[Ads-l] QOTY

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

LH said:
> Somewhat reminiscent of the (apocryphal?  can't recall what we all
> concluded in a wayback thread on this) Dorothy Parker line, "Tell him
> I'm too fucking busy.  And vice versa."

YBQ has a 1970 citation. During the ADS discussion of Dorothy Parker
quotations back in July 2010 I posted an excerpt containing the
quotation from the September 1967 issue of Ramparts magazine. Below is
a link to the mailing list message. The description "legendary remark"
was used when the anecdote was presented. I also gave a 1968 citation
in a book by Oscar Levant.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-July/101136.html

Those are still the earliest cites, I think. Currently, there is no
entry on the QI website for this quotation. Also, Parker's
"horticulture" remark is absent.

Garson


On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 2:03 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      QOTY
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Well, of whatever year it was, assuming it was an actual quote.  Today's =
> papers carried the obituary of actress Betsy Drake, mostly known for =
> being married to Cary Grant for "longer than than any of his other =
> wives" (NYT, =
> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/movies/betsy-drake-movie-and-stage-actre=
> ss-dies-at-92.html).
>
> The "earthy" quote referred to in the obit is presented as follows in =
> the 2011 biography of Grant (_Good Stuff: a Reminiscence of My Father, =
> Cary Grant_) by Jennifer Grant, his daughter with Dyan Cannon (p. 87):
>
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> Dad somewhat enjoyed being called gay. He said it made women want to =
> prove the assertion wrong. When asked if Dad was gay, Betsy Drake had =
> the best answer: 'I don't know, we were always too busy fucking for me =
> to ask.'
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>
> Somewhat reminiscent of the (apocryphal?  can't recall what we all =
> concluded in a wayback thread on this) Dorothy Parker line, "Tell him =
> I'm too fucking busy.  And vice versa." =20
>
> LH
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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