"OK...no more Mr. Nice Guy."

Posted by ESC on January 04, 2004

In Reply to: "No more mister nice guy." posted by Bob on January 04, 2004

: : when was this phrase first used and by who?is it a recent saying or one thats been around a long time.I know its a alice cooper song but I belive it was around before he wrote the song.Its been sugested that hitler said it in responce to the normandy inviation.

: Yes, it's older than the Alice Cooper song, but the Hitler attribution is, well, preposterous. Quite apart from his humorlessness, he didn't express himself in English.

NO MORE MISTER NICE GUY - There is a long section in Mr. Safire's dictionary about Mr. Nice Guy, "everybody's friend; a practitioner of the politics of pacification. 'Nice guys finish last' was the dictum of Brooklyn Dodger baseball manager Leo Durocher in the 1940s (although his actual words were 'Nice guys finish seventh' - at that time, last place in the National League), and to a degree this has application to modern politics.'Nice guy,' as in 'Mr. Nice Guy,' connotes weakness. 'No more Mr. Nice Guy' is a warning before retaliation, the end of passive acceptance of unfairness or harsh treatment, the opening pitch of 'Hardball.' This gloves-off warning was popularized in the 1970s. Richard Nixon was asked by the 'Washington Post' in 1977 about his response to Vietnam War protests: 'When was the moment when in effect, you said, 'OK, no more Mr. Nice Guy'?' It may have originated as the punch line of a macabre joke: A group of neo-Nazis sought out Hitler, alive and hiding in the Argentine, to lead them in their quest for world domination. 'OK,' he replied.' but this time - no more Mr. Nice Guy.'.' From Safire's New Political Dictionary by William Safire (Random House, New York, 1993).

• No more Mr Clean Henry 04/January/04
  • Correction for Mr. Safire's dictionary Brian from Shawnee 05/January/04
    • Correction for Mr. Safire ESC 05/January/04
      • Correction for Mr. Safire Brian from Shawnee 05/January/04
        • Correction for Mr. Safire ESC 06/January/04
          • Correction for Mr. Safire Brian from Shawnee 10/January/04
          • Correction for Mr. Safire Brian from Shawnee 06/January/04
            • Correction for Mr. Safire Henry 07/January/04
              • My hero ESC 21/January/04