I'm your huckleberry

[Spudman]

This is just one of those interesting tidbits. You might remember it in the Tombstone movie.




I'm Your Huckleberry!

by Lawson Stone


On and off I hear discussions in which people speculate on the exact origin and meaning is of the quaint idiom used by Doc Holliday in the movie "Tombstone." I've heard some wild suggestions, including "huckleberry" meaning "pall-bearer" suggesting "I'll bury you."

Still others think it has something to do with Mark Twain's character, Huckleberry Finn, and means "steadfast friend, pard." This is unlikely, since the book of that title was not written until 1883. Tom Sawyer was written in 1876, but nowhere there is the term "huckleberry" used to mean "steadfast friend" or the like. Still others claim that a victor's crown or wreath of huckleberry is involved, making the statement "I'm your huckleberry" something like "I'll beat you!" But no such reference can be found in the historical materials supporting the use of this term in 19th century America. Additionally, "huckleberry" was native to North America so it's unlikely it was used in ancient Britain as a prize!
Solutions to such questions are actually very easy to find, since there are numerous dictionaries of the English language in its various periods, and there are dictionaries of English slang. These works simply cull from books, magazines, and newspapers of the period representative usages of the words to illustrate their meaning. I consulted several of these and found the expression to have a very interesting origin.
"Huckleberry" was commonly used in the 1800's in conjunction with "persimmon" as a small unit of measure. "I'm a huckleberry over your persimmon" meant "I'm just a bit better than you." As a result, "huckleberry" came to denote idiomatically two things. First, it denoted a small unit of measure, a "tad," as it were, and a person who was a huckleberry could be a small, unimportant person--usually expressed ironically in mock self-depreciation. The second and more common usage came to mean, in the words of the "Dictionary of American Slang: Second Supplemented Edition" (Crowell, 1975):
"A man; specif., the exact kind of man needed for a particular purpose. 1936: "Well, I'm your huckleberry, Mr. Haney." Tully, "Bruiser," 37. Since 1880, archaic.
The "Historical Dictionary of American Slang" which is a multivolume work, has about a third of a column of citations documenting this meaning all through the latter 19th century.
So "I'm your huckleberry" means "I'm just the man you're looking for!"
Now ain't that a daisy!
The "Daisy" comment is easier. In the late 19th century "daisy" was a common slang term for "the best in it's class." So for "daisy" just substitute "the best" and you'll have it. It was a short-lived idiom and doesn't seem to be popular much after 1890.

[sunvalleylaw]

I love that line. I gotta rent that movie again. Probably my favorite role for Val Kilmer.

[Tone2TheBone]

Val lives near here and while he's one of my favs too he's kinda a jerk.

"You're a daisy if you do"

[Bloozcat]

One of my favorite movies...

Val Kilmer is very believable as Doc Holiday.

"Why Johnny Ringo, you look like someone just walked over your grave."

[Childbride]

this is going to sound totally goofy, but then, selah.

the byproxy and i have a fav movie that we watched constantly together for four years that he lived here while he was going to college... real genius.

he even ordered one of those tshirts that val wore in the movie... [was it 'i love toxic waste'? something like that, baseball style shirt, black and white]

that's one of my favorite byproxy memories, so val may be a jerk [and probably is] but i thank him for that memory. :D

[Skip77]

Good one CB - Tombstone is one of my all time fav movies - one of Val Kilmer's best performances, I believe. I quote several lines from the movie regularly. Keep up the good work with the movie tips. Or should I say, "go ahead, skin it... skin that smoke wagon and see what happens"!

[Kodiak3D]

That's my favorite character he's ever played. Great movie.

[Tone2TheBone]

To be completely fair I will list some of the movies that he's in that we enjoy.

Tombstone (duh)
Willow
Thunderheart
The Missing
Cold Mountain
The Saint
The Doors
Top Gun

[sunvalleylaw]

Ya, Willow is another good one. I like some of the others too, but have not seen all of them. I prefer his Doc Holliday to Iceman anyday, though I do like the TG movie.

[Spudman]

Anyone ever see Top Secret? I heard a few people rave about it and then I watched it. I didn't get it. In fact I didn't/couldn't watch the whole thing.

