She was only...

[Laurence Horn]

At 4:06 PM -0400 5/24/05, Dennis R. Preston wrote:
>It's not exactly the same subgenre (from a strictly syntactic point
>of view), but what do you mean? Do you claim it to be an older form?
>
>We've got the "horse manure" form back to 1940 more or less.
>
>dInIs
>
>>What about
>>She was as pure as the driven snow
>>until she drifted"
>>>
>>>  >Is "She was only the farmer's daughter, but all the horsemen knew
>>>  >her" the Ur-form of this subgenre?
>>>  >

and if you want to compare a few others that are of the appropriate
form, consider these, some of which are better (or at least less
offensive) than others.

L

She was only the...

admiral's daughter, but her naval base was always full of discharged seamen!
astronaut's daughter, but she knew how to take off.
athlete's daughter, but she was always ready to play ball.
barman's daughter, but she knew how to pull them.
blacksmith's daughter, but she knew how to forge ahead.
bookbinder's daughter, but she knew her way between the sheets.
bricklayer's daughter, but she was certainly stacked.
butcher's daughter, but there wasn't much more she could loin.
cattleman's daughter, but she couldn't keep her calves together.
cave man's daughter, but you should have seen what dinosaur.
chimney sweep's daughter, but she could sure haul ash.
clergyman's daughter, but you couldn't put anything pastor.
cobbler's daughter, but she was built to last.
communist's daughter, but all the boys got a share.
doctor's daughter, but she really knew how to operate.
draughtman's daughter, but she never knew where to draw the line.
electrician's daughter, but she lit up half the town.
electrician's daughter, but she had good connections.
Energizer bunny, but she kept going, and going, and going...
farmer's daughter, but she knew hundreds of ways to fertilize.
film censor's daughter, but she didn't know when to cut it out.
fisherman's daughter, but she reeled when she saw my rod.
fisherman's daughter, but all the guys swallowed her lines.
fishmonger's daughter, but she lay on the slab and said fillet.
flag-wavers daughter, but she'd let her standards down for anyone.
florist's daughter, but she had the best tulips in town.
fruit vendor's daughter, but she certainly had a pail.
gravedigger's daughter, but she liked lying under the sod.
insurance broker's daughter, but all the guys liked her policy.
jockey's daughter, but all the horse manure. (horsemen knew her)
lighthouse keeper's daughter, but she never went out at night.
lumberjack's daughter, but you could hear her ring barking for miles.
milkman's daughter, but she was cream of the crop.
moonshiner's daughter, but I loved her still.
musician's daughter, but she knew all the bars in town.
optician's daughter, but after a few of glasses made a spectacle of herself.
parachutist's daughter, but she was free-4-all.
philanthropist's daughter, but she kept giving things away.
photographer's daughter, but she was really developed.
pitcher's daughter, but you should have seen her curves.
plumber's daughter, but she made good use of her fixtures.
professor's daughter, but she gave all the boys a lesson.
real estate agent's daughter, but she gave a lot away.
road worker's daughter, but she knew how to get her asphalt.
statistician's daughter, but she knew all the standard deviations.
steelworker's daughter, but you should see that pig iron.
telegrapher's daughter, but she sure didit...didit...didit....
tree feller's daughter, but t'ree fellas were never enough for her.
undertaker's daughter, but she knew how to bury a stiff.
vacuum salesman's daughter, but she knew how to suck.
violinist's daughter, but when she removed her G-string, all the boys
wanted a fiddle.
weatherman's daughter, but she sure had a warm front.
woodcutter's daughter, but she knew how to get a feller