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

Sun Oct 18 17:06:50 UTC 2026

Great work, Rich, iagopurse, and Jesse. I will relay your information
to the questioner.
Thanks
Garson

On Fri, Oct 16, 2026 at 1:44 PM iagopurse
<00002366e38cee48-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> Hange me no hanginge, yf ye be so quicke, Roube not to hard, lest hempstringe do kycke.
>
> John Pikering, 1567 _A newe enterlude of vice conteyninge, the historye of Horestes with the cruell reuengment of his fathers death, vpon his one naturill mother_ (from EEBO2)
>
>
> On Friday, October 16th, 2026 at 7:54 AM, Rich Lowenthal <000018596069864c-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
>
> > Other early citations are in "But Me no Buts" by A.C. Potter,  Modern
> > Language Notes (Vol. 30, No. 5, May 1915), and "But Me no Buts" by C.B.
> > Cooper, Modern Language Notes (Vol. 31, No. 5, May 1916). The earliest
> > citation appears to be from the anonymous play "Common Conditions"
> > (1576): "Tinkers? (quod you) tinke me no tinkes."
> >
> > Links at
> > https://www.jstor.org/stable/2915870
> >
> > and
> >
> > https://www.jstor.org/stable/2915634
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------ Original Message ------
> > From "ADSGarson O'Toole"
> > <00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Date 10/16/2026 12:13:10 AM
> > Subject Re: Inquiry about template in Shakespeare: X me no x's
> >
> > >Wonderful! Thanks, Jesse. The appendix lists two citations before the
> > >Shakespeare citations.
> > >
> > >[Begin excerpt]
> > >APPENDIX: SOME SAMPLES OF X ME NO X'S
> > >
> > >1590, George Peele, The Old Wives Tale, l. 481.
> > >S1: What, would you have us to bury him, and to answer it ourselves to
> > >the parish?
> > >S2: Parish me no parishes!
> > >
> > >1591, The Lamentable ... Tragedie of M. Arden of Feversham, l. 767.
> > >S1: I will lay the platforme [plan] of his death.
> > >S2: Plat me no platformes.
> > >
> > >1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, II.iii.87.
> > >S1: My gracious uncle—
> > >S2: Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle.
> > >
> > >1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, III.v.152.
> > >S1: Proud can I never be of what I hate, / But thankful even for hate
> > >that is meant for love.
> > >S2: Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds....
> > >
> > >...
> > >The dates cited here are generally those assigned in Harbage and Schoen-
> > >baum (1964), but it should be understood that some of these as well as others
> > >are approximations
> > >[End excerpt]
> > >
> > >Garson
> > >
> > >On Thu, Oct 15, 2026 at 10:06 PM Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>  See Dale B. J. Randall, "X Me No X's: Some Examples (Mainly from the Renaissance) of the Neologizing Imperative Retort", _American Speech_ Vol. 64, No. 3 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 233-243.
> > >>
> > >>  https://www.jstor.org/stable/455591
> > >>
> > >>  Jesse Sheidlower
> > >>
> > >>  On Thu, Oct 15, 2026 at 09:36:14PM -0400, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> > >>  > 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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> > >>
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