X me no Xs

X me no Xs is a literary device common in literature from the 16th to the 18th centuries, in which the speaker is asking that something not be provided to him, often as a pun incorporating the use of a particular word both as a verb and as a noun.

Quotes

 * But me no buts.
 * Susanna Centlivre, The Busie Body (1709); Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape (1730), act ii, scene 2. Also in Aaron Hill, Snake in the Grass, sc. 1.


 * Cause me no causes.
 * Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625), act i, scene 3.


 * Cook me no cooks.
 * Felix Benguiat, Ugly Hilda (1909), p. 515.


 * Clerk me no clerks.
 * Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1819), chapter xx.


 * Diamond me no diamonds! prize me no prizes!
 * Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King (c. 1842–1885).


 * End me no ends.
 * Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625), act v, scene 1.


 * Fool me no fools.
 * Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Last Days of Pompeii (1834), book iii, chapter vi.


 * Front me no fronts.
 * John Ford, The Lady's Trial (1638), act ii, scene 1.


 * Gift me no Gifts; I have none for thee.
 * Theocritus, The Idylls (c. 3rd century BC), translated by James Henry Hallard (1901), p. 104. Use of this literary device was likely introduced by the translator; an earlier translation by C.S. Calvery has the same character, Amycus, responding to Polydeuces' offer to "[v]isit our land, take gifts from us, and go" by saying "I seek naught from thee and can naught bestow".


 * Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle.
 * William Shakespeare, Richard II. (1595), act ii, scene 3.


 * Madam me no madam.
 * John Dryden, The Wild Gallant (1663), act ii, scene 2.


 * Map me no maps.
 * Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape (1730), act i, scene 5.


 * Midas me no Midas.
 * John Dryden, The Wild Gallant (1663), act ii, scene 1.


 * O me no O's.
 * Ben Jonson, The Case Is Altered (c. 1609), act v, scene 1.


 * Parish me no parishes.
 * George Peele, The Old Wives' Tale (c. 1595).


 * Petition me no petitions.
 * Henry Fielding, Tom Thumb (1730), act i, scene 2.


 * Play me no plays.
 * Samuel Foote, The Knights (1748), act ii.


 * Plot me no plots.
 * Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1611), act ii, scene 5.


 * Poem me no poems.
 * Rose Macaulay, quoted in Poetry Review (Autumn 1963).


 * Thank me no thanks, nor proud me no prouds.
 * William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1597), act iii, scene 5.


 * Tut me no tuts.
 * James Thurber, The White Deer (1945), chapter 6, p. 89.


 * Virgin me no virgins.
 * Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625), act iii, scene 2.


 * Vow me no vows.
 * Beaumont and Fletcher, Wit Without Money (1614), act iv, scene 4.


 * Cody me no Codys about America.
 * Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody (1972), Part Three, p. 427.


 * Tennessee me no Tennessees.
 * Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody (1972), Part Three, p. 427.

Lyrics

 * Matchmaker, matchmaker, plan me no plans. I'm in no rush. maybe I've learned Playing with matches a girl can get burned. So bring me no ring, groom me no groom, Find me no find, catch me no catch. Unless he's a matchless match!
 * "Matchmaker", Fiddler on the Roof (1964). These lyrics appear at the end of the song, countering the protagonist's original (uninformed) plea that the matchmaker "find me a find, catch me a catch".