X me no Xs

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

• 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

• 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".

External links

• The Snowclone Database: X me no Xs.