[Ads-l] "Talk to the Hand" Query

[Jesse Sheidlower]

Here's a slightly earlier version from a different source:

1994 _Daily Journal_ ("Vineland, Millville, and more" [NJ]) 2 July ("Teen Living" section) B1/1
WHAS UP...In slang _talk to the hand_ — be quiet.

This is from Proquest. It's a newspaper published by Gannett, and the description of the "WHAS UP" column (which has subheaders "In music", "In slang", "In health", and "In trends") makes clear that this is assembled from local sources, it's not a syndicated feature. This is the only entry in the "In slang" section.

Jesse Sheidlower

On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 07:00:35PM +1030, John Baker wrote:
> The Author/Byline, according to NewsBank, is “BRENDA YOUChicago Tribune,” so there may be a slightly earlier version of this in the Tribune. 
> 
> 
> John Baker
> 
> 
> > On Jan 15, 2026, at 5:50 PM, Ben Zimmer <00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > Fred posted an antedating last June, and then again a few days ago, from
> > July 19, 1994:
> > 
> > 1994 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 19 July 8E (ProQuest)
> > TALK TO THE HAND  "It means, "Shut up, I don't want to talk to you any
> > more."  — James, 12, Boca Raton Middle.
> > 
> > https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2025-June/167158.html
> > https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2026-January/168384.html
> > 
> > (I'll renew my plea to try to keep discussions threaded so we don't lose
> > track of useful information scattered across different subject lines.)
> > 
> > On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 1:28 AM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> >>>  The phrase "talk to the hand" is widely attributed to Martin
> >> Lawrence's 1990s sit-com, but I am having trouble
> >>>  pinpointing episodes where it was used.  Can anyone suggest relevant
> >> episodes or methods of finding them ?
> >>> 
> >>>  Fred Shapiro
> >> 
> >> "Talk to the hand, cause the face ain't listening."
> >> 
> >> I never watched "Martin", but did start hearing this in the 1990s.  Maybe
> >> from Fran Drescher on "The Nanny".
> >> 
> >> One way of searching dialogue is through shooting scripts.  You can often
> >> google [show title] " script" and find one, but be aware that search
> >> results may not be 100% accurate — they may be early drafts, or the filmed
> >> result may be different from on-set changes made after a script is
> >> finalized.  I've had greater success finding movie scripts than TV scripts.
> >> 
> >> Another is through subtitle files associated with shows.  The closed
> >> caption dialogue in television and movies is captured in .SRT files (there
> >> are other formats/extensions used, but this is the most common.)  Google
> >> [show title] "srt" and you can often find the subtitle file(s) for the show
> >> in question.
> >> 
> >> Unfortunately, I don't see many SRT files online for "Martin".  If you can
> >> get the DVDs of the show, there are tools that will rip these files from
> >> them, but I'd imagine you are looking for something cheaper and online and
> >> immediately available.
> >> 
> >> The earliest textual cite I can find:
> >> 
> >> 1995 Crusader [Susquehanna Univ. student newspaper] 10 Feb 4/4
> >> 
> >> If you weren't there, too bad!  Just talk to the hand!!
> >> 
> >> 
> >> https://archive.org/details/Crusader-Vol_36_Nos_1-21_Sept_1994-April_1995/page/n100/mode/1up?q=%22talk+to+the+hand%22
> >> 
> >> [Note:  going through Archive.org, I see nothing until 1995, and then many
> >> (mostly collegiate yearbooks and newspapers) cites starting in that year.
> >> If "Martin" is the vector for this phrase, I'd bet it was used in late 1994
> >> or early 1995, or the 3rd season].
> >> 
> >> 
> > 
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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