[Ads-l] pinky-swear

[Jonathan Lighter]

Pretty weird rhyme scheme.

Schele De Vere lifted much from Bartlett. I suspect he "debowdlerized" the
verse himself.

Bartlett's version actually scans better.

JL



On Sat, Oct 6, 2018 at 5:11 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Mark Mandel wrote:
> > Considering the rhymes, I have to assume censorship in publication.
>
> Excellent point, Mark. Here is the unexpurgated rhyme recorded in 1872.
>
> Year: 1872
> Americanisms: The English of the New World
> Author: M. Schele de Vere (Professor of Modern Languages in the
> University of Virginia)
> Quote Page 87
> Publisher: Charles Scribner & Company, New York
> Database: Google Books Full View
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=93UKAAAAIAAJ&q=%22to+hell%22#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> There is, of course, no connection between this word and the familiar
> name of the little finger, also derived from the Dutch (pink), as it
> appears in the nursery rhyme, which accompanies the interlocking of
> the little fingers of the right hand:
>
> "Pinky, pinky, bowbell,
> Whoever tells a lie
> Will sink down to hell.
> And never rise up again."
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> > On Sat, Oct 6, 2018, 3:34 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Doug Wilson notes that Wikipedia has a pertinent entry.
> > >
> > > Pinky swear (Pinky promise)
> > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_swear
> > >
> > > ...
> > >
> > > Year: 1848
> > > Book: Dictionary of Americanisms. A Glossary of Words and Phrases,
> > > Usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States
> > > Author: John Russell Bartlett  ...
> > > Section: Appendix
> > > Quote Page 406
> > > Publisher: Bartlett and Welford, New York
> > >
> > > https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433082311667?urlappend=%3Bseq=440
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > PINKY. (Dutch, pink.) The little finger. A very common term in New
> > > York, especially among small children, who, when making a bargain with
> > > each other, are accustomed to confirm it by interlocking the little
> > > finger of each other's right hands and repeating the following
> > > doggerel:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > * Pinky, pinky, bow-bell, Whoever tells a lie, Will sink down to the
> bad
> > > place, And never rise up again.*
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > ...
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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