Donna Richoux wrote:
> John Dean <john-d...@frag.lineone.net> wrote:
> > tomcatpo...@yaNOSPAMhoo.com wrote:
> > > Alasdair Baxter <l...@london.com> wrote:
> > >> On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 02:17:23 -0000, "John Dean"
> > >> <john-d...@frag.lineone.net> wrote:
> > >>> << 1850 Congress. Globe App. 4 Mar. 324/3 There should be no
> > >>> skulking or dodging+every man should 'face the music'.>>
> > >> Sorry, but this doesn't explain the derivation of the expression. It
> > >> just shows that it was used in 1850.
[big snip]
> I just checked RHHDAS, which has a long entry.
> First is the definition "to face hardship or danger," with seven
> citations from 1850 to 1900. The first is the same as the one in the
> OED. I notice that the quotes do not seem at all to be military in
> nature -- although the three from 1861-4 are about army life, as you
> might imagine.
> Second is the definition "to face the consequences," marked "now
> Standard English," with citations from 1862 to 1991.
> Origin still a mystery.
ProQuest has slightly earlier citations on APS Online, a database of
18th- and 19th-century American periodicals. The three earliest, from
the abolitionist newspaper "The National Era", all relate to Congress:
ITEMS.
National Era. Washington: Jul 13, 1848.
Vol. II, No. 80, p. 111
Mr. FOOTE--As the Senator from New Hampshire is an aspirant
himself, what does he think a candidate ought to do?
Mr. HALE--(with promptitude and humor) Why, stand up and
face the music.
[John P. Hale was the first abolitionist senator and ran
for president in 1848 as a candidate of the Liberty Party.
Hale was criticizing Lewis Cass, who had resigned from the
Senate to run for president on the Democratic ticket.]
THE COMPOSITION OF THE NEXT CONGRESS.
National Era. Washington: Mar 22, 1849.
Vol. III, No. 12, p. 46
Caleb Smith preferred not to "face the music" in his
District, having disappointed the hopes of his constituents.
CONGRESS.
National Era. Washington: Dec 20, 1849.
Vol. III, No. 51, p. 102
[Sen. Root:] They could not get out of it. No; they must
face the music-- God help them!
The last quote is taken from the Congressional Globe, the precursor to
the Congressional Record (also the source of the 1850 OED cite), online
at <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwcg.html>. The surrounding text
for Sen. Root's quote is here (first full paragraph of second column):
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=022/llcg022...
ProQuest has many cites for "face the music" through the 1850s in APS
periodicals and the New York Times (searchable from 1851), a surprising
number of which appear in quotes from members of Congress and other
politicians. None of this helps explain the origins of the phrase,
though perhaps antebellum politicians would have been more likely to
pick up on a phrase from military circles than from musical theater!
