Mildly disagreeing with HDAS (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Isn't that mostly "satirical movie jive"?

JL


On Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 9:36 AM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US) <
william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill CIV (US)" <william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: Mildly disagreeing with HDAS (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
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>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
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>
> Dialog from the movie Airplane:
>
> Randy: Can I get you something?=20
> Second Jive Dude: 'S'mofo butter layin' me to da' BONE! Jackin' me up...
> ti=
> ght me!=20
> Randy: I'm sorry, I don't understand.=20
> First Jive Dude: Cutty say 'e can't HANG!=20
> Jive Lady: Oh, stewardess! I speak jive.=20
> Randy: Oh, good.=20
> Jive Lady: He said that he's in great pain and he wants to know if you can
> =
> help him.
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> > Behalf Of Wilson Gray
> > Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 3:07 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Mildly disagreeing with HDAS
> >=20
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header ---------------
> > --------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Mildly disagreeing with HDAS
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > --------
> >=20
> > HDAS: laid adj. Black E. 1. laid-back, 2. 1962 H[erbert] Simmons _[Man
> > Walking] On Eggshells_ 174: He stayed laid all the time.
> >=20
> > 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."
> >=20
> > 1972 Claerbaut _Black Jargon_ 71 _Laid to the bone_ ... drunk. a1994
> > Smitherman _Black Talk_ 151: _Laid_... High on liquor or drugs.
> >=20
> > 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."
> >=20
> > 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,
> >=20
> > Youneverknow.
> >=20
> > I'm reminded of an Army buddy from the Crescent City who told me,
> >=20
> > "Man, when I was stationed at Fort Polk[, Louisiana], I *stood* in New
> > Orleans!"
> >=20
> > 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?
> >=20
> >=20
> > --
> > -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
> >=20
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