Looking for origins of a quotation

October 15, 2006 8:10 PM

Can someone identify this quote for me?

My uncle has used it to refuse seconds at dinner for longer than I remember, and says that my great-great grandfather brought it over from Ireland, 'round about mid-19th century. My uncle says he saw it quoted in a book once, but can't recall any details.

The quote goes:
"No, I thank you; I have had an elegant sufficiency of the numerous delicacies. Any more would be an unsophisticated superfluity, for gastronomic satiety admonishes me that I have reached the ultimate stage of deglutition consistent with dietetic integrity. "

We're hoping to track down the origins.

Thanks.

posted by robhuddles to Writing & Language (7 answers total)

It's referenced here, in a slighty shorter form. I've found various references to other forms of the same quote. Also mentioned on that page is a character in the story who also says the line after every meal...coincidence?
posted by cosmicbandito at 8:17 PM on October 15, 2006

When Mrs. Betty Kennamer was a girl in Virginia, she heard George Klingman, a preacher who taught at David Lipscomb College, say it. Googling "consistent with dietetic integrity".
posted by emelenjr at 8:20 PM on October 15, 2006

The earliest source I can find is from something called the Bible and the Nineteenth century, published in 1889, found here: http://www.rae.org/b19th01.html

I can't verify it's authenticity, but it may give you somewhere to start from.
posted by perpetualstroll at 8:22 PM on October 15, 2006

you could try searching in Project Gutenberg if you think this phrase is old enough.
posted by ptm at 8:40 AM on October 16, 2006

Oh, man! My seventy-something-year-old grandfather says a version of this -- "I have had a sufficiency; any more would be a superfluity" -- but we always thought it was original to him. Next time I see him, I'll be sure to ask (or perhaps I'll just quote the whole thing and see how he responds).

I've just searched for some key terms -- can you see this Jstor article? That's exactly what it's about -- but I can't find the article (title + author name) elsewhere online. If you have no luck, my e-mail's in my profile.
posted by booksandlibretti at 8:16 PM on October 16, 2006

I think booksandlibretti is referring to this article (I get nothing from the Jstor link when I'm not logged in through my institution):
"Among the Old Words"
Frederic G. Cassidy
American Speech, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter, 1980), pp. 295-297

It's a very short article about variations on this formula for refusing more food. The author has tracked it back to widespread use in the middle 1800s all over the US, but with no single originating source.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:30 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

Yeah, that is the article, and for Jstor, you do need to be logged in through a university (or similar subscribing institution). The article's only about three pages long. E-mail's in my profile if you can't find it anywhere else.
posted by booksandlibretti at 10:48 PM on October 16, 2006