"Don't Make Waves"

[Fred Shapiro]

On Sun, 19 Sep 2004, Wilson Gray wrote:

> I first heard this phrase in 1957 as part of a joke that would never
> have appeared in any newspaper of the day.

Yes, I know the scatological origins of the phrase, from Gershon Legman's
writing about it in one of his books.  But I want to trace the earliest
use of it as a general proverb similar to "don't rock the boat."  I assume
this general usage derived from the scatological joke.

Fred Shapiro