"Don't just do something...."

Sat Mar 22 19:31:40 UTC 2014

Back in 2011 JL prompted a discussion on the saying "Don't just do
something; stand there." Prodded by a request I have now composed an
entry about this topic for the QI website. Here is the
acknowledgement:

[Begin excerpt]
Great thanks to Professor Jonathan Lighter who initiated a discussion
about this saying. Thanks to Dan Goncharoff who located the February
1956 citation, and to the other discussants.
[End excerpt]

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/03/22/stand-there/

With appreciation,
Garson

On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:15 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "Don't just do something...."
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Once again Garson sheds light on the darkness. And fast, too. Thanks, G!
>
> JL
>
> On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:07 AM, Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "Don't just do something...."
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Thanks to Jonathan Lighter for pointing out this entertaining phrase.
>> And thanks to Dan Goncharoff and Michael Quinion for providing
>> intriguing information.
>>
>> The earliest cite I have located so far is dated 1945. Prominent
>> columnist Leonard Lyons attributed the words to theatrical producer
>> Martin Gabel. The quip was reused and reattributed many times after
>> this appearance. As shown further below the same columnist, Lyons, in
>> 1956 reported the testimony of Adlai Stevenson who attributed an
>> instance of the phrase to President Eisenhower. Here are selected
>> citations:
>>
>> Cite: 1945 September 01, San Mateo Times, Broadway Medley by Leonard
>> Lyons, Page 8, Editorial Page, Column 5, San Mateo, California.
>> (NewspaperArchive)
>>
>> At the first rehearsal of Irwin Shaw's play, "The Assassin," Producer
>> Martin Gabel noticed a young actress gesticulating wildly instead of
>> remaining motionless. Gabel shouted: "Don't just do something; stand
>> there.
>>
>>
>> Cite: 1954 April 30, Boston Globe, Sitting in with Ted Ashby: It's
>> What the Man Said, Start Page 21, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google News
>> archive; ProQuest Abstract only; Verified only by examining abstract
>> and not the full article)
>>
>> THERE IS a national, nonprofit organization which advocates
>> paraphrasing an irritating directive. to wit: "Don't just stand
>> there.... DO something!" The group, which has dedicated itself to
>> happier living through inertness, would change it to: "Don't just do
>> something.... STAND there!
>>
>>
>> Cite: 1954 October 25, El Paso Herald-Post, Females 16 to 60 Aflutter
>> Over Two Future TV Idols by Faye Emerson, Page 7, Column 3, El Paso,
>> Texas. (NewspaperArchive)
>>
>> A TV director had to deal with one of those young actresses of the new
>> school the other day. She was fluttering her hands, mussing her hair,
>> and in general trying to be as much like Geraldine Page as possible.
>> The director finally shouted, "Don't just do something. Stand there!"
>>
>>
>> Dan Goncharoff found the following excellent citation that shows Adlai
>> Stevenson using the phrase.
>>
>> Cite: 1956 February 26, New York Times, Stevenson Gibes at the
>> President as Inept 'Coach', by Richard H. Parke, [Start Page 1] Page
>> 65, New York. (ProQuest)
>>
>> He [Adlai Stevenson] said he had "figured out what the Republican
>> orators mean by what they call moderate progressivism." All they mean,
>> he said, is "don't just do something! Stand there!"
>>
>>
>> Months after using the phrase himself Stevenson put the quip into the
>> mouth of Eisenhower according to columnist Lyons.
>>
>> Cite: 1956 May 21, Chicago Defender, Lyons Den by Leonard Lyons, Page
>> 5, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest)
>>
>> THE TRAVELER: Adlai Stevenson tells this story about John Foster
>> Dulles: The President managed to catch a glimpse of Dulles while he
>> was temporarily in this country. And the President said to the
>> Secretary of State: "Don't just do something. Stand there."
>>
>> William Safire used the humorous injunction in his New York Times
>> column on October 21, 1987, but he did not attempt to trace it.
>>
>> (The version of ProQuest that I have access to does not have the
>> Boston Globe in 1954. If you have access and would be willing to send
>> me a PDF of the article mentioned below that would be very nice of
>> you. If you wish I will try to trace a quote, proverb, expression or
>> word for you.)
>>
>> Garson
>>
>> On Sun, May 1, 2011 at 6:51 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>> > Subject:      "Don't just do something...."
>> >
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > CNN person: "There's a joke on Wall Street: 'Don't just do something,
>> Stand
>> > there.'"  In other words, don't take part in a buying or selling panic.
>> >
>> > But it isn't just on Wall Street. GB reveals thousands of exx., with
>> varying
>> > nuances.
>> >
>> > The earliest is allegedly from Newsweek, vol. 45 (1955). I can't verify
>> the
>> > date, but the snippet congruously mentions Gwen Verdon in _Damn Yankees_:
>> >
>> > "...once made a rehearsal director shout, 'Don't just do something! Stand
>> > there!'"
>> >
>> > The phrase appears regularly since the mid '50s.
>> >
>> > JL
>> >
>> > --
>> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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