SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709)

Goddam Hell

The year 1747 was made more distinguished by his writing of the

DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

I once asked him by what means he had attained such an astonishing

knowledge of language and he replied:

“How in the goddam hell should I know?”

Which is to say: not the effect of a particular study, but that which

had grown in his mind insensibly.

I was, understandably, a little surprised at his curt tone, his abrupt, and somewhat taciturn

response, and his uncharacteristic lack of curiosity on about my super slick shiny chrome modern

 

time transport machine with the wavy silver lightning bolt lines on top.