A Conversation for Legends of the Word 'OK'

No Subject

Post 1

Wal

But if "OK" is an abbreviation of "Okay", most of these theories are not OK...


No Subject

Post 2

J. Nigel Aalst

Perhaps "okay" is an expanded form of "OK".


No Subject

Post 3

Fragilis - h2g2 Cured My Tabular Obsession

I remember reading something to that effect. The spelling "OK" was used long before the phonetic "okay" was substituted.

My guess is that "okay" was born from people's honest annoyance at being asked was the abbreviation "OK" stands for. After all, nobody's 100% sure. smiley - smiley


Okay OK

Post 4

Not Shakespeare

I remember reading that OK appeared in print first, by a long time.


Okay OK

Post 5

Oberon2001 (Scout)

smiley - erm is it just me, or is this entry *very* American! All the explanations that are American appear in the top half of the entry (and treated as more credible as a result) whereas the entries in the bottom half (largely from overseas from the land of hope and steaming cow pat) are in the bottom half and dismissed. Most surprising of all is that the OED reason is dismissed!
Oberon2001


Okay OK

Post 6

Not Shakespeare

It is very American - as is the term.

Cecil Adams claims that the issue is firmly solved:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250

The "oll korrect" is documented as first appearing in print in March of 1839 in Boston. The term was then pressed into service the next year by the Democrats for their canidate "Old Kinderhook", which gave it a wide range of popularity.

None of the other legends can show OK in print before March 1839.



Okay OK

Post 7

Recumbentman

This is definitive by any standards. Time to rewrite the entry.


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