"stuck on stupid"

[Baker, John]

        But it sounds like Cathy Hughes first popularized the catch
phrase.  From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/17/1989:

        <<Cathy Hughes, on her TV show, awarded Conyers one of her
"Stuck on Stupid" awards for what she termed "insensitive, inhumane and
unnecessary persecution of Hastings.">>

        In spite of the reference to a TV show, I believe Hughes is
known for her work as a talk radio host.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Benjamin Zimmer
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:40 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "stuck on stupid"

On 9/2/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> Guess I hadn't looked in Factiva last time...
>
> -----
> Washington Times, Aug 11 1990, p. A2 (Factiva)
> "We're talking about a government with hate in its heart coming after
> one person using millions of dollars. We need to start letting {U.S.
> Attorney General Dick} Thornburgh know that he shouldn't get stuck on
> stupid and try this again. He needs to let it go," said Ms. Hughes
> [sc. Cathy Hughes, D.C. radio talk show host].
> -----

.... which I see Bill Mullins found last time. And I countered with
these lyrics from "It's Your Life" by the rapper Too $hort from his
1990 album _Short Dog's in the House_:

-----
You'll be stuck on stupid, for smokin a friend,
Ten years from now you'll still be in the pen.
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/tooshort/rm_bside/yourlife.tss.txt
-----


--Ben Zimmer

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org