[Ads-l] Quote: Time Wounds All Heels

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Yes, there should be earlier citations, and I would welcome them.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives an initial 1914 citation for the
sense of "heel" used in the 1934 and 1937 wordplay. I do not know the
first citation given in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, and I do not have
Random House Dictionary of Slang in my current location. Perhaps
someone could let me know what GDOS says about "heel".

[Begin excerpt]
heel, n.3

Among criminals: a double-crosser, a sneak-thief; more generally: a
dishonourable or untrustworthy person, a rotter.

1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 43 Heel,..An
incompetent; an undesirable; an inefficient or pusillanimous pretender
to sterling criminal qualifications.
[End excerpt]


Peter Reitan kindly sent me off-list a 1918 instance of the quip
employed by a shoemaker. I think "heel" refers to a foot part in this
citation. It appears that the slang sense is not used.

Date: April 14, 1918
Newspaper: Hartford Courant
Newspaper Location: Hartford, Connecticut
Article: Uncle George Learns a Well Known Truth
Section 3, Quote Page 1, Column 7
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11282953/hartford_courant/

[Begin excerpt]
"Well," said Mr. Rollo, "I should say that such an argument was on a
par with a dispute that a shoemaker had with a school teacher I know.
The teacher was quoting some old stuff and said that time would heal
all wounds. The shoemaker said he had a better quotation and it was
that time would wound all heels. They had quite n debate regarding
which was the better quotation."
[End excerpt]

Peter also sent a 1926 citation about an unsuccessful book reviewer
that seems to use the slang sense of "heel" (see the clipping).

Date: June 8, 1926
Newspaper: The Scranton Republican
Newspaper Location: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Article: This Foolish World
Stat Page 3, Quote Page 7, Column 4
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11283122/the_scranton_republican/

[Begin excerpt]
I was grieved for a time, but time wounds all heels and I enjoyed the vacation.
[End excerpt]

Garson


On Sat, May 27, 2017 at 12:41 AM,  <sclements at neo.rr.com> wrote:
> Assuming that the expression "Time heals all wounds" is rather old, doesn't it defy logic that some wag wouldn't have turned around the expression way before 1937?
>
> swamclem
>
>
> ---- ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>> Updating a 2014 message:
>>
>> Frank Case who owned and operated the Algonquin Hotel in New York has
>> often been credited with the expression "Time wounds all heels". In
>> his 1938 memoir Case said he originated the phrase and used it during
>> a radio appearance. But the broadcast date was previously unknown (to
>> me).
>>
>> Today I was sent a link to a webpage with an MP3 of Case's radio appearance:
>>
>> Title: Rudy Vallee Royal Gelatin Hour Guest Tallulah Bankhead
>> Air Date: June 17, 1937 (according to the website)
>> Location of quotation: 39 mins into broadcast
>>
>> https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/variety/rudy-vallee-royal-gelatin-hour/rudy-vallee-royal-gelatin-hour-37-06-17-guest-tallulah-bankhead
>>
>> The 1937 date is rather late because the saying was circulating in
>> 1934. The QI article has been updated. Great thanks to Frank Solensky
>> who pointed to the MP3.
>>
>> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/09/23/heels/
>>
>> Garson
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 8:01 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
>> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > The pun "Time wounds all heels" is based on the phrase "Time heals all wounds".
>> >
>> > This saying is listed in Charlie and Fred's The Dictionary of Modern
>> > Proverbs”, Fred's "The Yale Book of Quotations", Ralph Keyes' "Nice
>> > Guys Finish Seventh", Nigel Rees' "The Best Guide to Humorous
>> > Quotations", "The Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations" and other
>> > important references.
>> >
>> > In the past the earliest citation was dated 1938. I've located a
>> > December 1934 citation in a newspaper column. The Quote Investigator
>> > website now has a lengthy entry:
>> >
>> > Time Wounds All Heels
>> > http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/09/23/heels/
>> >
>> > There are multiple candidates for originator of the line. If you are a
>> > knowledgeable fan of Old Time Radio or if you have connections to that
>> > community then you might be able to help clarify the origin of the
>> > expression.
>> >
>> > Frank Case included the pun in his 1938 memoir and stated that he had
>> > spoken it on a radio program hosted by the entertainer Rudy Vallee.
>> > But Case did not specify the date of the episode. I listened to a
>> > December 2, 1937 radio episode of "The Royal Gelatin Hour" during
>> > which Case visited Vallee. The exchanges between the two sounded
>> > scripted (to me). Case did not use the pun in this episode, but the
>> > dialog indicated he had visited the show in the past. Open question:
>> > Did Case use the line before December 1934?
>> >
>> > A citation from April 1939 indicated that Jane Ace of the radio show
>> > "Easy Aces" used the quip during an episode. The "Easy Aces" series
>> > began broadcasting in 1930; hence, it is possible that she used the
>> > joke before 1934. Open question: Did Jane Ace use the line before
>> > December 1934?
>> >
>> > Thanks for any help you can provide,
>> > Garson
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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