Quote: I don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members (antedating Groucho attrib 1949 October 20)

[Shapiro, Fred]

Garson,

First of all, thanks for your antedating of the Groucho Marx quote, which I consider to be one of the towering sayings of the modern era.

Do you have a citation for the Bertrand Russell telegram?

Fred




________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Garson O'Toole [adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 9:38 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Quote: I don't want to belong to any club that would accept              me as one of its members (antedating Groucho attrib 1949 October              20)

LH wrote
> Of course he was ripping off Bertrand Russell, who said (almost) the
> same thing (mutatis mutandis).  And those admittedly perennially
> lying Cretans.

Yes, Bertrand sent a similar telegram when resigning from the club of
all clubs that do not list themselves on their membership roster. He
claimed that he was trying to save the Universe from contradiction,
but today many think he was simply trying to embarrass fellow member
Gottlob Frege.
Garson

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