[Ads-l] down to a dull roar

[Jonathan Lighter]

I think I first noticed this cliche' in the late '60s.

Almost literal:

1959 _Cleveland Plain Dealer_ (Sept. 9) 16: Three others - Pan American,
BOAC, and Aerolineas Argentinas - have been officially complimented for
keeping noise down to a dull roar.

Figurative:

1961 _Times-Picayune_ (N.O.) (June 9) 33: "Life will never be the same
again," [Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard,Jr.] said. "I imagine one day that things
will die down to a dull roar.

2017 _The Young & the Restless_ (CBS-TV) (Oct. 30): Let's keep it down to a
dull roar.

JL
-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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