"Stop digging."

[Laurence Horn]

This is all very nice, but "When you're in a hole, stop digging" has
always struck me as less evocative (and no sounder) advice than
"(When you're buried to your neck in shit...,) don't make waves".  I
seem to recall the latter is sometimes contextualized in Hell.

LH

At 7:08 PM -0400 10/10/10, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>More than a quarter million RGs on "rule of holes."
>
>JL
>
>On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 6:56 PM, Sam Clements <SClements at neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Sam Clements <SClements at NEO.RR.COM>
>>  Subject:      Re: "Stop digging."
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  For those researchers who wish to read the WSJ source for the comment, it
>>  was the 16 September 1977 article titled _Washington Wire_ and said
>>
>>  "A senior official concerned about the Lance affair suggests the
>>  administration nees to learn "the rule of holes":  When you're in a hole,
>>  you don't keep digging...."
>>
>>
>>
>>  Sam Clements
>>
>>
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: "Dan Goncharoff" <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>>  To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 18:14
>>  Subject: Re: "Stop digging."
>>
>>
>>  I think it goes back further:
>>
>>
>>
>>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GYAsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FM0EAAAAIBAJ&dq=when-you-re-in-a-hole&pg=2234%2C5162593
>>
>>  The Spartanburg Herald
>>  September 26, 1977
>>
>>  On (sic) wry spinoff of the Bert Lance affair was the comment of ranking
>>  but
>>  unnamed Washington official who mentioned to the Wall Street Journal that
>>  the Carter administration needs to learn "the rules of holes." By that he
>>  meant that the often counterproductive efforts of Carter staffers to
>>  protect
>>  the embattled budget director ran counter to the rule: "When you're in a
>>  hole, you don't keep digging."
>>
>>  DanG
>>
>>  On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 5:28 PM, 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:      Re: "Stop digging."
>>  >
>>  >
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  >
>>  > The files of the Yale Book of Modern Proverbs have the following earliest
>>  > version:
>>  >
>>  > 1981  Washington Post 16 Nov.  "At Rochester and in junior hockey (at
>>  > Saskatoon), we had some tough times.  But when you're in a hole, don't
>>  dig
>>  > it deeper."
>>  >
>>  > Fred Shapiro
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > ________________________________________
>>  > From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
>>  > Garson O'Toole [adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM]
>>  > Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 3:21 PM
>>  > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>  > Subject: Re: "Stop digging."
>>  >
>>  > Thanks for pointing to Barry's work, Ben. Here is an instance from the
>>  > Hansard database with an exact date in 1983. The speaker is Healey:
>>  >
>>  > Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
>>  > HC Deb 21 March 1983 vol 39 cc549-674
>>  >
>>  > Mr. Healey:
>>  > At the moment the Americans have adopted the first law of holes. I
>>  > wish that the Government would adopt that law, too. The first law of
>>  > holes is that when someone is in one he stops digging. The American
>>  > Government have, thank God, stopped digging.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>
>>http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1983/mar/21/budget-resolutions-and-economic-situation#S6CV0039P0_19830321_HOC_339
>>  >
>>  > On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 2:57 PM, Ben Zimmer
>>  > <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>>  > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  > -----------------------
>>  > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  > > Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
>>  > > Subject:      Re: "Stop digging."
>  > > >
>>  >
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  > >
>>  > > On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 12:20 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>  > >>
>>  > >> From GB snippets:
>>  > >>
>>  > >> 1986 Robert Fritz _The Path of Least Resistance_  (Salem, Mass.: DMA)
>>  > 30:
>>  > >> The President of DMA, Inc., Dr. Kalen Hammann, has said, "if you find
>>  > >> yourself in a hole, stop digging." If you prematurely attempt to make
>>  > the
>>  > >> shift to the orientation of the creative, motivated by the discomfort
>>  > >> of
>>  > >> circumstantial stimuli, you are merely digging yourself into a deeper
>>  > hole.
>>  > >>
>>  > >> WorldCat shows a 1984 edition that GB does not.  Innumerable RGs,
>>  > >> others
>>  > >> with "when."
>>  > >
>>  > > See Barry Popik's page, with cites back to 1983 (attributed to British
>>  > > politician Denis Healey):
>>  > >
>>  > >
>>  >
>>
>>http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/when_youre_in_a_hole_stop_digging_first_law_of_holes/
>>  > >
>>  > > --bgz
>>  > >
>>  > > --
>>  > > Ben Zimmer
>>  > > http://benzimmer.com/
>>  > >
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>
>
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