[Kazz]

I absolutely love Tombstone....I have it memorized word for word and do pretty good impressions of all the main characters voices.

[Tone2TheBone]

I absolutely love Tombstone....I have it memorized word for word and do pretty good impressions of all the main characters voices.

Hey do the "lawdawg" one. :D

[Bloozcat]

I really liked Val Kilmer in The Saint...and Elizabeth Shue looked absolutely delicious in it as well...:drool:

[R_of_G]

Anyone ever see Top Secret? I heard a few people rave about it and then I watched it. I didn't get it. In fact I didn't/couldn't watch the whole thing.

i thought it was pretty funny actually.

[Tone2TheBone]

I really liked Val Kilmer in The Saint...and Elizabeth Shue looked absolutely delicious in it as well...:drool:

Oh man don't even get me started on how hot Elizabeth Shue was/is....
she has that girl next door look...blonde...petite...and she has that sexy little underbite.....oh yeahhh.

[Skip77]

Elizabeth Shue has always been one of my alltime favorite hollywood hotties. She was great in The Saint - agreed!

[Tim]

Is that her cooking pancakes for Warren?

[luvmyshiner]

Snicker, on a side note, there used to be a lawyer in Texas named Barbara Kazen who literally wrote the book on family law (six volumes, Steve and Brian will appreciate this, in looseleaf notebooks so they could charge you $200 a year for updates:confused: ). I had the opportunity to visit with her a couple of times and she was one of those "scary smart" people.

The rumor is that Val hired her for his divorce, and she subsequently closed down her lucrative private practice, moved to New Mexico, and became his personal attorney. Last I heard she was doing nothing but family law mediation out of New Mexico and charging out the kazoo for it.

[Childbride]

i thought it was pretty funny actually.


i did too. :)

[Spudman]

i did too. :)

I didn't get it. Why is that?

[Childbride]

I didn't get it. Why is that?


ok, so here it is. i love movies, period. i am a movie JUNKIE. it sometimes gets in the way of guitar practice. we have a huge collection of them... a whole 'stupid movie' genre included. if it makes me laugh, it gets a vote.

i figured it as a contra to the whole 'leslie nielsen' genre, to try and up it. wasn't the whole 'hot shot' series about that same time, with leslie and charlie sheen, et al?

stupid as all get out? heck ya. did it make me laugh? yes.

[sunvalleylaw]

The rumor is that Val hired her for his divorce, and she subsequently closed down her lucrative private practice, moved to New Mexico, and became his personal attorney.


Hmm, mouthpiece of Sauron kind of thing. ;) I am just not that much of a hired gun I guess. It is one of the things I now enjoy now that I am not a PD, being able to say "no" to clients. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed a lot about the PD, but the time had come to move on.

[Kazz]

Hey do the "lawdawg" one. :D


That one is probably one of my favorite scenes to run through....Ike Clanton is sooo much fun....

The other really fun scene I have a great time playing with is The scene where Doc is playing the piano "Nocturne" and Billy Clanton is asking if he knows any Stephen Foster....the whole

Billy Clanton: You know any Stephen Foster?
Doc Holliday: (Doc being both annoyed and really drunk says) Pardon?
Billy: Stephen Foster. Oh, Susannah, Camptown Races. Stephen stinkin' Foster!
Doc: Well, this happens to be a nocturne.
Billy: A which?
Doc: A nocturne! You know, Frederic (bleepin) Chopin?



I also really really love the scene between Wyatt and and Johnny Tyler and the subsequent scene when Doc arrives in Tombstone and Tyler is coming for Wyatt with the shotgun....

I really love this movie and a huge old west history buff. When I lived in Arizona I took as much of this in as I possibly could although since I lived much further north in Prescott Valley....I did not manage to get to Tombstone...I did spend as much time as I could over in Prescott tho. The old west museum there is great

[Kazz]

Hey do the "lawdawg" one. :D


Tone I am being lazy since it is almost shower and work time...but here is a nice cut and paste of that whole scene....truly great work by all the actors.

