[Ads-l] the NYTimes scrutinizes a traditional phrase

George Thompson george.thompson at NYU.EDU
Mon Nov 16 22:00:17 UTC 2020


"Mr. [Boris] Johnson’s well-worn description of himself as “fit as a
butcher’s dog” suggests a robust creature, well-fed on scraps from his
master’s cutting board, though etymologists note that such a dog can easily
become overweight."

GAT

-- 
George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998.

But when aroused at the Trump of Doom / Ye shall start, bold kings, from
your lowly tomb. . .
L. H. Sigourney, "Burial of Mazeen", Poems.  Boston, 1827, p. 112

The Trump of Doom -- also known as The Dunghill Toadstool.  (Here's a
picture of his great-grandfather.)
http://www.parliament.uk/worksofart/artwork/james-gillray/an-excrescence---a-fungus-alias-a-toadstool-upon-a-dunghill/3851

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



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