MJ Walker wrote:
> >This *john*/* */is a variant on *jack* //, *jacks* or// *jakes*, all
> of which have meant "privy" since the early 1500s. Their origin is
> uncertain but it is very likely that they originated in someone
> excusing themselves with "I must speak with my friend Jack" or some
> such.<
> mj
Remarkable that this is somewhat mysterious. Pushing it further, there
was (at least where I grew up) the ever-popular phrase as one exited to
the "facility," "I've gotta see a man about a horse." Why a horse?
"I've gotta seea man about an Akita"? Naaaah. Not the same at all.
Ignoring socially polite speech could be why one of the funniest moments
in *The Sting* came early in the film when Paul Newman's character
walked into an on-train poke game already in progress and announced
"Sorry I'm late, fellas, I was taking a crap"--a move calculated to
shake the timing of the villain played by Robert Shaw. Real life was
even funnier, if one is to believe the account of Paul Krassner,
editor/publisher of the former *The Realist*. Lyndon Johnson was
present at the Strategic Air Command facility in Nebraska, shepherding
around an Italian diplomat representing NATO. While the presentation
was going on, Johnson stood up and, without excusing himself, announced
"I'm goin' out to have a piss." Now, whether or not it's true, both
stories suggest deliberate faux guilelessness. Then again...the Newman
character in the movie was avoiding socially acceptable euphemism with a
purpose. President Johnson, on the other hand, could just have been a slob.
Ken
--
Kenneth Wolman
Proposal Development Department
Room SW334
Sarnoff Corporation
609-734-2538
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