Date:  Fri, 14 Nov 1997 21:17:41 -0500
From:  Evan Morris <words1[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]WORD-DETECTIVE.COM>
Subject: Re: Is "quit, quit now" a catchphrase?

At 09:07 PM 11/14/97 -0500, Gregory {Greg} Downing wrote:

>Query: a Japanese correspondent of mine from the Joyce email list wondered
>if the phrase "quit, quit now" is a current US catchphrase. I only recognize
>it in a very general way, in that the formula "[imperative verb],
>[imperative verb] now" seems desperately emphatic. Does anyone recognize the
>phrase in question as a distinctive locution?

Not per se, but it might be related to the "Be afraid, be very afraid" line
from the Jeff Goldblum remake of "The Fly" a few years back. That one has
attained currency as a catch phrase in its own right, probably through its
use in the once-pervasive TV ads for the film.
--
Evan Morris
words1[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]word-detective.com
http://www.word-detective.com