# Meaning of phrase "Go peddle your papers" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665 "2006-04-28T22:33:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/1 "2006-04-28T22:33:21Z")
I’ve heard the phrase “Go Peddle Your Papers” on reruns of “The Bob Newhart Show” (actually I remember the episode I heard it for the first time when it was originally aired). No one has been able to tell me what this means. Except some people have told me that the phrase has been around a while, although not around now. Any ideas? I apologize if this is more Cafe Society than GQ. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/2 "2006-04-28T22:36:08Z")
My _guess_ is it’s a reference to the street-working newspaper boys of old. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/3 "2006-04-28T22:38:48Z")
I don’t know for sure, but this is what I presume: I think the implication is that the recipient of this barb is being called a paperboy. That is, someone who is either too young and inexperienced to have an opinion of any value, or too stupid/inept/whatever to get a ‘real job’. ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/4 "2006-04-28T22:44:22Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > I’ve heard the phrase “Go Peddle Your Papers” on reruns of “The Bob Newhart Show” (actually I remember the episode I heard it for the first time when it was originally aired). > > No one has been able to tell me what this means. Except some people have told me that the phrase has been around a while, although not around now. > > Any ideas? Just a note - I think the phrase would more commonly (or more accurately) be “Go peddle your papers _elsewhere_”. I have nothing more to add, except that it’s not synonymous with “Come, stay a while”. –KidScruffy ---
**Author:** ![Ezstrete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ea924/32.png) [@Ezstrete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ezstrete)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/5 "2006-04-28T23:31:01Z")
> [@KidScruffy](#): > > Just a note - I think the phrase would more commonly (or more accurately) be “Go peddle your papers _elsewhere_”. I have nothing more to add, except that it’s not synonymous with “Come, stay a while”. > > –KidScruffy Years ago[circa 1920] it meant to take the line-of bull that some one was peddling and waste someone else’s time-----------then it became merely a suggestion that someone should just go away snd be a pest somewhere else. If the person was obviously fibbing the companion phrase was,“tie that little bull outside”. That was in the days when newspapers often put out’extras’ that newsboys sold street- by- street calling out,“Extra,extra-read all aout it~!”. I sold a loy of papers that way! EZ ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/6 "2006-04-28T23:56:38Z")
**EZ**. I’m proud of you. You nailed it about as good as possible. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-phrase-go-peddle-your-papers/354665/7 "2006-04-28T23:58:07Z")
Thanks. Now I can add this to my list of puzzling insults to give to people. The person at the other end has to think what it means and then you get time to escape! 😉