The phrase:
I'll be John Brown!
is an occasionally-used term in North Carolina. Mostly thought to replace taking the Lord's name in vain (GD).
Is it used elsewhere? How long has it been around?
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1I have never heard it before (which doesn’t mean that it isn’t used elsewhere, of course), but I’d easily understand it in context. If you look at TRomano’s link, you’ll see that it also appears as “John Browned”, with John Brown being seen as a euphemistic verb meaning ‘to hang’ (“They John Browned him” / “Well, I’ll be John Browned!”).– Janus Bahs JacquetDec 23, 2014 at 12:53
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Never heard it. (Though it should be noted that John Brown was either revered or intensely hated, depending on which side of the US Civil War you were on. Knowing whether the speaker was a northerner or a southerner would color one's understanding of the phrase.)– Hot LicksDec 23, 2014 at 13:37
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John Brown was an abolitionist who, just prior to the US Civil War, attempted to initiate a slave rebellion by raiding the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was hanged for his efforts in 1859.– Hot LicksDec 23, 2014 at 13:48
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It should be noted that there is a song called "John Brown's Body" that later morphed into "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and which was a rallying song for the Union forces during the US Civil War. The lyrics begin "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave; (3X) His soul's marching on!".– Hot LicksDec 23, 2014 at 14:34
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7 Answers
Harold Wentworth, American Dialect Dictionary (1944) has this entry:
John-Brown, v. t. To 'darn.' [Example:] 1942
Fla. Suwannee R[iver] I'll be John-Browned"
M. F. Rosborough 'Don't You Cry.'
Robert Hendrickson, [The Facts on File Dictionary of American Regionalisms] (2000) dispenses with the euphemism:
John Brown An old term in the south for "to damn"; after the abolitionist John Brown. "Well, I'll be John Browned!"
And J.E. Lighter, Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (1997) refers to both the "damned" an "hanged" meanings:
John-Brown v. [ref. to the hanging of John Brown, U.S. abolitionist (1800–59)] Esp. So[uthern] to execute by hanging (obs.); in phr. be John-Browned to be "hanged" or damned. [First cited example:] 1869 Overland Mo[unthly] (Aug.) You need apprehend nothing dreadful, for boobies seldom "John Brown" each other.
The earliest instance of the term that a Google Books search finds is also from The Overland Monthly (May 1870), in an article titled "A Piny-Woods Character":
"Wouldn't White Men make head better, if they would not refuse to work in the same field with Negroes?"
"But no White Man's gwine to do it. It's born into us, stranger. No White Man as respects hisself is ever gwine to do it. He'll be John-Browned fust. But come, set up, stranger, and take a snook."
The next-earliest is from "Broad and Otherwise," in the U.S. edition of Puck (June 27, 1906, published in New York), we find this early instance of the phrase:
F'rinstance, there is my niece, who went to school over at Louderville, and has just lately come home with an intimate knowledge of 'most all the non-essentials and a tolerant contempt for the plain but serviceables—who tumbled down the garret stairs, the other day, and announced that she had abraded her patella and started a cicatrix on her sasamoid, leavin' me, as gentleman of the sun-burnt school, unable to ask her where she was hurt or how badly, and—er-ah!—well, education may have broadened her, but I'll be John-Browned to gosh if it ain't rapidly thinnin' me, tryin' to keep up with her intellectual curves and convolutions!
A couple of recent historical studies of the U.S. Civil War era have used John Browned in a completely different way—with the sense "to be attacked suddenly by participants in a slave revolt."
From James Huston, Calculating the Value of the Union: Slavery, Property Rights, and the Economic Origins of the Civil War (2003):
This attack on the institution of slavery [the Harpers Ferry raid of 1859] occurred in a state [Virginia] where the institution was born and fully established; it evoked the primal fear of slave revolts and all the horrors that attended uprisings of slaves—of the Haiti Revolution. After October 1859 various parts of the South underwent traumatic fears of slave revolts and being "John Browned." The raid, whatever its relation to property rights, powerfully evoked apprehensions for white supremacy throughout the South and made the Republicans appear even more demonic.
And from Albert Merrin, A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery (2014) suggests another sense of the verb phrase "John Browned" during the Civil War era:
Slaves were also the chink in the Confederacy's armor. By 1861, many had learned about John Brown, and how he had died for them. They also knew about Abraham Lincoln, and that their masters feared he would "John Brown" them. ...
