let it drag

[Jonathan Lighter]

So weird it could be true. But we still don't know the rough side of what.
Or why.

JL

On Sun, May 8, 2011 at 9:24 PM, 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: let it drag
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I have found conflicting information about the meaning of "Let the
> rough side drag". The text below is from a talk given at a meeting of
> the Texas Bar Association, and it gives an "explanation" from one
> class of speakers.
>
> Google Books unverified data.
> Year: 1956
> Title: Texas Bar journal, Volume 19
> Authors: State Bar of Texas, Texas Bar Association
> Publisher: State Bar of Texas
>
> Let the Rough Side Drag by Robert J. Farley
>
> ... I will tell you how that came about, this
> expression here, Let the rough side drag.
> Back in Mississippi among a certain ele-
> ment of our population there is a custom
> of, instead of greeting people properly
> when you meet up in the morning, of in-
> quiring: "What are you going to say?"
>  Or: "What do you say?"
>  I never knew there was anything to say
> but "Good morning."
>
> Defenses weakened
>
> And that bothered me, because it kind
> of weakened my defenses.
>  My father was a small town lawyer, and
> he took criminal cases. And in those days
> the lawyers would let Negro clients work
> out their fees for the next term of court.
> And there was a fellow named Jim Jack-
> son.
>  I was walking down the street with Jim
> one morning and we passed another fellow.
> And he said: "What are you going to say,
> Jim?"
>  And quick as a flash Jim replied: "Let
> the rough side drag."
>  He didn't know what it meant, and I
> don't know what it meant. I will guarantee
> you it worked. And it worked on Mr. Pool.
> It put him on the defensive. I think he
> had the telegraph company confirm it,
> whether or not that was really what I
> said.
>
> Courageous action
>
> So there is something kind of courage-
> ous about that. (Applause.) Anyhow, you
> put people in their place.
>  Well, I started working on that. That
> gave me a subject. ...
>
> (I am guessing that Mr. Pool is one of the organizers of the meeting,
> and the author Robert J. Farley sent a telegraph to Pool saying that
> the topic of his talk was going to be "Let the Rough Side Drag".)
>
>
> On Sun, May 8, 2011 at 7:25 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:      Re: let it drag
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > So..."let the bottom of the race car drag!" means what then?  Sounds like
> a
> > prescription for failure.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Sun, May 8, 2011 at 7:13 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
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> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: let it drag
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> Probably the bottom of the race car itself.
> >> DanG
> >>
> >> On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 12:09 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:      let it drag
> >> >
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >
> >> > From a TV commercial for NASCAR:
> >> >
> >> > "No holds barred - and let the rough side drag!!"
> >> >
> >> > Jesse Winchester released his LP _Let the Rough Side Drag_ in 1976, as
> if
> >> > that explains anything.
> >> >
> >> > What rough side?
> >> >
> >> > JL
> >> > --
> >> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >> truth."
> >> >
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> >> >
> >>
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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
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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."

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org