Chew the Scenery; Derby Pie; Cream Pie/Cake

[Michael Quinion]

> CHEW THE SCENERY
>
>    A NEW YORK TIMES story I spotted on the web (took forever to
> download, so I don't know the date) is "Anthony Hopkins Won't Chew
> the Scenery."  (Hannibal the Cannibal can't be considered with
> "American food," oh please, dear no!) The best discussion of "chew
> the scenery" is on the web site Mavens' Word of the Day, by those
> Random House people, whever they are.  Dorothy Parker's 1930 quip
> is mentioned. J. Brooks Atkinson, the TIMES drama critic, was a
> part of Dorothy Parker's circle.  However, full text of the NEW
> YORK TIMES doesn't show any early quote! FWIW, the earliest in the
> database looks like 26 June 1947, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 19:

Having just answered a subscriber's question about this phrase (see
<http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-che2.htm>), I can temporarily
claim some small expertise. Professor Lighter cites an example from
1895 in RHHDAS, which proves that the expression is from the theatre,
not films.


--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>