Curly Bill: [takes a bill with Wyatt's signature from a customer and throws it on the faro table] Wyatt Earp, huh? I heard of you.
Ike Clanton: Listen, Mr. Kansas Law Dog. Law don't go around here. Savvy?
Wyatt Earp: I'm retired.
Curly Bill: Good. That's real good.
Ike Clanton: Yeah, that's good, Mr. Law Dog, 'cause law don't go around here.
Wyatt Earp: I heard you the first time.
[flips a card]
Wyatt Earp: Winner to the King, five hundred dollars.
Curly Bill: Shut up, Ike.
Johnny Ringo: [Ringo steps up to Doc] And you must be Doc Holliday.
Doc Holliday: That's the rumor.
Johnny Ringo: You retired too?
Doc Holliday: Not me. I'm in my prime.
Johnny Ringo: Yeah, you look it.
Doc Holliday: And you must be Ringo. Look, darling, Johnny Ringo. The deadliest pistoleer since Wild Bill, they say. What do you think, darling? Should I hate him?
Kate: You don't even know him.
Doc Holliday: Yes, but there's just something about him. Something around the eyes, I don't know, reminds me of... me. No. I'm sure of it, I hate him.
Wyatt Earp: [to Ringo] He's drunk.
Doc Holliday: In vino veritas.
["In wine is truth" meaning: "When I'm drinking, I speak my mind"]
Johnny Ringo: Age quod agis.
["Do what you do" meaning: "Do what you do best"]
Doc Holliday: Credat Judaeus apella, non ego.
["The Jew Apella may believe it, not I" meaning: "I don't believe drinking is what I do best."]
Johnny Ringo: [pats his gun] Eventus stultorum magister.
["Events are the teachers of fools" meaning: "Fools have to learn by experience"]
Doc Holliday: [gives a Cheshire cat smile] In pace requiescat.
["Rest in peace" meaning: "It's your funeral!"]
Tombstone Marshal Fred White: Come on boys. We don't want any trouble in here. Not in any language.
Doc Holliday: Evidently Mr. Ringo's an educated man. Now I really hate him.

[Kazz]

Elizabeth Shue has always been one of my alltime favorite hollywood hotties. She was great in The Saint - agreed!


Elizabeth is and definitely was smoking hot...I loved her in Karate Kid and Coctail with Tom Cruise....my son hates it when I tell this story...but I named him after her character in Cocktail (Jordan)


His momma altho she certainly does not look like her now......was the spitting image of Elizabeth Shue during that whole Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting era....which is why I was so interested in her when we first met.

[Bloozcat]

His momma altho she certainly does not look like her now......was the spitting image of Elizabeth Shue during that whole Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting era....which is why I was so interested in her when we first met.

Then you are a fortunate man indeed, Kazz...:AOK:

The Karate Kid was Elizabeth Shue's first role, in 1984. Her next roll was in the TV show, Call To Glory, about an Air Force pilot (played by Craig T. Nelson) in the 1960's. I remember thinking at the time of the show, this girl is going to be a really beautiful woman. I didn't realize at the time, that although Shue was playing a teenager in the show, she was actually 21 years old already. I was right about one thing though. Elizabeth Shue did become an even more beautiful woman as she got a little older.

[Spudman]

stupid as all get out? heck ya. did it make me laugh? yes.

That might be it. I think it was too low for me. I thought Leslie Nielsen's Spy Hard was brilliant though.

[Tone2TheBone]

Elizabeth is and definitely was smoking hot...I loved her in Karate Kid and Coctail with Tom Cruise....my son hates it when I tell this story...but I named him after her character in Cocktail (Jordan)


His momma altho she certainly does not look like her now......was the spitting image of Elizabeth Shue during that whole Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting era....which is why I was so interested in her when we first met.

Your response Kazz requires pics. ;)

I think the producers really did a great service to the movie by hiring these guys to star in it.

Kurt as Wyatt Earp was perfect...

1541 1540

My favorite western type character actor though has got to be Sam Ellliot!

1542

And who couldn't resist a post of a lovely, and I'm sure...very charming, Elisabeth Shue......

1543

:D