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Wiktionary

let George do it

English

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Etymology

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Sometimes explained as derived from French laissez faire à Georges, a satirical reference to the multiform activities of Cardinal Georges d'Amboise (1460–1510), but this is unlikely.[1] Alternatively explained as a reference to Pullman porters, who were generically known as George.[2]

Proverb

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let George do it

  1. (dated, US) Let someone else incur the cost of achieving the shared benefit. [from early 20th c.]
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  • George (“autopilot of an aircraft”)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wolfgang Mieder (2019) ““Laissez faire à Georges” and “Let George Do It”: A Case of Paremiological Polygenesis”, in “Right Makes Might”: Proverbs and the American Worldview‎[1], Indiana University Press, →ISBN
  2. ^ Eric Partridge (2013) “let George do it!”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd edition, volumes I–II, Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 1382.

Further reading

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