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  1. Path: sparky!uunet!darwin.sura.net!mips!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!caen!kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!baron
  2. From: baron@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Dennis Baron)
  3. Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
  4. Subject: Re: Okey-Dokey
  5. Message-ID: <Bs5xJI.35z@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
  6. Date: 29 Jul 92 18:18:39 GMT
  7. References: <SLAGLE.92Jul23135553@sgi417.msd.lmsc.lockheed.com> 
  8.  <1992Jul24.165403@IASTATE.EDU> <1992Jul29.143200.637@quantime.co.uk> <84739@netnews.upenn.edu>
  9. Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
  10. Lines: 14
  11.  
  12. OK was nailed down finally by Allen Walker Read.  It was originally
  13. a comic spelling, ole keerect, or some such, for _all correct_ --
  14. comic spellings being popular in American journalistic humor in the
  15. early 19th c.  But it was spread largely through its association
  16. with Martin Van Buren and the Old Kinderhook democratic club in NY
  17. (1830s?),  Van Buren becoming known as Old Kinderhook during 
  18. his presidential campaign, a nickname that was shortened to OK.
  19.  
  20. Now if we can find Kilroy, we'll be all set.
  21.  
  22.  
  23. -- 
  24. Dennis Baron                                         debaron@uiuc.edu 
  25. University of Illinois at Urbana                     217-333-2392
  26.