[Ads-l] Adage: The young sow wild oats. The old grow sage

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Garson O'Toole wrote:
>> The April newsletter ends with a discussion of a jest attributed to
>> Winston Churchill that was mentioned in comedian Stephen Fry's recent
>> memoir. Here is a link to my analysis.
>>
>> The young sow wild oats. The old grow sage
>> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/04/02/sage/

>Laurence Horn wrote:
> Just think—we can now attribute the adage to Byron, and enjoy
> the misapprehension.

Currently, "Byronesque","Byronian", and "Byronic" all refer to George
Gordon Byron. Perhaps "Byronian" and "Byronic" should be reserved for
lesser known Byrons like Henry James Byron who wrote "This gardener’s
rule applies to youth and age, When young sow wild oats, but when old
grow sage."

Sowing wild oats does sound Byronesque, but Lord Byron died at age 36
which makes the second phase, growing sage, sadly conjectural;
confusion and misapprehension are likely as you note.

Garson

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