[Ads-l] Proverb

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Here are some matches for the joke in the 1960s.

Year: 1962
Book: How Good Schools are Run: Since You Ask Me!
Author: K. Hart Puffer
Publisher: The Bond Wheelwright Co., Freeport, Maine
Quote Page 11
Database; Google Books Snippet; data may be inaccurate; should be
verified with hardcopy; page number is visible in snippet

[Begin excerpt]
The main thing to remember here is that even a fish would stay out of
trouble if he kept his mouth shut. The late President Calvin Coolidge
was the master of masters in this.
[End excerpt]

Date: December 1, 1966
Newspaper: Janesville Daily Gazette
Newspaper Location: Janesville, Wisconsin
Editorial: Free and Clear
Quote Page 6, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
It proves even a fish would stay out of trouble if he kept his mouth shut.
[End excerpt]

Garson


On Sat, Jun 3, 2017 at 8:01 PM, Dave Hause <dwhause at cablemo.net> wrote:
> Alternate, "Even a fish would stay out of trouble if he kept his big mouth
> shut."
> Dave Hause
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Saturday, June 3, 2017 5:24 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Proverb
>
>
> Errol Louis, CNN:
>
> "Lawyers always tell their clients to be quiet. And the expression is out
> there that 'You can't hook a fish until he opens his mouth.'"
>
> 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

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