[Ads-l] Turtle on a Fencepost(1979)-antedating to 1976

sclements at NEO.RR.COM sclements at NEO.RR.COM
Fri Dec 26 21:08:24 UTC 2014


We did this one back in 2006 in a request by Barry Popik but could find nothing additional at that time.

Using Newspaperarchive, I found 23 December 1976 _Gladewater(East Texas)Mirror_ 5/2

"A turtle, sitting atop a fencepost, was asked by an incredulous passerby, 'How did you get up there?' The turtle replied 'Well, I'll tell you one thing, I didn't do it all by myself.'"

Just another data point that it probably is one of those East Texas/Southern sayings we may never track down fully.

Sam Clements

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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