"drown like kittens"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 5/24/2009 06:13 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
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>"Drown in the manner in which kittens drown" or "drown in the manner
>in which some people cause kittens to drown, in order to be rid of the
>kittens"?

The latter -- in order to be rid of the unwanted beings.

Joel


>-Wilson
>­­­
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>-Mark Twain
>
>
>
>
>
>On Sat, May 23, 2009 at 3:57 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the
> mail header -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      "drown like kittens"
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I am looking for discussions about the phrase "drown like kittens",
> > specifically its use before 1835 and perhaps its date of origin.
> >
> > Joel

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