[Ads-l] Who was that lady I saw you with last night?

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Date: December 13, 1859
Newspaper: Cincinnati Daily Press
Newspaper Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote Page 4, Column 2

[Begin article; double check for errors]
A German's Idea of his Spouse.

In the Ninth Ward, New York, lives
an eccentric butcher, by name, Herr
Vonsclup. He keeps a little meat store and
often amuses his customers with his
curious comments on matters and things
in general. His wife is a patient, hard
working woman, willing to turn her hand
to anything to gratify him. When her
husband goes out she attends the store,
and can slice off a steak or carve a roast
as well as her husband.

Mr. Brown is a regular customer of
Butcher Vonsclup. He is a cash customer,
and has an abhorrence of accounts.
One day when Brown purchased a roast
he was short of change just fire cents.
Mrs. Vonsclup served him and he said to
her"

"I will take the meat home and return
instantly with the five cents. Don't mark
it down."

"Dat bees all right, Meister Brown,"
replied the Butcher's wife.

Brown hurried home. During his absence
the butcher returned, and his wife
returned to the house. Presently Brown
came back and hurriedly approaching
the butcher said:

"Here is the five cents I owe you," at
the same time handing out the coin.
"Not?" asked the astonished Vonsclup.
"I owe you five cents and here it is."
"You makes mistakes, Mister Brown, I
never trust you mit notin," replied the
butcher."
"No, no, I owe it to you. Since you
have been gone I bought some meat of
the lady and did not have enough to pay
her by five cents, and—

"Lady! You puy meat of a lady in
mine shop! Vat in ter tuvel do you mean
by dat-eh?"

"Are you crazy, man? I mean I
purchased a roast of the woman who attends
here when you are absent."

"Der Voman vot sells meat here?"
"Yes."
"Mein Cot, vat you means den? She
bees no lady, she ish my wife.",
"You are an infernal fool!" replied
Brown, throwing the five-cent piece at the
butcber and leaving in disgust.
"You bees anuder fool Meister Brown,
to take mine frow for a lady. Ha! ha!
dat bees a good choke!"
[End article]

Garsion

On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 12:04 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> Interesting topic, Arnold. I located a version of the joke in December
> 1859. The setup of the joke is rather long and complicated. I will
> post it tomorrow unless someone shares an earlier instance.
> Garson
>
>
> On Sat, Sep 16, 2017 at 1:42 PM, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at stanford.edu> wrote:
>> ... no lady: wife
>>
>> on the old joke, on my blog:
>>
>> https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/09/16/the-nlw-punchline/
>>
>> quote detective needed...
>>
>> arnold
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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