[Ads-l] Groucho--really?

[MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY RDECOM AMRDEC (US)]

_Binghamton [NY] Press_ 2 Dec 1948 p 21 col 6 [fultonhistory.com, newspapers.com]
From Phil Willon's column, "All in Fun"
"Outside of a dog, a policeman is a boy's best friend. Inside of a dog, a boy isn't likely to meet one anyhow."


_Binghamton [NY] Press_ 6 Sep 1950 p 25 col 3 [fultonhistory.com, newspapers.com]
From Phil Willon's column, "All in Fun"
"Outside of a dog, of course, a diamond is a girl's best friend.  Inside of a dog, you can't see it anyhow."

[Nashville, TN] _The Tennesseean_ 23 Nov 1952 p 8 col 1 [newspapers.com]
From Red O'Donnell's column, "Top o'the Mornin'"
"Clever comic Jimmy Husson's observation:  "Book is man's best friend, outside of a dog.  Inside, it's too dark to read anyhow."

_Somerset (PA) American_ 29 Aug 1953 p 4 col 8 [newspaperarchive.com]
"A book is man's best friend, outside of a dog and inside a dog it's too dark to read."

Comedian Jimmy Husson worked a lot in the Pennsylvania area in the 1940s-1950s; this cite could have originated with him as well.


First Groucho cite:
_Philadelphia Daily News_ 5 Apr 1973 p 25 col 3 [newspapers.com]
"Groucho Marx on friendship:  "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.  That's because inside a dog, it's too dark to read." "



> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of ADSGarson O'Toole
> Sent: Monday, March 13, 2017 4:37 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Groucho--really?
> 
> 
> 
> ----
> 
> John Baker wrote:
> > Of course, as previously discussed on ADS-L, "Inside of a dog it's too
> > dark to read" is not an authentic Marxism either; as far as we know,
> > it came from Jim Brewer, a kid who contributed it to Boys' Life in
> > 1954 (well, the contribution was probably in 1953).  And "Why a duck"
> > was spoken by Chico (though written by George S. Kaufman).  "I do not
> > care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members" was
> > attributed to Groucho personally in 1950, so seems reasonably
> > plausible as an authentic quotation.
> 
> LH initiated the discussion of the Groucho attributed remark "Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read" back in 2010. I created a QI entry and
> credited "Top-notch researcher, John Baker" for locating the "Boys' Life" citation.
> 
> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/09/08/dog/
> 
> 
> 

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