[Ads-l] 1902 "Your mother" cite from Elijah Wald

[Shapiro, Fred]

Elijah Wald's interest in early mentions of "your mother" probably stems from discussions I have been having with him recently.

His book on "The Dozens" is a masterpiece.

Fred Shapiro

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Ben Yagoda <byagoda at UDEL.EDU>
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2026 11:35 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: 1902 "Your mother" cite from Elijah Wald

Elijah Wald, author of “The Dozens” and many other excellent books, writes on Facebook:

"I just ran across the earliest mention yet of the use of 'your mother,' by itself, as a fighting phrase, in the New Orleans Times-Democrat from June, 1902. The venue was 'Theo Lala's negro barroom at the corner of Franklin and Customhouse streets' -- a saloon famously remembered as the 25 or Big 25, which was a regular hang-out for Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, and other early jazz musicians -- and the fight involved a pair of men named Baptiste Cherrie and George Hall.
“'Hall made some remark, to which Cherrie replied: 'What did you say.'

“'I said your mother,' rejoined Hall.

"Cherrie immediately drew his knife and stabbed Hall…”

Ben
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