[Ads-l] a good one that Fred has missed

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for your note GAT.

Back in October 2010 there was a discussion thread on the ADS list
about this proverbial piece of advice: "When you're in a hole, stop
digging". Multiple participants contributed to the discussion. I
posted a link to the Hansard providing evidence that Healey did employ
the saying in 1983:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-October/103613.html

Sam Clements located the important 1977 Wall Street Journal citation
that was included in the essential Dictionary of Modern Proverbs.
Charles Doyle located valuable citations in 1911 (included in DMP) and
1893.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-October/103620.html
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-October/103680.html

Back in 2010 I also posted about an 1889 story from Joel Chandler
Harris that illustrated the "stop digging" motif (I thought):

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-October/103826.html

Garson

On Mon, Oct 5, 2015 at 1:15 PM, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> Subject:      a good one that Fred has missed
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A very long obituary in today's NYTimes of Denis Healy, an English
> politician ends:
> Lord Healey used humor to make precise points, but his most famous line
> described all too many situations. What he called =E2=80=9CHealey=E2=80=99s=
>  First Law of
> Holes=E2=80=9D advises, =E2=80=9CWhen in one, stop digging.=E2=80=9D
>
> GAT
>
> --=20
> George A. Thompson
> The Guy Who Still Looks Stuff Up in Books.
> Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> Univ. Pr., 1998..
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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