A Halloween word with a history. D.R.H.
We gave one of the Halloween words a close research look recently.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/spooky-speculation
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/spooky-speculation
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Spook is used in British English as slang for a spy, usually one of their own; it was even the name of a popular 10 season spy drama based on MI5. I don’t have online access to the OED so can’t see when this form was first used, but it has been there a little while.
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What newspaper archives did you find these particular papers in?