Quote: I shall lose no time in reading it: antedating (1871) (Gladstone 1897) (Disraeli 1898)

[Garson O'Toole]

Victor Steinbok wrote
>
> Part II
>
> A slight change in the search pattern more than doubled the number of
> hits. Some appear to be of interest.
> ...

Many thanks to Victor Steinbok for sharing his additional fine
research into the phrase "I shall lose no time in reading it."

The phrase "the old equivoque" is an excellent description for the
saying. The reference to Dr. Holmes in The Writer in March 1900 does
offer an interesting possible explanation for the later attribution to
Dr. Holmes in 1902.

That is first attribution to Bishop Wilberforce that I have seen. In
1894 - nice.

I found, as you did, multiple uses of the phrase "shall lose no time
in reading it" without intentional ambiguity or humorous intent. Some
of these predate and some postdate the 1871 citation.

With appreciation,
Garson

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