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The man who coined this phrase had already been pilloried and imprisoned for writing satire people took literally. So the next time he went after Parliament, he built himself an escape hatch. On this episode of Appraise The Phrase, Mario and Twenty unveil the origin, confirm the meaning, and assess the value of “if the shoe fits.” It starts in 1705 with Daniel Defoe — printed in London under the pretense that it came from Danzig, credited to an author who didn't exist, because the poem was a direct attack on the English Parliament. Defoe names nobody in it. He just writes that if a member recognizes himself in the satire, that recognition is the reader's act, not the writer's accusation. Twenty's read: he invented the disclaimer. Then the phrase crosses the Atlantic. May 1773, the New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, a city weeks from tearing itself apart over the Tea Act, in the one genre where anonymity did the most work. And somewhere in that crossing, the object changes. Also: the Cinderella theory and why it doesn't hold, the 1773 subtweet, what Google didn't bother correcting, and a Dictionary of Misinformation entry that will make you check your own vocabulary. 0:00 Green Goblin, Family Matters, And A Late Submission 1:03 The ATP Intro Theme 1:42 What's Good: LA, Venice Beach, And Morning Walks 7:02 Shout Out To Mo And The Event 8:01 Today's Phrase: If The Shoe Fits 10:25 Twenty: It Went From Positive To Negative 13:07 Mario Wrote This Episode From A Negative Place 14:27 Shout Out To Kayla And Kinara Books 15:27 Nobody Says “Wear It” Anymore 16:19 You Already Have The Shoe On 16:59 Confirm The Meaning: Four Dictionaries This Time 18:00 The Last-Minute Submission Always Wins 21:33 Which Ones Are Negative And Which Are Neutral 22:05 Twenty Picks Two Dictionaries — A First 22:53 Unveil The Origin: 1705, Daniel Defoe 23:12 The Green Goblin Problem 24:41 Printed In London, Credited To A Man Who Didn't Exist 26:09 Defoe Had Already Been Pilloried For Satire 27:13 A Legal Deniability Device 28:56 “He Invented The Disclaimer” 29:38 Have You Ever Jumped In Front Of A Bullet Nobody Fired? 31:27 You Gotta Show Me My ID In The Film 35:14 Are You Slower To Anger Now? 36:07 Why A Point Of No Return Is A Good Thing 37:28 Crashing Out, And The Flu Game Meme 38:43 May 1773: The Cap Becomes A Shoe 40:23 The Defensive Character Genre 41:26 Hugh Gaine, The Printer Who Stayed Neutral 42:46 Influence Before Influencers 43:00 The Tea Act And A City About To Break 44:41 The Original Subtweet 45:22 Twenty's Twitter Era 50:25 The Cinderella Hypothesis 52:00 Why The Case Against It Is Stronger 54:50 Google Didn't Correct The Story Either 56:33 Pop Culture Impact: The Top Four 57:30 #1 Hamilton, Cabinet Battle #1 58:37 The Appraisal 1:00:45 Dictionary Of Misinformation: The Subconscious Isn't Freudian 1:02:23 Closing Thoughts 1:02:55 Shop, Partners, And Credits REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Daniel Defoe, The Diet of Poland (1705) · Daniel Defoe, The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (1702) · New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, May 1773 · Hugh Gaine, printer · Alexander McDougall writing as “Hampden,” New York Journal (1773) · Giambattista Basile, Pentamerone (1634) · Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854) · Hamilton, “Cabinet Battle #1” · Spider-Man (2002) · Family Matters COMMENT: Have you ever gotten defensive about something nobody was actually saying about you? And settle this — is a subtweet a disclaimer or a coward move? ATP SHOP — every phrase gets a grade. Some of them get a mug. appraisethephrase.com/shop