to "spit-shine"

[Jonathan Lighter]

By the time Amy learned it, the prescription for a "spit shine" no longer involved spit.  That supports the notion that _brilliance_ is now the defining characteristic of a (so-called) "spit shine."

  JL

Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Amy West
Subject: Re: to "spit-shine"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was taught by my brother how to do a spit shine. He is now a Lt.
Col. in the USAF, but back then he was a gung ho CAP cadet who
starched and ironed his fatigues. He's 7 yrs. my senior, so I was
taught at a young age how to use warm water, shoe polish, and our
baby sister's cloth diapers to achieve that brilliant shine. Put a
smidge of polish on the cloth. Dip the polish in the warm water. Work
the polish in small circles. Repeat over the entire surface. Let it
sit a couple of minutes. Buff with a clean cloth to a shiny finish.

---Amy West

>Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 02:00:40 -0500
>From: Wilson Gray
>Subject: Re: to "spit-shine"
>
>I'm beginning to get the impression that no one here except your
>humble correspoondent has ever spit-shined any kind of footware.

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