[lit-ideas] my foot

In a message dated 5/18/2009 2:12:19 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Curiously, JL's email has this footer:  "Recession-proof
vacation ideas."

Eric
----

I'm glad you  keep informing about them. I don't write them. My grandmother
dies. She changed  the recent one about the mother's florist on account of
McEvoy's  criticism.

This incidentally, relates to a transfer of  English/Spanish.

In English, you say,

"He's put his foot in it" (I  think)

which is short, I think, for


"He's put his foot in his  _mouth_."

In Spanish, it's

'metio la pata'. They don't seem to  specify _where_ he 'mete' (in the
past) la pata. 'Pata' is strictly 'leg' as in  'leg of a chair' or a llama. For
human beings they use 'pierna' (=  limb).

It's odd that a gaffe is indicated in English by the reference to  the
_foot_ (cfr. Yost's 'footer') and in Hispanic countries by the reference to  the
whole lower limb.


1945 L. A. G. STRONG Othello's Occupation 72  Cooperation my foot. You're
trying to trap me into admitting a motive for doing  the old girl in.


Refs.

       Speranza, "Flouts to Grice's  Cooperation Principle in the narrative
             of  L. A. G. Strong -- "Cooperation my foot".

       1925 N. COWARD Hay Fever III, Judith:  It's so silly to get cross at
criticismit indicates a small mind. David: Small  mind my foot!

       1961 H. E. BATES Day of Tortoise 55  ‘But it's a serious matter for
you.’ ‘Serious my foot. Why should I  worry?’


FORMULA (apres Wittgenstein's _Tractatus_):

    For any "p" depicting a state of affairs _p_, "p my  foot" shall
        stand for "~p"

McEvoy:

    "Teacher, what about _your_ foot?
     What d'you mean?
    Well, there are many attestations of similar uses with  _your_ foot:

1923 R. CROTHERS Mary the Third II. ii. 69 Mother: She was honest enough to
 tell me that... Father: Honest your foot! She's fooled youdeceived you.

1928 D. L. SAYERS Lord Peter views Body xi. 262 ‘I thought he was doing a
motor-tour.’ ‘Motor-tour your foot!’ said the Inspector, with more energy
than  politeness.

Well, yes, in which case, the corollary should read:

    "For any "p" depicting a state of affairs _p_, "p my  foot" or "p your
foot" shall
stand  for "~p"

Yost:

   "Master. What about Jesus?"

   "What d'you mean."

   "Well, the earliest attestations involve the King of the  Jews."

c1386 CHAUCER Miller's T. 596 Ey, Cristes fote! what wil ye do therwith?

c1600 Distr. Emperor III. i. in Bullen O. Pl. (1884) III. 212

Foote, man, let him be ten thousand preists and a will styll want
somethynge.

1662 T. W. Thorny Abbey 13, 'S foot, doe you think we gave him  warning.

--- "Well..." (getting tired), in which case

      "For any "p" depicting a state of affairs  _p_,
       "p my foot" or "p your foot" or  "p Christ's foot" or
      "p foot" or "p 's foot" shall stand  for
      "~p"


JLS

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