Going through the (e)motions--the book

[Wilson Gray]

On Sun, May 20, 2012 at 12:17 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
> Or maybe we could wait for the DVD version.

"Going through the (e)motions" > "going through the emotions" reminds
me of a '60's Los Angeles BE turn of phrase:

_going through the changes_,

specifically,

"dealing with the emotional consequences of the vicissitudes of life."

As is usual with slang or other colloquialism, the range of the phrase
was - apparently - extended to many other, more-or-less analogous
situations having to do with the general meaning of having to cope
with the consequences of any obligatory change: getting fired or
evicted, coming down with the flu, whatever. It's a reasonable
assumption, IMO, to assume that the specific meaning naturally led to
the extension to the general meaning of having to cope with a
situation over which a person has no control.

Taking a look into Google, with little effort I found,

The student's comprehensive Anglo-Bengali dictionary: compiled ... - Page 417
books.google.com
*1802* - 1278 pages
[3JSnt"(J ; ^fa- f3si3!?rr ; 55tt3I9l I] "Experience, eks-pE'ri-ens,
n., trial : experimental knowledge : repeated trial : continued and
varied observation : wisdom gained by

_going through the changes_

and trials of life."

The "new, colloquial" meaning has, in fact, been in use for a couple
of centuries.

Youneverknow.

Of course, in addition to _going through the changes_, there was also

_put through the changes_.

The oldest (semi-)relevant example that I've found is

History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties, New ... - Page 426
books.google.com
1879 - 687 pages
"By means of an ingenious arrangement, each calendar is proved by being

_put through the changes_

 [that occur over the course] of eight years. Time is indicated in the
English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Russian, and Asiatic
languages."

More recently, there's

Amazing stories: Volume 67
books.google.com
1993 - Snippet view
"'She loves you,' Thissa whispered. 'She knows she will never see you
again.' 'She will,' I said.'And when I come back, I'll tie her down
naked in the plaza and

_put her through the Changes [sic]_

with her own filthy little idol.' Color rose in Thissa's delicate
cheeks. She shook her head in horror and made a quick Witch-sign at
me, …"

IMO, the special "Changes" are only a subset of the ordinary
"changes," since further snippets reveal that, in the context of the
tale, _Changes_ with an upper-case _C_ is the word for sexual
intercourse, and, of course, engaging in sexual intercourse surely
puts a person through at least one of the many subsets of "the
changes."

To Ride the Tiger - Page 167
books.google.com
Robert L. Parker - 2004 - 388 pages
"My child will not be a thug, breaking the law and hurting people, all
in the name of the great, holy Mafia! Not my child! And, if I have a
daughter, in God's name, I won't have her

_put through the changes_

that I went through [as the daughter of a Mafia boss].

Split Indecision - Page 151

books.google.com
Pierre Bateau - 2006 - 276 pages
"I didn't want to

_put her through the changes_

that I was about to, but I felt that, if I didn't control this
situation from beginning to end, I couldn't be sure that the outcome
would be the right one."

And, on a more-obviously black tip <har! har!>, as well as in the
relevant time-frame, there's

Man Walking on Eggshells - Page 168
books.google.com
Herbert Simmons - 1962 - 221 pages
"Hey, dig. Me and the old man are kind of on the outs. So, I'ma split,
so I won't have to be

_going through them changes_,

if you know what I mean."

[Name-drop. Herb and I, in addition to us both being Angelenos from
Saint Louis, are also frat-brothers, he having been guest of honor at
my "line's" initiation banquet. Maybe, if I re-read his work, I can
find some documentation of my memories of StL slang. Youneverknow.;-)]

Billboard - Jun 20, 1970 - Page 57
books.google.com
Vol. 82, No. 25 - 64 pages - Magazine - Full view
BUDDY MILES- Them Changes. Mercury SR 61280 (S) Buddy Miles
"Well, my mind is

_going through them changes_ /

I feel just like committing a crime /  Every time you see me going
somewhere / I feel like I'm going out of my mind."

Of course, all of this is treated in HDAS under

change 3. usu. pl. Black E - where it didn't occur to me look for it,
until it was almost too late, because, for some reason, I expected it
to be under "put through" -

with another line from Simmons,

"Aw, baby, now you really

_taking me through some changes_."

But, I'm shocked! SHOCKED!! by the HDAS quote showing the use of the
singular, "… the telephone company will

_put you through *a change*_

to do it …"

 as documented by Woodley. This is Richard Woodley, author of Dealer:
Portrait of a Cocaine Merchant,1971, I take it. Of course,

Youneverknow.

Everything changes.

--
-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

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