QOTY?

[Charles C Doyle]

Google Books seems to give an instance of "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas" from 1977 (I expect Garson can take it back farther), and some from the 1980s.

As for the rhyming wellerism "'Later we'll all die,' / Said the gator to the fly":  The context suggests that something like an "old saying" is being quoted--but what (if anything)??

--Charlie

________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 6:09 PM
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In "Bad Teacher" the put-upon principal tells Miss Squirrel he'll talk
about something "later."

She says didactically , "'_Later_ we'll all die',/ Said the gator to the
fly!"

The principal says "What?" in that special, intense way reserved for the
irritatingly incomprehensible.

JL


On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 4:49 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Romney "political director" Rich Beeson, telling us why, even if he
> loses Ohio, he might still manage being elected:  "If ifs and buts
> were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas."
>
> A potential QOTY whoever wins the election.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/opinion/collins-ohio-gets-the-love.html
>
> Joel

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