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diddly squat

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howard richler

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Feb 25, 2002, 11:37:54 AM2/25/02
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What's the origin of diddly squat? The OED doesnt have it listed;
Encarta World says "origin uncertain;probably alteration of \
doodlysquat" but doesn't have a listing for "doodlysquat."

John O'Flaherty

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Feb 25, 2002, 3:02:19 PM2/25/02
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AHD3:
diddlysquat n. Slang. Diddly. [Alteration of diddlyshit : diddly
(alteration of doodle) + shit.]

M-W
diddly-squat [prob. alter. of doodly-squat] (1974) slang : the least
amount : anything at all <didn't know diddly-squat about sports — Sam
Toperoff>

doodley-squat or doodly-squat [perh. fr. doodle + 4-y + squat,
euphemism for shit] (1934): diddly-squat

--
john

N.Mitchum

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Feb 26, 2002, 8:16:54 PM2/26/02
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howard richler wrote:
----

> What's the origin of diddly squat?
>....

Probably nothing more than the child's euphemism for "shit."

You don't know diddly squat. You don't know shit.


----NM

Brian Wickham

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Feb 27, 2002, 4:39:37 PM2/27/02
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On Tue, 26 Feb 2002 17:16:54 -0800, "N.Mitchum" <aj...@lafn.org>
wrote:

I always heard it as diddly shit, and later, diddly squat as the
cleaned up version. The military is fond of diddly squat as it
against regulations to use fowl language in front of, or verbally
abuse, the troops. As far as where it all came from? I don't know,
but I heard it in the 1950s.

Pan

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Feb 27, 2002, 6:17:31 PM2/27/02
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On Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:39:37 GMT, bwic...@nyc.rr.com (Brian Wickham)
wrote:

>I always heard it as diddly shit, and later, diddly squat as the
>cleaned up version. The military is fond of diddly squat as it
>against regulations to use fowl language in front of, or verbally

>abuse, the troops. -------
[snip]

They're chicken, eh?

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Brian Wickham

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Feb 27, 2002, 10:06:04 PM2/27/02
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Ooooh! That was a good typo. Wait 'til I get my hands on my editor!

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