[Sca-cooks] QED

[Philip & Susan Troy]

tgl at mailer.uni-marburg.de wrote:
>
> Philip & Susan Troy wrote:
> << As I have previously discussed in the case of "pomys", the OED has
> once again failed to recognize a prior usage. "Doh", as used by Homer
> Simpson, was alive and well in the late 1920's/early 1930's, as used by
> James Finlayson in numerous Laurel and Hardy short subjects made by Hal
> Roach.
> Adamantius, Bembridge Scholar ;  ) >>
>
> It seems that you have failed to read the article in question.

As it turns out, you're right. Unfortunately I relied on the veracity of
secondary, tertiary, and what-have-you sources purporting to quote the
OED on this. My apologies to all concerned for casting aspersions on the
completeness of the OED's info in this matter. Of course, had it been
me, I'd have said it was first used, as far as we've been able to
determine, by Finlayson and then adopted by Castellanata years later. It
just goes to show the frightening nature of the non-progress our society
has made when media saturation has made it appear falsely that the
Simpsons have had a greater cultural impact than Laurel and Hardy. Next
thing we'll hear is that some forgettable modern idiocy has outshone
such material as the Our Gang comedies, or perhaps even the collective
works of Jackie Gleason.

Let me guess. Is Urkel (sp?) mentioned in the OED? On second thought,
don't tell me if he is.

> Here is a
> short quotation from the OED-online article on "doh":
>
> "doh, int., (...)
> Popularized by the American actor Dan Castellaneta who provides the
> voice for the character Homer Simpson in the U.S. cartoon series The
> Simpsons. The quotation below is his own description of its origin:
>   1998 Daily Variety (Nexis) 28 Apr., The D'oh came from character actor
> James Finlayson's ‘‘Do-o-o-o’’ in Laurel & Hardy pictures. You can tell
> it was intended as a euphemism for ‘‘Damn’’. I just speeded it up.
> (...) "

For those of you who a) may not remember James Finlayson, and b)care,
Finlayson is a small, middle-aged-to-elderly Scotsman, balding, and with
an enormous soup-strainer moustache, frequently cast as neighbor,
employer, commanding officer, and/or general foil for L&H. He had  a
wonderful talent for being rotten to the core while still sympathetic.
Unlike Homer, his d'oh's are delivered in outraged asides directly to
the camera, as if to say, "Did you see that, too? Did that really happen?"

> Will send you (M. Ad.) a "free link to this entry" from the OED-site.

Thank you!

Adamantius, hard at work on the Bembridge English Dictionary, and among
whose favorite downloaded sound files is the one entitled "32dohs.wav"
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98