Quote: I used to be Snow White but I drifted (attrib Mae West 1938)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The saying in the subject line is included in multiple references,
e.g., The Yale Book of Quotations, The Quote Verifier, The Penguin
Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations, The Oxford Dictionary of
Humorous Quotations, The Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations. The
YBQ had the earliest cite in 1967. I located a cite in 1938, and the
details are given on the Quote Investigator website:

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/06/29/snow-drift/

There was a precursor joke that referencing white snow instead of the
character Snow White. YBQ provided a citation in 1923. Here is an
instance dated April 18, 1921 in "The Virginia Reel":

[Begin excerpt]
“She was as pure and as white as snow.”
“Yes, but she drifted.” - Yale Record.
[End excerpt]

Perhaps Fred or LH knows whether the Yale humor magazine, the Yale
Record, has been digitized or whether there are any plans to digitize
it in the future.

Garson

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