"Don't just do something...."

Mon May 2 12:15:42 UTC 2011

Once again Garson sheds light on the darkness. And fast, too. Thanks, G!

JL

On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:07 AM, Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "Don't just do something...."
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks to Jonathan Lighter for pointing out this entertaining phrase.
> And thanks to Dan Goncharoff and Michael Quinion for providing
> intriguing information.
>
> The earliest cite I have located so far is dated 1945. Prominent
> columnist Leonard Lyons attributed the words to theatrical producer
> Martin Gabel. The quip was reused and reattributed many times after
> this appearance. As shown further below the same columnist, Lyons, in
> 1956 reported the testimony of Adlai Stevenson who attributed an
> instance of the phrase to President Eisenhower. Here are selected
> citations:
>
> Cite: 1945 September 01, San Mateo Times, Broadway Medley by Leonard
> Lyons, Page 8, Editorial Page, Column 5, San Mateo, California.
> (NewspaperArchive)
>
> At the first rehearsal of Irwin Shaw's play, "The Assassin," Producer
> Martin Gabel noticed a young actress gesticulating wildly instead of
> remaining motionless. Gabel shouted: "Don't just do something; stand
> there.
>
>
> Cite: 1954 April 30, Boston Globe, Sitting in with Ted Ashby: It's
> What the Man Said, Start Page 21, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google News
> archive; ProQuest Abstract only; Verified only by examining abstract
> and not the full article)
>
> THERE IS a national, nonprofit organization which advocates
> paraphrasing an irritating directive. to wit: "Don't just stand
> there.... DO something!" The group, which has dedicated itself to
> happier living through inertness, would change it to: "Don't just do
> something.... STAND there!
>
>
> Cite: 1954 October 25, El Paso Herald-Post, Females 16 to 60 Aflutter
> Over Two Future TV Idols by Faye Emerson, Page 7, Column 3, El Paso,
> Texas. (NewspaperArchive)
>
> A TV director had to deal with one of those young actresses of the new
> school the other day. She was fluttering her hands, mussing her hair,
> and in general trying to be as much like Geraldine Page as possible.
> The director finally shouted, "Don't just do something. Stand there!"
>
>
> Dan Goncharoff found the following excellent citation that shows Adlai
> Stevenson using the phrase.
>
> Cite: 1956 February 26, New York Times, Stevenson Gibes at the
> President as Inept 'Coach', by Richard H. Parke, [Start Page 1] Page
> 65, New York. (ProQuest)
>
> He [Adlai Stevenson] said he had "figured out what the Republican
> orators mean by what they call moderate progressivism." All they mean,
> he said, is "don't just do something! Stand there!"
>
>
> Months after using the phrase himself Stevenson put the quip into the
> mouth of Eisenhower according to columnist Lyons.
>
> Cite: 1956 May 21, Chicago Defender, Lyons Den by Leonard Lyons, Page
> 5, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest)
>
> THE TRAVELER: Adlai Stevenson tells this story about John Foster
> Dulles: The President managed to catch a glimpse of Dulles while he
> was temporarily in this country. And the President said to the
> Secretary of State: "Don't just do something. Stand there."
>
> William Safire used the humorous injunction in his New York Times
> column on October 21, 1987, but he did not attempt to trace it.
>
> (The version of ProQuest that I have access to does not have the
> Boston Globe in 1954. If you have access and would be willing to send
> me a PDF of the article mentioned below that would be very nice of
> you. If you wish I will try to trace a quote, proverb, expression or
> word for you.)
>
> Garson
>
> On Sun, May 1, 2011 at 6:51 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      "Don't just do something...."
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > CNN person: "There's a joke on Wall Street: 'Don't just do something,
> Stand
> > there.'"  In other words, don't take part in a buying or selling panic.
> >
> > But it isn't just on Wall Street. GB reveals thousands of exx., with
> varying
> > nuances.
> >
> > The earliest is allegedly from Newsweek, vol. 45 (1955). I can't verify
> the
> > date, but the snippet congruously mentions Gwen Verdon in _Damn Yankees_:
> >
> > "...once made a rehearsal director shout, 'Don't just do something! Stand
> > there!'"
> >
> > The phrase appears regularly since the mid '50s.
> >
> > 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
>

--
"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