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The online OED does not have this sense of the word "grandfather" either as adjective
("grandfather clause") or verb ("they were grandfathered in").
 
Oklahoma 1910 may very well be the beginning of this usage. 
 
In Chicago (at least) the term "grandfathered in" has spread from the law into the general
public -- for example, a basement apartment, which would be illegal, is "grandfathered in"
because it was there before the code made it illegal.
 
 
Martin C. Tangora 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
 
 
 
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