Photo: J RosenfeldI’m back to inviting readers to submit quotations whose origins they want me to try to trace, using my book, The Yale Book of Quotations, and my more recent research.
Ross asked:
Who first used the term “silver bullet” to mean an ideal solution to a difficult problem?
The Oxford English Dictionary traces the term “silver bullet” back to 1678, with the definition “A bullet made of silver. Frequently with reference to the folk tradition that such a bullet can harm a werewolf (or other supernatural being) whereas an ordinary bullet cannot.” In the figurative sense “A simple, miraculous solution to a complex and difficult problem,” the OED‘s earliest citation is from the Bedford (Pennsylvania) Gazette, Sept. 19, 1951: “There are those who warn against viewing the atom as a magic weapon. I agree. This is not a silver bullet which can deliver itself or otherwise work military miracles.”
Do any readers have any other quotations whose origins they would like me to attempt to trace?
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Heavens to Betsy
(because I get that all the time)
The expression “silver bullet” was used in this sense in 1934, in the New Yorker (“Anti-corruption is not a silver bullet”; Volume 10, Issue 2, found via Google Books).
red herring
Just noticed in the newly published book of letters between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto the use of “bug” to refer to a problem–1953. Not just the computer people even then!
I don’t have a complete quotation but a recollection that goes somewhat like this:
“It must be remembered that America was populated by people whose response to social problems was to run away”
And I have a faint connection with a Brit, possibly Bevins.
I’d love to know the right quote and the source.
TIA.
Oshkosh B’gosh
Where and when did the term nut(s) or come from to describe someone who is crazy/insane, On a related note where/when did “nut farm ” first come into use.
thanks
Question, did not the use of a silver bullet by the Lone Ranger predate 1951?