fun with phrases

[Jonathan Lighter]

"would never be the same again"

Guess what? No 19th C. hits in GB. Upwards of a zillion words of running
text, and nobody thought to write or (perhaps) say the phrase.  For any
reason.

I'm interested in dramatic expository exx., as when PBS says that, thanks to
the recent efforts of a group of Bosnian activists, "the rules of war would
never be the same again."

So a trivial ex. from Time in 1950 (a vague "it" is the subject) hardly
counts.

However, one from June 11, 1951, surely counts: "Between industrialism and
the effects of the Napoleonic wars, England would never be the same again."

>From then on, Time has used the cliche' often.

In GB the first unequivocally momentous ex. is not till 1972: "But major
writers knew instinctively that drama would never be the same again."

After that, steady use everywhere.

JL



On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 9:22 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: fun with phrases
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "(and) changed the rules of X forever."
>
> A favorite of TV documentaries. Almost needless to say: no 19th C. hits at
> GB.
>
> Earliest at GB is allegedly from the _Atlantic_ in 1987 (snippet not
> verified):
>
> "They simply went on doing what they did best =E2=80=94 quizzes, long
> dinne=
> rs,
> longer cocktail parties =E2=80=94 until a series of unrelated events
> *chang=
> ed the
> rules of their beloved game forever*."
>
> JL
> On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 9:22 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com
> >wrote=
> :
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: fun with phrases
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >
> > I am assuming you're jesting on both A and B (I take it, it's meant to
> > be a parody on Yiddish jokes). "Sausage" is "kie=C5=82basa" and
> diminutiv=
> e
> > for "cat" is "kicia", not "kishka". The Russian diminutive for "cat" is
> > "kisia", which is pronounced nearly the same, or "kiska", which is
> > similar, but not identical to "kishka". Neither has any connection to
> > "kishka" (Russian) or "kiszka" (Polish), other than one's gut is used
> > for various purposes (e.g., strings for musical instruments) and the
> > other is wrapped in gut. As such, my sense of humor fails me with
> > respect to this fanciful dialog. Perhaps it's the amount of sleep I got
> > last night with cats jumping all over me... or the kie=C5=82basa I ate
> > earlier...
> >
> > VS-)
> >
> > On 10/4/2011 8:55 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
> > > On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 8:41 PM, Victor Steinbok<aardvark66 at gmail.com>
> >  wrote:
> > >> "kishka" is Slavic>>Yiddish for "gut" or
> > >> "intestines".
> > > A. "Kishka'?! Why have you named your kitten "Intestine"?
> > > B. It's not named "Intestine." "Kishka" means *sausage" in Polish.
> > > It's named "Sausage," because it's such a fat little thing."
> > >
> > >   "Un faux ami," as the French say.
> > >
> > > --
> > > -Wilson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --=20
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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