lipstick on a pig

[Randy Alexander]

Was just watching "They Live" (1988 Movie) with my kids and was reminded of
this discussion when the main character was calling out a female alien:
"That's like pouring perfume on a pig!"

Randy


On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 8:32 AM, Benjamin Zimmer <
bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      lipstick on a pig
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> There's a kerfuffle over Obama saying "You can put lipstick on a pig
> -- it's still a pig," which the McCain campaign is claiming refers to
> Sarah "pitbull with lipstick" Palin. Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen
> Psaki is quoted as saying, "That expression is older than my
> grandfather's grandfather and it means that you can dress something up
> but it doesn't change what it is."
>
> How old is the expression, really? A quick database check doesn't turn
> up anything before 1985:
>
> ---
> Washington Post,  Nov. 15, 1985, p. C1 (Nexis)
> KNBR, the AM radio station carrying Giants baseball games, had raised
> $20,000 toward the construction of a new downtown stadium. The board
> of supervisors, reluctant to commit to such a project, asked if they
> couldn't use the money to renovate Candlestick Park. "That," replied
> KNBR personality Ron Lyons, "would be like putting lipstick on a pig."
> ---
>
> There are earlier cites for "putting lipstick on a corpse," but that's
> a bit different.
>
> ---
> http://www.osmre.gov/legishistory/publication92-10.htm
> COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE
> 92nd CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION
> DECEMBER 1971 SERIAL-NO: Serial No. 92-10
> MEMORANDUM OF THE CHAIRMAN
> "Like putting lipstick on a corp[o]se," is how current strip-mine
> reclamation efforts were described to me on a recent trip to West
> Virginia.
> ---
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
Randy Alexander
Manchu studies: http://www.sinoglot.com/manchu
Language in China (group blog): http://www.sinoglot.com/blog
Music: http://www.metafilter.com/activity/56219/posts/music/

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