[Ads-l] Query from CNN: "An empty barrel makes the most sound."

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

There is a pertinent entry in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of
Proverbs. The text below contains optical charactr recognition errors.
Also, the spelling in older entries is non-standard. So the text
should be double checked.

[Begin excerpt]
EMPTY vessels make the most sound
Foolish or witless persons are the most talkative or noisy; also used
of achievement (see quot. 1932).
Vessel here means a receptacle, as a drinking-vessel.

1430 Pilgrimage of Man (EETS) l. 15933 A voyde vessel .. maketh
outward a gret soun, Mor than ..
what yt was ful.

1547 Treatise of Moral Philosophy IV. Q4 As emptye vesselles make the
lowdest sounde: so they that
haue least wyt, are the greatest babblers.

1599 Henry V IV. iv. 64 I did never know so full a voice issue from so
empty a heart: but the saying is true
—The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.

1707 Essay on Faculties of Mind I. 249 Empty Vessels sound loudest.

1932 Harbourmaster ii. ‘You think we don't show up too well in the
test?’.. ‘Oh, dear, no. It is the empty vessel that makes the most
noise.’

1967 English Proverbs Explained 51 Empty vessels make the most sound.

1982 Brock & Defector xiii. ‘All talk and no action ..’. ‘Empty
vessels make the most noise,’ Brock agreed.
[End excerpt]

On Fri, Oct 20, 2017 at 11:09 AM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu> wrote:
> Dear members of ads-l,
>
>
> Below my signoff is a request for assistance from CNN editor Chris
>
> Cillizza about "An empty barrel makes the most sound."  Can anyone
>
> provide him with any information?  Garson?
>
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> cc. Barry Popik (with the extraordinary website barrypopik.com)
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Cillizza, Chris <Chris.Cillizza at cnn.com>
> Sent: Friday, October 20, 2017 8:21 AM
> To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> Subject: Help!
>
>
> Professor Cohen,
>
>
>
> I am trying to nail down the origins – and usages – of the phrase “an empty barrel makes the most sound.”
>
>
>
> Trump chief of staff John Kelly used the phrase to describe Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson on Thursday. On Friday, Congresswoman Wilson said the term was “racist.”
>
>
>
> I’m trying to navigate through the politics of all that to figure out how the phrase entered the language and what it might mean.
>
>
>
> Any guidance is much appreciated.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
> --
>
> Chris Cillizza
>
> The Point
>
> CNN, Editor-at-large
>
> @cillizzacnn
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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