[Ads-l] "Ants on a log" -- Request from a freelance writer

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Great work by Barry whose analysis begins with a 1915 citation.

Here is a partially matching precursor in 1902 based on the same
metaphorical framework. The domain is political activism. There are a
group of ants (political activists) on a floating platform. The ants
have no real control over the movement of the platform. This differs
from the 1915 citation because the platform is a ship and not a log.
Also, the illusion of control is not mentioned.

Date: April 8, 1902
Newspaper: Richmond Dispatch
Newspaper Location: Richmond, Virginia
Article: Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention (continuation title)
Start Page 10, Quote Page 11, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com
Comment: Ellipsis is in the original text

[Begin excerpt]
This is their platform: "Anti-Roosevelt-Booker Washington dinner... On
that platform they are huddled like a parcel of ants on a floating
ship in time of high water. They don't seem to know or care which way
they are drifting.
[End excerpt]

Barry's citations jump from 1915 to 1943. Here is a pertinent citation
in 1922. The same metaphorical framework is used, and the domain is
political activism. The ants (political activists) are on a floating
log. The log rolls uncontrollably. Individual ants maintain an
illusion of control.

Date: January 31, 1922
Newspaper: The Topeka Daily Capital
Newspaper Location: Topeka, Kansas
Article: Kansas Day Crowd Mills Thru Lobby of National Hotel Like
Militant Ants on Floating Log
Author: Morse Salisbury (K.S.A.C. Journalism student)
Quote Page 7, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

Article was clipped by someone else in 2017.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9916336/the_topeka_daily_capital/

[Begin excerpt]
"The gang here in the lobby of the National on Kansas day always
reminds me of the story J. E. Hurley, former general manager of the
Santa Fe related to illustrate his impressions of the first Kansas day
crowd he saw," said Joe N. Dolley, bank commissioner during the Stubbs
administration, yesterday morning.

"Hurley sat for some three hours watching the milling crowd. Finally
he observed to me, "This bunch inspires me to believe that Kansas
politicians have heeded the advice of Solomon to learn from the ant.
These fellows look like a bunch of ants I once saw floating down a
swollen stream on a log. The log rolled over and over, throwing some
of the ants into the water at each revolution. However, they would
scramble on top again, and mill around wildly, each a trifle more
self-important than the other, as if they were telling the world how
they made that log roll over'."
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Jul 21, 2019 at 1:02 PM Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu> wrote:
>
> Dear ads-l members,
>
>
> I've received the request below concerning "ants on a log" (a type of food
>
> I had never heard of before); the request led to an initial response from
>
> Barry Popik on his invaluable website barrypopik.com
>
> (https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/ants_on_a_log_floating/
>
> The writer's email to me appears below my signoff.  Can anyone help her
>
> with any additional information?  Her article promises to be an interesting one.
>
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> Missouri University of Science & Technology
>
>
>
> From: Mara Weinraub <mara.weinraub at gmail.com<mailto:mara.weinraub at gmail.com>>
> Sent: Friday, July 19, 2019 3:45 PM
> To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> Subject: Media Inquiry: Ants on a log origin
>
>
>
> <snip>
>
>
>
> Barry Popik recommended I reach out to you. I'm researching an article
>
> on the origin of the "ants on a log" for an article in Food52.
>
>
>
> From my research the "ants on a log" (the snack) first appeared in print
>
> around 1959. But I'm interested in learning about the origin of the phrase
>
>  beyond food. I spoke with researcher at Cornell and he said the phrase
>
> seems to have currency in America as a way of describing a group of people
>
> undergoing change while having the illusion of being in control. "I've seen
>
> one article attribute the phrase to Mark Twain, but it seems more likely to
>
> have been a common simile."
>
>
>
> If you have any insight or leads, I'd very much appreciate it.
>
>
>
> Thank you for your time and consideration,
>
>
>
> Mara Weinraub
>
> Freelance Writer
>
> --
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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