Get my __ on

Michael K. Gottlieb michael.gottlieb at YALE.EDU
Tue Oct 5 02:18:31 UTC 1999


I apologize if any of the following have already been discussed:

- Is anyone familiar with the derivation of the "getting my ___ on"
construction?  Are there any similar constructions in other languages
or is this an invention particular to English speakers of my generation?
The phrase, which originally refered to "getting play," as in, "getting my
freak on," has been extended to just about anything:

        Gonna get my drink on.  (get drunk)
        Gonna get my game on.   (play well)
        Gonna get my Elvis on.  (act like Elvis)


- The word is "zerbit" and refers to a variation of what some people call
a "raspberry," which is achieved by placing one's mouth on somebody else's
face (or tummy of a baby) and blowing out so as to give them a "zerbit."
Most people are familiar with the word from Bill Cosby's _The Cosby Show_
of the 80s and early 90s.  Cosby apparently created the word.  Has anyone
heard it elsewhere/earlier than

- Is the ultimate homogenizaton of American dialects plausible?



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