Does anyone know where this line was first uttered cynically? Is it an internet thing or did it originate in a book or TV show?
I’ve never heard it in my life, when is it commonly used?
Urban Dictionary has a good description.
At my home it was used recently- Hubby: Wow, Maria is leaving Arnold after 25 years?
Son: And nothing of value was lost.
Definitely predates the Internet as we know it today. I remember it being used in an episode of “The Critic” when a Broadway theatre showing “Cats” was destroyed. It had already been around a while at that time (1994-1995)
I think it could have something to do with the scene in Henry V, just after the “Once more into the breach” scene, where King Hal is counting all the French who were killed in the battle and, ignoring the foot soldiers, camp boys and other less-than-artistocratic fighters, tells his cheering troops that on the english side “None else of name” were lost.
I seem to remember the Branagh film did a montage of all the dead over that line.
Some better Shakespearean scholar may have a better take on it.
I remember I once used a similar response at work. We had to file a special report if there was any property damage over a thousand dollars. There was a vehicle accident where a truck went off the road and got banged up. I was calling my boss and telling him about it. After finding out that nobody was injured, he asked if I though it was going to be over a thousand dollars of damage. I told him we could have totaled the truck and it wouldn’t have been a thousand dollars of damage.
I’m not sure what you mean by “cynically” in this case, but I recall hearing a joke that goes something like:
“The city of Dubuque, Iowa was leveled by a tornado yesterday. Damage was esimated at 43 dollars and 17 cents.”
in viarious forms over the years. Not sure where it originated, though.
It reminds me of the quote from Huckleberry Finn:
“It warn’t the grounding—that didn’t keep us back but a little. We blowed out a cylinder-head.”
“Good gracious! anybody hurt?”
“No’m. Killed a nigger.”
“Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt.”