dont tread on me

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English

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Etymology

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The phrase was initially rendered as dont tread on me, without apostrophe, as dont was then an accepted contraction of do not. In some later versions, due to standards for apostrophes becoming more strict since the 18th century, the first word was changed to don't.

Phrase

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dont tread on me

  1. Archaic spelling of don't tread on me.
    • 1929, West Virginia, West Virginia Blue Book:
      For the first flag adopted for an armed force raised for the Independence was a rattlesnake with the slogan, "Dont Tread on Me."
    • 2008 September 1, Thomas J Cutler, NavCivGuide: A Handbook for Civilians in the United States Navy, Naval Institute Press, →ISBN:
      Twice in the Navy's history, the union jack has been replaced by a different flag that has been known by several names: “First Navy Jack,” “Navy Jack,” the “Dont Tread on Me” flag, and sometimes “the rattlesnake flag.”
    • 2017 December 30, Nathan Birr, Fire & Ice, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 98:
      Jake browsed for five minutes and spent another two debating between a “Dont Tread on Me” T-shirt that mimicked the popular Gadsden flag showing a coiled snake on a yellow background, and a red hoodie with a “Southern cross” on the back.
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