Hell's bells and little catfishes

[sagehen]

>I've *read* a slight variation: "Hell's bells and little fishes!" This
>was in the late '40's or early '50's. I've never heard it spoken. I've
>also read, "Outhouse mouse! Let's get this show on the road!" from
>about the same time. I've also never heard that spoken, either.
>Because of their weirdness, these have stuck in my mind over the
>years. Unfortunately, I don't remember anything beyond the phrases
>themselves.
>
>-Wilson
>
>On 3/10/06, Ron Silliman <silliman at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Ron Silliman <silliman at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Hell's bells and little catfishes
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>> We were discussing the phrase "Hell's bells" the other day and my wife grew
>> up with a longer variant, "Hell's bells and little catfishes." She grew up
>> in suburban Baltimore in the 1950s & '60s, her mother being from the
>> Ashville, NC, area, her father from the Hagerstown, MD, area. My guess is
>> that the phrase comes from her mother's side of the family, but I'm curious
>> as to whether it is strictly a family saying or extends further than that. =
>> I
>> couldn't find a single mention of the full phrase on Google.
>>
>> Ron Silliman
>>
 ~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Wilson, I too have encountered "Hell's bells & little fishes," but
unlike him, I'm not sure whether only in print or not.  I *think* I've
heard it, but it could be only in my mind's ear.  It  does go back at least
to the '40s, and probably earlier.
A. Murie


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