[Ads-l] "so crazy it might just work"

[Laurence Horn]

How far back does "crazy like a fox" go?  Seems at least distantly
related.

On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 4:45 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> It must be significant that a direct connection between craziness and a
> real chance of success seems to not to have been a "meme" until the 1930s
> or later.
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 4:33 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > There are many variations on the theme, e.g. "It's just crazy enough to
> > work."
> >
> > ---
> > Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), Dec. 20, 1944, p. 10
> > "I have heard some people say the whole business is crazy, and it may
> be,"
> > Harrod said. "But maybe it's just crazy enough to work out."
> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47400034/just-crazy-enough-to-work-out/
> > ---
> > Brockway (PA) Record, Nov. 15, 1956, p. 6
> > Old Greg had explained the plan to us the night before, and by George it
> > was just crazy enough to work.
> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47402250/just-crazy-enough-to-work/
> > ---
> > Miami Herald, Jan. 20, 1958, p. 10C
> > "It's one of my crazy ideas," he [sc. John Steinbeck] said. "But it might
> > be crazy enough to work."
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47402306/it-might-be-crazy-enough-to-work/
> > ---
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 3:04 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Has anyone not heard this optimistic phrase?
> > >
> > > Earliest?
> > >
> > > 1967 Erma Bombeck in _Plain Dealer_ (Cleveland) (March 30) 19: It's so
> > > crazy, it might just work.
> > >
> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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