Mildly disagreeing with HDAS

[Wilson Gray]

HDAS: laid adj. Black E. 1. laid-back, 2. 1962 H[erbert] Simmons _[Man
Walking] On Eggshells_ 174: He stayed laid all the time.

Herb Simmons is a native St. Louisan and a frat-brother of mine who was the
guest of honor/featured speaker at my "ship's" post-initiation banquet, in
1957. In St. Louis, "laid" is only "well-dressed." "He stayed laid all the
time" means, "He was always well-dressed." He's older than I am, so his
phraseology is a taste stale. I would write, "He *stayed* laid!" The
emphasis tells the hearer/reader that it was "all the time."

1972 Claerbaut _Black Jargon_ 71 _Laid to the bone_ ... drunk. a1994
Smitherman _Black Talk_ 151: _Laid_... High on liquor or drugs.

That these and other equally-authoritative sources, all post-1960 and none
of them the Urban Dictionary, connect "laid (to the bone)" with drink
and/or dope is a real surprise to me. Even Clarence Major goes for that
shit, without a mention of "well-dressed." In *my* experience, "laid" is
only "well-dressed" and "... to the bone" is only "very well dressed,
dressed to a T/to the teeth," not only from back in the '40's, but also to
this very day. It falls trippingly from the tongue of trash-TV's Judge Greg
Mathis, a native of Detroit who wasn't even born till 1960, as well as from
the tongues of his "guests" and from those of Jerry Springer's "guests."

I've always intuited "laid" as ultimately derived from the concept of
having a batman to lay out one's clothes for one and the well-dressed
corpse laid out for a funeral. Apparently, others intuit a drunk laid out
on the floor behind too much Thunderbird or some such. As usual,

Youneverknow.

I'm reminded of an Army buddy from the Crescent City who told me,

"Man, when I was stationed at Fort Polk[, Louisiana], I *stood* in New
Orleans!"

Does anyone else recall the '40's, radio-days catch-phrase, "I should have
stood in bed!"? Until I heard Roussell say "stood" where I would have said
"stayed," I had *no* idea WTF that catch-phrase was supposed to mean. Like,
what could *possibly* be the point of standing in bed?


-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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