6/30/2020 Daniel Cassidy - Wikipedia

Daniel Cassidy
Daniel Cassidy (1943 – October 11, 2008) was an American writer, filmmaker, musician, and
academic.[1] He is known for his 2007 book How the Irish invented Slang in which he suggests that
several American slang words are of Irish origin,[1] his theories have however not stood up to academic
scrutiny and are considered factually incorrect.[2][3]

Contents
Biography
Irish slang
Other works
Documentary films
Albums
References
External links

Biography
Cassidy grew up in Queens and on Long Island in New York.[4] He was the son of a Navy chief petty
officer.[1] He graduated from New York Military Academy on a full scholarship and studied English
literature and creative writing at Cornell University.[1] Cassidy worked for The New York Times as a
news assistant.[1] His work appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Observer and the
Atlantic Monthly.[1]

He was a professional musician, starting as a reed player, and cutting an album as a singer and
composer.[1] He played Carnegie Hall, the Civic Auditorium, and The Tonight Show – performing with
comedian George Carlin, Kenny Rankin, and Lilly Tomlin.[1]

Cassidy married Clare McIntyre, in 1983.[1]

In 1995, he founded and co-directed the Irish Studies program at New College of California.[1] In 2007
The magazine Irish America designated him as being among the most influential Irish Americans of the
year.[1]

Cassidy died of pancreatic cancer at his home in San Francisco.[1]

Irish slang
In his 2007 book How the Irish invented Slang, Cassidy maintains that several common American slang
words are of Irish origin, with the word dude for example being derived from "dúid" (meaning "foolish-
looking fellow")[4] and snazzy coming from "snasach" (meaning "polished, elegant").[4] Among other
hundreds of other words he mentions are jazz, poker, sucker, and scam.[1] Cassidy proposes that since
Irish immigrants were a marginalized group[5] their influence on English would mainly be found in
lower-status or colloquial slang expressions,[3] leading them to be overlooked by mainstream
dictionaries.[3]

The book won the 2007 American Book Awards for non-fiction.[4]

His etymological theories have not stood up to academic scrutiny and are considered factually
incorrect[6] and wishful thinking.[7] The book relies almost entirely on phonetic similarity,[5] finding
coincidences where sound and meaning happen to look similar.[3] It did not include historical
analysis.[3][6] Among those who have criticized his theories as being completely wrong are American
lexicographer Grant Barrett[6] and Irish lexicographer Terence Dolan, Professor of Old and Middle
English at University College Dublin.[7]

Cassidy could speak no Irish when beginning this project.[8]

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6/30/2020 Daniel Cassidy - Wikipedia

Other works

Documentary films
Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs[1]
Uncensored Voices[1]

Albums
"Dan Cassidy" (https://www.discogs.com/Dan-Cassidy-Dan-Cassidy/release/2382157) was released
by Little David Records (LD 1002) in 1972. Billboard 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."[9]

References
1. "Irish American Daniel Cassidy dead at 65" (https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Irish-American-D
aniel-Cassidy-dead-at-65-3189914.php). SFGate. October 15, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
2. Zwicky, Arnold (November 9, 2007). "Gullibility in high places" (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languag
elog/archives/005098.html). Language Log. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
3. MacDougall, Heather (Fall 2007). "Review of How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of
the Crossroads". The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies. 33 (2): 74. doi:10.2307/25515689 (https://do
i.org/10.2307%2F25515689). JSTOR 25515689 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/25515689).
4. Kilgannon, Corey (November 8, 2007). "Humdinger of a Project: Tracing Slang to Ireland" (https://ww
w.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/nyregion/08irish.html). The New York Times.
5. Brady, Michael Patrick (October 17, 2007). "How the Irish Invented Slang by Daniel Cassidy" (https://
www.popmatters.com/how-the-irish-invented-slang-by-daniel-cassidy-2496205611.html).
PopMatters. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
6. Barrett, Grant (November 9, 2007). "Humdinger of a Bad Irish Scholar" (https://grantbarrett.com/hum
dinger-of-a-bad-irish-scholar/). Retrieved March 6, 2020.
7. Power, Ed. "How we gave the Yanks the gift of our gab" (https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/b
ooks/how-we-gave-the-yanks-the-gift-of-our-gab-26442655.html). Irish Independent. Retrieved
March 6, 2020.
8. "Giving America cúpla focal" (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/giving-america-c%C3%BApla-focal-1.
951856). The Irish Times. July 28, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
9. "Album Reviews" (https://books.google.com/books?id=CSgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50). Billboard. Los
Angeles: Billboard Publications Inc. 84 (27): 50. July 1, 1972. ISSN 0006-2510 (https://www.worldcat.
org/issn/0006-2510). Retrieved April 9, 2016.

External links
How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads (https://archive.org/details/ho
wirishinvented0000cass). CounterPunch Books and AK Press. July 2007. ISBN 978-1-904859-60-4
– via Internet Archive.
"Farewell To Daniel Cassidy", AK Press blog, Alexander Cockburn, October 15, 2008 (http://www.rev
olutionbythebook.akpress.org/farewell-to-daniel-cassidy/)
A blog debunking Cassidy's etymological theories (https://cassidyslangscam.wordpress.com/)

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