[Ads-l] Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

ADSGarson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Tue Jan 12 22:34:49 UTC 2021


Barry Popik has a valuable entry on this topic.

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes”
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/play_stupid_games_win

The first citation which is dated Feb 25, 2007 appears in a signature
block in a website forum. This might be accurate, but dates on
websites are malleable. Also, I have seen signature blocks swapped
retroactively by software that displays messages in forums. The second
oldest citation is also in a website forum. The third oldest citation
appeared in the Google Groups database, and its date is 10/18/2008.

Garson

On Tue, Jan 12, 2021 at 1:58 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Earlier:
>
> 2015 _Ft. Collins Coloradan_ (July 26) A3: "Play stupid games, win stupid
> prizes." Tracy Zwetzig, via Facebook.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Jan 12, 2021 at 1:45 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > This is becoming something of a hot saying. It means, "Do something
> > stupid, pay the consequences."
> >
> > I'm mainly seeing it in GOP contexts involving armed people shot by police
> > for ignoring police commands.
> >
> > Earliest online date: 2018.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
>
>
> --
> "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

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



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