“Well, I let’em talk me into running for this office…
December 11, 2011 Leave a comment
“Well, I let’em talk me into running for this office. But, I’ll tell you truthfully, I’ve got about as much chance of winning as a paraffin dog chasing an asbestos cat through hell.” These were the colorful words of George Mansfield, a well-known Southern Oregon attorney in the early 1920s. Such expressions have long been a part of American history. I offer the following examples: 1. “I’d bet a toothpick to a match.”; 2. That’s none of my never mind.”; 3. “Not on your tintype(tintype was replaced by other words).” ; 4. He’s a butter and eggs man(meaning someone prosperous, because butter and eggs were quite expensive at the turn of the nineteenth century).”; 5. “Excuse me for using the wide bow(for being blunt or too direct).”