Phrase: none of your funeral (antedating 1850 July 6) also shift in semantics

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, G.

JL

On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 1:31 PM, Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Phrase: none of your funeral (antedating 1850 July 6) also
> shift
>              in semantics
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Laurence Horn wrote
> >> Speaking of which, how about "It's your funeral", with the usual
> >> current rhetorical force?
>
> Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > Common when I was a kid, but I haven't heard it in many years.
> >
> > The orig. sense seems to have been "It's your affair" rather than "It's
> your
> > opportunity to destroy yourself."
> >
> > Lowdown in HDAS.
>
> Laurence Horn wrote
> >(+ "You'll be sorry!")
>
> Thanks to LH and JL for mentioning this expression and pointing to
> HDAS. The OED has two phrases reflecting the shifting semantics:
>
> funeral, adj. and n.
> Phrases Orig. U.S. slang.
> 1. none of your (our, etc.) funeral : no affair of yours (ours, etc.),
> nothing to do with you (us, etc.).
>
> 2. your ((etc.) funeral : your (etc.) affair or concern (often with an
> implication of unpleasant consequences).
>
> The first cite in HDAS and OED is dated 1854 for the early phrase.
> Below is an instance in 1850.
>
> Cite: 1850 July 6, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Odds and Ends, Page 3,
> Column 2, Cleveland, Ohio. (GenealogyBank)
>
> A queer remark was made by an urchin of five
> years, who had lost a sister by death, to a neigh-
> bor who was a tending the funeral. "What
> are you crying for?" said the little fellow to the
> latter, who was weeping, "its none of your
> funeral."
>
> The fist cite for Phrase 2 is:
> 1908    S. E. White Riverman vii. 60   However, it's your funeral.
> Come on, if you want to.
>
> Garson
>
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