[Ads-l] Slight Antedating of "Make Love Not War" YBQ3

[Jonathan Lighter]

 Legman himself asserted his coinage of the phrase on p.186 of  _Roll Me in
Your Arms_ (1992):

So also in the Love Generation motto, adapted precisely from this antonymic
combination [viz., "fuck or fight"] by G. Legman in 1963: _"Make Love, Not
War."_


JL

JL

On Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 10:55 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
wrote:

> Thanks to Garson and James for their very interesting responses.
>
> Quotation aficionados will want to consult the New Yale Book of
> Quotations, which improves upon information in the first edition.  The NYBQ
> notes, "This speech was attested, in correspondence with the editor of this
> book, by Legman's widow Judith Legman; however, no actual documentation has
> ever been unearthed."  I think that is an indication that the editor now
> questions the veracity of the Legman attribution.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> James Eric Lawson <jel at NVENTURE.COM>
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2022 12:08 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Slight Antedating of "Make Love Not War" YBQ3
>
> Bearing in mind that you (Mr. Shapiro) mention a witness attested the
> slogan in correspondence with you, from a 1963 speech by Gershon Legman
> (see _Yale Book of Quotations_, 2006), here are citations for precursors
> of the slogan from 1919, 1942, and 1962. The timing, during and after
> major wars and in the year before Legman's 1963 speech, seems to me to
> be suggestive.
>
> 1919  _Omaha World-Herald_ 13 Apr 49/1 Officers Make Love Instead of
> War.... (subhead of article "Russians Loafing in Face of All Dangers").
>
> Op. Cit. 49/3 Make Love Instead of War.
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers.com%2Fimage%2F865164314%2F%3Fterms%3D%2522make%2520love%2522%26match%3D1&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C8166fbfb66184ba8ffb708dacb7e8ac2%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638046041621207422%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=namevSsxPdtAdCd8lgmJyTkb4q55ThAyqUl0FHCOZSM%3D&reserved=0
>
> 1942  _The Dadeville [Alabama] Record_ 27 Aug 1/1 Most of our boys, if
> given their choice, would rather "make love" than make war.
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers.com%2Fimage%2F535885571%2F%3Fterms%3D%2522make%2520love%2520not%2520war%2522%26match%3D1&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C8166fbfb66184ba8ffb708dacb7e8ac2%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638046041621207422%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kHyMoEb3nGHMzbRfSwHNEOb6t48vvsHgUvLbQctTtNE%3D&reserved=0
>
> 1962  _The Columbia [South Carolina] Record_ 13 Dec 27(5-C)/2 "I would
> much rather make love than make war," he said with a grin.
>
> On 11/13/22 12:09, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> > make love not war (OED 1965 Mar.)
> >
> > 1965 _Daily Californian_ 16 Feb. 4/3
> >
> > Inspired by a sign reading "let's make love, not war" ... the Princess
> decided to declare war on the Pakistani prince.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > YBQ3
>
> --
> James Eric Lawson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society -
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C8166fbfb66184ba8ffb708dacb7e8ac2%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638046041621207422%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OnorJmzxKHEYbSl8IzY%2B9liGyx69JHN8AQIUmsAsc%2BA%3D&reserved=0
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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