I don't doubt that these type of phrases existed before the early 20th Century, but in reading older works, particularly dialogue in older works, they are scarce. The English in which I've grown up is absolutely saturated with them. As for Jeeves, that is exactly my point. Well spoken people of a certain age were not likely to use these phrases, whereas today they are used ubiquitously.

I'm not defending the claim that their common use derives from black slang - that's only something I read somewhere, years ago - but there must be an explanation for the explosive popularity of the form in the 20th Century.

We've gone from "Let's give Bob a warm welcome" to "Give it up for Bob."

Last edited by beck123; 05/13/10 03:45 AM.
"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous