Tell it to Sweeney
‘Tell it to the Marines” was a popular catch phrase of 17th century England that made its way to America.
An Oklahoma City councilman adapted the phrase for his own use when dealing with certain constituents and on May 19, 1918, The
Oklahoman told his story and gave an explanation for the original phrase:
“Tell it to Sweeney” probably is one of the most universal phrases for expressing derision at the incredible, yet it’s just a youngster; only fifteen years or so of usage. It was heard first about that long ago in Oklahoma City, when the sewer system was also in its infancy, and was first used by A.F. Binns, 529 West Twentieth street, then a member of the city council. (Andrew F. “Andy” Binns was an 89er and a master plumber.)
Binns was on the city council when the council decided that Oklahoma City was large enough to have an up-to-date sewer system and he appointed L.L. Sweeney, 404 East Nelson Avenue, to superintend the system and see that it remained in good working order at all times, and Sweeney is still at it. Binns also had a great deal to do with the system and when a cat or tin can lodged in any part of the sewer and trouble developed, the residents of that section would report it to him first.
For the first few hundred complaints Binns politely and at length explained to each plaintiff that the mending of the sewer and keeping it in working order, was in the hands of Sweeney. They would go to Sweeney and he would dislodge whatever was clogging the sewer. Finally it became boresome, Binns says, to explain over and over and do it politely each time that Sweeney was the man to take the trouble up with, and with true American adaptability, he adopted the habit of never looking up when a man or woman enter his office and began to make remarks about the sewer, but would say over his shoulder: “Tell it to Sweeney.”
Binns got to where he could tell when a man wanted to complain about the sewer without the man ever opening his mouth, and would beat hem to it with, “Tell it to Sweeney.” He used this manner of pacifying irate property owners to such an extent that the expression became common and everyone adopted it. It first was used as refuge and was uttered in a tone of resignation. So many complaints about the sewer system came in that the city officials became skeptical and refused to believe all that was told them, but through force of habit would say, “Tell it to Sweeney,” but with lifted eyebrows and doubt in their tones.
Another phrase expressing the same meaning was started more than two hundred years ago by the English nobility. At that time England had the only force of marines, and also was one of the leading nations in explorations and colonizations. Occasionally a daring mariner would discover some new section of America and would bring back wonderful tales of the new land. He would tell them and be politely told he was a liar. One of them happened to have a company of marines aboard his ship and the marines corroborated his story, and after that when a ship captain returned from a long voyage, anything he had to tell would be believed only after the marines believed. And the expression “tell it to the marines” started.
Leonard L. Sweeney died a year later, in August of 1919, having spent 20 years as the superintendent of sewers and with his death, Oklahoma Citians could no longer “Tell it to Sweeney.”
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