Pronoun [was Finally!] (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Wilson Gray]

Whoa! that's way colorful, Bill! I've been familiar heretofore with
only a minor variation of Larry's version: "Don't let your mouth write
a check that your asshole can't cash!" As for the greeting, "How's
your ass?" I had no idea that it went back to 1960, in print. In fact,
I didn't even meet the, so far, only person that I've ever heard use
it until 1972 and we didn't become friends till 1973 and he didn't get
into the habit of saying to me till some years after that! I even
thought that he had originated it! You never know.

-Wilson

On 9/27/07, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: Pronoun [was Finally!] (UNCLASSIFIED)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> And "Don't let your alligator mouth start something your hummingbird ass
> can't finish."
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society
> > [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Laurence Horn
> > Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:19 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: Pronoun [was Finally!]
>
> > ...and a very rich entry, or set of entries, it is.  I was
> > just thinking of "Don't let your mouth write a check your ass
> > can't cash", and that's in there with a couple of hits, under
> > the 'ability and determination' entry.  Wilson's friend's
> > greeting ("How's your ass?") makes an appearance too, from
> > 1960 ("usu. considered vulgar"--like virtually every other
> > entry for _ass_, curiously enough!).
> >
> > LH
> >
> Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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

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