Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! (1970)

[Dennis R. Preston]

Jim Stalker is right; I am, as inner-circle friends know, a bogus
Louisvillian, being from the Indiana suburb of Loiusville known as
"New Albany," though I grew up miles closer to (but a river apart
from) downtown Louisville than Jim did. I apologize for suggesting
the absence of this folk ditty in the Falls City (although, as Jim
notes, the second line is still missing from more authentic
Louisvillian memory.

dInIs

>Well, some  Louisvillians did have part of the saying.  I checked
>with my wife,
>wives being obviously impeccable sources, who had a random childhood
>growing up in
>Louisville and southern Indiana, for the most part. She confirms
>that "liar, liar,
>pants on fire" was a common saying (perhaps more accurately an
>accusation), but
>without the nose and telephone part.  I who lived my whole first 18 years in
>southern Jefferson County, not technically Louisville, used the term
>regularly.
>Sometimes, a river runs through it.
>
>Jim Stalker
>
>"Dennis R. Preston" wrote:
>
>>  The full form (as I am told by mu wife, Milwaukee, childhood memory
>>  from early 50s) is
>>
>>  Liar, liar, pants on fire
>>  Nose as long as a telephone wire.
>>
>>  Us Louisvillians had no such pome.
>>
>>  dInIs
>>
>>  >    I found an article about this in VERBATIM and was wondering
>>about a dating.
>>  >    FWIW:  I'm a lawyer, but I've never worn hot pants.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
>>  >       Things for Children to See in the City
>>  >               New York Times  (1857-Current file).       New York,
>>  >N.Y.: Apr 8, 1970.                   p. 69 (1 page):
>>  >       Plays
>>  >LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE! at 2 P.M. Saturday at Public School 87,
>>  >West 78th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues.
>>
>>  --
>>  Dennis R. Preston
>>  University Distinguished Professor
>>  Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic,
>>        Asian & African Languages
>>  Michigan State University
>>  East Lansing, MI 48824-1027
>>  e-mail: preston at msu.edu
>>  phone: (517) 432-3099

--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic,
      Asian & African Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027
e-mail: preston at msu.edu
phone: (517) 432-3099