What's shakin', bacon?

[victor steinbok]

I don't find anything particularly surprising about the "what's shakin'
bac'n?" pattern and there is a possible reason for its existence quite
aside from "rejuvenation of an old pattern". It may well be an clever
extension of "shake'n'bake" instead.

As for "See you later alligator", if for no other reason, it's been kept
alive by Lubriderm commercials, although they lack the witty retort--which
is, nonetheless, implied. Aside from that, I've been hearing from
elementary-to-middle-school students virtually continuously since I learned
it myself (in college--but my sister was in elementary school at the time).

VS-)

On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 5:46 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> I've been hearing this salutation daily on a Progressive Insurance
> commercial for weeks.  Urban Dictionary has it only from May 8, 2011,
> but this site takes it back to 2007, with other similar inquiries,
> some perhaps nonce:
>
> http://ask.metafilter.com/76081/Whats-the-deal-Banana-Peel
>
> A surprising rejuvenation of an old pattern from the '40s: "What's
> buzzin', cousin?" "What's the story, morning glory?"
>
> Of course, "See you later, alligator" ('50s) and the response "In a
> while, crocodile" have never quite disappeared. (I have a friemnd who
> used to say, "On the Nile....")
>
> JL
>
>
>
> --
> "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