Full record for space cadet n.

Definition	a trainee spaceman
OED requirements	antedating 1948
Earliest cite	R. Heinlein 'Space Cadet'
Comment	Dan Tilque and Larry Headlund pointed out that Heinlein's "Space Cadet" was published in 1948. Rick Hauptmann provided a cite from the title of the first edition. Fred Galvin submitted a 1948 cite from an editorial blurb in Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1948. Earliest cite in the OED had been from 1952.
Last modified	6 July, 2008

Citations for space cadet n.

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2002 D. Danvers Watch xvi. 265	He's not there anymore. He's always someplace else. I mean, he's always been a space cadet, but he'd have his moments, you know? He'd let me in. He paid attention.
2004 P. F. Hamilton Pandora's Star v. 122	There's no one else left, Captain Kime. You're the last space cadet left in the galaxy. We need you.