Taken to the cleaners (1905)

Tue Jun 26 15:10:45 UTC 2007

It seems to me that this is a job for Wallace and Gromit.
  . . . Or was it Zero Mostel's "Sam, You Kept the Pants Too Long"?
  L. Urdang

Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Laurence Horn
Subject: Re: Taken to the cleaners (1905)
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I'm waiting for some story about the case to suggest that Judge
Pearson took himself to the cleaners...

LH

At 2:01 AM -0400 6/26/07, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>HDAS has 1907 for "cleaner." I'm going to sue for $54 million.
>...
>...
>...
>_http://www.nysun.com/article/57265_ (http://www.nysun.com/article/57265)
>
>Judge Rules for Dry Cleaner
>By LUBNA TAKRURI
>Associated Press
>June 25, 2007 posted 10:37 am EDT
>...
>
>WASHINGTON (AP) - A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was
>sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.
>...
>The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's Consumer Protection
>Act by failing to live up to _Roy L. Pearson_
>(http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Roy+Pearson) 's
>expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed"
>sign that was once placed in the store window, _District of Columbia_
>(http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Washington,+DC)
>Superior Court _Judge
>Judith Bartnoff_
>(http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Judith+Bartnoff) ruled.
>...
>Judge Bartnoff ordered Mr. Pearson to pay the court costs of defendants _Soo
>Chung_ (http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Soo+Chung) , _Jin Nam
>Chung_ (http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Jin+Nam+Chung)
>and _Ki Y.
>Chung_ (http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Ki+Chung) .
>...
>...
>(GOOGLE NEWS ARCHIVES)
>
>_Galveston Daily News, The (Newspaper) - August 6, 1905, Galveston,..._
>(http://www.newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0018/6789760/43097243.html)
>Subscription - Galveston Daily News, The - NewspaperArchive - Aug 6, 1905
>
>FJniib Now that Jimmy Britt has Put Kid Sum- Tan, to The cleaners, as was
>expected, and, incidentally given him A standing In pugil- ism By failing to
>knock ...
>...
>Pg. 14, col. 1:
>Now that Jimmy Britt has put Kid Sullivan to the cleaners, as was expected,
>and, incidentally given him a standing in pugilism by failing to knock him
>out in twenty rounds, followers of the sport are awaiting with
>interest Britt's
>next pugilistic move, writes George Siler.
>
>
>...
>
>_COLLYERS COMMENT on the SPORT of KINGS_
>(http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/193326482.html?dids=193326482:193326482&FMT=ABS&FMTS
>=ABS:FT&date=MAR+23,+1923&author=By+BERT+l+COLLYER&pub=The+Washington+Post&des
>c=COLLYERS+COMMENT+on+the+SPORT+of+KINGS&pqatl=google)
>Pay-Per-View - Washington Post - ProQuest Archiver - Mar 23, 1923
>Listen, boy, here's a boid to be taken to the cleaners. True, you won't find
>her named in the entries today-at least, I have not to the moment been
>notified ...
>
>
>...
>...
>(OED)
>Slang phr. to take (someone) to the cleaners
>: (a) to take away, or defraud of, all someone's money; so to go, send,
>to the cleaners (orig. U.S.); (b) to criticize strongly.
>1932 Flynn's 28 May 49/2, I dropped the biggest wager I had ever made on
>anything... That sent me to the cleaners, wiped out. 1949 H. MACLENNAN
>Precipice I. 71 He..had..played several more sets of tennis with
>him. He had taken
>Carl to the cleaner's this time. 1950 _R. CHANDLER_
>(http://dictionary.oed.com/help/bib/oed2-c2.html#r-chandler)
>Simple Art of Murder 19 I'm in a jam.
>But I'm not going to the cleaners... Half of this money is mine. 1961
>Guardian 13 Sept. 8/3 Many a gilded youth..has been 'taken to the
>cleaners' once
>too often at midnight parties. 1963 Listener 14 Feb. 308/3, I hoped Mr Carr
>might round on Mr Cousins and start taking the apprenticeship system to the
>cleaners. 1963 Ibid. 7 Mar. 436/1 We..heard the recently fired
>Captain Atkins
>take the Atomic Energy Authority to the cleaners over their marine nuclear
>policy.
>
>
>
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