aaw@pyuxss.UUCP (Aaron Werman) (06/25/84)
my SO and I have independently been using the expression
'meanwhile, back at the ranch' to signal an abrupt change of topic.
Etymological curiousity requires my asking what is the origin of this
expression. I would be interested to learn if it is used outside
our *folie a` deux*
{harpo,houxm,ihnp4}!pyuxss!aaw
Aaron Wermanwetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (06/25/84)
"Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." comes from the old cowboy tv shows where a narrator was used to shift scenes and generally help the plot along. While the Hero was out doing Hero things, the plot was being thickened back at the ranch. In order that the viewer did not lose the thread of this mini dramas, the narrator would step in to explain where we were in the scheme of things. Now that I think of it, this device even goes back further to the radio days of the Lone Ranger and Red Ryder. Yes, that's it, the narrator kept the plot going with this little device. Early tv westerns used the same thing, but it soon died out. Other plot gluers were Meanwhile, back at the saloon... or back at the Sheriffs office... or back in town... or back at the mine ... and on and on. I have used it for years and years. The use of this phrase to change venue in a subject is not really new. T. C. Wheeler