|
Although it may actually have originated elsewhere, this phrase is popularly associated with the off-screen exploits of Errol Flynn, the famous actor and notorious scamp. British word mandarin Michael Quinion suggests the original phrase was unconnected with the actor and cites this 1942 quote from the San Francisco Examiner: "Answer these questions correctly and your name is Flynn, meaning you're in, provided you have two left feet and the written consent of your parents." And the intriguing resource Alt-English-Usage also mentions the phrase could have
originated with Edward Joseph "Boss" Flynn, an influential campaign manager during the FDR administration who was an acknowledged genius at shepherding his candidates into office. Get the attention of Boss Flynn, and you'd be in. Whatever its origin, the phrase became permanently associated with Errol after his infamous rape trial. Urban Legends notes that in 1942, the dashing Australian-born actor (real name Leslie Thomson) was charged with having sexual intercourse with two underage girls. An all-female jury eventually acquitted him, but reportedly, he had an airplane fueled and ready to take him out of the country if the verdict had turned against
him. And finally, Merriam-Webster's Word for the Wise mentions that the earliest known use of the phrase alludes to Flynn's dexterity in front of the camera, not necessarily behind it. The trial changed all of that.
|
