What is the origin of the expression "all get out"

You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org Forums Wordplay and fun What is the origin of the expression "all get out"

Print Thread

#205859 - 05/24/12 10:19 PM What is the origin of the expression "all get out"
Joined: May 2012 Posts: 1 dangera stranger
dangera stranger Joined: May 2012 Posts: 1	Hi all, new to the board, and I have a word origin question that's been bugging me for some time. What is the original / historical meaning of the expression "all get out"?

#205860 - 05/24/12 11:38 PM Re: What is the origin of the expression "all get out" [Re: dangera]
Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 tsuwm Carpal Tunnel
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass	there are several phrases based on the phrasal verb 'to get out (of)'; e.g., as or like (all) get-out, used to indicate a high degree of something 1838 J. C. Neal Charcoal Sketches 12 We look as elegant and as beautiful as get out. Mark Twain may have been among the first to add 'all'.. 1884 �M. Twain� Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxxviii. 325 We got to dig in like all git-out. [OED]

#205863 - 05/25/12 01:51 PM Re: What is the origin of the expression "all get out" [Re: tsuwm]
Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 jenny jenny veteran
jenny jenny veteran Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi	Some folk here in the highlands of Mississippi (of which there are none) understand "get out" to be the diminutive of "all get out". As in: "Get out an extra clean plate; Aunt Gussie's* coming over for supper" or "Get out the cloth tablecloth, the un-chipped China, the matching silverware, and put on your manners; Reverend Jackson's coming for dinner". And maybe "all get out" trans-mutilated into "get up" as in overdone attire such as a phony cowboy's outfit, but not "git-ty up" which likey means "get up and go, horse". *My sweet Aunt Gussie always wore too much make-up. She was always "gussied up".

#205880 - 05/26/12 11:49 PM Re: What is the origin of the expression "all get out" [Re: jenny jenny]
Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Jackie
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky	trans-mutilated

#205913 - 05/29/12 03:57 AM Re: What is the origin of the expression "all get out" [Re: Jackie]
Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 jenny jenny veteran
jenny jenny veteran Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi	Thanks Jackie for your laugh. We southern folks are blessed with a redeeming sense of self-depreciating humor.

#205914 - 05/29/12 01:46 PM Re: What is the origin of the expression "all get out" [Re: jenny jenny]
Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 tsuwm Carpal Tunnel
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass	usage note: Of the two combinations self-depreciatory and self-deprecatory the former is, strictly speaking, the better-formed, since it reflects the long-established use of the verb depreciate in the sense �disparage, belittle�. The latter combination, however, which reflects the relatively recent use of deprecate in this sense, appears from the evidence to be now somewhat the commoner of the two. [OED online] self-deprecating - 2.24 million gh self-depreciating - 856,000 gh

#205917 - 05/29/12 06:00 PM Re: What is the origin of the expression "all get out" [Re: tsuwm]
Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803	Originally Posted By: tsuwm ... the long-established use of the verb depreciate in the sense �disparage, belittle�. And currently little used.

Moderated by Jackie

Forum Statistics

Forums16

Topics13,881

Posts224,665

Members9,048

Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011

Newest Members


	Wordsmith Talk		About Us \| What's New \| Search \| Site Map \| Contact Us

Wordsmith Talk