Well, seeing as it's a Friday: I don't know who coined the phrase, but it's an archetypical Olde Tyme New England saying of the sort my 88 y/o grandfather will bust out - for the first time - every Thanksgiving. It also showed up recently, albeit in a slightly different form, in David Mamet's comedy State and Main. "Only second chance we git, z'ta make the same mistake twice..." If you are from New England, or any small town, or Hollywood, or just enjoy wordplay and well-drawn characters... I highly recommend the film. Mamet's got to be Grand Poobah of Vernacular Idiom. Full screenplay at: http://www.lontano.dk/scriptsa/state-and-main_shooting.html -Isaac in Cambridge >The only opportunity that comes around twice >is the opportunity to make the same mistake again. |
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