fun with phrases

[Jonathan Lighter]

"The answer may surprise you."

A common cable news come-on, usu. just before a commercial break, to keep
you watching.

GB shows nothing - nada - zilch - before 1923, in _Good Housekeeping_  (the
typeface suggests the snippet date is accurate). There's also a 1926 that
looks real.

Anyway, usage increases very slowly till the 1990s. Then, ka-blam!

JL


On Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 10:32 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: fun with phrases
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "(But) the rules have changed!"
>
> Now a common journalistic cliche'. It doesn't generally refer to actual
> "rules" but to expectations of social behavior.
>
> Nothing remotely similar in GB until 1921: "Gentlemen, let me tell you
> before tribunals of Justice *the rules have changed*. Noise and hot air
> won't go."
>
> And not much until the '70s. Many, many in the last 20 years.
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 10:16 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
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > "Don't be a stranger!"
> >
> > This fits under OED 4d, but the stereotyped phrase doesn't appear even
> > once.
> >  GB finds several in the 19th C., the earliest from 1825.
> >
> > Interestingly enough, the early exx. are invitations rather than
> > valedictions, which is the way I usually hear it,
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 9:28 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
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Here's another one:
> > >
> > > "emotional pressure-cooker" (1957) (Google Books: not verified, looks
> > real)
> > >
> > > Not common till the '70s, not mentioned in OED (nor is "pressure-cooker
> > of
> > > emotion").
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 9:03 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
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > Having spent the past few years comparing the text of literary works
> to
> > > the
> > > > commentary that's grown up around them, I can report that the simple
> > > > ability
> > > > to read and process what's on the page can be deficient even among
> the
> > > > educated.
> > > >
> > > > JL
> > > >
> > > > On Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 8:38 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
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > >
> > > > > Don't tell that to all the Horatio Alger societies--I count three
> of
> > > > them,
> > > > > at least. They all insist on fairly preposterous "self-made" image.
> > > > >
> > > > > VS-)
> > > > >
> > > > > On Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 6:47 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> > > > wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> > > > > >wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Believe it or not, Alger's heroes all seem to succeed through the
> > > > > > intervention of rich zillionaires who recognize their worth,
> rather
> > > > than
> > > > > > through "recreating/redefining/re-inventing" themselves or even
> > > solely
> > > > > > through hard work.
> > > > >
> > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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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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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "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."
>
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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."

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