X me no Xs
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X me no Xs is a literary device common in literature from the 16th to the 18th centuries, in which the speaker is asking that something not be provided to him, often as a pun incorporating the use of a particular word both as a verb and as a noun.
Quotes
[edit]- But me no buts.
- Susanna Centlivre, The Busie Body (1709); Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape (1730), act ii, scene 2. Also in Aaron Hill, Snake in the Grass, sc. 1.
- Cause me no causes.
- Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625), act i, scene 3.
- Cook me no cooks.
- Felix Benguiat, Ugly Hilda (1909), p. 515.
- Clerk me no clerks.
- Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1819), chapter xx.
- Diamond me no diamonds! prize me no prizes!
- Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King (c. 1842–1885).
- End me no ends.
- Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625), act v, scene 1.
- Fool me no fools.
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Last Days of Pompeii (1834), book iii, chapter vi.
- Front me no fronts.
- John Ford, The Lady's Trial (1638), act ii, scene 1.
- Gift me no Gifts; I have none for thee.
- Theocritus, The Idylls (c. 3rd century BC), translated by James Henry Hallard (1901), p. 104. Use of this literary device was likely introduced by the translator; an earlier translation by C.S. Calvery has the same character, Amycus, responding to Polydeuces' offer to "[v]isit our land, take gifts from us, and go" by saying "I seek naught from thee and can naught bestow".
- Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle.
- William Shakespeare, Richard II. (1595), act ii, scene 3.
- Madam me no madam.
- John Dryden, The Wild Gallant (1663), act ii, scene 2.
- Map me no maps.
- Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape (1730), act i, scene 5.
- Midas me no Midas.
- John Dryden, The Wild Gallant (1663), act ii, scene 1.
- O me no O's.
- Ben Jonson, The Case Is Altered (c. 1609), act v, scene 1.
- Parish me no parishes.
- George Peele, The Old Wives' Tale (c. 1595).
- Petition me no petitions.
- Henry Fielding, Tom Thumb (1730), act i, scene 2.
- Play me no plays.
- Samuel Foote, The Knights (1748), act ii.
- Plot me no plots.
- Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1611), act ii, scene 5.
- Poem me no poems.
- Rose Macaulay, quoted in Poetry Review (Autumn 1963).
- Thank me no thanks, nor proud me no prouds.
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1597), act iii, scene 5.
- Tut me no tuts.
- James Thurber, The White Deer (1945), chapter 6, p. 89.
- Virgin me no virgins.
- Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625), act iii, scene 2.
- Vow me no vows.
- Beaumont and Fletcher, Wit Without Money (1614), act iv, scene 4.
- Cody me no Codys about America.
- Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody (1972), Part Three, p. 427.
- Tennessee me no Tennessees.
- Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody (1972), Part Three, p. 427.
Lyrics
[edit]- Matchmaker, matchmaker, plan me no plans.
I'm in no rush. maybe I've learned
Playing with matches a girl can get burned.
So bring me no ring, groom me no groom,
Find me no find, catch me no catch.
Unless he's a matchless match!- "Matchmaker", Fiddler on the Roof (1964). These lyrics appear at the end of the song, countering the protagonist's original (uninformed) plea that the matchmaker "find me a find, catch me a catch".