[Ads-l] "Blow me" (was: Antedating of Jamboree)

Andy Bach afbach at GMAIL.COM
Fri Feb 16 17:45:09 UTC 2018


> Or, as I've often seen in fiction (though I can't remember any references
to cite), generally set in the 17th or 18th century, "I'll be blowed!" I
associate it with nautical settings.

I recall "Blow me for a <something>" (not an easy google ;-)  This is, I
think, satire but:
“Blow me for a landlubber if I like that!” he said, in a hardly audible
whisper.  “And shiver my timbers if I don’t find out what she’s there for.
If anybody thinks he can run an opposition line to mine on this river he’s
mightily mistaken.  If it comes to competition, I can carry shades for
nothing and still quaff the B. & G. yellow-label benzine three times a day
without experiencing a financial panic.  I’ll show ’em a thing or two if
they attempt to rival me.  And what a boat!  It looks for all the world
like a Florentine barn on a canal-boat.”
http://www.kellscraft.com/HouseBoatRiverStyx/HouseBoatRiverStyxCh01.html

I recall the "The Sword and the Stone" (Disney's take on "The once and
future king" as a cartoon) Merlin cursing with "Blow me to Bermuda" which
his magic then does.

>> “'What ails my Love?’ asked Glorianna, regarding his face for the first
>> time; 'whence come these bruised cheeks, those bloody nose, this puffy
lip
>> and ensanguined mug? Blow me if I don’t think you’ve been on a
jamboree!'”

> "those nose" ?

Don't look at me, ask Glorianna.


On Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 11:10 AM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at gmail.com> wrote:

> Or, as I've often seen in fiction (though I can't remember any references
> to cite), generally set in the 17th or 18th century, "I'll be blowed!" I
> associate it with nautical settings.
>
> (Also noting the condiments for beets; thanks, Wilson.)
>
> Andy: "*those* bloody nose"?
>
> Mark, not a sailor
>
>
> On Feb 15, 2018 4:16 PM, "Wilson Gray" <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Blow me
>
> Back in the '70's, I knew an Englishwoman who used this as her common
> exclamation.
>
> > vinegar on beets makes them fine to eat
>
> That's true, it does, though, in my family, onion slices were sometimes
> included in the recipe.
>
> On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 2:19 PM, Andy Bach <afbach at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Huh.  While I'd guess:
> > “'What ails my Love?’ asked Glorianna, regarding his face for the first
> > time; 'whence come these bruised cheeks, those bloody nose, this puffy
> lip
> > and ensanguined mug? Blow me if I don’t think you’ve been on a
> jamboree!'”
>
>
>


-- 

a

Andy Bach,
afbach at gmail.com
608 658-1890 cell
608 261-5738 wk

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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list