[Ads-l] Horticulture pun ascribed to Dorothy Parker

[Jonathan Lighter]

Whatever the ultimate source, the  Parker attribution caught on quickly, at
least in certain quarters.

I recall my high-school English teacher citing it in 1964 or '65.  I
thought it was so funny that I'd better major in English in college.

JL

On Sun, Nov 22, 2015 at 4:54 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Horticulture pun ascribed to Dorothy Parker
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Way back in July 2010 Fred asked about a pun based on the word
> horticulture that has been credited to Dorothy Parker. The Quote
> Investigator website now has an entry on this topic. Note: Some people
> find the pun offensive.
>
> Here is an example: You may lead a horticulture, but you can't make her
> think.
>
> The pun was attributed to Parker in 1962 in "Horizon" magazine. She
> supposedly said it at the Algonquin Round Table which met during the
> 1920s.
>
> I found a joke containing the pun published in "The Virginia
> Spectator" in December 1952. It was not linked to Parker. Another
> instance was printed in "The Daily Standard of Sikeston" Missouri on
> November 3, 1953.
>
> Horticulture Pun
> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/11/21/horticulture/
>
> Feedback and additional citations welcome,
> Garson
>
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