[Ads-l] "Ants on a log" -- Request from a freelance writer

[Laurence Horn]

Not related, probably, to the Szechuan dish “Ants climb(ing) a tree”, in which the ants are ground pork and the tree(s) glass or cellophane noodles.  Or vice versa; apparently there’s some question about how to unpack the metaphor.

LH

> On Jul 21, 2019, at 1:02 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at MST.EDU> wrote:
> 
> Dear ads-l members,
> 
> 
> I've received the request below concerning "ants on a log" (a type of food
> 
> I had never heard of before); the request led to an initial response from
> 
> Barry Popik on his invaluable website barrypopik.com
> 
> (https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/ants_on_a_log_floating/
> 
> The writer's email to me appears below my signoff.  Can anyone help her
> 
> with any additional information?  Her article promises to be an interesting one.
> 
> 
> Gerald Cohen
> 
> Missouri University of Science & Technology
> 
> 
> 
> From: Mara Weinraub <mara.weinraub at gmail.com<mailto:mara.weinraub at gmail.com>>
> Sent: Friday, July 19, 2019 3:45 PM
> To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> Subject: Media Inquiry: Ants on a log origin
> 
> 
> 
> <snip>
> 
> 
> 
> Barry Popik recommended I reach out to you. I'm researching an article
> 
> on the origin of the "ants on a log" for an article in Food52.
> 
> 
> 
> From my research the "ants on a log" (the snack) first appeared in print
> 
> around 1959. But I'm interested in learning about the origin of the phrase
> 
> beyond food. I spoke with researcher at Cornell and he said the phrase
> 
> seems to have currency in America as a way of describing a group of people
> 
> undergoing change while having the illusion of being in control. "I've seen
> 
> one article attribute the phrase to Mark Twain, but it seems more likely to
> 
> have been a common simile."
> 
> 
> 
> If you have any insight or leads, I'd very much appreciate it.
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for your time and consideration,
> 
> 
> 
> Mara Weinraub
> 
> Freelance Writer
> 
> --
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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