Quote: [Remark on death of Calvin Coolidge] How can they tell? (antedating Dorothy Parker 1936)

[victor steinbok]

Thanks... Apparently I am not paying attention at all today...

VS-)

On 7/18/10, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Quote: [Remark on death of Calvin Coolidge] How can they
>               tell? (antedating Dorothy Parker 1936)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Actually, it's Woollcott, not Woolcott.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of victor
> steinbok [aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM]
> Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 5:52 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Quote: [Remark on death of Calvin Coolidge] How can they
>       tell? (antedating Dorothy Parker 1936)
>
> That's Woolcott, not Wolcott.
>
> A couple of places (1939, 1946) have "If all your lovers were laid end
> to end, I'd be very much pleased." This is a very different version of
> the joke. But I am having a hard time getting full info.
>
> VS-)
>
> On 7/18/10, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have a link to 1949 (apparently) Commonweal with the requisite Vassar
>> version:
>>
>>> But Larry was reminded of something again, this time of what Dorothy
>>> Parker had said when she said, If all the Vassar girls at the Yale Prom
>>> were laid end to end I wouldn't be surprised!
>>
>> http://bit.ly/a4Cc8Y
>>
>> No antedating of Wolcott's version (or any other, for that matter).
>>
>> VS-)
>>
>> On 7/17/10, Dan Goodman <dsgood at iphouse.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Shapiro, Fred wrote:
>>>>...
>>>> antedate 1934:
>>>> That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can't say no in any of them.
>>>> And there was that wholesale libel on a Yale prom.  If all the girls
>>>> attending it were laid end to end, Mrs. Parker said, she wouldn't be at
>>>> all surprised.
>>>>...
>>>
>>> To the best of my memory, I've only seen that as "If all the Vassar
>>> girls....."
>>>
>>> Dan Goodman
>>
>
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