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Topic: Never mind

Not too long ago, we mentioned that the phrase never mind first appeared in print in 1954. A number of alert listeners wrote in to tell us that—although they didn't mind—we might want to check our records again; their books show never mind has a long and established literary history.

A woman who described herself as an old English teacher quoted from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women: "Please, tell the young ladies what I say, and if they don't care to come, why never mind." Another language lover harkened back to William Blake's 1789 The Chimney Sweeper in Songs of Innocence, where one chimney sweep comforted another with "Hush Tom! now never mind it!"

These examples of literary never minding—such as when chimney sweeps and the March sisters are being reassured—are all based on the intransitive sense of mind meaning "to become concerned or troubled"; "feel agitated or angry"; "care"; "worry."

But the never mind that dates back to 1954 is not the quiet counsel shaped by pairing an adverb with a verb; it's the conjunction meaning "let alone" or "much less."

Are your eyes glazing at the talk of word functions, never mind the nuances? Sorry about that, but we thought it was worth clearing up the confusion.

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Dana Carvey is grateful.