Another new old saying

[Garson O'Toole]

I investigated this saying a few months ago and I think the origin is 1985 in:

A passion for excellence: the leadership difference
by Thomas J. Peters, Nancy Austin

I will give more details in a separate post when I have time later tonight.

Garson



On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 6:33 PM, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Another new old saying
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>
> Dates back at least to 1991, =
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=3Dind0606A&L=3DADS-L&P=3DR=
> 2115, popularized in 1993, =
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=3Dind0606A&L=3DADS-L&P=3DR=
> 2268.
> =20
> I daresay that people who have long-term leases wash their cars =
> regularly, so the aphorism doesn't prove as much as it pretends to.
> =20
> =20
> John Baker
> =20
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Sun 1/17/2010 5:37 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Another new old saying
>
>
>
> Eliot Spitzer on CNN today:   "Somebody once said, 'Nobody washes their
> rental car.' Ownership is good."
>
> GB alleges one of its 30+ hits to be from 1991, but the earliest I can
> verify is:
>
> 1998 Rajan Suri _Quick Response Manufacturing_ (Portland, Ore.:
> Productivity): A union leader at United echoed the sentiment, "No one =
> washes
> a rental car." In other words, you take care of what you own.
>
> Haven't checked elsewhere.  30,000 Raw Goolits.
>
> JL
>
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