[Ads-l] Don't urinate on my leg...

Sat Jun 11 20:33:42 UTC 2016

Barry Popik has an excellent entry on this topic with a 1903 citation
for the "spit" variant . Apologies to Barry for not searching on his
website.

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/dont_pee_on_my_leg_and_tell_me_its_raining/

On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 12:24 PM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks, Garson.
>
> SWAG: "Spit in my face..." is the original form, since to "spit in
> someone's face" is a long-established idiom.
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 12:07 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> There is an error in the 1957 citation excerpt. I forgot to correct an
>> OCR error. The word "lace" should have been "face".
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 11:49 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole
>> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Here is a variant in 1957 with a different fluid.
>>>
>>> [ref] 1957 March 6, Naugatuck Daily News, What Our Readers Think:
>>> George McNamara Explains "Why I Am In This Race", Quote Page 8, Column
>>> 7, Naugatuck, Connecticut. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref]
>>>
>>> [End excerpt]
>>> These out of town politicians might know their (hogs) and their corn
>>> cobs and be able to fool the village yokels but no one is going to
>>> spit in my lace and tell me it's raining. I know better.
>>> Sincerely yours,
>>> GEORGE E. MCNAMARA
>>> [End excerpt]
>>>
>>>
>>> Below is an instance that was spoken on August 7, 1970. I suspect this
>>> is a bowdlerized version (bowdlerized by the speaker; not the
>>> transcriber).
>>>
>>> Year: 1972
>>> Title: Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention, Record of
>>> Proceedings: Verbatim transcripts: August 6, 1970 to September 3, 1970
>>> Volume 5
>>> Date: August 7, 1970
>>> Speaker: Mr. Patch (Delegate Patch)
>>> Quote Page 3774
>>> Database: Full View in Illinois Digital Archives (Also snippet view in
>>> Google Books)
>>>
>>> http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/isl2/id/6263/rec/12
>>>
>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>> Who are we kidding? You know, there's an old saying, you know, "Don't
>>> pour that water in my face and tell me it's raining."
>>> [End excerpt]
>>>
>>>
>>> There is an instance in the play "Five on the Black Hand Side". The
>>> first copyright date of the volume in full view in GB is 1969, but a
>>> note says that the play was revised and rewritten in 1977. There is
>>> also a match in a GB volume with a 1973 date, so it is possible that
>>> the phrase did appear in the 1969 play, but GB dates for plays are
>>> highly unreliable. Verification is needed.
>>>
>>> Year: 1969 copyright (revised and rewritten in 1977)
>>> Title: Five on the Black Hand Side: A Play in Three Acts
>>> Author: Charlie L. Russell
>>> Act I
>>> Quote Page 20
>>>
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=RF-Mc05XGvgC&q=raining#v=snippet&q=raining&f=false
>>>
>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>> GIDEON. That's because you don't understand yourself. Hey, man,
>>> sisters are some beautiful people. Man, we can't afford to get into a
>>> negative thing with the sisters. How are we going to survive without
>>> strong families?
>>>
>>> Booker T.: Tell me anything, boy. Pee on my back and tell me it's raining.
>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>>
>>>
>>> Here is the raw match for the play circa 1973 in GB. As noted
>>> previously, the dates assigned to plays in GB are not reliable.
>>>
>>> [Begin raw match data]
>>> The American Place Theatre: Plays - Page 218
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=-BuyAAAAIAAJ
>>> Richard Schotter - 1973
>>>
>>> Hey, man, sisters are some beautiful people. Man, we can't afford to
>>> get a negative thing with the sisters. How are we going to survive
>>> without strong families?
>>> Booker T.: Tell me anything, boy. Pee on my back and tell me it's raining.
>>> [End raw match data]
>>>
>>>
>>> Here is another raw match with a GB date of 1973.
>>>
>>> [Begin raw match]
>>> Alias Big Cherry: the Confessions of a Master Criminal - Page 85
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=G-9AAAAAIAAJ
>>> Robert H. Adleman - 1973 - ‎Snippet view
>>>
>>> Are you trying to spit in my face and tell me it's raining outside?"
>>> Albert began to cry. Tears streaming down his face, he tried to tell
>>> his story — he had used the money to pay for his sister's operation,
>>> but Hoffman cut him off. "You take that kind
>>> [End raw match]
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 8:08 AM, Jonathan Lighter
>>> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Back in 1976, in the great Western _The Outlaw Josey Wales_, I noted
>>>> the proverbial-sounding phrase, "Don't piss down my back and tell me
>>>> it's raining." In fact, it was described in the movie as an "old
>>>> saying."
>>>>
>>>> On rare occasions since then I've encountered "...on my leg..." and
>>>> "...on my shoe..."
>>>>
>>>> Today on CNN an anti-Trump Republican strategist admonished a Trump
>>>> apologist, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining."
>>>>
>>>> Which was the exact title of an outspoken social and judicial critique
>>>> by Judge Judy (1996).
>>>>
>>>> Even more surprising to us old folks is  _Piss in My Face and Tell Me
>>>> It's Raining_ (2015), by Christian feminist Tina Perry.
>>>>
>>>> Does anybody know if these phrases go back much  before 1976?  GB
>>>> gives little reason to think so.
>>>>
>>>> JL
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org