[Ads-l] RES: "join the circus"?

[David Daniel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vQN-zWELWg


-----Mensagem original-----
De: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] Em nome de
Jesse Sheidlower
Enviada em: sexta-feira, 7 de junho de 2019 09:58
Para: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Assunto: "join the circus"?


Has anyone looked into the origin of the trope "to run away and join the
circus" and variants? I've checked in a few places, and aside from
non-native speakers asking what it means, I can't find any discussion of the
age of this trope.

In a very quick glance at Google Books, I found a literal 1883 example:

1883 _Peterson's Mag._ Aug. 137/1 Jack knew all about circuses. They were
his one ambition. He had been to several, before his stay with his aunt;
been twice since, surreptitiously. "Why can't I run away," he said, "and
join this one?"

But I'm curious when it became a cliche for 'escaping conventional life'
etc.

Jesse Sheidlower

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