[Ads-l] but he's our dictator

[Jonathan Lighter]

 1943 Philip Jordan _Jordan's Tunis Diary_ (London: Collins) 147: He [Vichy
General Charles Nogues]'s a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch if
only we would make use of him.

JL

On Thu, Oct 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM Stephen Goranson <
00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> Today I thought of this phrase while wondering why so many professed
> religious people support (amoral? narcissist?) DJT. (Anti trans may be one
> factor.) Variants of the phrase include but he's our son-of-a-bitch and
> he's our bully.
> Guesses of its origin are mostly in Cold War contexts, though Teddy
> Roosevelt, among others, have been mentioned.
> I have no good answer, but note an Oct 9, 1963 mention of Luis Somosa of
> Nicaragua. [1]
> Or maybe the earlier Somosa by FDR?
> Is there a better history?
> pre Oct. 18 no king day,
> Stephen G.
>
> [1]
>
> https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/51589750/?match=1&terms=%22is%20our%20dictator%22&pqsid=xiuTjKIK2uz98NtlFUgdRw%3A211670%3A1466076811
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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