So's your old man, Press the flesh, Give me five, etc. (1925)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

I recently discovered that the Harvard Crimson now has online archives all
the way back to the newspaper's founding in 1873.  The OCR is quite spotty
in places, and the original page images aren't given, but there's
definitely some good stuff in there.

For starters, here's an interesting piece from 1925:

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http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=430182
The Harvard Crimson
Published on Friday, December 18, 1925

COLLEGE SLANG LOFTY IS CATLETT'S CLAIM
ORIGIN OF "SO'S YOUR OLD MAN" IS FINALLY DIVULGED

No writer attributed

"Most college slang goes a mile over the heads of the common run of
theatre goers," remarked Walter Catlett, comedian in "Lady, Be Good" as he
disentangled himself from a small boy costume, following last night's
performance at the Colonial Theatre.

"The expressions and terms which originate in the colleges and
universities as a rule have both the subtle, and the extremely ridiculous
elements which make good humor. They are, however, of too local a nature
to be appreciated by most audiences. The primary requirement of the stage
"wise crack" is that it be comprehensible to a majority of the listeners.

"Many a current slang phrase or expression is the creation of a dizzy
brain overheard and remembered by a clearer head. The streets of New York
between midnight and dawn, when the inebriates come sailing home, are
productive fields for the professional wise cracker," answered Mr. Catlett
when asked about the source of his humorous sayings.

American Negro Is Slang Producer

"Then there is the American Negro probably the most slang productive race
in the world. It was the Southern darky who first spoke of his tired and
aching feet as 'dogs'. This word has gone through a hundred stages of
development and its ramifications and embellishments are to be found in
the daily conversation of many people today. Slang is the effort to
economize in the use of words--to make a single one do the work of several
sentences--as well as to be funny.

"For example 'hot dog' or 'hot diggedy dog' the latter one of my own
expressions, are exclamations of joy which express more than could be
conveyed in half a dozen sentences."

Mr. Catlett, who first gained great popularity a few years ago in "Sally,"
when he played a comedy part along with Leon Errol, has invented a number
of widely used and expressive phrases Among them are "So's your old man,"
and "Press the flesh," "Give me five," and "Mitt me," the last three all
invitations to shake hands.

Italian Invented "So's Your--"

"The phrase 'So's your old man' came to me while in a rather an amusing
situation. It was at a benefit banquet and a group of actors, including
myself, were waiting on the tables. A little Italian buss boy volunteered
to explain to me my duties. The last sentence of his very broken and
totally unintelligible discourse sounded like some remarks about my 'old
man,' so I replied 'So is your old man' and the expression started. As you
can see the emphasis was, in its first use, on the third word."

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--Ben Zimmer