Vocaboly.com

[Bill Clark]

Somewhere along the line I picked up using the phrase "shortly ago" as
in:

John arrived shortly ago.

Most of my linguist co-workers think it sounds awful, and accused me of
using South-Jersey-isms. My South Jersey friends disavow any claim to
this usage. My British friends insist they're not to blame.

It's common enough usage (though obviously non-standard) that can be
found in many cases by a search of the web or Usenet, but I can't
figure out where it comes from.

As best I can figure, it's a multi-word adverb basically synonymous
with 'recently'. Has anyone else heard this usage, and if so where?
-Bill

[ray o'hara]

You're a trend setter Bill.

[Peter Duncanson]

On 1 Feb 2005 08:54:31 -0800, "Bill Clark" <wclarkxoom@gmail.com> wrote:

[Mike Lyle]

Bill Clark wrote:

[sheirin]

Usage of "shortly ago" has been on record in the U.S. at least as far back as the mid-19th century.

Just do a search for the phrase on [url]NYTimes.com[/url]. (Or go to: http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=%22shortly+ago%22&more=date_all.)

While a search of the New York Times archives dating back to 1851 only yields 9 results, it can hardly be said these writers are exclusively amateurs, foreign-born or first-generation.

See, e.g.,

NEWS-GATHERERS IN TIME OF WAR.; THE DIFFICULTY OF SECURING INFORMATION
... found out to his cost shortly ago; for, being taken while prowling about the environs of the camp of Ploiesti, he was interrogated by the Russian ... ...
July 12, 1877

Q & A: Pierluigi Collina - Goal Blog
hope you understand that I don't want to go too deeply into this matter because of my positions and because it happened so shortly ago. ...
October 31, 2008 - Goal

Leaders of Nation Eulogize Borah; 'WORLD LOSS'--LA GUARDIA Mayor, Dewey and Simpson Laud Borah as Stateman
... President [Roosevel] also spoke of Senator Borah, who was sponsor of the bill creating the Children's Bureau, at the outset of his address to the White House Conference on Children in a Democracy, when he said: "I come here tonight with a very heavy heart, because shortly ago I received word of the passing of a very, old friend of mine, ...
January 20, 1940

GERMANY NOT YET READY; A THEORY THAT GEN. BOULANGER ACTED ON ...
As one of the Colonels at Luneville said in my hearing shortly ago: " we are very quiet and comfortable, and we ought not to be, so close are we to the to frontier."...
October 16, 1887

THE FINANCIAL MARKETS
It is encouraging that the money market is better than could have been hoped for shortly ago, but it is discouraging to have it easy because of diminishing requirements ...
October 20, 1903

BUCHAREST IN SUMMER.; INCIDENTS OF RUSSIAN ARMY LIFE. THE CHARMS OF OBSCENITY IN THE ROUMANIAN CAPITAL...
... There has been another unsuccessful encounter with the Turkish Army--an "undecided" affair in official phraseology--where, is not yet made known, but probably in an attempt to cross the Jantra; the Russians must have suffered heavily for every train brings up large consignments of wounded, and the amateur Red Cross people, who shortly ago complained that they had nothing to do, have their hands full...
July 30, 1877

One Who May Get Dispossessed - Wordplay Blog
Came back shortly ago, retried LAMS after a flirtation with LEGS and HOPS, took another look at JAZZ SESSION, and suddenly it all popped ...
August 21, 2009 - Wordplay Blog

BENNETT PRAISES LABOR'S LOYALTY; Says Workers Give Freely of Lives ...
It seems almost a miracle that divergent groups of only shortly ago are today entwined with only one objective. That objective is victory. ...
September 7, 1942

TOO MANY MASTERS HAMPERED RELIEF, COL. WILGUS SAYS; HE DENOUNCES ...
Nevertheless, blame me if you will, I remained until shortly ago, when I resigned subject to the termination of this investigation. ...
April 12, 1935

Now the New York Times is no OED; but also keep in mind that the OED did not sire the English language. Like any other dictionary, the OED essentially provides a descriptive (i.e., not necessarily prescriptive or normative), linguistic record of the English language as used by native speakers. The same can be said for the NY Times, as for any other such newspaper.

Of course, that doesn't stop some from regarding sources like the OED as the definitive authority on proper use of the English language. I find it worthwhile to remind those people the OED did not result from some mystical conversation between a prophet-linguist and a burning bush-grammar book.

Any good linguist acknowledges that the role of linguistics is not to dictate how people ought to use a language, but rather to capture and understand the way a given language is used by a population.[/url]