[Ads-l] Titanic deck chairs precursor?

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Here is a simile in 1952 involving the Titanic, but it does not
involve deck chairs. The simile compares a foolish action to
purchasing a berth on the Titanic. The simile is somewhat opaque
because it uses dual negation.

Date: May 1, 1952
Newspaper: Pottsville Republican
Newspaper Location: Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Article: Henry McLemore
Author: Henry McLemore
Quote Page 18, Column 7 and 8
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
Anyone who fails to take advantage of my 1952 Derby selection is as
silly as those who didn't pay under the counter for a berth on the
Titanic.

Honestly, my Derby selection is as sure as fleas on a pup, kisses in a
hammock, and a next President unequal to the job.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 3:12 PM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the correction.
> Stephen
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Friday, April 22, 2022 3:09 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Titanic deck chairs precursor?
>
> Even the best researchers can be led astray by the faulty metadata in
> the newspapers.com database. The Feb. 14, 1944 date is incorrect. The
> page containing the phrase "counting the deck chairs on the Titanic"
> has a header indicating that the page was published on Feb. 3, 1985 in
> "The New Mexican" of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
>
> Two different papers have been combined in the newspapers.com
> database. If you click backward through the pages you will discover
> that a transition from "The New Mexican" in 1985 to "The Morning
> Herald" in 1944 occurs when moving from nominal page 6 to nominal page
> five.
>
> Garson
>
> On Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 9:37 AM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Previously cited by Barry Popik:
> >
> >    White House Memories Recalled By Mrs. Johnson's Press Aide
> > By NAN ROBERTSON Special to The New York Times. Jan 17, 1969. p. 18 :
> > Of the incoming White House staff, the always political Mrs. [Elizabeth]
> >
> > Carpenter said: "All the new people want an office close to the President's.
> >
> > You should see them scramble. It's like fighting for a deck chair on the Titanic"
> >
> > The above quote, and later (?) versions with rearrange or shuffling
> >
> > (NewYaleBkQuotations) etc. present such chair dibbs as comparatively inutile or
> >
> > futile, though not all so think(?).
> >
> > Morning Herald, Hagerstown MD Feb. 14, 1944 [n.com]
> >
> > Francke is determined that his stewardship won't be, as he put it,
> >
> > "the guy in charge of counting the deck chairs on the Titanic."
> >
> > LLoyd George in The Times [London] in 1931, in an analogy,
> >
> > suggested placing Titanic deck chairs near the life boats.
> >
> > And these wooden chairs may, reportedly, in the ocean, have saved some lives.
> >
> > SG
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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