[Ads-l] What part of "No!" do you not understand?

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Intriguing topic, Bill. Here is a slightly earlier citation.

Date: May 5, 1988
Newspaper: The Placer Herald
Newspaper Location: Rocklin, California
Article: Surviving with Kids
Author: Gloria Beverage
Quote Page 7, Column 1 and 2
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/image/382639441/

[Begin excerpt]
Either I ask them to "watch my lips" in case they didn't hear the "no"
the first time or I point to the refrigerator door where there is a
sign that says "what part of no don't you understand."
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, May 15, 2025 at 3:07 AM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> 1988 Casper Star-Tribune 7 Jun A14/2
>
> "What part of 'No' don't you understand?" he asked the commission.
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/349721657/?match=1&terms=%22what%20part%20of%20no%20don%27t%22
>
>
>
>
> 1989 Midland Reporter-Telegram 24 Mar 1B/4 (genealogybank)
>
> Setting the tone for the hearings is a sign posted behind the dais, a message to agencies looking to pad their budgets: "What part of NO don't you understand?"
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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