[Ads-l] Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Pete Morris wrote:
> It's arguably the most famous palindrome in English. It is
> certainly the first one I  ever heard. When my father introduced
> me to the concept at a young age, this is the example he used.
>
> According to wikiquote:  (Section on Napoleon)
> https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France#Misattributed

Thanks for sharing the results of your efforts, Pete. You found an
excellent citation.
Back in September 2013 I located the same citation and initiated a
thread about it on this mailing list.

Palindrome: Able was I ere I saw Elba
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2013-September/128433.html

Several list members made helpful comments and shared their
discoveries. I created an article for the QI website which is
available here:

Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/15/saw-elba/

Garson O'Toole

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