Date:  Thu, 20 Apr 1995 08:35:25 EDT

From:  Larry Horn <LHORN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALEVM.CIS.YALE.EDU>

Subject: Re: [p*tut]



OK, so I was wrong about the Laugh-In connection, but it appears that (at least

from the time of the e. e. cummings quote) a (horse's) patoot(ie) was indeed

the hindquarters of the relevant animal, hence 'you bet your sweet patootie'.

Here's an interesting speculation on its source from someone off-list (Barbara

Abbott, Michigan State U.):



>I do remember "You bet your sweet patootie", and I never saw Laugh-In.

>(I've also heard "You bet your sweet bippie" though too -- maybe from

>people who did see Laugh-In.) Anyway, I always thought patootie meant rear

>end, but maybe there's another etymology. That first phrase (from David

>Bergdahl) about a horse's patoot made me think they were referring to road

>apples (similar (in substance if not form) to what we used to call "cow

>pies"), and why not call them horse potatoes (they look more like potatoes

>than apples anyway!)? From there ("horse's patootie") it would be a

>natural blunder to reconstrue "patootie"/"patoot" as rear end, and

>something worthy of betting.



Sounds good to me. And let it no longer be said that I don't know my bippy

from my patootie.

--Larry