Appeals

Words or phrases which appear on the Appeals List are those currently being drafted or revised for the OED for which the documentary evidence is incomplete. Often these are slang or colloquial items which cannot be researched in specialist texts and are most likely to be found by a general reader in popular or non-specialized literature.

Usually the appeal is for an earlier example than our current earliest (e.g. 'antedate 1970' for a word for which our earliest example comes from 1970), but sometimes the appeal is for an interdating where there is a large gap in the OED's quotation evidence (e.g. 'interdate 1589-1910'). Occasionally we ask for a postdating (e.g. 'postdate 1875'), if an editor feels that an item being revised is still current but has failed to find any recent examples through the usual avenues of research.

If you can help with any of these appeals, please send information to oed3@oup.co.uk.

boyf (boyfriend):

antedate 1993

control freakery:

antedate 1990

go off on one (launch into a tirade):

antedate 1993

numpty (noun: stupid person):

antedate 1988

numpty (adjective: stupid, foolish):

antedate 1992

nut (catch for the string on a crossbow):

interdate 1702-1934

nutcracker (verb):

any examples