Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a brief piece of promotional material, typically as printed on the back of books; also as v., to promote.

1910		Topeka State Jrnl (KS) 1 Jan. 9/4: Gelett Burgess [...] coined two words that have ‘stuck’ [...] A ‘blurb’ is [...] ‘a noise like a publisher,’ and to ‘blureb’ is to push a book with fulsome praise. We are familiar enough with publishers’ ‘blurbs’ to need no further description.
1913		S.F. Call 14 July 9/7: The wrapper [...] bears whnat gelett Burgess calls a ‘blurb.’ A ‘blurb’ [...] is a blatant, boastful boost.
1916		O.O. McIntyre New York Day By Day 29 Aug. [synd. col.] However, despite Mr Harris’ ‘blurbing,’ he seems to have grabbed Pearson’s as it was going sdown for the last time.
1917		Day Book (Chicago) 11 Apr. 11/1: His pitchers are competent, but the catching staff offers no huge blurb of encouragement.
1922		letter in P. Jay Sel. Correspondence of Burke and Cowley (1990) 118: I did, however, follow your blurb suggestions, I raved about your rare anti-romanticism.
1923		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 23 July [synd. col.] His next book, blurbed as by the author of ‘West of the Water Tower,’ will have a following ready for it.
1927		E. Hemingway letter 1Nov. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 265: The deliberate twisting of the blurb was what angered me.
1932		J. Dixon Free To Love 24: That same old book he’s been blurbing about. Well, it ought to be good. He’s taking enough time to write it.
1937		‘George Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier in Complete Works V (1986) 75: The stuff that gets whooped up by the blurb-reviewers.
1946		J. Adams From Gags to Riches 154: ‘How’s the bust man?’ Berle shot at Earl Wilson, avoiding all the blurbs thrown at him.
1957		Kerouac letter 8 Nov. in Charters II (1999) 81: I wrote a jacket-blurb for Gregory Corso’s new book.
1965		K. Amis letter 9 Nov. in Leader (2000) 664: I think no blurb at all, whatever the jacket.
1979		F. Norman Too Many Crooks Spoil the Caper 86: What a blurb you’re going to be able to put on the dustjacket.
1981		Observer Mag. The Lennon Years Jan. 28: Even if my description seems like the sort of blurb they hand out in brochures, I would urge anyone who hasn’t seen the film [...] to do so.
1999		Indep. Rev. 15 June 1: First, though, to the blurb on the back.
2001		Guardian G2 4 June 5: You can read the technical blurb at www. ...

2. promotional talk.

1942		P. Wylie Generation of Vipers xviii: We are talky people but our whole jargon consists, nowadays, of blurb.
1960		J. Brosnan Long Season 162: I answered his question about enthusiasm with an unnecessary blurb about the great opportunity it was to be associated with him.
2000		Guardian G2 31 Jan. 4: He gives you a lot of blurb about planetary positions.

3. a short newspaper or magazine article.

1963		H.S. Thompson letter 28 Apr. in Proud Highway (1997) 377: Except for that blurb in Time.
1989		C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 182: These fiascos each resulted in [...] snide blurbs in the press.