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From: Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz>
Newsgroups: sci.lang
Subject: First use of the word "blurb" (15-5-1907)
Date: Wed, 15 May 2024 21:37:43 +1200
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As Crystal says, it is very rare that we can give the exact date of a 
word's first use. This one was made up by American humorist Gellett 
Burgess (1866-1951). He announced it at a dinner of the American 
Booksellers' Association in New York on that date, and distributed 
copies of a book of his published the previous year, with a spoof cover 
featuring the word and an example of it. Next day the NY Times reported 
on the dinner (and the word), which Crystal says was "the word's first 
public usage". The dinner was presumably by-invitation-only. But 
depending on what they said, there may be issues of use vs. mention 
here. Perhaps this is why OED has no citation earlier than 1914 (a 
collection of Burgess's writings, where he does both.)

OED's definition: "A brief descriptive paragraph or note of the contents 
or character of a book, printed as a commendatory advertisement, on the 
jacket or wrapper of a newly published book."