[Ads-l] Possible precursor to Huxley (1885) on witnesses as liars, experts

[Stephen Goranson]

My typo, again: read "crotchets."

These sayings may have no one author, given precursors, paraphrases, and whatnot, but possibly, maybe, perhaps, including two main stages: three classes of witnesses, liars etc. (from G. W. Wilshere?) and, later, three degrees/etc. of lies (from C. W. Dilke the 2nd?). Or something other yet to be found.

Stephen G.

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Mark Mandel <markamandel at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2022 7:52 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Possible precursor to Huxley (1885) on witnesses as liars, experts

I mentally misread this excerpt for a moment:
“Experts of every variety have pet crochets, theories, and systems….”

Nowadays, of course, we write "crotchets" and pronounce it accordingly,
/'krɒtʃɪts/, and "crochet" is pronounced approximately as in French and
refers to a fabric craft.
Was it spelled with "och" in the article, or was that a slip of the finger?

MAM

On Sun, Mar 13, 2022, 12:00 PM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:

> As previously noted:
>
> "Talked politics, scandal, and the three classes of witnesses—liars, d—d
> liars, and experts. Huxley gave account of civil list pension."
>
> Huxley, Leonard, The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley (2 vols),
> London: Macmillan 1900, Vol. I, pp. 255, 257–258.
>
>
>
> An earlier book, in many editions (here using hathitrust from 1881)
> discussed “classes of witnesses” including “the lying witness” and “the
> expert witness,” “Experts of every variety have pet crochets, theories, and
> systems….” P. 73,
>
> Hints on advocacy, intended for practitioners in civil and criminal courts
> :
> with suggestions as to opening a case, examination-in-chief,
> cross-examination, re-examination, reply, conduct of a prosecution and of a
> defense, etc., and illustrative cases /
> by Richard Harris.
> Main Author:
> Harris, Richard, 1833-1906.<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=*22Harris,*20Richard,*201833-1906.*22&type=author&inst=__;JSUlJQ!!OToaGQ!4nNZS9shs27eitSGaOQTxgZzrBfp3I_zHv2lV-NwzYeDcm669HT4wjEszhszEJBv$
> >
> Related Names:
> Murfree, William Law 1817-1892.<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=*22Murfree,*20William*20Law*22&type=author&inst=__;JSUlJQ!!OToaGQ!4nNZS9shs27eitSGaOQTxgZzrBfp3I_zHv2lV-NwzYeDcm669HT4wjEsztjNT0YM$
> >
> Language(s):
> English
> Published:
> St. Louis, Mo. : W.H. Stevenson, 1881.
> Edition:
> 2d American from the 4th English ed. Rev. and enl. /
>
> SG
>
>
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