[Ads-l] Paws off Pompey

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The OED indicates that "paws off, Pompey" is a fixed phrase meaning
"hands off" or "do not touch". There is a pertinent entry in the OED,
as Dave noted. The cartoon is missing a comma.

The phrase in the cartoon is addressed to Napoleon; however, "Pompey"
has no specific referent. Pompey probably does not correspond to
Napoleon or Portsmouth. "Pompey" is a vestigial reference to a dog.

Here is the pertinent information from the OED

[Begin excerpt from OED]
paw NOUN1
2.c. paws off: = hands off int.
Earliest in paws off, Caesar and (esp.) paws off, Pompey. Caesar and
Pompey formerly being popular names for dogs (see Pompey n. 1).

1760 Will. Come and kiss me, you jade, come and kiss me. Muslin. Paws
off, Cæsar.
A. Murphy, Way to keep Him 4

1803 I ax pardon Master Boney, but as we says Paws off Pompey, we keep
this little Spot to Ourselves.
Cartoon 16 April in Catalogue of Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires
(British Museum) (1947) vol. VIII. 138
[End excerpt]

Herre is an earlier citation for "paws off! Pompey".

Date: December 1792
Periodical: The Gentleman's Magazine
Article: Select Poetry, Antient and Modern
Printer: John Nichols, London
Quote Page 1136
https://books.google.com/books?id=fnUdAQAAMAAJ&q=paws#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
The liquor freely I to thee resign;
But paws off! Pompey--for Neæra's mine
[End excerpt]

My interpretation of the text immediately above: The narrator is
willing to share a bottle of liquor but is unwilling to share the
affections of a loving partner named Neæra.

Garson

On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 9:25 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm forced to concur.
>
> JL
>
> On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 7:33 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>
> >
> > I think Napoleon in the referent. That fits with the other citations of
> > the phrase in the OED (paw, n1.2c), where the metaphor is that of calling
> > off a dog named "Pompey," a popular dog name back in the day.
> >
> > I don't know of any use of "Pompey" to refer to Britain. And a meaning
> > "keep your paws off of Portsmouth" is unlikely. Expecting scrupulous
> > adherence to punctuation in a cartoon speech balloon is expecting too much.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 6:03pm
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Paws off Pompey
> >
> >
> >
> > Looks to me like Britain is the only likely referent.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 5:26 PM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Pompey is a known nickname for the seaport Portsmouth, England.
> > > Napoleon has also sometimes (less often) been compared to Pompey.
> > > In this early print (note no comma suggesting Napoleon and Pompey are
> > > appositives) is Pompey meant as representing England?
> > > Enlarge the print to read the words.
> > > https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0808-7101
> > >
> > > Stephen Goranson
> > >
> > > paws off
> > > hands off
> > > Pompey
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > 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."
> >
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> >
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> > 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."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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