Sockdologizing

They were the last words Abraham Lincoln heard before John Wilkes Booth assassinated him: “Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside-out, old gal—you sockdologizing old man-trap!” Booth knew that this line from the play Our American Cousin would get a big laugh, so he chose that moment to pull the trigger. A Wisconsin listener wants to know the meaning and origin of that curious word, sockdologizing. If you want to read the whole play, which has some silly wordplay and a dopey riddle or two, it’s online at Project Gutenberg. This is part of a complete episode.