"Got your back"? (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

_Youngstown [OH] Vindicator_ 8/27/1972 p. A-15 col 1.
"Devastating sign dogging McGovern's campaign in Chicago:  "McGovern's
1,000 per cent behind you.  Watch your back." "

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Laurence Horn
> Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 8:51 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "Got your back"?
>
> ---------------------- 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: "Got your back"?
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> -
>
> On Dec 29, 2011, at 9:25 AM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>
> > Headline:  "Need to Run Windows on Your Mac? Parallels Has Got Your
=
> Back"
> >=20
> > I suppose "has got your back" means "takes care of you".  New one to
=
> me.
> >=20
> > =
>
http://chris.pirillo.com/need-to-run-windows-on-your-mac-parallels-has-g
ot=
> -your-back/
> >=20
> >=20
> It's not new.  The OED has it from 1975:
>
> N. Amer. colloq. (orig. in African-American usage). to get (also have)
a =
> person's back : =3D to watch a person's back.
>
> 1975    J. De Jongh Hail, hail, Gangs! (Electronic ed.) 6   Two of
them =
> and one of you, but I got your back. Kick both of them in the ass.
> 1985    Washington Post 29 Mar. e5/3   Don't worry, Coach, I've got
your =
> back.
>
> as a variant of 'to watch a person's back':
>
> to watch a person's back : to protect or guard a person against =
> potential attack (sometimes literally from behind); (also) to support
or =
> assist a person.
>
> 1974    =91J. le Carr=E9=92 Tinker, Tailor xvii. 145   Clear a foreign
=
> letter box, prime a safe house, watch someone's back, spike an
embassy.
>
> LH
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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