[Ads-l] Quote: Diplomacy frequently consists in soothingly saying =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=9CNice_doggie=E2=80=9D_?=until you have a chance to pick up a rock

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I found the statement in the subject line attributed to sportswriter
Walter Trumbull in the “The Honolulu Advertiser” in 1925.

There are many versions of the saying, e.g.:
1) Democracy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.
2) The art of diplomacy is saying, 'nice doggie, nice doggie,' until
you can find a stick.

The saying has been examined by various references: Brewer's Famous
Quotations by Nigel Rees, The Cynic's Lexicon by Jonathon Green, The
Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations, Wikiquote, Barry
Popik's website and more.

Previously the earliest citations were in the 1950s.

[Begin acknowledgment]
Great thanks to rone whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question
and perform this exploration. Special thanks to Barry Popik, Nigel
Rees, and the volunteer editors of Wikiquote for their pioneering
research. Popik found citations beginning in 1954. Wikiquote pointed
to a 1953 match.
[End acknowledgment]

Feedback welcome
Garson

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