AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question What's the origin of "in short order"? I think it's from diners and quick cooking.
Answer Dear Joe:
You are correct. The phrase originated in the United States and it definitely refers to food.
According to "The Oxford English Dictionary" -- the best source for word and phrase origins -- William Sydney Porter, writing under the pen name "O. Henry" -- first WROTE the phrase in a short story collection, published in 1906. Of course, the ORAL phrase may have been used long before it was ever written down.
I have pasted in below the complete entry from this encyclopedia.
Ted Nesbitt
short order U.S., an order for food to be prepared and served up quickly; a dish so served;
1906 ‘O. HENRY’ Four Million 103 The clatter of steel, the screaming of ‘*short orders’, the cries of the hungering and all the horrid tumult of feeding men. 1927 Amer. Speech II. 414/1 The nomenclature of the short-order restaurant. 1928 S. LEWIS Man who knew Coolidge I. 31 We plan to have a restaurant there serving short-orders twenty-four hours a day. 1956 J. POTTS Death of Stray Cat vii. 75 Working..as a short-order cook in his diner. 1978 J. UPDIKE Coup (1979) iv. 137, I..worked as waiter and short-order cook in various eating establishments.
