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

Mon May 2 13:53:32 UTC 2011

It occurred to me that the original cliche' might have been launched in a
New Yorker cartoon of ca.1938-39.

But as happens frequently (and I'm not kidding), it has proved impossible
for me to log in to the New Yorker online archive.

Maybe someone else would like to try.

JL

On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:15 AM, 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:      Re: "Don't just do something...."
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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."
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > 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
>

--
"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