Fish or cut bait

[Dennis R. Preston]

I am not quite as old as the Civil War, but the idea that the "cut bait" in
the "fish or cut bait" saying had anything to do with cutting one's line
never occurred to me. You either were active (fishing) or you were just
sitting around preparing (cutting bait); the implication in our use of it
(Lousivlle area, 1940's onward) was the same as our more inelegant
suggestion to those who did not get one with it - "shit or get off the pot."

Our secondary use, which I associate with older people, was that it was a
command given to those who were doing nothing, i.e., making no contribution
and that your should either "fish or cut bait." I supect that of being the
original (as the 1961 quote below would suyggest).

dInIs

>Dear Bapopik,
>        Thank you for the information below.  The person who has
>challenged my interpretation of this phrase thinks that the "cut
>bait" portion referred originally to cutting the bait from one's line,
>whereas I suspect it referred to someone who sat by simply preparing bait.
>Does your source clarify the original meaning or context of the adaage?
>        T. Dean
>
>On Sun, 28 May 2000 Bapopik at aol.com wrote:
>>      Christian Ammer's AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF IDIOMS and Wolfgang
>> Meider's DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN PROVERBS both cite "fish or cut bait" from
>> the 1876 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, when Congressman Joseph P. Cannon called
>>for a
>> vote on a bill.
>>     The Making of America database has a later hit, but this hints at a
>>Civil
>> War origin.  I'm away from my Civil War database right now.
>>     L. H. Clark, MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY (NY): THE COUNTY IN THE
>> CIVIL WAR (1883), pg. 309:
>>
>>     Captain Lackey...expressed his patriotism, by stating that he was
>>willing
>> to either fish or cut bait, but as all could not fish or fight, he proposed
>> to give two dollars apiece to each of fifty volunteers.
>>     This speech alleged occurred on April 23, 1861.
>>     The NBA playoffs is described as "win or go home," which is much the
>>same
>> thing.
>>      "The die is cast" does indeed go back to the Latin.


Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston at pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)353-0740
Fax: (517)432-2736