I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit-hole-and yet-and yet-it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life.!" : : "It was much pleasanter at home," thought poor Alice, "when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered around by mice and rabbits. : : Another contender for the crown is Lewis Carroll, aka Charles Dodgson, who has Alice say the following:. If a follow-up post removes the link, return to this post for it or use : : : Another use of this evocative phrase (found using Google): Emma Goldman's essay "Durruti Is Dead, Yet Living", linked below. : : : : A 17th or early 18th century origin seems likely, but there's just too much ground to cover in one day. I did try searching the Oxford Shakespeare at Bartleby and as much as I wish I could pin it on Shakespeare, it seems we can't. : : : : The earliest usage I've found so far (assuming the English translation was made in the author's lifetime) is a haiku by Kobayashi Issa (1762 -1827): : : : : * Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 19th century poet ![]() : : : : * Charles Hamilton Sorley circa 1912 I found so many, I will not quote them all, but will cite a few that may have served to popularize the phrase. : : : : I can never resist tracking down a vaguely familiar quotation. : : : : : I do not have an answer for you on your phrase inquiry but hopefully someone will post something here to help you out. ![]() : : : : : We are an international group of volunteers who share a love and fascination of and with the English Language. : : : : : : btw, who are you guys? how do you do it? and can you reply via e-mail to as well as on the bulletin board? i've got a newspaper column to fill in the next 3.5 hours, in case the answers are newsworthy and you're feeling especially industrious. : : : : : : hi, i'm the book critic of the san francisco chronicle, drawn here from google by your excellent treeing of the phrase 'weapons of mass destruction.' here's one that's been bothering me for a while: the now-ubiquitous repetitive phrase 'and yet.and yet.' where did it come from, and how did it become so inescapable?
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