The archives of the American Dialect Society List is a good source for exploring questions about words and phrases related to American usage.
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/ads-l.html

That Web site is a mirror of the full list and open to non-list members, although restricted to posts since 1999.
However, the ADS-list is VERY active (50-100 posts/day), because research is coordinated and informal results are posted, so even that minor restriction leaves a lot of posts.

In the last few years, a number of digital newspaper archives have gone on-line, and the pace, depth, and breadth of the findings has increased greatly.

Gwyn Alcock
Riverside, California



----- Original Message ----
From: Robert L. Schuyler <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 6:22:18 AM
Subject: Re: question re "happy face" pins

Although I am, right now excavating a 20th century site, this 
discussion seems to be drifting a bit. But  it is very fascinating so 
here goes. As we drove back from the site last week we got into a 
discussion of where the phrase "to give someone the bird" or 
"flipping the bird" comes from rather than saying just ---- you. It 
must be as old as the "happy face", much older, and probably does not 
descend from the Peace Symbol. We do, by the way, have a metal Peace 
Symbol on the Penn campus from the 1960s ("Above Ground 
Archaeology"), the only thing the Central Administration would allow 
the Anti-War Movement.

Back to the archaeology of words and phrases - What bird ??

Bob Schuyler