drawing for therapy. A year later at the age of 14 he joined the art staff of the San Francisco Bulletin. By 1902 he was not only the top sports cartoonist for the New York Journal, but also a reporter and sportswriter. Jack Dempsey described him as "the greatest authority on boxing".
Dorgan is generally credited with either creating or popularizing such words and expressions as "dumbbell" (a stupid person); "for crying out loud" (an exclamation of astonishment); "cat's meow" and "cat's pajamas" (as superlatives); "applesauce" (nonsense); "cheaters'" (eyeglasses); "skimmer" (a hat); "hard-boiled" (a tough person); "drugstore cowboy" (loafers or ladies' men); "nickel-nurser" (a miser); "as busy as a one-armed paperhanger" (overworked); and "Yes, we have no bananas," which was turned into a popular song.
His New York Times obituary brackets him with George Ade and Ring Lardner as popularizers of "a new slang vernacular," and also credits him as originator of "Twenty-three, Skidoo," "solid ivory," "Dumb Dora," "finale hopper," "Benny" for hat and "dogs'" for shoes.[1]
W.J. Funk, of the Funk and Wagnall's dictionary company, placed Dorgan at the top of the list of the 10 "most fecund makers of American slang".[2]
Dorgan has been credited with coining the term "hot dog," but according to etymologist Barry Popik,[3], this is a myth. He did use the expression in his cartoons. Concessionaire Harry Stevens had one posted in his office and told visitors it was the origin of the phrase. However, Popik found an 1895 reference to "hot dogs" in the Yale Record, antedating TAD's first use of the term in 1906.[4]
Dorgan retired in the early 1920s because of poor health and died of heart disease, hastened by pneumonia[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "'Tad,' Cartoonist, Dies In His Sleep. Thomas A. Dorgan, Famous For His 'Indoor Sports,' Victim of Heart Disease. Was A Shut-In For Years. Worked Cheerfully at Home in Great Neck on Drawings That Amused Countless Thousands." The New York Times, May 3, 1929 p. 21: "...He was experimenting with a slang vernacular, of which he, George Ade, and Ring Lardner have been the principal exponents.... His slangy breeziness won immediate circulation. It was he who first said 'Twenty-three, Skidoo,' and 'Yes, we have no bananas,' 'apple sauce' and 'solid ivory.' Other expressions that are now part of the American vernacular include 'cake-eater,' 'drug-store cowboy,' 'storm and strife,' 'Dumb Dora,' 'dumb-bell,' 'finale hopper,' 'Benny' for hat and 'dogs' for shoes."
- ^ http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug00/3on1/tobaccoads/slogan.htm
- ^ Barry Popik bio from his personal website
- ^ Popik, Barry: Hot Dog (Polo Grounds myth)
