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Sorry, this isn't working for me

Posted by ESC on July 04, 2011 at 17:35

In Reply to: Sorry, this isn't working for me posted by Jenny Laws on July 04, 2011 at 09:42:

: Hi, I'm a PhD student at Durham University. I am interested in when the word 'work' was first applied to (romantic) relationships - i.e. the notion that a relationship could 'work' or not. (The dreaded "sorry, this isn't working for me" etc...). I would guess the 1970s but wondered if there was anyway of finding some early examples/ evidence to this?

: I'd be very grateful for anyone who could shed any light on this.

: Thanks,

Item in "Walter Winchell on Broadway," a syndicated column:

The vice-president of a railroad is wed to a girl 10 years his junior. They have two tots. A few years ago she started a romance with a chap whose last name is like a milk firm's...Six months later they told the husband about it. He said "I'm satisfied with the way things are going. Let them continue." Last week he told her: "This isn't working out right. I'll give you a divorce so you can marry him." The story is expected to break in a few days.

Logansport Pharos-Tribune, August 22, 1939, Logansport, Ind., Page 9.

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