Chicken Salad from Chicken Scratch; Monkey See/Do; No Good Deed

Tue Mar 30 06:21:08 UTC 2004

YOU CAN'T MAKE CHICKEN SALAD FROM CHICKEN SCRATCH

(OED)(This quotation is not here)
scratch, n.1
   b. The starting-point in a handicap of a competitor who receives no odds; 
sometimes colloq. used ellipt. for such a competitor. Also fig.; esp. in phr. 
from scratch, from a position of no advantage, knowledge, influence, etc., 
from nothing. 

  1867 Athlete for 1866, 9 W. Collett, scratch 1. 1876 Bicycle Jrnl. 18 Aug. 
7/1 Mr. Tom Sabin, of the Coventry Bicycle Club, has won, during last week, 
three races from scratch. 1886 Field 31 July 182/2 In the [lawn tennis] match 
between Messrs. G. Butler (owes 15) and E. A. Butler (scratch), the odd set 
again had to be resorted to. 1922 JOYCE Ulysses 454 A poor foreign immigrant who 
started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny. 1936 
Economist 2 May 233/1 Nazi Germany, starting her rapid re-armament ‘from scratch
’ in 1933, was fortunate enough to have a surplus capacity in all sections of 
her heavy industries. 1939 ‘G. ORWELL’ Coming up for Air II. v. 103 We'd no 
fishing tackle of any kind, not even a pin or a bit of string. We had to start 
from scratch. 1953 S. KAUFFMANN Philanderer v. 77 He took one look at her and 
thought: If I want that, I must begin all over again right from scratch. 1957 
L. F. R. WILLIAMS State of Israel 53 Another branch of communications which 
has been built up from scratch to a degree of efficiency. 1962 Guardian 21 Mar. 
2/5 The whole Treasury block could..have been rebuilt from scratch for the 
money. 1978 Peace News 25 Aug. 7/2 The daily routine was a crash programme of 
tuition provided by civilians, mainly Russian or other Slavic emigrés, in 
Russian from scratch to A-level standard, which was achieved in 10 months. 1979 
Fortune 29 Jan. 77 NASA is not exactly starting from scratch out there in space; 
it is building on promising experiments done on prior space flights.

FROM CHICKEN SCRATCH--57 Google hits, 45 Google Groups hits
SALAD + FROM CHICKEN SCRATCH--2 Google hits, 3 Google Groups hits

   It's in today's NEW YORK POST.  I'm surprised this is not more popular.

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/22010.htm
But even those pathetic photo spreads are innocence itself when compared to 
her new, and low-as-you-can-go/desperate-as-it-gets TV porn flick for USA, 
"Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss." This high-school level "bio-pic" is 
so bad it's even an insult to Heidi Fleiss. 

It's not like you can't make great chicken salad from chicken scratch - 
remember all those great Amy Fisher flicks? 

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NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED

   I had cited 1949, but that Newspaperarchive cite is from 1994.  Clare 
Boothe Luce said it (1957), but it looks like she didn't coin it.

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
   RISING NEUTRALISM A HURDLE FOR NATO; Feeling of Less Urgency Also Is 
Symptomatic of Problems Facing West's Defense ANTI - AMERICANISM GROWS Teamwork Has 
Decreased at SHAPE Since Eisenhower Left as Commander 
By HANSON W. BALDWIN. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jan 
13, 1953. p. 8 (1 page):
   As a Dutch official expressed it, "no good deed will ever remain 
unpunished."

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
News - 1/27/1953  
...he ascribes to a Dutch official, "NO GOOD DEED will ever remain 
-UNPUNISHED.....been much quoted as saying that what was GOOD for General Motors was 
GOOD for the.....one because for i years I thought what was GOOD for irinecl Ull 
Charge the country was.....rtyie and the lowest price. consistent with GOOD 
work. Entered at the postoffice at..
Frederick, Maryland   Tuesday, January 27, 1953  1032 k    

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
Washington Scene ....; A Solo Renunciation 
By George Dixon. The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959). 
Washington, D.C.: Jan 9, 1957. p. A11 (1 page):
   Then, apparently feeling that she (Clare Boothe Luce--ed.)  was being too 
sparing of the vinegar, she epigrammicked:
   "It just goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished."

Letters To the Editor
Wall Street Journal (1889-Current file). New York, N.Y.: May 16, 1960. p. 14 
(1 page):
   Your conclusion can be reinforced with an old Swedish aphorism, "No good 
deed is ever left unpunsihed."

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MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

(OED, revised)
36. colloq. monkey see, monkey do: commenting (freq. contemptuously) on an 
instance of unthinking imitation, or of learning or performing by rote. 

  1934 Z. N. HURSTON Jonah's Gourd Vine i. 24 You jes started tuh talk dat 
foolishness since you been hangin' 'round ole Mimms. Monkey see, monkey do. 1967 
E. PARTRIDGE Dict. Slang (ed. 6) Suppl. 1250/2 Monkey see, monkey do!, a 
Canadian (and U.S.) c[atch] p[hrase] ‘addressed to one who imitates the actions of 
another, or as a warning not to do such and such because someone (usually a 
child) might follow suit’. 1978 Maledicta 1977 1 273 Monkey see; monkey do. 
Elaborate precautions of Parisian couturiers could not curtail the spy. 1986 
Video Today Apr. 57/1 Buttons only identified by symbols so read instructions 
carefullya case of monkey see monkey do. 1995 Financial Post (Nexis) 22 June III. 
51 It's no secret the monkey-see-monkey-do NHL is hell-bent on transforming 
itself into the NBA.

