Simile: like *substance* through a tin horn

[Dan Goncharoff]

Is "tin horn" just another way of saying "funnel"?

I am thinking of the Tin Woodman's hat...

DanG


On Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 1:30 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:      Simile: like *substance* through a tin horn
>
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>
> On the Project Wombat mailing list Jane Steinberg initiated a
> discussion of the phrase "like shit through a tin horn".
> [Begin excerpt]
> I used to work for a harpsichord builder who, whenever something went
> absolutely perfectly, would say, "like shit through a tin horn."
> [End excerpt]
>
> The appearance of the word "shit" in print was restricted in the past.
> So I think it makes sense, as a start, to gather evidence by looking
> for variants of the phrase in the major text databases. Here are some
> variants that appeared in newspapers and periodicals beginning in the
> 1880s. I did not try to find the earliest examples. Details are below:
>
> Main question: Why do you think a tin horn is used in this collection
> of similes?
>
> like butter through a tin horn
> like water through a tin horn
> like mud through a tin-horn
>
> Here is an example of "like butter through a tin horn" in 1887. A boat
> was grounded on a bar in a river. Eventually, a strategy was found to
> move the boat forward past the bar.
>
> Cite: 1887 October 09, Kansas City Times, Science in Navigation,
> [Acknowledgement to Mobile Register], Page 19, Column 4, Kansas City,
> Missouri. (GenealogyBank)
> [Begin excerpt]
> Then the rope was tied to a tree on the bank above and the old Carrier
> went over that bar like butter through a tin horn.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Cite: 1895, Senate Ex. Doc. No 57, Fifty Third Congress Second
> Session, Topic: Hawaiian Islands, [Inclosure 2 in No. 36],
> [Advertiser report of mass meeting, February 13, 1894.]  D. B. Smith
> Is Again Nominated, Page 1229, Government Printing Office, Washington,
> D.C. (Google Books full view)
> http://books.google.com/books?id=vRs2AQAAIAAJ&q=%22tin+horn%22#v=snippet&
> [Begin excerpt]
> T. B. Severin then placed in nomination D. B. Smith. His name was
> received with prolonged cheers, and was seconded by the whole league.
> Three howls were called for on the nomination, the clockwork was again
> put in motion and the league, as one man, signified its approval of
> Mr. Smith. J. B. Atherton then moved that the nominations be closed,
> which was carried, and D. B. Smith had been sent through the meeting
> like water through a tin horn.
> [End excerpt]
>
> In the domain of sports, the phrase "water through a tin horn" was
> used with quotation marks in 1897. It was used to describe a runner
> easily penetrating the defense of the opposing team and scoring a
> touchdown.
>
> Cite: 1897 December 26, Oregonian, "Fought In Deep Mud: Multnomah Wins
> Christmas Football Game, 10-6", Page 8, Quote in Column 2. Portland,
> Oregon. (Genealogybank)
> [Begin excerpt]
> Wilbur was given the ball, and, with fine interference, plunged
> through Multnomah's line like "water through a tin horn" and scored
> Portland's only touchdown.
> [End excerpt]
>
> The phrase "like mud through a tin-horn" was used in quotes in 1906.
> The word "mud" was sometimes used as a euphemism for "shit" in
> periodicals. So the phrase "like shit through a tin-horn" may have
> been used by a pilot in the following excerpt.
>
> Cite: 1906 December, The Rudder, Volume 17, Number 12, A Fast Trip
> Down the Hudson by Walter M. Bieling, Quote Page 735, The Rudder
> Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books full view)
> http://books.google.com/books?id=CCYjAQAAMAAJ&q=tin-horn#v=snippet&
> [Begin excerpt]
> We got off rather suddenly; our start was most businesslike, and we
> went out of the Albany Y. C. basin, according to the pilot, "like mud
> through a tin-horn."
> [End excerpt]
>
> George S. Patton used the phrase on September 23, 1944 according to
> the following book:
>
> The Patton papers 1940-1945
> Author: George S Patton; Martin Blumenson
> Publisher: New York : Da Capo Press, [1998]
> http://books.google.com/books?id=RRolDuahqPMC&q=%22tin+horn%22#v=snippet&
> [Begin excerpt]
> Question: Once through the Siegfried Line, will the advance be much
> like the last push?
> Patton: I think we will go like shit through a tin horn.
> [End excerpt]
>
> The idea of a substance moving through a tin horn easily was used in
> similes by 1887 or earlier. The substance used in the simile varied:
> butter, water and mud all appeared by 1906.  Other options include:
> huckleberries, dose of salts, grease, shit, gooseshit, molasses and
> more. I do not know why a tin-horn was selected for this collection of
> similes.
>
> Garson O'Toole
>
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