[Ads-l] "a solid" vs. "some solid"

[Jonathan Lighter]

1920s??  Source?

JL

On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 7:25 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> > do him some solid
>
> Wow! _Great_ catch, Garson!😳 You're a "solid sender," to coin a
> phrase/pun.
>
> On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 4:49 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
> > Here is a relatively recent example with "some", i.e., "do him some
> solid".
> >
> > Forum Name: Go Deep at FinHeaven.com
> > Poster: Peter North (Seasoned Veteran)
> > Date: January 16, 2014
> >
> > http://finheaven.com/threads/alonzo-highsmith-not-a-
> > consideration-for-gm-position.308669/
> >
> > [Begin slightly reformatted message]
> > Mike13 said
> > >Former Packers staff don't poach from Green Bay. Its an unwritten rule
> > they have.
> >
> > Then why go through the charade of interviewing Ben McAdoo for the OC
> > position? Just to do him some solid and make him look more appealing
> > for the team that did hire him? I doubt it.
> > [End message]
> >
> > Green's Dictionary of Slang (free version without citations) has a
> > pertinent entry. Sense 4 below and the phrase sense seem to fit
> > Wilson's usage, but it is unclear whether the citations use "a solid",
> > "the solid", or "some solid". The claim of a citation in the 1920s is
> > intriguing.
> >
> > Jon Lighter's private files might have information. The public volumes
> > did not reach the letter "S" (as list members know).
> >
> > https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/dqk6aai
> >
> > [Begin entry]
> > solid n.
> > [someone or something that has substance, thus dependable, trustworthy]
> >
> > 1. [late 18C] constr. with the, a guinea.
> > 2. [20C+] (UK tramp) the road.
> > 3. [1920s] (US Und.) a trustworthy fellow criminal or prison inmate.
> > 4. [1950s+] (US black) a favour.
> >
> > In phrases
> > do (someone) a/the solid (v.)
> > [1920s+] (US) to perform a great favour.
> > [End entry]
> >
> > Garson
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 2:06 PM, MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY
> > RDECOM AMRDEC (US) <william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:
> > > Dialog from the Pixar film _The Incredibles_ (2004), Holly Hunter's
> > character speaking:
> > >
> > > "Snug, I'm calling in a solid you owe me."
> > >
> > >
> > >> ----
> > >>
> > >> Around the time that the expression, _do me a solid_ "do me a favor"
> > was coming into use, I noted that, in StL, back in the '40's and '50's,
> > >> the phrase was "do me _some_ solid," with its negative being, "I can't
> > do you no solid."
> > >>
> > >> Occasionally, I Google this kind of stuff to see whether it may have
> > appeared in print since the last time that I looked. So...
> > >>
> > >> Can you do Gymnastics with Scoliosis? | Yahoo Answers
> > >> https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100610000643AAzb6FA
> > >> Jun 10, 2010 - "i became entreated [interested?] to do calisthenics
> and
> > putting [pulling?] workouts in my freshman and sophomore 365 days
> > >> [years?] in extreme [?] college to decrease my scoliosis. That advice
> > would do you properly[?]. i'd use the pull up bars to hold from, and
> > >> stretch my back. It appeared to _do me some solid_."
> > >>
> > >> It's unclear that this means _do me some solid_ in the relevant sense
> -
> > "do me some good, help me out" - considering the lack of clarity of
> > >> what precedes it. But, "until the real thing comes along," as the song
> > says...
> > >> --
> > >> -Wilson
> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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