The Butler Did It (1949)

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   Fred Shapiro asked about "the butler did it."  Sure enough, the first citation is in the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR.
   I knew it from this Wodehouse work.


(OCLC WORLDCAT)
The butler did it.
Author: Wodehouse, P. G. 1881-1975.
Publication: New York, Simon and Schuster, 1957
Document: English : Book : Fiction
Libraries Worldwide: 411


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
  Heartening Choice By Amateur Group; By Richard L. Coe; The Washington Post (1877-1954), Washington, D.C.; Mar 4, 1950; pg. B7, 1 pgs

  Good Photography Wasted on 'Foxes'; By Richard L. Coe; The Washington Post (1877-1954), Washington, D.C.; Mar 2, 1950; pg. B10, 1 pgs

  Comedy Slated Mar. 1 by Students Of American U.; The Washington Post (1877-1954), Washington, D.C.; Feb 27, 1950; pg. B3, 1 pgs

  Autopsy on Karpe Is Inconclusive; The Washington Post (1877-1954), Washington, D.C.; Feb 26, 1950; pg. M3, 1 pgs

  Leach Made a Craft Into an Art; By Jane Watson Crane; The Washington Post (1877-1954), Washington, D.C.; Feb 26, 1950; pg. L3, 1 pgs

  A.U. to Present Musical Satire; The Washington Post (1877-1954), Washington, D.C.; Feb 19, 1950; pg. L2, 1 pgs
("...the musical gets its title from him: 'P.S. The Butler Did It.'")

  Other 24 -- No Title; Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current file), Boston, Mass.; May 11, 1949; pg. 21, 1 pgs:
      _The Insufficient Tip_
   An American visiting in London was told that the only way to get good service  in restaurants, hotels and theaters was to tip generously.  One evening he went to a mystery play at one of the theaters on the Strand.
   The usher escorted the American to a good seat, and since the lights were out the American thought he could get by with a tip of two American pennies.  The usher flicked on his flashlight, glanced at the coins, and then whispered:
   "The butler did it."--_Tracks._