the moose's problem (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Dan Goncharoff]

Given the time period  -- Bullwinkle?
DanG


On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 11:16 PM, 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:      the moose's problem (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
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>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> Twice in his novels, SF author Robert Heinlein has a character say
> "that's the moose's problem" (Stranger in a Strange Land and Glory
> Road).  Both times, it appears from context that the meaning is, "let
> someone else deal with the details" or "It's not my job" -- something
> like that.
>
> I can't find anyone else using the term -- checking the major databases
> to which I have access turns up nothing informative.
>
> Is anyone else familiar with the phrase in this usage?
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
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