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Oh I understand where you are coming from. That does not mean I buy into your theory. The origin of the phrase coming from the Lincoln assassination has some credibility. That is not to say that I would dismiss other theories. Any written reference preceding 1865 would suffice.

As for parlor tricks, would you believe that if you took my phone number and added the digits together it would produce the identical sum as the phone number for the Kmart in Simi Valley?

As for parlor tricks, would you believe that if you took my phone number and added the digits together it would produce the identical sum as the phone number for the Kmart in Simi Valley

I don't believe it................ they really have a K Mart in Simi Valley?

"An ingenious theory, and it wouldn’t surprise us a bit if the story of Dr. Mudd and his claim of ignorance may have contributed to the popularity of the expression during the nineteenth century."

"However, ‘mud’ in the sense of scandalous of defamatory charges goes back to a time well before the Civil War. In fact, this was an expression at least as long ago as 1846. So it seems most likely that the expression ‘His name is mud’ was well established before Dr. Mudd met his unhappy fate."

"True. The OED lists a usage from early in the 19th century... and I wouldn't be surprised to find it had been used even earlier. The association of mud with worthlessness is obvious and natural."

This Q&A from an English professor is the best I can do, but he asserts it was current in USA as early as 1846, and that is when the German immigration was highest. No one has ever beaten me on these yet! Best, crystalk.