"What part of 'No!' ...?"

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:27 PM -0400 10/25/06, Charles Doyle wrote:
>Lexis/Nexis yields a 1989 instance from the Washington Post (26
>Oct.), noting the expression as a button-inscription.
>
>--Charlie
>________________

On indirect evidence, we can push it back another year:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/what-part-of-no.html

LH

>_________________
>
>---- Original message ----
>>Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 10:19:26 -0700
>>From: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>>Subject: "What part of 'No!' ...?"
>>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>>
>>This has become a big-time cliche' over the last few years, right
>>there with the somewhat older "Read my lips!"
>>
>>   Here's the earliest I've found :
>>
>>   1992  _L.A. Times_ (Washington ed.) (July 8) B6 [cited at:
>>http://groups.google.com/group/sci.med.aids/browse_thread/thread/72ca435d6d1d391f/6fc718634a554f98?lnk=st&q=%22what+part+of+no+don%27t+you+understand%22+1991&rnum=9#6fc718634a554f98]
>>: The spots all involve teenagers and how they handle the peer
>>pressure to have sex.  "Just what part of 'no' don't you
>>understand?" a teenager tells her boyfriend.
>>
>>   JL
>>
>
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