[Ads-l] "Your Mama" Not in OED

[Laurence Horn]

Might there be an antedate for “yo mama” or “yo’ mama”?


> On Mar 15, 2026, at 1:17 PM, Shapiro, Fred <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
> 
> The African American expression "your mama," stemming from the "dozens" game, is not included in the OED.  Below is the earliest I have found it in print:
> 
> 1955 Langston Hughes in Chicago Defender 3 Sept. 9 (ProQuest)  When it comes time for him to graduate from the Merchant Marines School, all the head man said was, 'Your mama!' ... If the ain't the dozens, I don't know what is.
> 
> Fred Shapiro
> 
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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