"Thanks! I Needed That!"

[Shapiro, Fred]

I haven't researched this, and don't recall seeing anyone else discuss it.  The earliest I see on ProQuest is Los Angeles Times, Sep 25, 1969, where a slap is not specifically mentioned but the context is analogous.  Like Jon, I imagine this is older than 1969.

Fred



________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2010 6:27 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "Thanks! I Needed That!"

Anybody know the source of this allusion?  Allegedly it appeared in an old
movie, the context being that fear is turning one character into a jelly
blob. The hero slaps him once or twice and he's back to normal.

I remember a TV commercial for God knows what (Aquavelva?) that used the
phrase and the slap some forty years ago, but I'll swear I knew the allusion
before that.

Google Books was of no help.

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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

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