[Ads-l] kick ass; fisherman's luck

[Jonathan Lighter]

And I've posted a ridiculously enlightening reply.

JL

On Thu, Oct 5, 2017 at 11:38 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> I posted about this on the Strong Language blog, with full credit to JL for
> the discovery.
>
> https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/i-want-to-kick-ass-in-1862/
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 5, 2017 at 8:52 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > 1862, at  http://altchive.org/private-voices/node/11901:  Old capen
> > gilburt
> > is doun her doing All he Can to get us to volenter Agan  [Written between
> > lines:] I want to kick ass.
> >
> > 1864, at  http://altchive.org/private-voices/node/9462: We fish a good
> > part
> > of our time that is a vary good traid mutch like whare you live we
> jeneraly
> > have fishermans luck a wet ass and hungry gut &c &c
> >
> > Something sounds a little off about "kick ass," but I don't know how to
> > interpret it except in the current sense.
> >
> >
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
"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