Ni por esas ni por esotras, sin ton ni son. Origin, spreading, lexicographical authority

Abstract

This article analyzes the genesis and evolution of two adverbial phrases whose textual life began in the Golden Age Spanish and which show the same structure, that of the so-called irreversible binomials.  The diachronic study of the expressions ni por esas ni por esotras y sin ton ni son contributes to the description of their individual history but also provides relevant knowledge of the peculiarities of the binomial category. Dictionaries of several periods comprise information on the meaning and functional use of these units that does not always correspond to the data found in textual sources.