"Unbought and unbossed" & "Bloodied but unbowed"

Wed Jan 25 23:55:40 UTC 2006

"My head is bloodied, but unbowed," wrote poet/journalist/slangman William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) in "Invictus."

  I don't have the date of publication handy, but my guess is that it was between 1875 and 1895.  We were required to memorize the poem in the fifth grade.

  JL

Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Bapopik at AOL.COM
Subject: "Unbought and unbossed" & "Bloodied but unbowed"
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BLOODIED BUT UNBOWED--32,000 Google hits
BLOODIED, BUT NOT--9,769 Google hits
BLOODIED, BUT NOT BOWED--335 Google hits
BLOODIED, BUT NOT BROKEN--261 Google hits
BLOODIED, BUT NOT BEATEN--135 Google hits
BLOODIED, BUT NOT DEFEATED--68 Google hits
BLOODIED, BUT NOT BOSSED--0 Google hits
...
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_http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0604,robbins,71901,5.html_=20
(http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0604,robbins,71901,5.html)=20
Less noticed was her decision to leave other pro=E2=80=93de Blasio figures o=
ut in =20
the cold. James, whose most high-profile stance has been her opposition to t=
he =20
massive Atlantic Yard arena project, was shut out altogether in the awarding=
=20
of committee leadership posts. "I am bloodied but unbossed," James said las=
t=20
week, echoing the late Shirley Chisholm.=20
...
...
_New York City - Transportation_=20
(http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/transportation/subway/nyc-amtwu0112,0,2=
110213.story?coll=3Dnyc-homepage-breaking2) =20
"But you cannot take on a fight like this and not get bloodied. We are stil=
l=20
here standing before you bloodied but unbowed." ...
www.nynewsday.com/news/local/transportation/ =20
subway/nyc-amtwu0112,0,2110213.story?coll=3Dnyc-homepage-breaking2 - 50k - =20=
Jan 24, 2006 - _Cached_=20
(http://64.233.161.104/search?q=3Dcache:fhwEqQyAQhEJ:www.nynewsday.com/news/=
local/transporta
tion/subway/nyc-amtwu0112,0,2110213.story?coll=3Dnyc-homepage-breaking2+"blo=
odie
d+but+unbowed"&hl=3Den&gl=3Dus&ct=3Dclnk&cd=3D1&ie=3DUTF-8) - _Similar page=
s_=20
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF-8&q=3Drelated:www.nynew=
sday.com/news/local
/transportation/subway/nyc-amtwu0112,0,2110213.story?coll=3Dnyc-homepage-bre=
akin
g2)=20
...
...
"Bloodied but unbowed" was used in the recent NYC transit mess. I thought i=
t=20
was older than 1904.
...
New York City Council Member Letitia James has used "bloodied but unbossed,=
"=20
and the Village Voice said that this echoes Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm's=20
book was titled "Unbought and Unbossed." The phrase pre-dated Shirley Chiso=
lm=20
and was used by New York City Mayor Victor Impellitteri. "Unbought and=20
unbossed" was also used in the Presidential campaign of Warren Harding (192=
0) and the=20
campaign of La Guardia (1933).
...
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_The Desolation of Faith_=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D0&did=3D758797102&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D9&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D113822772
7&clientId=3D65882)=20
H T MILLER. New York Observer and Chronicle (1833-1912). New York: Sep 29, =20
1904. Vol. 82, Iss. 39; p. 402 (1 page) :
Columbus in his chains and desolation could say:
...
"In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonplugs of chance
My head is bloodied--but unbowed.
I am the captain of my soul."
...
...
_NONE SATISFIED EXCEPT MORAN; Irvin Cobb's Verdict on the Big Scrap Frank,=20
'Bloodied, but Unbowed,' Compels Admiration Jess Had the Wallop, but He Did=
n't=20
Use It _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D1&did=3D710398302&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D9&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138227727=
&clientId=3D65882)=20
IRVIN S COB. Boston Daily Globe (1872-1960). Boston, Mass.: Mar 26, 1916. p=
.=20
1 (2 pages)=20
...
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_N.C.A.A. DEFEATED ON KEY PROPOSALS; A.A.U. Wins With Support of 18 Groups=20
Previously Neutral in Power Fight _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D0&did=3D89582188&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D4&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D11
38223701&clientId=3D65882)=20
By FRANK LITSKY Special to The New York Times. New York Times (1857-Current=
=20
file). New York, N.Y.: Nov 12, 1963. p. 71 (1 page) :
Walter Byers of Kansas City, the executive director of the N.C.A.A., said =20
simply:
"We are bloodied, but not bowed."
...
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_CALLS CONVENTION A 'SENATE CAUCUS'; Senator Hitchcock's Newspaper Says=20
Penrose and Aids Forced Nomination. DELEGATES NOT NECESSARY Harding's Recor=
d Is=20
Styled Respectable but Colorless and a Modelof Standpatism. Called a Wise=20
Selection. Thinks All Factions Can Unite. Says Candidate Is Like Convention=
.=20
Rubbed Feeblest Nominee Since '76. Gives Full Credit to Senators. Deemed a=20=
Happy =20
Solution. Calls Ticket Strong as Steel. A Candidate to Be Proud Of. Called=20
Old Guard Triumph. _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D0&did=3D96356745&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D6&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138227183=
&clientI
d=3D65882)=20
Special to The New York Times.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New=20
