[Ads-l] Inquiry about template in Shakespeare: X me no x's

ADSGarson O'Toole 00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Fri Oct 16 01:36:14 UTC 2026


I received an interesting inquiry about a template employed by William
Shakespeare. Is anyone familiar with this template? Are there examples
before Shakespeare's works?

[Begin request sent to Garson]
I am trying to determine the origin of the phrase type "x me no
x's"--for example, "riddle me no riddles."

I have found two instances in Shakespeare, one in Romeo and Juliet:
"Thank me no thanking, nor proud me no proud."--and one in Richard II:
"Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle." Interesting, that both are
double, and both use singular nouns. So you see, I've done a little of
the work myself.

But can you think of any earlier versions?
[End request sent to Garson]

I did not find anything pertinent when I performed a quick search in
Early English Books Online, but the search was incomplete.

Thanks for any help,
Garson O'Toole

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