Fred Shapiro asks, >> Does anyone have any solid or at least semi-solid information on the >> antiquity of the phrase "wham bam thank you ma'am"? Chapman's New Dictionary of American Slang says WWII, armed forces. I'd call that semisolid. (Oxford slang dictionary says early '70s. WAY off. Maybe it took 25 years to get to the UK.) --Dodi Schultz