Laundry list

Posted by Joe Kralich on October 21, 2006

In Reply to: Laundry list posted by helene messina on October 20, 2006

: What is the origin of laundry list and who first coined the phrase?

It goes back to the American Civil War, so 1861 and such.

By the 1880's it was also applied to any "list" that one might use. It was both one that a family or business wrote up and a
published" list by the laundry.

Some lists were rather artful.

A bit difficult to research, but I recall most of what I have stated.

Joe in Colorado