[Ads-l] You Don=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99t_?=Have To Be Crazy To Work Here, But It Helps

Mon Apr 7 16:42:52 UTC 2025

Interesting citation, Peter. Thanks for sharing it. Gelett Burgess has
been  discussed on this list in the past because he apparently coined
the word blurb.

I've updated the Quote Investigator article. (Changes should be
visible soon.) Previously, the template was:

You don’t have to be crazy to X, but it helps

Now, I have expanded the template to allow "darn fool" as an
alternative to "crazy". This fits the citation you have posted. I also
added a new 1923 citation with "darned fool". Here are the first four
entries:

1920 Jun: A man don’t have to be crazy to believe in Free Trade, but
it helps. (Anonymous)

1920 Jul: You don’t have to be a darn fool to be a detective, but it
helps a lot! (Gelett Burgess in “Judge”)

1921 Jul: A man don’t have to be crazy to play golf, but it helps a
great deal. (Attributed to unnamed business man in St. Paul, Nebraska)

1923 Nov: One doesn’t have to be a darned fool to be a reporter, but
it helps a lot. (John D. MacPhail in “Judge”)

You have been added to the acknowledgment section. Thanks!
Garson

On Mon, Apr 7, 2025 at 10:46 AM mr_peter_morris at outlook.com
<mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/09/12/crazy-work/
>
>
> An early cite that can be added to the article.  The second oldest by publication
> date.
>
> "You don't have to be a darn fool to be a detective , but it helps a lot"
>
>
> The Girl With The Fulguous Hair
> By Gelett Burgess
> The Judge, 10 Aug 1920, p5
>
> https://archive.org/details/sim_judge_1920-07-10_79_2019/page/n3/mode/2up
>
>
> You may not know the name Gelett Burgess, but you will have heard his most
> famous work.
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Cow
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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