[Ads-l] Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am

Mon May 11 03:08:44 UTC 2020

Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
> There is no reference in W&F, there is simply the bare assertion "Since before c1895." In other words, this is an unreliable claim.
> Also, it's found in the 1960 edition of W&F as well as the 1967 (and 1975, for that matter).

Thanks, Jesse. I think I've found a partial explanation for the early date.

The "Dictionary of American Slang" has an entry for
"thank-you-(ye-)ma'am" with the following sense: a dip or bump in a
road that causes the jostling of passengers within a carriage. I
present an 1874 citation illustrating this sense further below. First,
he is a pertinent excerpt from the "Dictionary of American Slang". The
entry is somewhat confusing, to me.

[ref] Dictionary of American Slang, Compiled by Harold Wentworth and
Stuart Berg Flexner, With a Supplement by Stuart Berg Flexner, Entry:
thank-you-(ye-)ma’am, Quote Page 540, Column 2, Thomas Y. Crowell
Company, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
thank-you-(ye-)ma’am 1 = wham bam. —> 2 A bump or hole in the road,
such as causes riders to bounce up and down. Since at least 1895.
[End excerpt]

Here is the 1874 citation I found for this sense. Old Kate is a horse
(I believe).

Date: April 29, 1874
Periodical: The Christian Union
Volume 9, Number 17
Section: The Little Folks
Story: Child Life on a Farm: Work and Play
Author: P. Thorne
Start Page 336, Quote Page 337, Column 1
Database: Google Books Full View
https://books.google.com/books?id=CwIn5lbYeT0C&q=%22thank-ye%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
As they drove out of the yard Ralph felt disposed to show off a
little. He gave old Kate a smart cut of the whip, just as they came to
a "thank ye ma'am" in the road. Old Kate sprang forward as she felt
the pain of the blow, "bump" went the wagon, and over keeled Mr. Ralph
on his back, his long legs waving helplessly in the air. Millie and
Teddy both giggled, and Ralph picked himself up, looking rather
sheepish.
[End excerpt]

The entry "Dictionary of American Slang" suggests that "wham bam" also
corresponded to a dip in the road in the 19th century. I have not yet
found support for that assertion.

[Begin additional excerpt from Dictionary of American Slang]
wham-bam adj., adv. Quick(ly) and rough(ly); displaying more energy
and enthusiasm than finesse. v.t. [taboo] To have sexual intercourse,
esp. quickly and without tenderness. See Appendix, Reduplications.

wham bam (thank-you (ye)-ma’am) [taboo] Fig., coitus, esp. quick,
unemotional coitus as with a strange woman. Since before cl895. See
thankyou (ye)-ma’am
[End excerpt]

Garson

>
> On Sun, May 10, 2020 at 09:53:11PM -0400, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> > Margaret Lee wrote:
> > >  Clarence Major's _Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang_ traces 'wham bam,
> > >  thank you, mam' as a sexual term back to the 1880's.
> >
> > Thanks, Margaret Lee. It looks like the reference "Juba to Jive"
> > points to the information provided by "WF, DAS" which is an
> > abbreviation for "Dictionary of American Slang" (1967) by Harold
> > Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner. I will try to track down the
> > specifics listed in the 1967 reference.
> >
> > [ref] 1994, Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang,
> > Edited by Clarence Major, Quote Page 504, Viking: Penguin Group, New
> > York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > Wham bam (1880s-1990s) quick, impersonal sexual intercourse. (WF, DAS,
> > p. 573.) SNU. See "Wham bam (thank you ma'am)."
> >
> > Wham bam [thank you ma'am] (1880s-1990s) quick, impersonal sexual
> > intercourse followed by a perfunctory word of gratitude; used more as
> > a description of such an event than by the participants. (WF, DAS, p.
> > 573.) SNU.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > "SNU" is an abbreviation for "Southern and northern use".
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > >     On Sunday, May 10, 2020, 04:08:59 AM EDT, Stanton McCandlish <smccandlish at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >  Wikipedia on "Suffragette City" says: 'The "sexually charged" famous hook
> > > "wham bam, thank you, ma'am!" previously appeared as the title of a song on
> > > jazz bassist Charles Mingus's 1961 album Oh Yeah, as well as a 1967 song by
> > > the Small Faces.'  Cites: Doggett, Peter (2012). *The Man Who Sold the
> > > World: David Bowie and the 1970s*. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN
> > > 978-0-06-202466-4.  So, Black Oak Arkansas gets way less popularization
> > > credit than I had in mind. :-)
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sat, May 9, 2020 at 5:35 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > I also recall that David Bowie included the phrase in the lyrics of
> > > > Suffragette City.
> > > >
> > > > YouTube Video
> > > > Release Date: April 1972
> > > > Song: Suffragette City
> > > > Singer/Songwriter: David Bowie
> > > > Location: 2:50 of 3:26
> > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnPd7lzT4g
> > > >
> > > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > > Oooh-how, Sufragette City, oooh-how, Sufragette
> > > > Ohhh, wham bam thank you ma'am
> > > > [End excerpt]
> > > >
> > > > Garson
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
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>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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