[Ads-l] Quip Origin: There Are More Horses' Asses Than Horses

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The saying in the subject line is listed in "The Dictionary of Modern
Proverbs" with citations beginning in 1957. I received a request to
trace it.

The earliest match I found appeared in 1931 within the Chicago,
Illinois sporting periodical "Collyer's Eye and The Baseball World".
The joke was attributed to Joseph Gurney Cannon who served in the U.S.
Congress for decades and became a powerful Speaker of the House. He
died in 1926:

[ref] 1931 September 26, Collyer's Eye and The Baseball World, Naming
of Fitz Gerald As Steward Boost for Fair Grounds Meeting by Walter H.
Pearce (Formerly Sec'y Ky. Jockey Club), Quote Page 6, Column 3 and 4,
Chicago, Illinois. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]

https://www.newspapers.com/article/collyers-eye-and-the-baseball-world-joe/159037174/

[Begin except]
… Old "Uncle Joe" Cannon's saying, that peculiar as it may seem,
"there are more horses asses in the world than horses."
[End excerpt]

Jack Kerouac mentioned the joke in "The Dharma Bums" in 1958.
Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy received credit in 1979. A
precursor joke appeared in the "Westchester Herald" of New York in
1825. The word "certain" was presented using the vernacular spelling
"sartain":

[ref] 1825 June 28, Westchester Herald, Uncle Ichabod's Water Wagon
Voyage to 'York, Quote Page 4, Column 1, Mount Pleasant, New York.
(GenealogyBank) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
There's a great many people in this world, that's sartain--but there
are more asses than horses
[End excerpt]

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/11/15/horses-ass/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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