"Sock It to Me"

[Wilson Gray]

This was indeed the chorus. However, I know of no reason to believe
that Aretha's "Respect" is either the origin or even the popularizer of
the contemporary meaning of the phrase. It was used as a catch phrase
on the TV show, "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." This is a far more likely
source for the general public than the song. "Respect," given that
Aretha had not yet crossed the color line at that time. From the BBC
Comedy Guide: "The series [1967-1973]  was stuffed full of recurring
characters, skits and, in particular, _catch phrases_, all of which
were soon ringing around the school-halls and workplaces of America.
These included _'Sock it to me'_ (usually said by the
American-domiciled British actress Judy Carne, who duly became known as
the 'sock it to me girl')..." Before that, it was a common -
undocumented, needless to say - slang term amongst the colored.

-Wilson Gray

On Jun 4, 2005, at 2:43 PM, Fred Shapiro wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      "Sock It to Me"
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> According to the Cassell Dictionary of Catchphrases,
>
> "The actual phrase was taken from a hit record entitled 'Respect'
> (1967)
> recorded by Aretha Franklin, which featured a chorus repeating 'Sock
> it to
> me' quite rapidly in the background."
>
> Can anyone confirm that this was the chorus?  Also, does anyone know of
> any pre-1967 usage of "sock it to me" (I am aware of 19th-century
> usage of
> the phrase "sock it to him")?
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
> Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
> Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF
> QUOTATIONS
>   Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
> Yale Law School                             forthcoming
> e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu
> http://quotationdictionary.com
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>