ask forgiveness get permission

[Shapiro, Fred]

The Yale Book of Quotations notes that "It is easier to get forgiveness than permission" appears in Arthur Bloch, Murphy's Law Book Two (1980). 

Grace Hopper was notorious, or should be notorious, for taking credit for expressions that were around long before her.  Like "bug."

Fred Shapiro



________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Bill Mullins [amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM]
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 10:14 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: ask forgiveness get permission

The wikiquote entry for Grace Hopper credits here with"It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission." (quoted in the U.S. Navy's Chips Ahoy magazine, July 1986)
I don't see it covered in the archives.
_Duncanville [TX] Suburban_ 9/24/1981 p 2 col 1"Stewart's Law of Retroaction: It's easier to get forgiveness than permission."
Bill Mullins


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