[Ads-l] What fresh hell is this? possibly 1935

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for your very helpful note, Pete.

The “Vanity Fair” citation you located is important. I first learned
about it in 2020 when I came across a previous discussion on the Quora
website.

https://www.quora.com/Who-originated-the-saying-What-fresh-hell-is-this

I was able to access fully visible page scans to obtain the details
for the “Vanity Fair” story, but I did not update the QI article
because of sloth. Now, thanks to your prompting, I have updated the
article. Changes should be visible within 48 hours. Your assistance is
acknowledged.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/10/01/fresh/

In 1936 “Vanity Fair” published a short story by Heywood Broun titled
“Fresh Easterly Winds” which depicted a doctor who responded to the
interruption of his sleep by using the expression:

[ref] 1936 February, Vanity Fair, Volume 45, Number 6, Fresh Easterly
Winds by Heywood Broun,  (Short Story), Start Page 41, Quote Page 41,
Conde Nast Publications, New York. (Google Books Full View) [/ref]

https://books.google.com/books?id=J4A7AQAAIAAJ&q=%22fresh+hell%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
And so the doctor groaned and cursed as he awoke to the persistent
ringing of the telephone beside his bed. He looked at his watch and
noted that it was three a. m., before he picked up the receiver.
“What fresh hell is this, George?” said Dr. Bonnard to the night clerk.
[End excerpt]

Another discussant on the Quora website mentioned a precursor in an
1836 novel by Charles Dickens titled “The Posthumous Papers of the
Pickwick Club” or simply “The Pickwick Papers”:

[ref] 1837 (First published 1836), The Posthumous Papers of the
Pickwick Club by Charles Dickens, Chapter: The Old Man’s Tale About
the Queer Client, Quote Page 223, Chapman and Hall, London. (Google
Books Full View) link [/ref]

https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv9NAAAAcAAJ&q=%22fresh+misery%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
‘What now, what now?’ said the old man—‘What fresh misery is this?
What do you want here?’
[End excerpt]

[Begin acknowledgement excerpt]
Further thanks to discussant Kelly Locke at the Quora website and to
Pete Morris who both pointed to the instance in “Vanity Fair”
magazine. Additional thanks to David Schrieberg at the Quora website
who pointed to the precursor in “The Pickwick Papers”.
[End acknowledgement excerpt]

Feedback welcome,
Garson


On Fri, Sep 16, 2022 at 5:27 AM Pete Morris <mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> Anecdote attributed to Dorothy Parker.
>
> “If the doorbell rang in her apartment, she would  say, ‘What fresh
> hell can this be?’—and it wasn’t funny; she meant it."
>
> Addressed in QI column.
>
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/10/01/fresh/
>
> Although the phrase itself predates her, it is the specific use in
> response
> to an unexpected call that is of interest.
>
> I have found an account of a doctor receiving a patient at 3 AM using
> the phrase. It  comes from Vanity Fair. Searching the document finds a
> contents page dated March,1935. It certainly seems to be from the
> original run of the magazine, which merged with Vogue in 1936.
>
> https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Vanity_Fair/J4A7AQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22what+fresh+hell%22&dq=%22what+fresh+hell%22&printsec=frontcover
>
> A couple of words I can't quite make out.
>
> ... three a.m. before he picked up the receiver. "What fresh hell is
> this, George?"
> said Dr. [Reinnard?]  to the night clerk.
> "Can't tell you, doc. Old man in [here?] says he must have a doctor
> right away"
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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