"Going, Going, Gone"

[Baker, John]

        It goes back at least to the first quarter of the 19th century,
probably quite a bit earlier.  From  "To Harriet," dated January 1,
1825, in Samuel Woodworth, Melodies, Duets, Trios, Songs, and Ballads
234, 237 (copyright 1826, printed 1831) (via Making of America):

<<My sage companion tottered on,
Exclaiming--"Going!--going!--gone!
A YEAR, in months, or weeks, _for sale!_
Who bids for part, or all the bale!
What for an hour?---or twenty-four?
With privilege of taking more!
Who bids!--the sale's without reserve,
And none must from the contract swerve.">>

        The speaker is Father Time (or, as the poet puts it, father
TIME).  So, by no later than 1826, "going, going, gone" and other
standard auction terms, such as "without reserve," were familiar enough
to be used in light poetry.  That argues that they have been in use for
at least a generation, perhaps several generations.  I await the further
antedatings.

        Incidentally, in the auctions of my childhood (and they were and
continue to be quite common in southern Kentucky), although "going,
going, gone" was familiar to me, I believe that "going once, going
twice, sold" may have been more common.

John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Fred Shapiro
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 11:03 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "Going, Going, Gone"

Question for Barry, Ben, Bill, etc.:  How far back can we trace the
auctioneer's call "going, going, gone"?

Fred Shapiro


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