[Ads-l] A good walk spoiled

[Shapiro, Fred]

Yes, I see that Quote Investigator covered similar ground in 2010.  I probably took information from that QI article when I compiled the entry in the New Yale Book of Quotations.

Fred Shapiro



________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2022 3:03 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: A good walk spoiled

Didn't Quote Investigator cover the same territory starting a decade or so
ago?

On Sun, Jul 24, 2022, 2:12 PM Pete Morris <mr_peter_morris at outlook.com>
wrote:

> "Golf  ...  a good walk spoiled" - not Mark Twain.
>
> In the podcast linked above, Fred says that the quote is not known
> before 1913.  I've found a few precursors.
>
> Caveats about google dating apply.
>
> =========================
>
> possibly 1901.  attributed to a "well-known jockey"
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Fbooks%2Fedition%2FAmerican_Lawn_Tennis%2FVCRRAQAAMAAJ%3Fhl%3Den%26gbpv%3D1%26bsq%3Dgood%2Bwalk%26dq%3Dgood%2Bwalk%26printsec%3Dfrontcover&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cd059fe7a0d9f4905b86908da6da73421%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637942862150643450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0AF8cc7chalq%2FXW9PTGyuD8sfy5AD3n%2BpiMlEN94uYc%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> =========================
>
> The Boss of Little Arcady,
> by Harry Leon Wilson   1905
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gutenberg.org%2Ffiles%2F10358%2F10358-h%2F10358-h.htm&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cd059fe7a0d9f4905b86908da6da73421%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637942862150643450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UjFe7ME5iIE%2FruNttzpoBz4k0u%2BbjUdbFtsE0uA3W3c%3D&reserved=0
>
> Again: "This new game of golf that the summer folks play seems to have
> too much walking for a good game and just enough game to spoil a good
> walk." Golf in the Little Country!
>
> I'm going to guess that this is the source that popularized the phrase,
> if not invented it.
>
> =========================
>
> possibly 1908.
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2F2dub7py9&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cd059fe7a0d9f4905b86908da6da73421%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637942862150643450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WD9TzfMB0imS3shp%2FfJQ8YlF17Tc9IkXagc8nFxzFfk%3D&reserved=0
>
> The Will of Allah by Kathlyn Rhodes
>
> Personally I utterly deny the fascination of golf as a game ; to me it
> always seems like a good walk spoilt . I simply hate having to pull up
> every hundred yards and look about for a stupid little ball , and hit it
> into an equally ...
>
> =========================
>
> possibly 1906.  The "well-known jockey" again.
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Fbooks%2Fedition%2FThe_Secrets_of_Lawn_Tennis%2FQJcCAAAAYAAJ%3Fhl%3Den%26gbpv%3D1%26bsq%3Dgood%2Bwalk%26dq%3Dgood%2Bwalk%26printsec%3Dfrontcover&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cd059fe7a0d9f4905b86908da6da73421%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637942862150643450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Zf9526%2B9kGbQGu0eHIVfjhilx0jt3NwCVhnQhcm5JdQ%3D&reserved=0
>
> =========================
>
> possibly 1911
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Fbooks%2Fedition%2FFry_s_Magazine%2F59o9AQAAMAAJ%3Fhl%3Den%26gbpv%3D1%26bsq%3Dgolf%2B%2522a%2Bgood%2Bwalk%2522%26dq%3Dgolf%2B%2522a%2Bgood%2Bwalk%2522%26printsec%3Dfrontcover&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cd059fe7a0d9f4905b86908da6da73421%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637942862150643450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Uf5QDF86GYIn2CjiYo1BvUwarkq08%2FV8GGxtf4AsjH4%3D&reserved=0
>
> =========================
>
> possibly 1912
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Fbooks%2Fedition%2FFry_s_Magazine%2FNts9AQAAMAAJ%3Fhl%3Den%26gbpv%3D1%26bsq%3Dgolf%2Bgood%2Bwalk%26dq%3Dgolf%2Bgood%2Bwalk%26printsec%3Dfrontcover&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cd059fe7a0d9f4905b86908da6da73421%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637942862150643450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=za59W4ioR8uoPfyR84m3K2wsiuUCHoPN7HEPe1S2Kd4%3D&reserved=0
>
> =========================
>
> one for Quote Investigator, perhaps?
>
>
> --
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