don't tread on me

Etymology
, from John 20:17 in the Bible. The phrase was initially rendered as, without apostrophe, as was then an accepted contraction of. In some later versions, due to standards for apostrophes becoming more strict since the 18th century, the first word was changed to.

Phrase

 * 1) A slogan, associated during the American Revolutionary War with freedom from British rule, and in more recent years with libertarianism and anti-government sentiments.