Strong Like Bull

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Kaylee. I’m calling from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Welcome to the show.

You sound like you’re right next door.

Yeah, you do. It’s a clear line.

Oh, yeah. Not too far away.

What can we help you with?

Well, I have a question. When I was in college, I spent a summer in Cameron, Ontario, which is kind of near Toronto, at a sustainable organic farm. It’s called Brush at House Farm.

And when I was working, they would always say, Kaylee, you’re strong like ox, smart like street car.

And I never really gave it much thought, but now I have two children.

And when they help me shovel all of our snow here in Fairbanks, Alaska, I find myself saying, Izzy, you’re strong like ox.

And I just want to make sure that’s not offensive.

Was that a compliment?

I mean, you’re asking us if it’s a compliment, but I want to know how you took it when you first heard it.

When I first heard it, I thought it was a compliment.

I mean, I kind of just didn’t give it too much thought.

Originally, I thought it was just unique to them.

The first thing is people have been comparing other people to oxen and to bulls for a very long time, because that’s another variation, strong like bull.

And it’s particular, it’s the missing article in front of the noun that kind of catches your ear, right?

It’s not strong like an ox, it’s strong like ox, right?

Right, yes.

The origin, as far as I know, of this becoming a popular term, although it existed before there, was a show called The Danny Thomas Show.

Before that had been called Make Room for Daddy.

And this was on in the United States in the 1950s.

And there’s a character on there by Hans Conrad called Uncle Tanoose.

And Uncle Tanoose is a very expressive, arms-filling, tall, thin, very characteristic face.

He’s got a wild hair and a loud manner.

And he’s just a character.

And he’s supposedly from Lebanon.

And one of the things that he says on the show as a catchphrase is, strong like bull.

And he says it in what’s supposed to be a Lebanese accent because his character is Lebanese.

And they got that idea, by the way, because Danny Thomas was originally Lebanese.

His parents were Lebanese.

But in fact, he says it more of in a Germanic accent because Hans Conrad, the actor, his father was from Austria.

So that’s the source, I believe, of the popularization.

There’s an asterisk to put on this, which is that usually when the conversation comes up online, everyone swears from one end of the planet to the other that strong like bull or strong like ox comes from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, which featured a couple of villains, Natasha and Boris, who spoke in these bad Russian accents.

However, I have not been able to find that phrase in that show.

And I have watched the episodes of The Danny Thomas Show where Uncle Tanous says the phrase in three different episodes.

So I know it’s on The Danny Thomas Show.

I’ve just never seen it on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

Okay.

Well, I can’t remember seeing it on Rocky and Bullwinkle either.

And I sure watched it.

And the other thing about it is the Danny Thomas show was on long before Rocky and Bullwinkle showed up.

But the cool thing is the actor who played Uncle Tenus on the Danny Thomas show, Hans Conrad, he also did one of the voices on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show.

So it is technically possible that he brought that catchphrase over to the cartoon, but it wouldn’t have been Natasha and Boris saying it because it was a different character.

Okay.

So very complicated.

And I have to mention it because everyone’s going to email us like it was absolutely Rocky and Bullwinkle.

My charge to you, if you think I was Rocky and Bullwinkle, is find me the episode.

Actually show me the video, and then I will believe it.

Okay, well, there’s my homework for after the show.

There you go.

So that’s the short version of it.

And so what about smart like streetcar?

That one I haven’t been able to nail down much more.

I do find some people say smart like tractor, smart like dump truck.

There’s a couple phrases in the military that make the rounds that are variations on that.

The interesting thing is that part isn’t a compliment, which is why I asked you at the top of the show if you took it as a compliment.

It means strong but dumb.

Because a streetcar or a dump truck or a tractor are not all that smart.

They’re just machines.

Right.

Yeah, they just work.

And now you’re passing it on to your kids?

Yeah.

So maybe I should just stick with the strong like ox.

Yeah.

Maybe not so much of the streetcar.

Well, thank you so much for this.

You’re welcome.

Good talking with you.

Yeah, great talking with you, too.

I really enjoyed your show.

Thanks for calling.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Yeah, bye.

We love talking about the expressions that have been passed down from generation to generation.

What are the ones that came down to you through your family?

Call us 877-929-9673 or send your stories about language to words@waywordradio.org.