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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Entry from September 12, 2015
“Me fail English? That’s unpossible!”

“Unpossible” is often used as a joke that a poor English speaker uses for “impossible.” Judge’s Library, a New York City humor magazine, published in 1909:
 
English As She Is Spoke.
“IT’S unpossible.”
“You mean impossible, don’t you?”
“I mean that it can’t be did.”

 
The characture Ralph Wiggum, in the television animated series The Simpsons, episode “Lisa on Ice,” air date November 13, 1994:
 
“Me fail English? That’s unpossible!”
 
Ralph Wiggum’s line has been popular on Twitter.
 
 
Wiktionary: unpossible
Adjective
unpossible
‎(comparative more unpossible, superlative most unpossible)
1. (now rare, nonstandard) Impossible.
Usage notes
In modern use, the term is usually considered non-standard
 
Wikipedia: Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The son of Police Chief Wiggum and a classmate of Lisa Simpson, Ralph is best known as the show’s resident oddball, and is noted for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior. His lines range from nonsensical, or bizarre interpretations of a current event, to surprisingly profound statements that go over people’s heads; and his behavior varies between blissfully unaware, to dim-witted, to awkwardly spontaneous, even occasionally straightforward. The very nature of the character has undergone seemingly differing interpretations over the years and within various media.
 
The creator of the show, Matt Groening, has cited Ralph as his favorite character. He generally remains one of the more popular and often quoted secondary characters in the show.
     
Google Books
Judge’s Library: A Monthly Magazine of Fun
Volumes 238-249
1909
Pg. ?:
English As She Is Spoke.
“IT’S unpossible.”
“You mean impossible, don’t you?”
“I mean that it can’t be did.”
 
IMDb.com (The Internet Movie Database)
Quotes for
Ralph Wiggum (Character)
from “The Simpsons” (1989)
“The Simpsons: Lisa on Ice (#6.8)” (1994)

Principal Skinner: First academic alert: Wiggum, Ralph.
Ralph Wiggum: I won! I won!
Principal Skinner: No, no, Ralph, this means you’re failing English.
Ralph Wiggum: Me fail English? That’s unpossible!
 
Twitter
Porgy Tirebiter
‏@hiloecho
Little known Paris Hilton quote “Me fail English”? “That’s unpossible”
1:54 PM - 9 May 2007
 
YouTube
English Fail
casey johnson
Uploaded on Apr 17, 2011
Ralph Wiggum Fails English.mov
 
YouTube
Me Fail English? That’s Unpossible
John’s Universe
Published on Jun 10, 2015

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityEducation/Schools • Saturday, September 12, 2015 • Permalink


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