“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is a saying with classical Roman roots, but was popularized in English in T. H. Bayly’s 1835 poem, “Isle of Beauty.”
“Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder” is an obvious pun, first cited in American English in 1876.
“Absinthe makes the fart grow stronger,” “Abstinence makes the church grow fondlers” and “Doctor, why do I toot like a motorcycle?”/“Because abscess makes the fart go Honda” are other variations on the proverb.
Answers.com
Proverbs: Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Cf. [Propertius Elegies ii. xxxiiib. i. 43] semper in absentes felicior aestus amantes, passion [is] always warmer towards absent lovers.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
[c 1850 in T. H. Bayly Isle of Beauty (rev. ed.) iii.]
These saws are constantly cutting one another’s throats. How can you reconcile the statement that ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ with ‘Out of sight, out of mind’?
[1923 Observer 11 Feb. 9]
Absence may have made his heart grow fonder, but it hasn’t done wonders for mine.
[1992 A. Lambert Rather English Marriage (1993) xi. 178]
In this way you can keep her at bay indefinitely, or at least until such time as her absence has made your heart grow fonder.
[2002 Spectator 9 Feb. 63]
13 October 1835, Phoenix Civilian (Baltimore, MD), Poetry, pg. 1:
ISLE OF BEAUTY, FARE THEE WELL.
(...)
What I would not give to wander
Where my old companions dwell
Absence makes the heart grow fonder,
Isle of Beauty, fare thee well.
22 May 1876, Chicago (IL) Inter Ocean, pg. 8:
“Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder,” he excalimed as he poured out a glass of his favorite beverage. His wife wondered how he came to lisp so and called for a sherry shoemaker.
Google Books
March 1879, Potter’s American Monthly, pg. 240, col. 2:
Of all our English songs, the Frenchman’s favorite is, “Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.”
Google Books
24 October 1894, Harvard Lampoon, pg. 11, col. 1:
FIN DE SIECLE PROVERBS.
(...)
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.
Google Books
Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: Wormwood Poems
By Mark Begley
Published by Furry Trout Press
2000
Wikipedia: Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
“Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder” is the sixth episode of the Showtime original series Californication. It was written by Tom Kapinos and Eric Weinberg, directed by Ken Whittingham and originally aired on Sunday September 17, 2007.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“Laughter is the best medicine…except for treating diarrhea” (4/15)
•“Laughter is the best medicine. Unless you have diarrhea” (4/15)
•“If you know someone who is effortlessly happy in the morning, that is a demon. You’re friends with a demon” (4/15)
•“You know you’re a bad driver when Siri says: ‘In 400 feet, stop and let me out’” (4/15)
•“You know your driving is really terrible when your GPS says ‘After 300 feet, stop and let me out!’’ (4/15)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik. These are the Cookies and Privacy Policies.