Tell it to the Marines

'"Tell it to the Marines' is a catchphrase, originally with reference to Britain's Royal Marines, connoting that the person addressed is not to be believed ("tell it to the marines because the sailors won't believe you").

History

It is said to have originated with King Charles II of Great Britain making the remark to Samuel Pepys in which the King is allegedly reported to have made the remark about the Marines; however that tale was believed to have been a hoax by William Price Drury, a novelist who was a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Marine Light Infantry. The phrase was related in a preface of a 1904 collection of Drury's stories The Tadpole of the Archangel. Drury admitted it was a fabrication.^[1]

The earliest reference found is in John Davis's The Post Captain, or the Wooden Walls Well Manned Comprehending a View of Naval Society and Manners published in 1804.^[2] "He may tell that to the marines, but the sailors will not believe him"

In popular culture

The phrase has appeared in common usage and many books and films, with one film titled Tell It to the Marines.

In the United States the phrase was featured on a World War I recruiting poster and in the serial G-Men vs the Black Dragon it is a captured American agent's response to a sneering Japanese villain's account of Axis victories.

In a 1972 episode of Doctor Who ("Day of the Daleks"), the phrase was used in order to show that the Doctor was in trouble.

References

^ p.103 Boller, Paul F. & George, John H. They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Leading Attributions 1989 Oxford University Press
^ http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/tell-it-to-the-marines.html

[1] .103 Boller, Paul F. & George, John H. They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Leading Attributions 1989 Oxford University Press

[2] ttp://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/tell-it-to-the-marines.html

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