Daniel Cassidy (1943 – October 11, 2008) was an American writer, filmmaker, musician, and academic. He is known for his 2007 book ''How the Irish Invented Slang'' in which he suggests that many American slang words are of Irish origin. His theories have, however, not stood up to academic scrutiny and are considered factually incorrect.

Biography

Cassidy grew up in Queens and on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was the son of a Navy chief petty officer. He graduated from New York Military Academy on a full scholarship and studied English literature and creative writing at Cornell University. Cassidy worked for '' The New York Times'' as a news assistant. His work appeared in '' The San Francisco Chronicle'', '' The New York Observer'' and the ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. He was a professional musician, starting as a reed player, and cutting an album as a singer and composer. He played

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, the Civic Auditorium, and '' The Tonight Show'' – performing with comedian George Carlin,

Kenny Rankin Kenneth Joseph Rankin (February 10, 1940 – June 7, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter in the folk rock and singer-songwriter genres; he was influenced by jazz. Rankin would often sing notes in a high range to express emotion. Biogr ...

, and Lilly Tomlin. Cassidy married Clare McIntyre, in 1983. In 1995, he founded and co-directed the Irish Studies program at

New College of California New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008. New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Miss ...

. In 2007 The magazine ''Irish America'' designated him as being among the most influential Irish Americans of the year. Cassidy died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

at his home in San Francisco.

Irish slang

In his 2007 book ''How the Irish Invented Slang'', Cassidy maintains that many common American slang words are of Irish origin, with the word '' dude'' for example being derived from " dúid" (meaning "foolish-looking fellow") and ''snazzy'' coming from "snasach" (meaning "polished, elegant"). Among other hundreds of other words he mentions are '' jazz'', ''

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

'', ''sucker'', and '' scam''. Cassidy proposes that since Irish immigrants were a marginalized group their influence on English would mainly be found in lower-status or colloquial slang expressions, leading them to be overlooked by mainstream dictionaries. The book won the 2007 American Book Awards for non-fiction. His etymological theories have not stood up to academic scrutiny and are considered factually incorrect and wishful thinking. The book relies almost entirely on phonetic similarity, finding coincidences where sound and meaning happen to look similar. It did not include historical analysis. Among those who have criticized his theories as being completely wrong are American lexicographer Grant Barrett and Irish lexicographer Terence Dolan, Professor of Old and Middle English at University College Dublin. Cassidy could speak no Irish when beginning this project.

Other works

Documentary films

* ''Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs'' * ''Uncensored Voices''

Albums

"Dan Cassidy"
was released by Little David Records (LD 1002) in 1972. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said, "Dan Cassidy projects an immense strength and a rare understanding of the human predicament circa early 1970s on this his initial album effort. He's seen his share of the unpretty side of life and his lyrics reflect this with the utmost sincerity and compassion."

References

External links

*
"Farewell To Daniel Cassidy", ''AK Press blog'', Alexander Cockburn, October 15, 2008

A blog debunking Cassidy's etymological theories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Daniel 1943 births 2008 deaths New York Military Academy alumni Cornell University alumni American Book Award winners 20th-century American male writers