End of ADS-L Digest - 13 Mar 1998 to 14 Mar 1998
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<br>From: Automatic digest processor (3/14/98)
<br>To: Recipients of ADS-L digests
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<br>         ADS-L Digest - 12 Mar 1998 to 13 Mar 1998             98-03-14 00:02:40
<br>There are 3 messages totalling 201 lines in this issue.
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<br>Topics of the day:
<br>
<br>  1. Shaggy-Dog Story
<br>  2. Accent Reduction Therapy - Yoruba
<br>  3. starting to unravel...
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<br>Date:    Fri, 13 Mar 1998 12:00:29 -0500
<br>From:    Fred Shapiro  fred.shapiro[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALE.EDU 
<br>Subject: Re: Shaggy-Dog Story
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<br>On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Elizabeth Gibbens wrote:
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<br>          I am looking for the etymology of the phrase "shaggy-dog story"; it
<br> is
<br>  defined in the unabridged American Heritage Dictionary as a "long,
<br>  circuitous tale with an unlikely or surprise ending," or something close to
<br>  that.  I'd appreciate your help.  Thank you.
<br>
<br>The OED traces the term back to 1946, citing what appears to be a book
<br>titled "Collected Shaggy Dog Stories" or "Collection of Shaggy Dog
<br>Stories."  This was obscurely published, as it does not appear in the RLIN
<br>database.  They also have a 1945 reference in square brackets to "The
<br>logical lunacy of 'Shaggy Dog.'"  Eric Partridge published a book titled
<br>"The Shaggy Dog Story" which probably answers all your questions about the
<br>etymology.
<br>
<br>I have heard a joke about a long succession of ever-higher-level contests
<br>to pick the shaggiest dog, culminating with a final pageant at which the
<br>judge exclaims, "This dog isn't so shaggy."  Is it possible that this was
<br>the original shaggy dog joke?
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<br> Fred R. Shapiro                             Coeditor (with Jane Garry)
<br> Associate Librarian for Public Services     TRIAL AND ERROR: AN OXFORD
<br>   and Lecturer in Legal Research            ANTHOLOGY OF LEGAL STORIES
<br> Yale Law School                             Oxford University Press, 1998
<br> e-mail: fred.shapiro[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]yale.edu               ISBN 0-19-509547-2
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