Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#26391 04/10/01 06:00 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
In this morning's paper which I read at lunch, there is an article about a curator at the Smithsonian who is looking for a pink slip. (Must be a slow news day -- this started on p. 1 below the fold.) This particular area of the museum has objects etc. related to work. They have actual samples of red tape, and other articles, but no pink slips. The curator in question (forget the name and I threw out the paper before I came back to the office) knows quite well what is meant by the term. He has tracked down the earliest usage of the term to ca. 1915 by a writer of pulp fiction. However, in spite of searches everywhere he can think of, he is unable to obtain an actual pink piece of paper which is a dismissal notice. With all the researching we all do on this board, perhaps we can help him. If it were possible to zero in on the use of the term to a specific industry or company, then one might be able to obtain a sample of the actual piece of paper. Failing this, we might be able to establish that there is some other meaning or derivation to the term and there never was any such paper. How about it?


#26392 04/11/01 03:44 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
G
old hand
Offline
old hand
G
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
Failing this, we might be able to establish that there
is some other meaning or derivation to the term and there never was any such paper. How about it?


Another meaning for pink slip was common in California years ago. The title to one's car was pink. To have a pink slip was, to a car owner, a good thing.

How about it, B96, or Dr Bill? Are they still pink?


#26393 04/11/01 09:02 PM
A
Anonymous
Unregistered
Anonymous
Unregistered
A
Another meaning for pink slip was common in California years ago. The title to one's car was pink. To have a pink slip was, to a car owner, a good thing...Are they still pink?

It's actually kind of rainbow-ish; pale green on the left, changing to yellow then to pink on the right. i do seem to recall a smaller, all-pink slip years ago, but i may be thinking of one of the DMV forms that you fill out when you sell the car.

Your Smithsonian curator must not google. i found this with minimal effort:

http://www.nacufs.org/services/publications/journal_1999/woods.asp

"The use of some form of appraisal or evaluation of employee performance is not new. Supervisors at Henry Ford Model T Company conducted daily performance appraisals in a very direct manner. At Ford, when employees finished their workday, they walked past a wall filled with cubbyholes. Each employee had a cubbyhole, and managers put a blank piece of paper in each daily. If a worker was given a white piece of paper it meant that his performance for that day had been acceptable. However, if an employee was given a pink piece of paper it meant that he was not invited back for another day of work; he was fired. This is the origin of the term "pink slip."


#26394 04/12/01 05:47 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
He already had that; it's quoted in the newspaper article. The problem is that no specimen of such a pink slip can be found and there is no real archival evidence of the veracity of this; absent some evidence, it would be taken as anecdotal only. Of course, if the papers were blank, there would be no hope of someone having saved one. (And why blank slips anyway? They couldn't put it into words if you were being fired? Makes the whole story sound unlikely.)


Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Perhaps the parsimonious Mr. Ford re-used the slips of paper?
wow



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5