[Ads-l] help with a literary (?) allusion

[Peter Reitan]

The almanac must have been on sale even before January.  It was quoted in a newspaper days before 1845.

The Standard (London), December 26, 1844, page 2.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64714906/the-standard/

Forerunner of Henny Youngman's best known one-liner?

"Take my wife .  . . Please!"
________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2020 10:13:21 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: help with a literary (?) allusion

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Here is a link to the pertinent 1845 issue of "Punch".

Date: January 1845
Periodical: Punch
Volume 8
Almanac for 1845

https://books.google.com/books?id=kJNEAAAAcAAJ&q=%22marry+don%27t%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
       WORTHY OF ATTENTION.
ADVICE TO PERSONS ABOUT TO MARRY,--Don't.
[End excerpt]

Here is a 1900 book that claims the quip is "one which is the best known".

Year: 1900
Title: A Peep Into "Punch"
Author: John Holt Schooling

https://books.google.com/books?id=Sz5HAQAAMAAJ&q=+%22marry%2C+Don%27t%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
By the way, speaking of Mr. Punch's jokes which have become classic,
the one which is the best known is the following :--

Worthy OF ATTENTION.
Advice to persons about to marry--don't!

This famous mot appeared in Punch's Almanac for 1845.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Dec 6, 2020 at 12:46 AM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I've seen in print a couple of times, when the writer wants to tell someone "Don't!", variants of "As Punch told the young man about to marry, Don't!"
>
> I recently saw it suggested that "Punch" was the puppet from Punch & Judy.  Now there are likely hundreds of Punch & Judy scripts, but they are fairly well-defined characters, and this doesn't seem consistent with Punch's character as I understand it.
>
> I think of the phrasing as being turn of the century (19th/20th), and I've always assumed that "Punch" was the humor magazine of the era.
>
> Anyone have any thoughts?  Is there another "Punch" who could have said this, that I'm missing?
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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