The way to a man's heart

Posted by ESC on October 05, 2003

In Reply to: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach posted by Cybernest on October 05, 2003

: Hi there!

: I am trying to find the origins for this phrase:

: "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"

: I have searched the Archives... alas unsuccessfully!

: Any thoughts gratefully received! Many thanks in anticipation!

: Saludos!

: Cybernest

WAY TO A MAN'S HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH, THE - "The evolution of this saying appears to be almost as indirect as the route to a man's heart. The American statesman John Adams wrote in a letter , 'The shortest road to men's hearts is down their throats,' and some years later Richard Ford's 'A Handbook for Travellers in Spain' advised, 'The way to many an honest heart lies through the belly.' A few years later, Miss Mulock observed in 'John Halifax, Gentleman' that the stomach was the way to an Englishman's heart. Fifteen years after that, the writer Fanny Fern broadened the idea to include all men in 'Willis Parton' (c. 1872), rendering the saying in its current form." From Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New; by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).