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO"
Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif.: Jan 22, 1923. p. 
II4 (1 page):
   The old saying of "monkey see, monkey do" is excellently exemplified here.

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Mansfield News - 1/4/1920  
...They raise the oa the bly MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO. vegetable ami mineral 
accretions..
Mansfield, Ohio   Sunday, January 04, 1920  718 k    

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LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE

   Gregory Titelman writes: "The proverb has been traced back to P. H. Myers 
(1857)."

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Tioga Eagle - 5/31/1855  
...may aive him a '-all. No mistake this time, LIGHTNING NEVER strikes one 
tree Prict pr Ton..
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania   Thursday, May 31, 1855  939 k    

Agitator - 3/1/1855  
...rnay give him a call. No mistake this time. LIGHTNING NEVER strikes oho 
tree tJicie.....in the Art of Writing such as has NEVER before taken place, and 
will qualify..
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania   Thursday, March 01, 1855  794 k    

Tioga Eagle - 1/18/1855  
...tha.t may him a CHII. No misiakc this time, LIGHTNING NEVER strikes one 
tree twite. Price..
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania   Thursday, January 18, 1855  860 k    

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LOCK 'EM UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY

   Gregory Titelman doesn't give a date; the first citation is 1989.  I had 
previously posted 1915.

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Daily Herald - 7/23/1901  
...Brazil I'd put him in THE bastile and THROW AWAY THE KEY. New Orleans 
TimesDemocrat.....to THE extent of a million or two he THROWs AWAY THE pocketplece 
he carried for luck and.....and perseverance. THE man 'who gives AWAY a 
million dollars has ceased to be a.....THE iron down with THE baud to give THE 
necessary polish to THE surface of THE..
Delphos, Ohio   Tuesday, July 23, 1901  853 k    

Trenton Evening Times - 6/22/1899  
...dc clares THE emperor might as well THROW AWAY THE KEY to THE door. 111 IM 
III 4M IN Ml.....THE change in THE commercial conditions of THE past two 
years, and with THE diversity of.....next month, and Trenton should sec that THE 
delegates get THE best in THE house. THE.....of THE few men who can keep THEir 
ear to THE ground and THE'ir mouth to THE megaphone..
Trenton, New Jersey   Thursday, June 22, 1899  539 k    

Burlington Weekly Hawkeye - 4/25/1863  
...afraid to nab a Judge1, lock him up, THROW AWAY THE KEY, and tell him to 
go tc Old Harry.....or not. "You ought not. to THROW AWAY THE uountrv because 
you don't like THE.....in THE war. Secondly: T must i.ot THROW AWAY my 
Government be cause I don't .like.....do not i THE ruler. Abraham Lincoln must s AWAY 
after a willie; but THE goveriint must..
Burlington, Iowa   Saturday, April 25, 1863  856 k    

New Oxford Item - 3/25/1892  
...vrith being. Juut lock it up and THROW AWAY THE KEY, and it will be found 
as.....Medicine Co., Lynn, Mass-., are giving AWAY a beautiful illustrated, 
book, to Health.....able to resist THE attacks of disease or THE shock of 
injuries and operations than.....while on THE lower arm it points upward, THE 
apparent purpose being to shed THE raio..
New Oxford, Pennsylvania   Friday, March 25, 1892  672 k    

New Era - 2/22/1899  
...icy trunk, yon see, And lock it, and THROW AWAY THE KEY'11 Peai-son's 
Weekly. Cure.....Boy's home I can beat my vray through THE AWAY a, vray till I'm 
out o' breath, To THE.....THE Toy Drum said: 4ilrve a hardened head. AWAY on my 
sticks I'll go Fi'Om this lev home.....warm, and gives birth tc THE idea that 
THE internal fires of THE earth arc to THE..
Humeston, Iowa   Wednesday, February 22, 1899  849 k    

Oshkosh Northwestern - 1/13/1883  
...50 cents. Tee case was locked and we THROW AWAY THE KEY, I happened to be 
THE Viking for.....when THE walls fell, had started to THROW up his arms when 
THE hot bricks rained.....THE hardened workmen to recoil and run AWAY from 
sheer sickness and terror. THE.....in THE box with THE places. A hotel KEY 
.brought out with THE remains showed that..
Oshkosh, Wisconsin   Saturday, January 13, 1883  710 k    

Edwardsville Intelligencer - 8/8/1899  
...Litehfield citixons say THEy will THROW AWAY THE KEY and everything will 
go during.....to assist in building up THE town and THROW cold water on THE 
efforts of those who.....secured from wholesale dealers to be given AWAY, prizes, 
and still more are to come.....THE federal treasury for THE first month of 
THE present fiscal year. One would think THE..
Edwardsville, Illinois   Tuesday, August 08, 1899  695 k    