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

Mon May 11 10:22:54 UTC 2020

OED has an entry for "thank-you-ma'am" (also "thank'ee-marm")
corresponding to a dip in the road starting in 1849. Also, the 1849
citation below offers an explanation for the term.

[Begin OED excerpt]
thank-you-ma'am, n.
Forms:  Also thank'ee-marm.
Frequency (in current use):
U.S. colloquial.

A hollow or ridge in a road, which causes persons passing over it in a
vehicle to nod the head involuntarily, as if in acknowledgement of a
favour; spec. a ridge or hollow on a hill road serving to throw off
descending rain-water.

1849 H. W. Longfellow Kavanagh xi We went like the wind over the
hollows in the snow;—the driver called them ‘thank-you-ma'ams’,
because they made everybody bow.

1867 O. W. Holmes Guardian Angel xiv   Life's a road that's got a good
many thank-you-ma'ams to go bumpin' over, says he.
[End excerpt]

The passengers of an automobile might experience an intense jolt when
rapidly traversing a "thank-you-ma'am"; hence, adding an expression
like "wham bam" or "slam-bang" to the phrase would make sense. But
when was it added?

Back in 2011 during the mailing list thread I mentioned unverified GB
matches circa 1925: "the old, slam-bang, thank-you-ma'ams of
motoring". I still do not have access to "The American Magazine" or
"The "Saturday Evening Post" in 1925, so I cannot verify the
citations.

Garson

On Sun, May 10, 2020 at 11:31 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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

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