Origin of Phrase "No More Mr. Nice Guy"

[RemarkablyInsincere]

While driving to Chiller and listening to The Coop, my friend asked me "Did Alice invent the phrase 'No More Mr. Nice Guy?". My gut feeling was that he didn't... only because the phrase is so prevalent, but I didn't really know and thought it an interesting question actually.

So I did some poking around on the internet, and didn't find all that much... but found this:

NO MORE MISTER NICE GUY - There is a long section in ["Safire's New Political Dictionary" by William Safire (Random House, New York, 1993)] about Mr. Nice Guy, "everybody's friend; a practitioner of the politics of pacification. 'Nice guys finish last' was the dictum of Brooklyn Dodger baseball manager Leo Durocher in the 1940s (although his actual words were 'Nice guys finish seventh' - at that time, last place in the National League), and to a degree this has application to modern politics.'Nice guy,' as in 'Mr. Nice Guy,' connotes weakness. 'No more Mr. Nice Guy' is a warning before retaliation, the end of passive acceptance of unfairness or harsh treatment, the opening pitch of 'Hardball.' This gloves-off warning was popularized in the 1970s. Richard Nixon was asked by the 'Washington Post' in 1977 about his response to Vietnam War protests: 'When was the moment when in effect, you said, 'OK, no more Mr. Nice Guy'?' It may have originated as the punch line of a macabre joke: A group of neo-Nazis sought out Hitler, alive and hiding in the Argentine, to lead them in their quest for world domination. 'OK,' he replied.' but this time - no more Mr. Nice Guy.'

This doesn't definitively establish the origin of the phrase itself, but perhaps it's earliest off shoot use.

And with use "popularized in the 1970s", it seems reasonable to assume Alice's song might have increased it's usage.

[Dave Conway]

Good research. I suspect your assessment is right

[A_MichaelUK]

>And with use "popularized in the 1970s", it seems reasonable to assume Alice's song might have increased it's usage.

I agree, although Sparks had a similarly titled track before Alice Cooper did (it wasn't a hit, though).

[Dannorama]

Well done, RI! I have often wondered the same thing about the phrase "Welcome to my Nightmare." I remember vividly an old boss of mine once using that phrase during a lousy day at work. And I do mean OLD, as in that he was too old to rock and roll, which made his very appropriate use of it that day even more funny and impressive.

I've searched a few times for the source of this phrase or idiom, and I generally wind up finding Alice. Even if this saying was in use before 1975, I must conclude that it was made popular by, and thus can be attributed to, Alice Cooper.

As an example, look here for "nightmare.":
http://www.rosswalker.co.uk/tv_sounds/simpsons_apu.htm

[Baz]

But does a song title , make it a phrase Dan ?
Outside of Alice, i`ve never actually heard anyone use the `phrase` ( your words not mine ) Welcome to my nightmare.
I would have thought a phrase was something that was widely used.

Don`t mean to diss yer Dan, if that happened i`d be sick as a parrot.

[Dannorama]

phrase (fraz) n.
1. A sequence of words intended to have meaning.
a. A characteristic way or mode of expression.
b. A brief, apt, and cogent expression.
2. A word or group of words read or spoken as a unit and separated by pauses or other junctures.
3. Grammar Two or more words in sequence that form a syntactic unit that is less than a complete sentence.

I guess it doen't have to be popular to be a phrase, Brother Baz. FYI, "Sick as a parrot" had better search results!

PS: You'll be more than sick when you see what the postman bringeth.

[Baz]

Been reading Wikipedia have yer .

[Dave Conway]

You scamp!

[steven_crayn]

Interesting (No More) Mr Nice Guys was a B side of Sparks 1972 single release of Wonder Girl that only made 112 in USA, the term was no doubt made more famous by Alice. I have also heard the term Welcome To My Nightmare used by people since who probably were not even aware of the Alice song/album, though others like me use it frequently!

[Dannorama]

Thanks for that, Steven! Nice to know that I'm not the only one!!

Although, you may have to cue up the definition of the word "term" for Baz....