# "If you believe that, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795 "2014-09-07T19:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Plutonium\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Plutonium\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Plutonium_Kid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/1 "2014-09-07T19:38:23Z")
I know the inspiration for the phrase. Con men in New York in the early 20th century would “sell” the bridge (as well as other landmarks like Grant’s Tomb) to naive, newly arrived immigrants. But what is the actual first use of the phrase (or one close to it)? I don’t seriously expect that someone will know the literal first use, but I can’t seem to find any example of it before the last couple of decades. Does anybody know what the earliest known use of this phrase was? Or at least an example that appeared before about 1994? I ask because I ran into a guy who claims he coined the phrase while writing an article for an amateur magazine back in the '90’s. Needless to say, I’m a mite suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/2 "2014-09-07T20:03:47Z")
[George C. Parker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker) (1870–1936) ‘sold’ the Brooklyn Bridge several times. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Plutonium\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Plutonium\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Plutonium_Kid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/3 "2014-09-07T20:10:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [George C. Parker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker) (1870–1936) ‘sold’ the Brooklyn Bridge several times. Yes, but that doesn’t answer my question. When was the phrase coined? When did it first start appearing? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/4 "2014-09-07T20:27:19Z")
If you believe your friend, I’ve got this bridge… Check out [this Milwaukee Journal article from 1985.](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19850915&id=PWMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6698,3925503) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/5 "2014-09-07T20:39:57Z")
I recall seeing it used in a Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoon. I saw the cartoon as a kid in the early 1960s. The cartoon probably dated from the early 1950s. And WB wouldn’t have used the cliché unless it was already a cliché. So your friend is full of it. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/6 "2014-09-07T21:07:24Z")
Here’s the ngram for “I’ve got a bridge.” There’s a spike from about 1910 to 1918 (WWI-related??) and then it starts up again shortly before 1960. > **[Google Books Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=I%27ve%2Bgot%2Ba%2Bbridge&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CI%20%27ve%20got%20a%20bridge%3B%2Cc0)** > > Google Books Ngram Viewer Of course this is mentions in published materials; what people are _saying_ may be correlated in some way but won’t be identical. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/7 "2014-09-07T21:20:03Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I recall seeing it used in a Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoon. I saw the cartoon as a kid in the early 1960s. The cartoon probably dated from the early 1950s. And WB wouldn’t have used the cliché unless it was already a cliché. [Bowery Bugs](https://archive.org/details/BoweryBugs), 1949. However, Bugs is trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge and doesn’t use the specific phrase. > [@](#): > > So your friend is full of it. Whenever someone you know claims to be the originator of a well-known phrase, you can pretty much guarantee they are full of it. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/8 "2014-09-07T22:17:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Check out [this Milwaukee Journal article from 1985.](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19850915&id=PWMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6698,3925503) Why? What are we supposed to be looking for? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/9 "2014-09-07T22:19:28Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Here’s the ngram for “I’ve got a bridge.” There’s a spike from about 1910 to 1918 (WWI-related??) and then it starts up again shortly before 1960. > > [Google Ngram Viewer: I've got a bridge](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=I've+got+a+bridge&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CI%20%27ve%20got%20a%20bridge%3B%2Cc0) > > Of course this is mentions in published materials; what people are _saying_ may be correlated in some way but won’t be identical. Meanwhile, “a bridge to sell you” and “got a bridge to” seem to start showing up around 1983-1985. That corresponds with the Milwaukee Journal article above. So my first order guess would be the phrase as such starts showing up in the early 80s and gaining popularity from there. I wonder if **samclem** might have more info. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/10 "2014-09-07T22:25:02Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > Why? What are we supposed to be looking for? Yeah, it would have helped to point out where it was. It’s the fish story, column four, third paragraph: > [@](#): > > Bob Kurz, director of the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame at Hayward, said of Petit’s giant muskie: “It’s a hoax. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/11 "2014-09-07T22:25:50Z")
“Selling the bridge” has a long history in New York. Supposedly going back to the time when some Indians that were just passing through “sold” Manhattan to the Dutch. There just must be something about the area that makes the scam profitable. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/12 "2014-09-07T22:32:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > “Selling the bridge” has a long history in New York. Supposedly going back to the time when some Indians that were just passing through “sold” Manhattan to the Dutch. > > There just must be something about the area that makes the scam profitable. The thread’s not about the incidents, but the origin of the phrase based on the scams. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/13 "2014-09-07T22:52:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, it would have helped to point out where it was. It’s the fish story, column four, third paragraph: Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/14 "2014-09-07T23:40:16Z")
Newspaper column from June 1984 > [@](#): > > As the saying goes, "if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you. That’s just my first attempt, and notice the writer says–“As the saying goes,” so she wasn’t claiming authorship, but rather that it was common and well known. I’ll do more later. Tell your friend that if anyone believes his story, _you’ve_ got a bridge you’d like to sell them. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/15 "2014-09-07T23:44:30Z")
There seems to be a similar saying, possibly inspired by the “bridge” saying. “If you believe that, I’ve got some swamp land in Florida I’d like to sell you.” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/16 "2014-09-07T23:53:33Z")
1979, column by Jeff Greenfield, _Chicago Tribune._ > [@](#): > > Now friends, if you believe this, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to talk to you about. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/17 "2014-09-07T23:58:25Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > There seems to be a similar saying, possibly inspired by the “bridge” saying. > > “If you believe that, I’ve got some swamp land in Florida I’d like to sell you.” [Swampland in Florida](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampland_in_Florida)rrrrrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/18 "2014-09-08T00:01:37Z")
your friend won’t go for swampland. you’ll have to be willing to sell him your toll road, it has a quicker payback. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/19 "2014-09-08T00:23:45Z")
Central Park is a nice piece of property, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795/20 "2014-09-08T00:30:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [George C. Parker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker) (1870–1936) ‘sold’ the Brooklyn Bridge several times. Incidentally, it hasn’t been confirmed that this particular swindle really took place, though it may have. [Cite](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3039/did-someone-really-sell-the-brooklyn-bridge). [Discussion](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=425878). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-believe-that-ive-got-a-bridge-id-like-to-sell-you/697795.md?page=2)