Date:  Tue, 18 Jul 1995 18:29:51 -0500

From:  Daniel S Goodman <dsg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAROON.TC.UMN.EDU>

Subject: ?"dropping like flies" (fwd)



---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 12:25:50 -0400 (EDT)

From: Linda Wright <lwright[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]libby.rbls.lib.il.us>

To: STUMPERS-LIST <STUMPERS-LIST[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CRF.CUIS.EDU>

Subject: ?"dropping like flies"



Hello all! This one has us completely frustrated! Our patron wants to

know the origin of the term "dropping like flies" or "to drop like flies".

We checked all of our David Feldman books, our slang dictionaries, _Morris

Dictionary of Word & Phrase Origins_, Partridge's _Dictionary of Catch

Phrases_, and the compact OED. It wasn't even alluded to in any of these.

HELP! (We even tried some dictionaries of colloquialisms with no luck.)



TIA!



Linda Wright

Musser Public Library

304 Iowa Avenue

Muscatine, Iowa 52761

(319) 263-3472

(319) 264-1033 (fax)