"Nipples to the wind" & "Put on your big-girl panties and deal with it"

Wed Feb 14 09:24:55 UTC 2007

I've heard it used in AAE when you ask someone to leave your home:  "Let the door knob hit you where the good Lord split you."

  Margaret

Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
  "... [L]et the door hit you where Mother Nature split you."

There's a BE version of this that reads:

"Don't let the screen door hit you where the Good Lord split you."

As a native Texan, I'd like to claim this version for Texas, too, but
I've heard it in the wild everywhere that I've ever lived, not to
mention on recordings of stand-up routines, in movies, and on TV shows
marketed to a black audience.

-Wilson

On 2/12/07, Bapopik at aol.com wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject: "Nipples to the wind" & "Put on your big-girl panties and deal
> with it"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Here are a few interesting phrases, supposedly Texan or Southern. "Nipples=20
> to the wind"??
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070118-9999-lz1mc18nipple.=
> ht
> ml_=20
> (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070118-9999-lz1mc18nipple.=
> html)=20
> =20
> 'Nipples to the Wind' opens today in Vista
> By Pat Sherman
> TODAY'S LOCAL NEWS =20
> January 18, 2007 =20
> Although it may sound like the latest title at Deja Vu Love Boutique,=20
> stand-up comedian Paula Coco won't be baring anything but her Texas roots d=
> uring =E2=80=9C
> Nipples to the Wind,=E2=80=9D presented on two North County stages starting=
> this week.=20
> =20
> (...)
> The salty stage production addresses some mature themes, but the title is a=
> n=20
> old Southern expression that means =E2=80=9CHead up, chin out,=E2=80=9D or a=
> s a popular=20
> Texas saying has it, =E2=80=9CPut on your big-girl panties and deal with it=
> .=E2=80=9D=20
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _http://www.clusterflock.org/2007/01/an_oldtimey_texas_saying.html_=20
> (http://www.clusterflock.org/2007/01/an_oldtimey_texas_saying.html)=20
> =20
> An Old-Timey Texas Saying
> =20
> =20
> Born that way and had a relapse.=20
> ...=20
> ...=20
> ...=20
> _"Nipples to the Wind" - El Portal Theatre_=20
> (http://www.goldstarevents.com/events/event/11383.html) Nipples to the=20=
> wind is a quirky Texan catchphrase=20
> meaning flying by the seat of your pants, and it perfectly describes this=20
> funny new play straight outta ...
> www.goldstarevents.com/events/event/11383.html - 10k=20
> ...=20
> ...=20
> ...=20
> _The Dick from Texas_=20
> (http://bentmywookie.blogspot.com/2006/02/dick-from-texas.html) =20
> 19 Feb 2006 by Jacob =20
> As the Texas saying goes, 'the mall's open but ain't nobody shopping'. Now,=
> =20
> I=20
> know what you're thinking. You're thinking, 'it was an accident that could=20
> be =20
> made by anyone. Besides, the man he shot was fine. ...
> _B is for Blasphemy - http://bentmywookie.blogspot.com_=20
> (http://bentmywookie.blogspot.com/)=20
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _Two-Time Borgata Champion Is A Class Act_=20
> (http://www.pokernews.com/news/2005/09/borgata-champ-class-act.htm) =20
> 19 Sep 2005=20
> "I may learn slow, but I learn good." According to Bill Blanda, this is old=
> =20
> Texas=20
> saying is an appropriate description of his ascendance into poker history.
> _Poker News | pokernews.com - http://www.pokernews.com/news/_=20
> (http://www.pokernews.com/news/)=20
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _Supporting the President..._=20
> (http://oldranter.blogspot.com/2006/05/supporting-president.html) 14 Ma=
> y 2006 by The Old Ranter =20
> When in fact he should have sent them packing, telling them that great Texa=
> s=20
> =20
> saying =E2=80=9C Don=E2=80=99t let the door hit you where Mother Nature spl=
> it you =E2=80=9D. This=20
> same=20
> comment applies to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld too. ...
> _My Daily Rant - http://oldranter.blogspot.com_=20
> (http://oldranter.blogspot.com/)=20
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _Re: Anyone else suspicious of Kiyosaki?_=20
> (http://richdad.tribe.net/thread/0f17dd76-4ca6-4215-b3c4-24a41af1e466#949297=
> d9-4241-4a87-8494-5dd31f72d820) =20
> 28 Sep 2005 by ?Andrea? =20
> He approvingly quotes a Texas saying, ?If you?re going to go broke, go brok=
> e=20
> =20
> big.? This is dangerous, adolescent-level advice and may be why he has a=20
> bankruptcy (or not depending upon whom you believe) on his resume. ...
> _Tribe.net: Rich Dad Poor Dad - http://richdad.tribe.net_=20
> (http://richdad.tribe.net/)=20
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _Good Down Home Politics_=20
> (http://fromthemountaintop.blogspot.com/2006/04/good-down-home-politics.html=
> ) 22 Apr 2006 by Terry Preston =20
> As the old Texas saying goes: if you can't drink their beer, smoke their=20
> cigars =20
> and (fornicate with) their women and still vote against them, you don't=20
> deserve=20
> to be in politics. FYI, here's Hatch's voting record, via Project Vote Smar=
> t=20
> ...
> _From the Mountaintop - http://fromthemountaintop.blogspot.com_=20
> (http://fromthemountaintop.blogspot.com/)=20
> [In the Yale Book of Quotations, from California's Jessie Unruh--ed.]
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Sam'l Clemens

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

---------------------------------
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

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