Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblins by Theodore M. Bernstein

Author:Theodore M. Bernstein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2011-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

SO LONG

The label for this one must be “origin obscure.” Went-worth and Flexner’s Dictionary of American Slang hazards the guess that the farewell derives from the Arabic salaam and the Hebrew sholom, both of which mean “peace.” The OUD does not agree, and Webster’s New World asserts that this is “said to be folk etymology.” Partridge in DS says “that a suggested derivation from the Hebrew selah (God be with you) is not to be wholly ignored,” but then in a second thought, set forth in a 1961 Supplement, he says that the phrase “is perhaps short for ‘Good-bye. So long,’ elliptical for ‘God be with you so long as we are apart.’” In a third thought appearing in a 1970 Supplement he thinks that derivation from the Hebrew shalom is “the most likely theory of all.” Then again you may like Ivor Brown’s suggestion (in A Word in Edgeways) that so long comes from “Good luck for so long as we are parted and until we see one another again.” That is, indeed, so long! If this is to be a guessing game, let’s throw another idea into the pot: Perhaps the phrase derives from “So I’ll be getting along.” That at least has the appropriate casual sound. It seems to be as likely a guess as the others. But the last word will have to be “origin obscure.”

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