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

Mon May 11 03:31:32 UTC 2020

Way back in 2011 there was an interesting mailing list thread that is
germane to this topic.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2011-July/110654.html

Back in 2011 I found a Google Books (GB) match for a Barbasol shaving
cream advertisement in The American Magazine and The Saturday Evening
Post. The phrase "the old, slam-bang, thank-you-ma'ams" appeared in
the ad. It seems to have meant a bumpy and jolting ride. This GB match
is still unverified.

Garson

On Sun, May 10, 2020 at 11:08 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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