"Throw the Bums Out"

Shapiro, Fred fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
Thu May 6 14:25:08 UTC 2010


Someone asked me today about the origin of the phrase "throw the bums out."  This is an important political expression, but in a few minutes of research I don't see it in The Yale Book of Quotations or the OED or Safire's Political Dictionary.  I haven't yet run it through the databases.  Is anyone able to supply any information about early uses?

Fred Shapiro

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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list