[Ads-l] God rest on merry, Gentlemen

[Jonathan Lighter]

OED has "God rest you merry,' 'May God grant you peace and happiness,' from
1534.

So case closed.

JL

On Thu, Dec 9, 2021 at 6:42 AM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:

> Where Is The Comma In "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" Supposed To Go?
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxfxy-3dGz0
>
> (hat tip, Peter M. Head)
> [https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVF.StT8JzHYPD1i7X0KKrLF8w&pid=Api]<
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxfxy-3dGz0>
> Where Is The Comma In "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" Supposed To Go?<
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxfxy-3dGz0>
> This a capella arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" examines how
> commas can change meanings… often with unintended results. For more
> pedantic nonsense, you can follow me elsewhere: Reddit:
> https://reddit.com/u/RamsesThePigeon Twitter:
> https://twitter.com/RamsesThePigeon TikTok:
> https://tiktok.com/@RamsesThePigeon If you want to, you ...
> www.youtube.com
> (Nevermind, Oxford comma.)
>
> The Monthly Review 1764 p.395 has "God rest you, merry Gentlemen."
>
> And the earliest known printing--if 1760, as some claim--in a broadside,
> "Three New Christmas Carols" has
> "God rest on merry, Gentlemen."
>
> Stephen Goranson
> https://people.duke.edu/~goranson/
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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