Puritan euphemisms

[Jonathan Lighter]

I did mean American Puritans, but if English Puritans said "Jiminy
Crickets!" or the like, I'd be interested to know it.

Darby's play (or perhaps playlet) was acted in Folkes Tavern in non-Puritan
Pungoteague, Va., on Aug. 27, 1665. He and two actors were arrested for it,
but they were eventually acquitted.   Even before motion pictures,
a Virginia document of 1612 classed "Players" with "Papists" as "the scum &
dregs of the earth."

Nothing more of Darby's play is known.

JL

On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 7:53 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Puritan euphemisms
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 10/24/2012 12:49 PM, Charles C Doyle wrote:
> >I wasn't thinking of American literature as distinct from British
> >literature in earlier times--though, of course, American speech had
> >already begun to differentiate itself.  But any verbal behavior
> >specifically identifiable as "puritan" would perhaps have been
> >similar on both sides of the pond.
>
> I wondered, Jon, when you asked your question, and assumed you meant
> American Puritans.
>
> Joel
>
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