"Throw the Bums Out"

[Laurence Horn]

At 1:12 PM -0400 5/6/10, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>You mean the decades-long existence of the cliche' phrase had no influence
>on its political use?
>
>Surely you jest.
>
>I don't see any direct connection with "Dem Bums" either, BTW.
>
>Also BTW: if frequent political usage is less than 15 years old, it wouldn't
>surprise me either.  But I immediately recognized the pluralized phrase as
>alluding to the baseball cliche'.
>
>JL

I was actually thinking "Throw the bums out" as a piece of political
invective might have predated the baseball version, but I guess that
only applies to the sentiment, not the expression.

LH

>
>On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 11:20 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>  Subject:      Re: "Throw the Bums Out"
>  >
>  >
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  At 11:14 AM -0400 5/6/10, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>  >Since childhood I've associated "Throw the bum [sic] out!" especially with
>>  >baseball.
>>
>>  I first thought of baseball too, and in particular its connection
>>  with "Dem Bums" (Brooklyn Dodgers), but then it occurred to me that
>>  "Throw the bum out" in such contexts is quite different from the
>>  expression of anti-incumbent fervor I'm guessing Fred is trying to
>>  track down.
>>
>>  LH
>>
>>  >Confirmation:
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >1941 Richards Vidmer, N.Y. Herald Tribune, in _Wisconsin State Journal_
>>  >(Oct. 10) 20: The World Series can be summede [sic] up by a story that
>>  >circulated in the press box as the scene shifted to Ebbetts Field....
>>  >
>>  >A stranger wandered into a Brooklyn bar feeling no pain and good will
>>  toward
>>  >all....
>>  >
>>  >Then with a magnificent gesture he lifted his glass and with a beaming
>>  >smile, in a loud voice, he said:
>>  >
>>  >"May the best team win."
>>  >
>>  >Whereupon the mob leaped upon him with snarls of anger and shouts of
>>  "T'row
>>  >de bum out!" And when he woke up in the hospital he realized that even
>>  >Brooklyn had no doubts about which was the better team.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >IIRC, the phrase was more typically applied to opposing players.
>>  >
>>  >GB indicates that the Communist _Daily Worker_ ran an anti-McCarthy
>>  >editorial in 1954 under the headline, "Throw the Bum Out!"
>>  >
>>  >No complete or direct view of a source is offered.
>>  >
>>  >As a political byword, "Throw the bums out!" sounds to me like something
>>  >from only [sic!] the last fifteen or twenty years.
>>  >
>>  >JL
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 10:25 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu
>>  >wrote:
>>  >
>>  >>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  >>  -----------------------
>>  >>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  >>  Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>>  >>  Subject:      "Throw the Bums Out"
>>  >>
>>  >>
>>
>>  >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  >>
>>  >>  Someone asked me today about the origin of the phrase "throw the bums
>>  out."
>>  >>   This is an important political expression, but in a few minutes of
>>  research
>>  >>  I don't see it in The Yale Book of Quotations or the OED or Safire's
>>  >>  Political Dictionary.  I haven't yet run it through the databases.  Is
>>  >>  anyone able to supply any information about early uses?
>>  >>
>>  >>  Fred Shapiro
>>  >>
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