# ''Herd of Turtles'' Regional phrase? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208 "2002-08-16T15:43:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/21 "2013-01-08T20:47:16Z")
My parents (and, as far as I remember, their parents), from North Carolina, Maryland, and Mississippi all used this phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Anunia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Anunia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anunia)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/22 "2013-01-09T01:35:08Z")
I heard my former boss use this phrase, but I always thought he said “I’m off like a hurt old turtle”. I’m from Southwestern Ontario, but English is my second language, hence the mistake. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/23 "2013-01-09T19:04:03Z")
“Certainly I heard of turtles, you dope. Any fool knows a turtle when he sees it.” (Wondering how many people will get this.) ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/24 "2013-01-09T19:09:21Z")
Never herd it. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/25 "2013-01-09T19:57:15Z")
Philadelphia area, 57 years old - never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/26 "2013-01-09T20:00:32Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > “Certainly I heard of turtles, you dope. Any fool knows a turtle when he sees it.” > > (Wondering how many people will get this.) “Look at that bunch of cows.” “Herd.” “Wha?” “Herd of cows.” “Of course I’ve heard of cows!” “No, I mean a cow herd.” “What do I care what a cow heard? I didn’t say anything I shouldn’t have!” I think I read that when I was 6. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/27 "2013-01-09T20:14:18Z")
Isn’t there some guy–Partridge, just thought of it–who has a book on origins of American slang? Maybe we should all chip in and have somebody buy the damn thing already. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/28 "2013-01-09T20:33:59Z")
I saw a herd of turtles yesterday. Must’ve been thirty of them all snuggled together on the shore of a pond, but they weren’t going anywhere. They would be off like themselves into the pond if anyone would approach them, though- I’ve seen that before many times. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/29 "2013-01-09T22:05:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > “Look at that bunch of cows.” > > “Herd.” > > “Wha?” > > “Herd of cows.” > > “Of course I’ve heard of cows!” > > “No, I mean a cow herd.” > > “What do I care what a cow heard? I didn’t say anything I shouldn’t have!” > > I think I read that when I was 6. Isn’t that either Abbot & Costello, 3 Stooges or from one of the Road To movies with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope? [though I am leaning more towards Abbot and Costello] ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/30 "2013-01-09T22:48:09Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > “Certainly I heard of turtles, you dope. Any fool knows a turtle when he sees it.” > > (Wondering how many people will get this.) [I did](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2325/is-it-true-turtles-breathe-through-their-butts). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/31 "2013-01-09T23:40:26Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Isn’t there some guy–Partridge, just thought of it–who has a book on origins of American slang? > > Maybe we should all chip in and have somebody buy the damn thing already. I’ve got a two foot shelf of slang dictionaries. It’s not slang, just more of a phrase. And I already posted that it starts about 1940 or so. I don’t think it’s regional. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/32 "2013-01-09T23:47:36Z")
There’s even [a song about them](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLUHtUHWK4E). (youtube didn’t exist when this thread was started.) ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/33 "2013-01-09T23:51:19Z")
I’ve certainly heard it in Albuquerque a few times. It even gets distorted to “Off like a turd of hurtles!” on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/34 "2013-01-09T23:55:23Z")
**sam** , you da man. I’ll be calling your name out when stuff like this comes up, ok? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/35 "2013-01-10T00:00:49Z")
I live in Texas and I’ve heard that phrase (and used it) since I was in grade school back in the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208/36 "2013-01-10T03:05:25Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > I live in Texas and I’ve heard that phrase (and used it) since I was in grade school back in the 60s. Must be an East Texas thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herd-of-turtles-regional-phrase/124208.md?page=1)