A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

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.

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“Instead of ‘British Summer Time’ and ‘Greenwich Mean Time’ we should just call them ‘Oven Clock Correct Time’...” (3/28)
“Has anyone here ever drank a pint of tequila? I know it’s a long shot” (3/28)
“A pint of tequila? That’s a long shot” (3/28)
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Entry from September 04, 2006
“You can put your boots in the oven, but that don’t make ‘em biscuits”

“You can put your boot in the oven, but that doesn’t make them biscuits” means that just because you do something, that doesn’t make it so. People sometimes put boots in the oven to dry them.

There are also variants of the phrase that include “kittens in the oven” and “puppies in the oven,” and these versions may be older.
 
 
Google Books
The Leader’s Digest:
TImeless Principles for Team and Organization Success
by Jim Clemmer
Toronto: TGG Press
2003
Pg. 127:
An old bit of Texas wisdom teaches us that “you can put your boots in the oven, but that don’t make them biscuits.”
 
Google Books
Houlihans and Horse Sense
by Vernon Schmid
New York: Xlibris Corporation
2004
Pg. 69:
You can put your boots in the oven, but that doesn’t make them biscuits.” 
 
Google Books
Body Language and Soulful Thoughts
by Petey Parker
Denton, TX: Rogers Publishing and Consulting, Inc.
2004
Pg. 67:
For anyone not born in the Lone Star State, the Texan accent and cowboy colloquialisms can seem a bit strange. Here is a guide to a few of the more colorful expressions you may encounter:
(...)
You can put your boots in the oven, but that doesn’t make them biscuits=You can say whatever you want about something, but that doesn’t change what it is.
 
Google Books
Dishing:
Great Dish—and Dishes—from America’s Most Beloved Gossip Columnist
by Liz Smith
New York: Simon & Schuster
2005
Pg. 5:
CHAPTER 2
YOU CAN PUT YOUR BOOTS IN THE OVEN BUT THAT DON’T MAKE ‘EM BISUITS! 

Google Groups: rec.outdoors,rv-travel
From:  tasteslikechicken
Date:  Tues, Nov 8 2005 12:04 am
 
Well yep.  Just because you put a boot in the oven don’t mean it’s a biscuit.
 
Google Groups: austin.politics
From:  Lets Roll
Date:  Sat, May 13 2006 12:49 pm
 
As illustrated by Ramon the Reconquista, any worthless bastard can lay claim to being American, but you have to be born a Texan. Just because you put a boot in the oven don’t mean it’s a biscuit.
 
 

Posted by Barry Popik
Texas (Lone Star State Dictionary) • Monday, September 04, 2006 • Permalink


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