York, N.Y.: Jun 14, 1920. p. 4 (1 page) :
Unbought, unbullied and unbossed. Such, as the event proved, was the =20
character of the Republican National Convention of 1920.
...
...
_M'KEE SUMS UP ISSUES; He Warns Business Men They Must Not Forget=20
LaGuardia's Record. PECORA SEES A VOTE PLOT Says Tammany Plans Fraud on Gre=
at Scale to=20
Bring About Defeat of Recovery Party. 4,200 AT OPERA HOUSE McKee Gets Long=20
Ovation and Other Candidates Stir the Throng to Cheers. M'KEE AT A RALLY SU=
MS=20
UP ISSUES _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D1&did=3D105813960&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D6&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138226752=
&clientId=3D65882)
=20
New York Times (1857. Nov 5, 1933. p. 1 (2 pages)=20
Page 2:
The audience became impatient and as the crowds in the balcony started =20
clapping Mr. Boehm stepped before the microphone and introduced the first s=
peaker,=20
Moses H. Grossman, the Recovery party candidate for Justice of the Supreme=20
Court.
...
Judge Grossman evoked the first applause when he mentioned the name of Mr. =20
McKee and then the names of the other principal candidates on the Recovery =20
ticket.
...
"Each of them," he said, "was nominated solely by the petitions of the =20
people and not by the hands of any political bosses. This is not a political=
=20
campaign; this is a political revolution."
...
These men, he went on, "are running in spite of a stupid and arrogant =20
political" hierarchy which opposed their candidacy. The Recovery party, he =20
emphasized, stands for political independence and its candidates, when elect=
ed, will=20
be "unbought and unbossed."
...
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_IMPELLITTERI CITED AS 'UNBOSSED' MAN; Deputy Mayor and Campaign Manager=20
Plead for Election of 'Unbought' Candidate Court Offer Discussed Republican=
=20
Backing Denied _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D2&did=3D84826045&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D6&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138226520=
&clientId=3D65882
)=20
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Oct 30, 1950. p. 17 (1=20
page):
_IMPELLITERI CITED_
_AS "UNBOSSED" MAN_
_Deputy Mayor and Campaign_
_Manager Plead fo Election_
_of "Unbought" Candidate_
=20
The election of Acting Mayor Impellitteri as the "unbought and unbossed" =20
candidate for that office was urged yesterday by Deputy Mayor Charles Horowi=
tz =20
and Herman Hoffman, campaign manager, in radio addresses.
=20
...
...
_MAYOR REJECTS BID TO TAMMANY DINNER; Says Presence at $50-a-Plate Event=20
Tuesday Would Imply Endorsement of DeSapio MAYOR BARS BID TO TAMMANY FETE _=
=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D1&did=3D93373658&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D4&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3D
PROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138225570&clientId=3D65882)=20
By JAMES A. HAGERTY. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Ju=
n=20
6, 1952. p. 1 (2 pages)=20
Pg. 12:
In an attempt to attain party harmony, Mr. DeSapio offered Mr. Impellitteri=20=
=20
a Democratic nomination for Supreme Court Justice with oral assurance of a =20
Liberal party endorsement after Mr. Impellitteri had announced his intention=
to =20
run for Mayor on an independent ticket. Mr. Impellitteri's refusal of this=20
offer enabled him to run as the "unbossed and unbought" candidate of the=20
independent Experience party. He defeated Ferdinand Pecora, former Supreme=20=
Court=20
Justice, the candidate of the Democratic and Liberal parties, by a pluralit=
y of=20
235,824.
...
...
_IMPELLITTERI AIDES SEE 'DRAFT' OF HIM; Petition Signatures Rolling In, The=
y=20
Say -- Riegelman Cites State Assistance to City MAYOR'S AIDES SEE A 'DRAFT'=
=20
IN MAKING _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D3&did=3D84060161&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D6&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&
RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138226214&clientId=3D65882)=20
By JAMES A. HAGERTY. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Se=
p=20
24, 1953. p. 1 (2 pages)=20
First page:
Meanwhile, posters of the Experience party, the Mayor's party in 1950, =20
appeared in many places in the city. They have been pasted over the pre-prim=
ary =20
posters and urge a vote for Mr. Impellitteri on Nov. 3 as the candidate who=20=
=20
"cannot be bought or bossed."
Pg. 36:
William J. Donoghue, former secretary to Mayor Impeelitteri, yesterday =20
joined the staff of the headquarters of Robert F. Wagner Jr., Democratic nom=
inee =20
for Mayor, at the Biltmore Hotel. Mr. Conoghue is generally credited with=20
having had a large part in electing Mr. Impellitteri in 1950 and with havin=
g=20
invented the description of him as the "unbought and unbossed candidate."
...
...
_Mrs. Chisholm Defeats Farmer, Is First Negro Woman in House; First Negro=20
Woman Wins House Seat _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D4&did=3D91291879&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D6&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138225929=
&clie
ntId=3D65882)=20
By RICHARD L. MADDEN. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: No=
v=20
6, 1968. p. 1 (2 pages)=20
Pg. 25:
Mrs. Chisholm, who campaigned as an "unbought and unbossed" candidate, spen=
t=20
four years in the state Assembly and last August was elected as the =20
Democratic National Committeewoman from New York State.

