Don't trouble trouble (1836); Fight circle saw (1940); Flat as fritter (1864)

Mon May 3 05:44:13 UTC 2004

   While I was away, the Word Spy did the word "pluot" almost exactly as I gave it here about a year ago.
   An old "Twin Cities" post pops up today, and a "Different Strokes" post just now says much the same as what I wrote earlier in the day.

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DON'T/NEVER TROUBLE TROUBLE 'TILL TROUBLE TROUBLES YOU

TROUBLE TROUBLE + TROUBLE TROUBLES YOU--1,530 Google hits, 1,610 Google Groups hits

   A phrase to think about in the worldwide war on terror.  It's an old one.

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Fort Wayne Sentinel - 10/14/1901
...AND TUESDAY. "Never TROUBLE TROUBLE Till TROUBLE TROUBLEs YOU." ESTABLISHED 1833. FORT.....of witnesses and reports they found the TROUBLE in India was with the senior.....Schley under fire n such occasions as YOU had the opportunity of "I always regarded.....Key West on May 19. "What information did YOU have that time concerning the where..
Fort Wayne, Indiana   Monday, October 14, 1901  703 k

Delphos Daily Herald - 4/25/1903
...motto was, 'Don't trou. ble TROUBLE till TROUBLE TROUBLEs YOU.' Loafing was about the.....he moved. The man who wasn't going to TROUBLE himself had lots of TROUBLE all at.....of it I can. don't YOU have a good deal of TROUBLE when YOU rest so inquired Bill. would.....whether YOU're not having a good deal of TROUBLE while YOU're resting. no mule. Mules..
Delphos, Ohio   Saturday, April 25, 1903  1099 k

Sandusky Star - 3/22/1904
...that fit ynur cast1 TROUBLE TROUBLE until TROUBLE TROUBLEs YOU. man who is looking for.....that a tranger within her gates bad any TROUBLE finding relief from distressng home.....of the -I AnyWdy any sigoa of natural that YOU're getting old, just have a man jask YOU.....everyone. It is, Clean Up. All winter long YOU have been throwing tin cans and non..
Sandusky, Ohio   Tuesday, March 22, 1904  387 k

Washington Post - 4/5/1908
...5 TRAVHLING RALBSMAN TROUBLE irouhle uiiMl TROUBLE TROUBLEs YOU; Just our proposiion ft.....st. nw. 6 LADIES, DO YOU WANT MONEY? HAVE YOU time? Valuable outfit free. We trust YOU.....insertions as are necessary to secure what YOU advertise for. wish the advertisers to..
Washington, District Of Columbia   Sunday, April 05, 1908  1136 k

Marion Daily Star - 3/27/1909
...Never TROUBLE TROUBLE till TROUBLE TROUBLEs YOU." Don't crofts, bridges to which.....Don't torment YOUrselves with borrowed TROUBLEs.....longer. Carlyle. The world will bo to YOU what, YOU areto it. To -make YOUr heart.....bin frowning all the while, forever meet YOU. And remember that YOU caiiuot liave a..
Marion, Ohio   Saturday, March 27, 1909  785 k

(AMERICAN PERIODICAL SERIES)
1.  MR. TIMORIS DUMPS.; Original.
H HASTINGS WELD. The Boston Pearl, a Gazette of Polite Literature. Devoted to Original Tales, Legends, Essays, Translations, Travelling, Literary and Historical Sketches, Biography, Poetry, Criticisms, Music, Etc. (1835-1836). Boston: Jan 30, 1836. Vol. 5, Iss. 20; p. 156 (2 pages)
Second page:  Leave physic to the dogs and the doctors--war to General Jackson--the banks and hard times to our six hundred legislators--at any rate, don't trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you.

2. THE "WEST WIND'S" LAST CRUISE.
FRANK H CONVERSE. an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks (1873-1907). Jun 1880. Vol. 7, Iss. 8; p. 632 (6 pages)
Third page:  "Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you," interrupted Jerry, and I knew it was just as well to keep quiet.

3. THE CAPTAIN OF THE "APHRODITE."; A STORY OF THE GEORGIA COAST.
BY ELMORE ELLIOTT PEAKE.. McClure's Magazine (1893-1926). New York: Feb 1900. Vol. VOL. XIV., Iss. No. 4.; p. 339 (10 pages)

4. HER AUTOGRAPH ALBUM.
Joe Lincoln. Puck (1877-1918). New York: Sep 25, 1901. Vol. 50, Iss. 1282; p. 0_6 (1 page)

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FIGHT A CIRCLE SAW

FIGHT A CIRCLE SAW--37 Google hits, 20 Google Groups hits

   It's probably older than I can trace it here.

