Stephen King's grocery list (1992?)

Sam Clements SClements at NEO.RR.COM
Fri Aug 4 00:36:31 UTC 2006


And a 1989 use of the phrase relating to Vladimir Nabokov's writing. Using
N'archive.

 "Whether he was writing to a publisher, writing to a son, making up a
grocery list--there was always something original in how he phrased it."

Sam Clements
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Callan" <james.callan at COMCAST.NET>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 8:04 PM
Subject: Stephen King's grocery list (1992?)


> For years, I've heard variations on the idea that Stephen King could
> publish his grocery list and have a best seller. I've been trying to track
> down the origin of that idea -- the original quote, even -- but I'm not
> having much luck.
>
> One of the few related quotes I could find through Proquest was from the
> LA Times on Jan. 19, 1992, in a parody list of "a few upcoming films":
>
> "Stephen King's Grocery List." A thriller torn from the shopping cart of
> America's horror master. Martin Sheen stars as the Evil Bagel. (De
> Laurentiis Ent.)
>
> http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=61567469&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=11206&RQT=309&VName=PQD
>
> But I'd swear I'd heard that said about him even in the '80s, when he was
> at the height of his best-selling powers. Can anyone find an earlier
> version of the phrase? Or figure out if it originated about Stephen King,
> or was said about earlier authors?
>
> Thanks.
>
> James Callan
> neologasm.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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