[Ads-l] There are old X, and there are bold X, but there are no old bold X

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Way back in December 2018 Jonathan Lighter initiated a thread about
the template in the subject line.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2018-December/153710.html

Now I have posted two pertinent articles on the Quote Investigator website.

There Are Old Pilots, and There Are Bold Pilots, But There Are No Old,
Bold Pilots
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2022/06/06/old-bold/

There Are Old Traders and Bold Traders, But There Are No Old, Bold Traders
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2022/06/07/traders/

Previously, the earliest known instance in this family of expressions
was dated June 10, 1934. Now, I've located an instance in “Safety
Education: A Magazine of the Good Adventure” in May 1931. Airplane
pilot Dorothy Verrill wrote about her experiences learning to fly:

[ref] 1931 May, Safety Education: A Magazine of the Good Adventure,
How Good Pilots Are Made by Dorothy Verrill, Start Page 231, Quote
Page 231, Column 1, Education Division of the National Safety Council,
New York. (Verified with scans; thanks to University of Minnesota
Library System) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
“There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old,
bold pilots” said my instructor, one day, after we had come down from
practising landings …
[End excerpt]

Here are some variants with dates.

1931 May: pilots
1935 Aug 4: flyer
1941 Jun 21: fliers
1944 Nov 16: drivers
1959 May 31: auto racers
1962 Sep 14: mushroom eaters
1964 Mar 5: fighters
1964 Jun 16: actors
1967 Apr 2: Foreign Service officers
1982 Aug 16: traders
1993 Mar 16: adventurers
1998 Feb: space travelers

[Begin acknowledgement excerpt]
Many thanks to researcher Barry Popik who has explored the “pilots”
and “traders” versions of this saying. Popik found citations beginning
in June 1934, and he highlighted Harry Copland as a possible
originator.

Thanks to Jonathan Lighter, Laurence Horn, George Thompson, Charles C.
Doyle for valuable comments and citations.
[End acknowledgement excerpt]

Feedback welcome
Garson O’Toole
QuoteInvestigator.com

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