[Redmen4ever]

EMPTY WAGONS versus EMPTY BARRELS

“empty wagons make the most noise” - 951 google hits

“empty wagon makes the most noise” - 1,250 google hits

“empty barrels make the most noise” - 72,900 google hits

“empty barrel makes the most noise” - 39,300 google hits

[Milton Miteybad]

It's not too surprising that "empty barrel(s)" might yield more Google hits, inasmuch as that misquoted version of the country aphorism has dominated the new cycle for the past 36 hours. In view thereof, I think we can discard the Google analysis as valueless in this context.

Both versions appear to be variations on a quotation attributed to Plato: “An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”

Since a wagon and a barrel are both a type of "vessel," I suppose either could be considered to echo the original thought.

Of course, the concept of an empty wagon rolling down a rutted dirt road is probably something more people are familiar with (from TV westerns, if not from personal experience), which is why the "wagon" version became the more commonly used one. Even children who have played with toy wagons can readily attest to the fact that the wagon makes more noise when empty than it does when another child is riding in it. In contrast to the "wagon" example, however, most people haven't rolled an empty barrel around, so they probably wouldn't be familiar with whether it made more noise than a full barrel.

All of which is largely beside the point, which is that General Kelly is correct in saying that the Congresswoman in question is an empty vessel, devoid of content, but which still makes a lot of noise.