Date:  Tue, 8 Mar 1994 10:39:34 -0600

From:  mftcf[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UXA.ECN.BGU.EDU

Subject: Re: Adam's off ox



On Tue, 8 Mar 1994, Larry Horn wrote:



> Is anyone familiar with the original and regional distribution of the above?

> This came up on another list, and I submitted my own speculation, which is

> that the phrase occurs only in the expression "X doesn't know Y from Adam's

> off ox", the suggestion being that Y is even more unfamiliar to X than Adam

> himself would be ("I don't know him from Adam"). The off ox, I assume

> (without evidence), is the farther of the two in the yoke, although again I

> have no idea why that should be relevant here. Maybe I've got it all wrong,

> in fact. Can anyone help?

>

> --Larry

>

I think I remember this as an item we asked for during the field

interviews for DARE. So it should be in DARE; I'd look it up in vol. I

but I'm at the office and my books are at home.



Tim Frazer