[Ads-l] Fish proverb

[Jonathan Lighter]

 He clearly says "their," though with less rhoticity than I'd have.

 DVRs are great.

 JL

On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 7:45 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I wouldn't be surprised to find out, and might even expect, that if the
> good Rev's speech were carefully dissected, he said
> "if they kept they mouth shut."
>
> **********************************
>
> [Ads-l] Fish proverb
> Jonathan Lighter 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Fri Jan 9 21:16:03 UTC 2026
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> Rev. Al Sharpton on _Deadline White House_ (MSNOW TV) today:
>
> I always quote, a wise man told me, "A fish wouldn't get caught if they
> kept their _mouth shut_."
>
> Note too "they" applied to a fish (instead of "its").
>
> JL
>
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> 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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