(GOOGLE)
Southern Sayins : A Clean Joke from Basic Jokes
... Now that he's sowed his wild oats, he's hopin' for crop failure! He's
so bad, he'd fight a circle saw! He's all vines, and no taters. ...
basicjokes.com/djoke.php?id=741 - 35k - Cached - Similar pages

(MEMORY.LOC.GOV)
American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
"One of the darndest jobs I ever got into was roping bulls. They were fighting all the time and gutting one another and Old Man Henderson decided he would de-horn every bull on the ranch. We'd get a pen full of bulls at a time and two of us would get in there with a rope and the rest of the waddies would try to get 'em down. One of us would rope him by the head and one by the foot. I bet I broke a-hundred ropes. We would get ' {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}em{End handwritten}{End inserted text} down and saw their horns off right next to the head, and fight! They would fight a circle-saw. There was about a-thousand big, old bulls on that ranch. We had about thirty-thousand head of cattle there.

(GOOGLE)
http://www.gutenberg.net/1/1/4/2/11422/11422.txt
TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY
THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
1936-1938
ASSEMBLED BY
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
WASHINGTON 1941

FOLKLORE SUBJECTS
Name of Interviewer: Irene Robertson
Subject: NEGRO LORE
Story:--Information

This information given by: Charlie Vaden
Place of Residence: Hazen, Green Grove, Ark.
Occupation: Farming
Age: 77

(...)
He has a birthmark. Said his mother must have craved pig tails. He never
had enough pig tails to eat in his life. The butchers give them to him
when he comes to Hazen or Des Arc. He said he would "fight a circle saw
for a pig tail."

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Daily Times - 12/31/1967
...with rocks in his pockets, but he'd FIGHT A CIRCLE sAw And give it A three-revolutions.....widen the conflict or use AmericAn boys to FIGHT A wAr in AsiA. Looming AheAd, there's..
Salisbury, Maryland   Sunday, December 31, 1967  673 k

Progress - 12/30/1967
...with rocks in his pockets, but he'd FIGHT A CIRCLE sAw And give it A three-revolutions.....overnight. In the Absence of A protrActed FIGHT over finAnces, Aid to privAte And.....suburbAn journey of 30 miles An hour is A CIRCLE with A rAdius of 30 miles But 30 miles.....The North AmericAn Review, And the wAy he sAw our times is shown in the excerpts thAt..
Clearfield, Pennsylvania   Saturday, December 30, 1967  645 k

Oshkosh Northwestern - 1/1/1968
...with rocks in his pockets, but he'd FIGHT A CIRCLE sAw And give it A three-revolutions.....or Annoyed if A bright brother or sister sAw him reAding surh "bAby stuff Whether At..
Oshkosh, Wisconsin   Monday, January 01, 1968  766 k

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
'BLACK STALIN' AIM IS LAID TO ROBESON; Ex-Red Official Says Singer, a Communist, Suffered 'Delusions of Grandeur'
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jul 15, 1949. p. 13 (1 page) :
  One witness, Clarence R. Clark, a disabled Negro veteran, said that when it was announced in Pittsburgh, his home town, that he would testify, he was besieged with telephonic declarations that Negroes were ready to "fight a circle saw" for their country.

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FLAT AS A FRITTER

FLAT AS A FRITTER--38 Google hits, 57 Google Groups hits

   Another old American food phrase.

(WRIGHT AMERICAN FICTION)
Gilmore, James R. (1822-1903): Down in Tennessee (1864) 1 match in 1 of 288 pages

CHAPTER VII.

out my side. Then, squatting on his hands and knees, he said: "Git up thar, back uppermos', and lay flat as a fritter. It'll holp the bleedin'." / I submitted myself quietly to him, and in a mome

(LITERATURE ONLINE)
Ouida, 1839-1908 [Author Page]
Under Two Flags (1867)  1535Kb
Under Two Flags: a Story of the Household and the Desert. By Ouida ... In Three Volumes  1534Kb [URL for this text]
Found 1 hit(s):
VOL. II.  500Kb [URL for this text]
CHAPTER IX. THE LITTLE LEOPARD OF FRANCE.  61Kb [URL for this text]
...it, though she knew twenty swords would have beaten him flat as a fritter if she had given his name. I...