blute n. a newspaper. Editorial Note: This term and its definition have repeatedly been taken (as in the 2002 cite) from David Maurer’s The Big Con (1940), often without attribution, so most later citations for the word are not free-standing and, therefore, cannot be considered as additional support for the term. One of Maurer’s original sources for the term is mentioned in the 1982 American Speech article cited below. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A memorable commencement speech by author Kurt Vonnegut celebrates books and “the sweet reluctance of their pages when you turn them with your sensitive fingertips.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Sweet Reluctance of...
Long before Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House on the Prairie (Bookshop|Amazon), she worked as a journalist, chronicling life in the Ozarks. In one of her early writings, Wilder refers to what she calls “the famous question”:...
In Elizabeth Hay’s novel “Late Nights On Air” a blute is a smoker who doesn’t inhale. This fits with the con concept. This is in contrast to a ‘clute’ who inhales but doesn’t smoke!