"like thunder upon beer"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Excellent work, Garson.

JL

On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 1:12 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: "like thunder upon beer"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The 1775 work "The Rivals: A Comedy" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
> included a metaphor based on the ill-effects of thunder upon milk.
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=93JbAAAAQAAJ&q=soured#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> The thunder of your words has soured the milk of human kindness in my
> breast!
> [End excerpt]
>
> Apparently, the famous natural philosopher and chemist Robert Boyle
> explored the ill effects of thunder upon beer and ale in 1669.
>
> Cite: 1725, The Philosophical Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle:
> Abridged, Edited by Peter Shaw, Volume 2, Page 635, Printed for W and
> J Innys, London. (Google Books full view)
>
> Physico-mechanical Experiments
> [Entries dated 1669]
>
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=Y-YJAAAAMAAJ&q=%22great+thunder%22#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> ...the most part of August proving extraordinarily hot; towards the
> latter end, there was at several times, great thunder, which turn'd
> the beer in our cellar. and in most of those of the neighbourhood,
> sour. Sept. 1. The beer was open'd but did not seem to be sour...
> ...To try, whether the thunder would have such an effect upon ale,
> exactly stopt in glass vessels, as it often has on it in ordinary
> casks, I caus'd some ale, moderately strong, to be put into a
> conveniently shaped receiver...
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 8:07 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: "like thunder upon beer"
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > On Aug 19, 2012, at 7:26 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >
> >> I've never seen this striking simile elsewhere, and I choose to rescue
> it
> >> from oblivion:
> >>
> >> 1834 Francis Bond Head _Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau_ (ed. 3)
> >> (Brussells: Whalen) 371: In short, his Highness's words acted upon my
> mind
> >> like thunder upon beer.
> >
> > Gives a whole new meaning to "thunderhead"
> >
> > LH
> >>
> >> A search of GB shows that when a brewing was inexplicably spoiled, the
> >> blame was frequently laid upon thunder.  So Major Head was disconcerted
> and
> >> discouraged by the remarks of the Russian Prince. And he didn't think
> his
> >> readers of nearly 180 years ago required an explanation.
> >>
> >> And speaking of GB, it took many, many tries to persuade it that this
> >> passage is actually in its memory-bank.
> >>
> >> 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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>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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