Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 02:16:46 EDT
From: Bapopik
Subject: Yiddish and "Abie the Agent"

The comic strip "Abie the Agent" deserves the same treatment that T. A.
Dorgan received with the TAD LEXICON. The results will document the
historical use of Yiddish in America--you'll find "polkes" and much more!
Harry Hershfield's "Abie the Agent" ran from 1914-1932 and 1935-1940 in
the NEW YORK EVENING JOURNAL (later the JOURNAL-AMERICAN in 1937) and other
Hearst newspapers. It's been called "the first of the adult comics in
America," and it centered on a rotund Jewish businessman named Abe Mendel
Kabibble.
In the book THE HYPERION LIBRARY OF CLASSIC AMERICAN COMIC STRIPS: ABIE
THE AGENT, 1914-1915 (1977), pg. IX:

"...anyone who wishes to see the Yiddish handling of American-English as
it was spoken in New York City in the early 1900s needs only to flip the
following pages."

For example, pg. 7 has "Oy vay!" OED has a citation, but oy, is it off!
An 1892 citation has only "oi," and the next cite is 1924.
It would be nice to see when Abie has a "knish," an "egg cream," and a
"bagel mit schmear."
Yadda yadda yadda.
The only problem I have is that "Abie" ran in the NEW YORK EVENING
JOURNAL--a publication that neither NYU nor Columbia has. I try to avoid the
NYPL Research Library because, again: (1) it's closed Sunday and might be
closed again on Mondays; (2) there are no evening hours; and (3) about 70% of
the copying machines are always broken. It's research hell.
However, on Saturday, I might go through a year's worth of "Abie." A
Kabibble bible might result from it.