Sufferin’ Succotash
… is what Sylvester the Cat says when confronted with yet another dilemma. Sylvester James Pussycat, Sr., is a Looney Tunes star who almost always fails at what he’s trying to achieve.
But did you know that his famous saying, “sufferin’ succotash,” is an example of a minced oath?
A minced oath is a term that refers to a word or phrase modified from rude, crude &/or blasphemous to a more benign saying that does not offend, but still imparts the same message.
For instance, when you say darn it to heck, that is a minced oath of damn it to hell. When you say egads [and you do say egads, right?], that is a minced oath of oh god.
And when you say sufferin’ succotash, that is a minced oath of suffering savior, which at one time was vile thing to say.
[… and you doubted the value of a liberal arts education! How else would I know something this obscure, yet arguably, interesting? Hmmm?]
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I love this! My dear mother used to say, ‘Flink it!’ if she was very, very vexed. I think it must have been a minced oath!
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Chez Shea, I’ve not heard that one, but I think it’d qualify as a minced oath. Wonder where she learned it, or if she made it up herself?
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I thought she made it up herself- because I’ve never heard any one else use it. But then, I checked your link on minced oath and I see the term ‘Fink it’ which is very similar.
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I wonder if that’s where she got the idea, at least. Interesting. Hmmm…
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I had no idea Sylvester was restraining himself so well with succotash. What a lovely piece of trivia!
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Tamara, it does make you appreciate Sylvester’s refined behavior. He could have been so much more vulgar.
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I like my oaths full-strength. It’s one of my Guilty Pleasures. I also like succotash very much, since I have had a love affair with The Lima Bean my whole life.
Now, mince? If we’re talking pie…? No. No Thank You.
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nance, I can understand your need to speak more directly. But then you aren’t a world famous pussy cat who must not offend the delicate sensibilities of people everywhere. I like lima beans, too. Maybe I’ll make succotash this weekend, too.
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I just always loved the way Sylvester spit when he said it… 🙂
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Deb, he was [is?] a character who is timeless. Such fun.
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I used to call drivers on the road “Sister Sledge” – this was when I was responsible for getting my kids to school – so many idiots out on the road, so that expression was used quite frequently, for example “Sister Sledge, get off your stupid cell phone and pay attention to the cars around you.” I am not sure if this is a minced oath, but what I really wanted to say was……
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SD Gates, I like your saying, minced or not! I find that when I’m driving a car, I’m at my most creative, using the English language in new & exciting ways.
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Me too, like asking people if they are waiting for a formal invitation when I am letting them into the traffic before me and they just sit there and stare at me?
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I celebrate your liberal arts education! I didn’t even imagine that sufferin’ succotash stood for anything else. Oh fudgepuppies!
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Zazzy, I only knew about Sylvester because I took a English Lit class in which the prof used sufferin’ succotash as a modern day example of oaths, minced.
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Hmmm, when you first started this blog challenge I thought, cool, we are going to see a bunch of images about food and maybe a recipe or two, but no, you had to start sneaking in all this *gasp* learning. It is beginning to seem like you have been secretly serving me the kind of pasta made with hidden vegetables all this time (which by the way, you are not to tell my children about).
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Allie P, I didn’t explain well what I was going to do in this challenge, so I’m not surprised that you thought I’d be all about recipes & such. I’ve kept a food saying + info file for a couple of years, so this seemed like the time to share my “learning” + some “babbling.” Also, rest assured, your veggie-laced pasta secret is safe with me. 😉
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You probably explained it just fine. I saw food mentioned and immediately got hungry, so who knows how my blood sugar level may have affected my reading comprehension.
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🙂 You have no idea how hungry this whole series of posts has made me. Never again will I talk about food continually for days on end.
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You have been educating the heck out of me this month! That is fascinating. I love the term “minced oath” which also sounds like it would fit into your food-related theme.
I think Tina Fey is the queen of minced oaths.
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I.L. Wolf, excellent point about Tina Fey. I hadn’t thought of that, but true. I imagine lots of Looney Tunes cartoons are full of minced oaths that floated over our heads when we were kids.
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You’re probably right, there were so many layers to those cartoons.
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I nominate you to watch them all, take notes, and report back to us with your findings! 😉
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Sure! No problem! Although actually I could probably do that while making props for our upcoming show. Though the notes might get a little gluey.
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… eh, what’s a little glue?
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Loved the clip of Sylvester spitting out his iconic line! I’ve never heard’read’seen anyone say “suffering savior.”
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nrhatch, me either. But if it were Elizabethan times, I am lead to believe that’d be a bad thing to say.
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I think I’ve used “Holy cow” several times this week. That sounds like it might qualify as a minced oath.
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Sarah, it might be. I don’t know. I suspect that lots of things we say when not swearing by almost swearing are, in fact, a minced oath. There’s probably a dissertation to be written on this topic… but not by me!
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I’m late to the party and everyone got all good stuff in their comments! Sufferin’ Succotash…
I miss the old-school cartoon time fun. My kids are stuck with Barney, Teletubbies, and spongebob…which has been scientifically proven to make one dumbererer. Exit cable and enter crafty/paint replacement program.
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bitsfromheaven, I thought it was just me who found more modern cartoons to be insipid! The old Looney Tunes ones has so many layers of meaning– and the characters had attitude, instead of platitudes.
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I love how it comes out “thufferin’ thuccotash!” when Sylvester says it.
By the way, lima beans are high in manganese, one of those trace elements that make life worth living. Learned that in my first A to Z…
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John, I think that Sylvester has charmed everyone over the years. Seems like we all know how he says what he says, and it makes us smile. Didn’t know that fact about lima beans, but I do like them… so bring on the manganese!
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I just learned so many new things. I never knew there was even meaning behind Sylvester’s saying, but I did only watch him as a kid so I guess I never contemplated that. Very cool!
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serenasinclair, Sylvester’s saying still makes me laugh. Oddly enough, I say it occasionally. Without spitting, of course.
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Hahaha, I’m glad you added that clarification 😋
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😉
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I did not know that was a minced oath, and yet, I use them all the time! Oh my heck. Thank tacos. For the love of puppies. Thank you for this information 🙂
Succotash sounds good right about now, by the by.
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joey, once you realize what a minced oath is, they’re everywhere & they’re fun to find. I agree about the succotash, have added ingredients to my grocery list.
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🙂
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I didn’t know any of that! Very interesting information! I’m learning a lot through your blog challenge, and realizing my own ignorance. 🙂
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Margaret, I’m glad that you’re learning but I certainly did not do this challenge as a way to make you feel ignorant! We all know different odds and ends of things, and this challenge is the place to put those odds and ends.
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You have contributed mightily to my education today … oh my, from minced oaths to suffering saviour and I had no idea succotash was made with lima beans!! Now I’m going to have to look up a recipe!
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joanne, sometimes I do know the strangest things. Think of it this way, should you ever be on Jeopardy and a category entitled “Succotash” appears on the board, you’re ready to win it all! 🙂
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hahaha!! that’s true! That information is bound to come in handy someday 🙂
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