[Ads-l] rent-free in your head

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent citations, JL and Steven. Here is a citation using the same
metaphorical framework a couple years before the instance in the Ann
Landers column.

Date: March 3, 1988
Newspaper: Jeff Davis County News
Newspaper Location: Fort Davis, Texas
Article: A week ahead in Astrology
Author: Mary Ellen Doty
Quote Page 4, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/jeff-davis-county-news-in-your-head-rent/136371921/

[Begin excerpt]
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Something or someone from the past has been hanging out in your
head-rent free! Now is the time to face this intruder and set yourself
free.
[End excerpt]

Below is a variant using "mind" instead of "head" after Ann Landers column.

Date: November 20, 1991
Newspaper: The Gazette
Newspaper Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Article: (Advertisement for Office, Retail & Industrial Space)
Quote Page 1, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-live-in-your-mind-rent-free/136372477/

[Begin excerpt]
"Resentment is letting someone live in your mind rent-free." -Steve
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Dec 6, 2023 at 7:57 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> For several months (or a year) I've been hearing the phrase "[Politician
> beloved by millions] is living rent-free in my head [and I don't like it]."
>
> 1993 _Lima [O.] News_ (Jan. 1) 1: He has been living rent-free in my head
> for all these years and I finally got the chance to give him his eviction
> notice.
>
> 2001 _San Francisco Chronicle_ (Feb. 1) E-12: It's people living rent-free
> in your head. They are not worthy of being there.
>
> 2008 _Kitsap Sun_ (Bremerton, Wash.) (March 15) A2: He's been living
> rent-free in my head.
>
> JL
> --
> "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

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