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

[Ben Zimmer]

In the pay version of GDoS, you can see that the sense with history back to
the 1920s is #3: "a trustworthy fellow criminal or prison inmate." The
earliest for the phrase "do (someone) a/the solid" is actually dated a.1964.

a.1964 [US] ‘Honky-Tonk Bud’ in D. Wepman et al. _Life_ (1976) 55: Say, you
look sick, like you need a fix, / Perhaps I can do some solids for you.

The full reference is:

_The Life: The Lore and Folk Poetry of the Black Hustler_ by Dennis Wepman,
R.B. Newman, and M.B. Binderman, Philadelphia 1976.

I double-checked with Jonathon Green, who says that the dates given in the
free interface derive from an earlier version of the dictionary. There are
some errors in that data, for which he apologizes -- he'll make the
necessary changes in his research database for the next online update.

--bgz


On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 8:29 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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...
> > > >>
>

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