[Ads-l] Anecdote: "You Have Come Late To the Office" "Oh! I'll Make Up For It By Leaving Early"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

A humorous tale depicts an absurdist interaction between a worker and
a supervisor:

Supervisor: "You have arrived late for work."
Worker: "Yes, but I will make up for it by leaving early."

This reply has been attributed to the English essayist and poet
Charles Lamb who died in 1834. This story is difficult to trace
because the phrasing of the dialog is highly variable. The earliest
evidence I found appeared in 1852 almost two decades after Lamb's
death:

[ref] 1852, Memories of the Great Metropolis: Or, London, from the
Tower to the Crystal Palace by F. Saunders (Frederick Saunders), Quote
Page 210, G. P. Putnam, New  York. (Google Books Full View) [/ref]

https://books.google.com/books?id=sKhCAAAAYAAJ&q=wittily#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
It was here on one occasion when a complaint was made that he came
late to his office in the morning, that Lamb wittily replied, "I admit
it, but I leave early in the afternoon."
[End excerpt]

More details are available on the QI website here:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/08/17/late-office/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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