Thomas A. Dorgan

He was born in San Francisco . When he was thirteen years old, he lost the last three fingers of his right hand in an accident with a factory machine. He took up drawing for therapy. A year later at the age of 14 he joined the art staff of the '' San Francisco Bulletin ''. By 1902 he was not only the top sports cartoonist for the '' New York Journal '', but also a reporter and sportswriter. Jack Dempsey described him as "the greatest authority on boxing".

Dorgan is generally credited with either creating or popularizing such words and expressions as "dumbbell" (a stupid person); "for crying out loud" (an exclamation of astonishment); "cat's meow" and "cat's pajamas" (as superlatives); "applesauce" (nonsense); "cheaters" (eyeglasses); "skimmer" (a hat); "hard-boiled" (a tough person); "drugstore cowboy" (loafers or ladies' men); "nickel-nurser" (a miser); "as busy as a one-armed paperhanger" (overworked); and "Yes, we have no bananas," which was turned into a popular song.

His New York Times obituary brackets him with George Ade and Ring Lardner as popularizers of "a new slang vernacular," and also credits him as originator of "Twenty-three, Skidoo," "solid ivory," "Dumb Dora," "finale hopper," "Benny" for hat and "dogs'" for shoes.op. cit.

W.J. Funk , of the Funk And Wagnall's dictionary company, placed Dorgan at the top of the list of the 10 "most fecund makers of American slang".

Dorgan has been credited with coining the term " had one posted in his office and told visitors it was the origin of the phrase. However, Popik found an 1895 reference to "hot dogs" in the Yale Record , antedating TAD's first use of the term in 1906.Popik, Barry: Hot Dog (Polo Grounds myth)

Dorgan retired in the early 1920s because of poor health and died of heart disease, hastened by pneumoniaop. cit.

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Thomas A. Dorgan