"It says here"

[sagehen]

Peter Mc. writes:
>Funny--the only context in which I've ever heard "it says here" was an
>ironic one.  My dad always used it to indicate ironic skepticism at the
>veracity of some statement.  E.g., "Liver tastes good--it says here."
>
>The one time I specifically remember using this myself, the listener
>clearly interpreted my meaning correctly and without difficulty.
~~~~~~~~~~
This was certainly the common meaning from the 40's on, in my experience.It
was a way of distancing the speaker from the statement, with a range of
possible interpretations from mild doubt about the truth to wild laughter
at the absurdity of whatever had been said.
A. Murie

A&M Murie
N. Bangor NY
sagehen at westelcom.com