"Honest to God and hope to die"

[Beverly Flanigan]

Doesn't the heart crossing come from the sign of the Cross in Christian
ritual?  Thus, it commits you to tell the truth in a BIG way.

At 01:14 PM 10/9/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>I remember wondering about that the first time I heard another kid use the
>phrase (way back in childhood--So. California, mid- to late 1940s).  My
>puzzlement was cleared up when I heard a different kid recite the complete
>oath, viz.:
>
>"Cross my heart and hope to die
>If I ever tell a single lie."
>
>Now I only wonder why the heart-crossing part is even there--it seems
>superfluous.
>
>Peter Mc.
>
>--On Wednesday, October 9, 2002 12:38 PM -0700 Peter Richardson
><prichard at linfield.edu> wrote:
>
>>German "Hand aufs Herz" takes care of the heart-crossing, but as far as I
>>know there's no accompanying wish for death. How old might that morbid
>>thought be? (I'm assuming that what's behind it is something like "If I'm
>>lyin', I'm dyin'.")
>>
>>Peter R.
>
>
>
>****************************************************************************
>                               Peter A. McGraw
>                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
>                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu