[Ads-l] More on "Your Mother"

[Shapiro, Fred]

I just noticed the following citation in the Oxford English Dictionary, in their entry for the word "mother," sense 6.b.:

1891 Talk about one thing, talk about an other; But ef you talk about me, I'm gwain to talk about your mother.
in J. F. Dobie, Rainbow in Morning 172

This refers to a "South Texas Negro work song" printed in J. F. Dobie's 1926 book "Rainbow in the Morning" at page 172.  The 1891 dating means that a Texas folklorist collected the song in 1891.  I think this should be regarded as the oldest  known record of a "your mother" / dozens expression.  It is interesting that it emanates from the same time and place (Texas) where I discovered, many years ago, the earliest known mention of "mother fucking" (1889) and discovered more recently an appearance of the term "mammy fucking" (1888)

Fred Shapiro

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