WHO GIVES A 'TUCK-A-DUNT'?
Chicago, Illinois (JFK+50) In a special dispatch to the New York Herald dated May 15, 1922, the Windy City "is crediting Lady Astor* with a new word"...tuck-a-dunt.
Lady Astor, speaking at Orchestra Hall, said...
"I don't give a tuck-a-dunt for the unintelligent woman."
The dispatch states that tuck-a-dunt is "a mysterious something of equal value with a tinker's dam**."
*Nancy W.L. Astor (1879-1964) was born in Danville, Virginia & served in the British Parliament 1919-1945. Her second husband was Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor.
**A tinker's dam is a small piece of putty used to hold molten solder in place in repairing pots & pans. The small piece is discarded after use.
SOURCE
"Lady Astor Doesn't 'Give a Tuck-a-Dunt'," The New York Herald, May 16, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
