"Sue me"

Charles Doyle cdoyle at UGA.EDU
Wed Nov 1 12:55:15 UTC 2006


This might be of interest.  If it doesn't necessarily point toward a Yiddish prototype of the English catchphrase, at least it stands as an early Yiddish translation or analog:

A. A. Roback, in "Sarcasm and Repartee in Yiddish Speech, _Jewish Frontier_ 18 (April 1951): 19-25, gives (as an example of a "quasi-consiliatory phrase" or "defi") the expression "to lod mir tsum unessaneh teykef," which he translates "Why don't you sue me before the High Tribunal?" (p. 21).

--Charlie
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On Wed, 25 Oct 2006, Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:

> The earliest reference I can find is from the song 'Sue Me, Sue Me', in the musical 'Guys and Dolls'. This was a Broadway show in 1950 and released as a film in 1955. This was composed by Frank Loesser and sung in the film version by Frank Sinatra (as Nathan Detroit) and Vivian Blaine (as Miss Adelaide):

The Yale Book of Quotations, which probably got its info from
Barry Popik, has the following:

Well, sue me.
        George Jessel, quoted in Boston Globe, 17 Feb. 1929

Fred Shapiro

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