...
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_So This Is Washington_=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D0&did=3D712776592&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D2&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138225319=
&
clientId=3D65882)=20
ETHEL L. PAYNE. Chicago Daily Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (1966-1973). =20
Chicago, Ill.: Aug 8, 1970. p. 10 (1 page) :
Due for fall publication, "Unbossed and Unbought", is the autobiographical =20
memoirs by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of how she bacme the first black=20
women elected to Congress.
...
...
_Unbought And Unbossed_=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D1&did=3D105319698&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D2&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138225455=
&
clientId=3D65882)=20
By Shirley Chisholm. 177 pp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. $4.95.By=20
CHARLAYNE HUNTER. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Nov 1=
,=20
1970. p. 289 (2 pages)=20
...
...
_Political superstars; They've overcome a dual bias _=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D0&did=3D634695082&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D1&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQ
T=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138225274&clientId=3D65882)=20
Yla Eason. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file). Chicago, Ill.: Oct 22,=20
1973. p. A1 (2 pages) :
STICKING FAST to the "superstar" label early in the game was Shirley =20
Chisholm, who captured national attention with her self-announced "un-bought=
, =20
un-bossed" manner.
...
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_The Potomac scene_=20
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3D1&did=3D724186282&SrchMode=3D1&sid=
=3D1&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1138225274=
&clie
ntId=3D65882)=20
Chicago Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (1973-1975). Chicago, Ill.: Nov 24,=20
1973. p. 10 (1 page) :
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm boasts that she is unbought and unbossed, bu=
t=20
within the Congresional Black Caucus it is no secret that she has an =20
on-going vendetta with her male colleagues, particularly, Reps. Louis Stokes=
and =20
William "Bill" Clay.

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