[Ads-l] Joke for Philosophers and Linguists: "Please Give Me a Cup of Coffee Without Cream" "You'll Have To Take It Without Milk. We Haven't Any Cream"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

List member LH inquired (off list) about the joke in the subject line.
It has been linked to various people including Jean-Paul Sartre,
George Carlin, Slavoj Žižek, O. O. McIntyre, Billy Wilder, and Leo
Rosten.

Here is a link to the new Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/06/01/coffee-cream/

The earliest match I located appeared in a 1921 article which
indicated that the joke occurred in a movie.

Date: January 30, 1921
Newspaper: The Mansfield News
Newspaper Location: Mansfield, Ohio
Article: Might Be Different In Real Restaurant
Section: Social, Quote Page 7, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
"Give me a cup of coffee without cream."
"You'll have to take it without milk. We haven't any cream."
That from Johnny Hines' new Torchy comedy.
[End excerpt]

U.S. actor Johnny Hines was a star of the silent film era. He appeared
in several films in 1920 and 1921. I don’t know which of his films (if
any) contained this joke. Thus, the creator of the gag remains
anonymous, at this time.

Garson

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