The Confederate government had counted on having six hundred thousand men under arms by July 1861. However, fear of being "John Browned" gripped the Southland. So, when the war began, governors kept state-owned weapons from the army. Fearing "disturbances among the blacks," they held these in reserve or gave them to local militia units. As a result, generals sent two hundred thousand volunteers home because they had no weapons for them.
I haven't been able to find any older instances where "John Browned" is used in this way, however, and in any case the meaning of the colloquial expression "I'll be John Browned" does not have the sense "I'll be attacked in a slave revolt."
answered Feb 7, 2015 at 3:00
Per Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang edited by Grant Barrett (Oxford University Press, 2004), it refers to a hanged abolitionist and is an alternative for 'damned'.
This is almost definitely a regional phrase.
I live in Lawrence, Kansas, where John Brown was active and is a local cult hero. His face appears in pictures in bars, paintings in most prominent buildings, and plastered on t-shirts and bumper stickers. I have never heard this phrase in my life.
Having grown up in North Carolina, I was familiar with the phrase, "John Brown It". My mother never uttered a curse word to my knowledge and scolded my father when he used the Lord's name in vain. If she was extremely angry, she would let you know it by uttering, "John Brown It." Believe you me, this got our attention.
"Well I'll be John Brown" is quite simply a traditional Southern phrase for someone who has been 'pleasantly surprised', someone in 'amazement', or someone who is in mild shock about being incorrect.
If you know the true history of John Brown, you would understand that he was convinced that he was called by God to forcibly kill anyone that was pro-slavery. Yet in the very short time he had started his mission, his men were all killed and it all came to a swift ending. He was convinced he was right! Simply means surprised or amazed, that is why the phrase is used.
It has nothing to do with hatred of John Brown, nor racism, or hangings.
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2Please read www.yale.edu/glc/john-brown/stauffer-abstract.pdf As always when dealing with the history of The South, things get complicated, not to mention emotionally charged. Suggesting that there is a "true history of John Brown" is to attempt to channel thinking into very specific patterns, not all of which are true. Jul 15, 2015 at 3:08
It is correct in that stating, "I'll be John Brown" is not at all similar to saying "I'll be attacked in a slave revolt"
Around the time of John Browns hanging (1859) mid 19th century, use of the phrase, "I'll be John Browned" would be the equivalent of stating, "I'll be hanged or damned", which at that time would be predominantly used by persons in fear of being hanged for their anti-slavery views. Thus the -ed, added to Browns name making a reference to a past tense or deceased/hanged John Brown.
This fear of being hanged has long been removed from the minds of Americans who are against slavery (Northern or Southern). Thus, attempts at interpretation of the currently used phrase, "I'll be John Brown" (note the lack of -ed on Brown's last name); these references are grossly outdated.
Therefore, it is my humble opinion, that it is incorrect to interpret "well I'll be John Brown" currently to "I'll be hanged".
The current most common use/interpretation in the South, would be the equivalent of saying, "well how about that", "well isn't that amazing", or "well isn't that a shock". This has been the dominant interpretation for decades in the South.
Again, the history does play a roll in this phrase. Historical records are plentiful with people who were hanged for crimes committed. John Brown was not only very popular for being hanged after his very short lived rampage against pro-slavery individuals (he was later executed for treason), but John Brown became most famous for his 'religious' or 'God called obsession' against slavery. Most importantly of which, his thinking that God was going to specifically use him to free all the slaves in a most miraculous way by leading a religious or holy war with he himself as the leader and savior of all the slaves in America. John Brown, quite simply was very strongly convinced that God had called him to use violence. He believed God wanted him to take up swords and arms against all slave owners and all other pro slavery persons and to free all slaves in this violent manner. This is accurate by all accounts and all historical references of John Brown reveal a man who was convinced that he was right, but it turned out that in the end he was most definitely wrong. Therefore, when someone states "Well I'll be John Brown" this interprets as having the element of surprise (pleasant or unpleasant), shock or shocked, and/or amazed, amazement, etc. when using current terminology. Sometimes you just have to talk to real people,that use the real language, to find the most accurate interpretations of phrases.
I grew up in Mississippi and constantly heard this from my grandparents, aunts and uncles. In stead of swearing or "cussing", would say "Well I'll be John Brown!" I always took it as meaning "Well I'll be damned!" My dad, on the other hand cussed like a sailor...because he was. :-)
