lightning in a bottle (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Dan Goncharoff]

Of course, catching greased lightening in a bottle is even harder...

http://bit.ly/aNzchT

DanG

On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 11:00 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: lightning in a bottle (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
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>
> _New Orleans Times-Picayune_ 8/31/1923 p 17 col 4
> "We are trying to catch lightning in a bottle to beat the team out of
> the pennant."
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of
> > Garson O'Toole
> > Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 9:26 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: lightning in a bottle
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> ----------------------
> > -
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: lightning in a bottle
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------
> > -
> >
> > Thanks to Jon for pointing to this electrifying expression. Here are
> > selected examples of "catch lightning in a bottle" as a figure of
> > speech. All the citations are in the sports domain, but the first in
> > 1936 is in boxing and the other two are from baseball. In 1941 the
> > expression appears in a subhead in the New York Times which might have
> > increased its popularity. I do not think these are the earliest cites
> > because I conducted a superficial search. (Also, watch for OCR errors
> > and retyping errors.)
> >
> > In 1936 writing in a newspaper column called "The Sports Parade" the
> > author Braven Dyer comments on a boxing match between Johnny Pacek and
> > Art Lasky.
> >
> > Cite: 1936 Jun 30, Los Angeles Times, The Sports Parade by Braven
> > Dyer, Page A11, Los Angeles, California. (ProQuest)
> >
> > Art's only hope, as I see it, is to connect with a sleep producer
> > early. And he'll find tagging Pacek's chin something like trying to
> > catch lightning in a bottle.
> >
> >
> > In 1941 an article in the New York Times includes the expression in a
> > subtitle immediately below the main title of an article. The saying
> > also appears in the article where it is attributed to baseball manager
> > Leo Durocher whose team just lost to a rival, the Yankees:
> >
> > Cite: 1941 Oct 6, New York Times, "Dodgers Stress Luck of Rivals:
> > Yanks Could 'Catch Lightning in a Bottle,' Durocher Remarks After
> > Game" by Roscoe McGowen, Page 21, New York, New York. (ProQuest)
> >
> > One of Durocher's pet expressions for someone who expects miracles is:
> > "What're you tryin' to do-catch lightning in a bottle?"
> >
> > Bottle Tells the Story
> >
> > He had this in mind when, just before he walked out of the clubhouse
> > yesterday he turned to a group of reporters and, pointing to an empty
> > beer bottle near his locker, said: "You know what that game today was,
> > don't you?"
> >
> >
> > Cite: 1941 October 6, Ottawa Citizen, Mickey Owen is Nearly in Tears
> > as Dodgers March into Clubhouse, Page 11, Column 7, Ottawa, Ontario,
> > Canada. (Google News archive)
> >
> > Larry MacPhail, the club president, walked around patting every player
> > on the back. "In poker there's a saying, when you try to do something
> > the hard way, like filling an inside straight, that you're trying to
> > catch lightning in a bottle," Larry told the players.
> >
> > Garson
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 9:09 AM, Garson O'Toole
> > <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> --------------------
> > ---
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: lightning in a bottle
> > >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> > ---
> > >
> > > Baseball manager Leo Durocher (Leo the Lip) helped to popularize the
> > > phrase according to a October 6, 1941 report. It was "one of
> > > Durocher's pet expressions" according to the New York Times. More
> > > details when I have a bit more time.
> > >
> > > On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 7:48 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -------------------
> > ----
> > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > >> Subject:      lightning in a bottle
> > >>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
> > ----
> > >>
> > >> Not in OED.
> > >>
> > >> CNN and others claim that the Democrats are "hoping to catch
> lightning in a
> > >> bottle" by surviving the prophesized [sic] annihilation tomorrow.
> > >>
> > >> Early exx. on GB seem to refer exclusively and literally to
> Benjamin
> > >> Franklin's famous kite experiment.  What's a little surpising
> > >> is that the metaphorical phrase, meaning to "do the impossible;
> beat
> > >> tremendous odds; make a brilliant and unlikely success, etc." took
> so long
> > >> to become proverbial.
> > >>
> > >> I haven't been exhaustive, but the earliest GB cite for "caught..."
> rather
> > >> than "catch..." doesn't occur till 1946:
> > >>
> > >> 1946 Bob Broeg & Robert Burrill _Don't Bring That Up!_  [N.Y.: A.S.
> Barnes]
> > >> 243: Garrulous Leo Durocher, to whom words for once came hard,
> mumbled
> > >> repeatedly, "We caught lightning in a bottle, lightning in a
> bottle," an
> > >> expression gleaned from the poker table and one that vaguely meant
> the
> > >> explosive effect of a [snippet ends].
> > >>
> > >> Had they thought the phrase well known, the authors wouldn't have
> > associated
> > >> it with "the poker table."
> > >>
> > >> Incredibly to me, NewspaperArchive gives only three exx. of
> "lightning in a
> > >> bottle," the earliest in 1961.  Chronicling America gives no
> results at
> > all.
> > >>
> > >> There are thousands and thousands of recent Google hits.
> > >>
> > >> Not to be confised with _bottled lightning_, 'powerful alcoholic
> beverage.'
> > >>
> > >> JL
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> > >>
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> > >>
> > >
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>
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