Gene Owen, “Buck’s English: People Didn’t ‘Man Up’ in JFK’s Day” (The Oklahoman, Feb. 28, 2012)
Jeff Cook, of Seminole, was reading a piece of fiction about John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. One of the characters urges another character to “man up.”
“I have lived through those times,” said Jeff, “and don’t remember hearing that until the last couple of years. Is there any way to track when a phrase started gaining in popularity?”
One way to do it, Jeff, is to consult someone who has already done it. Ben Zimmer, who writes the column, “On Language,” for The New York Times, looked into the origins of the verbal phrase. His research indicates that you’ve caught the author in an anachronism.
Read the rest here. (Related On Language column)