[Ads-l] Saying: When "I" is replaced by "we, " even illness becomes wellness

[Laurence Horn]

When "I" is replaced by "we", an inch becomes a wench.

On Sat, Mar 28, 2020 at 1:35 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> The saying in the subject has been attributed to Malcolm X. Perhaps
> someone on this list can find pertinent information about its
> provenance. Over the years I have received a few requests to explore
> this topic, but I have been sent thousands of requests, and I cannot
> pursue them all.
>
> Malcolm X died in 1965. Here is a link to a message in the Google
> Groups database dated October 31, 2012 that contains matching
> wordplay.
>
> https://groups.google.com/d/msg/2011sias/ReSTDzKwzvs/Egm2mHW4_hMJ
>
> [Begin excerpt from 2012 message]
> "When `I’ becomes `WE,’ Illness becomes Wellness."
> [End excerpt from 2012 message]
>
> Today, financial correspondent Felix Salmon offered a beverage reward:
>
> https://twitter.com/felixsalmon/status/1243923491390357504
>
> [Begin excerpt of tweet from Felix Salmon]
> I will buy $100 of @CalifiaFarms goods if they can document Malcolm X
> ever using the word “wellness,” and $1,000 of their stuff if they can
> document him saying this in particular.
> (Also, it’s Malcolm, not Malcom, come on, does no one even copy-edit
> these things)
> [End excerpt of tweet from Felix Salmon]
>
> The tweet from Salmon included an image of the saying with an
> attribution to Malcolm X.
>
> Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Zweig (and a few other people)
> brought Salmon's interrogative tweet to my attention.
>
> Can you, dear reader, find earlier evidence? Also, when was this
> expression linked to Malcolm X? Thanks for any help you can provide.
>
> Hope you, your family, and your friends are persevering through this
> pandemic with as much safety and resilience as possible.
>
> Garson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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