"Nobody Shoots at Santa Claus"

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Mon, Oct 04, 2004 at 04:40:06PM -0400, Fred Shapiro wrote:
> On Mon, 4 Oct 2004, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
>
> > I don't find it before 1947, in the Chicago Trib, but I didn't check
> > every possible variant.
>
> Can you check another Smithism -- "no matter how thin you slice it, it's
> still baloney"?  Searching for "thin you slice it" and "still baloney" is
> probably the best search strategy.

1935 Washington Post 17 Feb. P6 [ProQuest-identified page, not
checked] Ye Parade's Olde Almanac...Weather: Same as last week or
next week, only more or less of it. Proverb: No matter how thin you
slice it, it's still baloney--unless, of course, it's thumb!

The whole "Ye" jive, together with the "thumb" joke, suggests that
this was established.

The next example is 1939 in the WaPo, and is prefaced by "There is
another phrase, of less classic origin." It's not associated with Smith
or anyone.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED