More old GI slang

[hpst@earthlink.net]

Reminds me of , "He could fall into an outhouse and come up covered in
gold."

Page Stephens

> [Original Message]
> From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: 4/3/2006 8:11:57 AM
> Subject: Re: More old GI slang
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: More old GI slang
>
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>
> Good eye, Doug. I hadn't thought of that possibility. I should have,
> though. "Happy as a
> pig in shit" is one of my own favorite expressions.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 4/2/06, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: More old GI slang
> >
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> >
> > >"You live in shit!"
> > >
> > >Back in the late '50's and the early '60's, this phrase, with
> > >sentential stress on "shit," was used by white GI's to
> > >congratulate a person who'd unexpectedly had something
> > >especially good happen to him, such as being assigned
> > >to T[emporary]D[ut]Y, which both lowered one's work load and
> > >simultaneously raised one's pay.
> > >
> > >IAC, I've never been able to figure out the semantic reanalysis
> > >necessary to use something really bad to describle something
> > >really good. Of course, I realize that "bad" can mean "good."
> >
> > Maybe this is a version of "happy as a pig in shit"/"like pigs in
shit"/etc.?
> >
> > -- Doug Wilson
> >
> >
> > --
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