so you won't have to
Dennis Baron
debaron at UIUC.EDU
Sat Jun 16 01:35:11 UTC 2007
I've occasionally heard this formula, usually in some kind of slogan:
we do x, so you won't have to.
X is usually something difficult, unpleasant, or otherwise to be
avoided.
Then today I came across a web site selling t-shirts for Defense
Language Institute alums, and one of the t-shirts says,
"We speak Farsi so you won't have to."
Is there a locus classicus for the general formula, which sounds like
it comes from an ad or a movie? A web search tells me it's a lot
more common than I thought.
Best,
Dennis
Dennis Baron
Professor of English and Linguistics
Department of English
University of Illinois
608 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801
office: 217-244-0568
fax: 217-333-4321
www.uiuc.edu/goto/debaron
read the Web of Language:
www.uiuc.edu/goto/weboflanguage
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