Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

If you say you can't accomplish a task, someone might remind you "Mr. Can't died in a cornfield." This old saying is particularly evocative if you've ever been stuck in a cornfield, because it's easy to think you won't make it out. Another version of this phrase is "can't died in the poorhouse." This is part of a complete episode.

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184185391" params="auto_play=false&show_artwork=false&color=ff7700" width="100%" height="180" iframe="true" /]

Here's the full poem from a 1910 issue of St. Nicholas, a children's magazine.