The phrase "__X___" can be heard referenced in the Hal Roach film "Asleep in the Feet" (1932), starring ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd. In 1935, Henry "Red" Allen recorded "Get Rhythm in Your Feet and Music in Your Soul" which included the lyric, "If satan starts to hound you, commence to ___X___. Get rhythm in your feet..." etc. This lyric was written by the prolific Tin Pan Alley composer J. Russel Robinson with Bill Livingston. It is unlikely that they created the phrase for this application. It was presumably current with its musical meaning in popular culture at the time, at least in New York City. Allen's recording was a "race" record on the Vocalion label, but the catchy tune was quickly covered by white musicians, notably Benny Goodman, no doubt giving the term currency throughout the US by the end of 1935.
What is the phrase __X__
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