[Ads-l] Quote: Attlee is a modest man who has a great deal to be modest about

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for your valuable response, Stephen. The QI article does
include two precursors in 1920 and 1927 with "good deal to be modest
about" and "plenty to be modest about". Yet, the 1940 citation is
arguably a closer match.

Garson


On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 10:01 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
> As you may know, according to an unverified google snippet, a 1940 use:
>
> "As a Roumanian student said to an Englishman, "You English are very modest fellows, but you always manage to convey the impression that you've a great deal to be modest about."
>
> Supposedly on p. 205 of Can Christianity save Civilization? by Walter Marshall Horton.
>
>
> And sometimes said of Aneurin Bevin, Attlee's Labour associate.
>
>
> Stephen Goranson
>
> http://people.duke.edu/~goranson/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <...> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <...>
> Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2017 9:40 AM
> To: ...
> Subject: [ADS-L] Quote: Attlee is a modest man who has a great deal to be modest about
>
> The statement in the subject line is usually attributed to Winston
> Churchill. It has been examined by several researchers, e.g., Nigel
> Rees, Ralph Keyes, Fred R. Shapiro, and Richard M. Langworth.
>
> In the past, a citation in 1954 was the earliest published evidence
> presented in reference works. Now, I've posted an article on the Quote
> Investigator website with a December 9, 1945 citation together with
> other early items of evidence.
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__quoteinvestigator.com_2017_08_23_modest_&d=DwIBaQ&c=imBPVzF25OnBgGmVOlcsiEgHoG1i6YHLR0Sj_gZ4adc&r=uUVa-8oDL2EzfbuMuowoUadHHcJ7pjul6iFkS5Pd--8&m=h4aMnz7Ojyl0FI-e3ge_LlW_V2kr2A2v1GQ9wk-vAd0&s=2NiUTdw_Fk5O88IMifwhHn1q5H6JGXHpj3cmL_MUNt4&e=
>
> Feedback welcome
>
> Garson
>
>
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