Modern Proverb: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. (antedating exact 1916)

Garson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Mon Mar 29 07:39:46 UTC 2010


Thanks for your responses. The saying of Jonathan Lighter's Ph. D.
friend is similar one below. I do not know if this wisdom has the
imprimatur Paramount Pictures or the Roddenberry estate.

Citation: 2008, Don't You Forget about Me‎ by Jancee Dunn, Random House.

She leaned back on a needlepoint pillow that said FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME
ON YOU. FOOL ME TWICE, PREPARE TO DIE, a Klingon proverb (Vi was a
closet Star Trek fan).

http://books.google.com/books?id=L6q9NHSeUjEC&q=%22me+twice%22#v=snippet&

On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: Modern Proverb: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,
> Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â shame on me. (antedating exact 1916)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I have a Ph. D. friend who says, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,
> you're a dead man."
>
> JL
>
> On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 11:18 AM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: Modern Proverb: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me
>> twice,
>> Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â shame on me. (antedating exact 1916)
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> "There is an old saying in Tennessee--I know it's in Texas, probably in
>> Tennessee ...That's, that's, fool me once ... shame on ... shame on you.
>> ... If fool me, you can't get fooled again!"
>>
>> On 3/28/2010 9:38 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>> > At 4:15 AM -0400 3/28/10, Garson O'Toole wrote:
>> >
>> >> Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
>> >>
>> >> Addendum: The proverb is worded in many different ways,
>> >>
>> > I've always liked GWB's wording:
>> >
>> > "Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled
>> again."
>> > Video at
>> > http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/bushvideos/v/bushfoolme.htm
>> > I'm pretty sure we can't turn up any pre-2002 antedatings of that
>> version.
>> >
>> > LH
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Â ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list