Take the rag off the bush

[Charles Doyle]

Just quickly checking the books near at hand:  B. J. Whiting's _Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases_ (1977) gives "To take the rag off the bush" (#R10), with two quotations from 1810.  Of course, that doesn't answer the etiological question . . . .

--Charlie
_________________________________________

---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 09:18:28 -0500
>From: Scot LaFaive <spiderrmonkey at HOTMAIL.COM>
>Subject: Take the rag off the bush
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>Found this in The Met by Chance (1873) by Olive Logan. The phrase is very strange, but sounds nice. As does "jackassiness."

>"To come here and listen to a play that's squalled at you in language you don't understand, jest takes the rag off the bush for jackassiness, according to my notion." (p. 264)

>This person (http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/printthread.php?t=3D16144&pa=ge=3D3&pp=3D20) seems to think it comes from a Ireland, but the etymology sounds too perfect to be true. Anyone know if this is true?

>Scot LaFaive

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