Tote guts to a bear: Never argue with skunk, mule, cook; Horse-high, bull-strong

[Jonathan Lighter]

"He is not worthy to carry guts to a bear" appears in Tilley's _Dict. of the Proverbs of England_ under the date of 1659.  According to HDAS, of course.

  Capt. Marryat used it in _Frank Mildmay_ in 1829: "You go to hell and be d----d, Sir!...you are not fit to carry guts to a bear !"

  J. H. Beadle's _The Undeveloped West_ (Philadelphia: National Publishing Co., 1873) p. 40, reports that in Bremer Co., Iowa in 1868, "Wire fences were the only kind in use....Many farmers used but three strands, but a 'lawful  fence' required five, which, the local courts consider, will make it 'horse-high, bull-strong, and pig-tight.' "

  I'm familiar with "Never argue with a skunk," but can't supply a citation.  I probably heard it in the early '70s.

  JL



Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Charles Doyle
Subject: Re: Tote guts to a bear: Never argue with skunk, mule,
cook; Horse-high, bull-strong
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Barry, your postings are extremely hard to read as they appear on my screen--larded with arcane computer codes. But I think this antedates your listings:

B.J. Whiting's Modern Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings (1989) gives "Not fit to carry guts to a bear" (#G234) from 1938.

--Charlie

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