Let George do it

Posted by Gary Martin on August 04, 2008 at 08:38

In Reply to: Let George do it posted by RRC on August 04, 2008 at 07:36:

: : I have been trying to find the origin of "Let George do it."
: : I had thought that it might be from the title of the 1940 George Formby film. Then I found a reference to "Let George Do It" on the Internet Movie Database as the working title of the 1928 Laurel and Hardy short "From Soup to Nuts."

: : Are there any references to "Let George do it" prior to 1928?

: A quick search on Google News Archive shows a lot of hits starting from around 1909-1910. For example, a New York Times story from Sept. 15, 1912 says:
: "My line of work is what is known in dramatic stock parlance as utility business, a theatrical synonym for 'Let George do it.'"

The OED has an entry from around then too - from The Bookman, May 1910:

"What's going to happen when Lovey asks papa to hold Snookums and that hitherto devoted parent replies, 'Let George do it.'"

Who was George? Maybe a real person: more likely not.

• Let George do it Smokey Stover 26/August/08
• Let George do it Smokey Stover 26/August/08