[Ads-l] Quote: If what you gave me last was tea, I want coffee. If it was coffee, I want tea

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The link in my previous message led to an article about forgiveness.
Here is the correct link:

If What You Gave Me Last Was Tea, I Want Coffee. If It Was Coffee, I Want Tea
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/11/11/coffee-tea/

Garson


On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 9:47 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Quote: If what you gave me last was tea, I want coffee. If it was
>               coffee, I want tea
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The following saying about an unpalatable beverage has often been
> attributed to Abraham Lincoln:
>
> If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea,
> please bring me some coffee.
>
> Many reference works list this jest, e.g., Oxford Dictionary of
> Humorous Quotations, Brewer's Famous Quotations, The Macmillan
> Dictionary of Quotations, The Times Book of Quotations, and The 637
> Best Things Anybody Ever Said.
>
> The British publications usually point to the caption of a one-panel
> comic in "Punch" magazine in July 1902. Barry Popik found a great
> citation in "Harper=E2=80=99s New Monthly Magazine" in 1852 where the quip =
> was
> ascribed to John Randolph of Roanoke. Barry also noted that Lincoln
> was being credited by 1948; Barry's 2012 entry on the topic is here:
>
> Short link:  http://bit.ly/1SLflOV
> http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/if_this_is_coffee_p=
> lease_bring_me_some_tea_but_if_this_is_tea_please_bring
>
> I've made some progress: The joke was circulating by June 1840. Also,
> the remark was ascribed to Lincoln by 1902. Here is a link to the
> entry I created after receiving a request. Barry's work was
> acknowledged.
>
> If What You Gave Me Last Was Tea, I Want Coffee. If It Was Coffee, I Want T=
> ea
> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/30/violet-forgive/
>
> Feedback and pertinent citations would be welcome.
> Garson
>
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