[Ads-l] rent-free in your head

[Jonathan Lighter]

More great work.

 JL

On Wed, Dec 6, 2023 at 11:21 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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
>


-- 
"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