Learn English – Origin of “I kid you not”

etymology

What is the origin of the phrase "I kid you not"?

And, on a related note, is the sentence,

Can't I kid you?

or

Can't I kid with you?

incorrect?

Best Answer

I found a print reference of the phrase as early as 1948 in the International Stereotypers' and Electrotypers' Union Journal, Volume 43:

Boy!, Oh Boy! I said I asked for a headache when I volunteered for this job, and I kid you not when I repeat it.

But it seems it was given a much wider audience as a phrase spoken several times by Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg in Herman Wouk's 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Caine Mutiny:

That's the Navy for you. Pass the buck and get a receipt. Act at discretion, hey? Well that's exactly what I'm going to do, and I kid you not.

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