not quite the same pattern, sure, but more snappy than the traditional "give him/her/them an inch and he/she/they will take an ell", is this from some film/movie:
"Give a woman an acorn and before you know where you are you're up to your arse in oak trees". "Snappy" ain't necessarily the same as "short".
Leaving aside Mark Twain, one memorable example of Anerican wit is Lincoln's riposte to some Congressman who had challenged him to a duel: "A duel? Why certainly, Sir. What d'ye say to cow-dung thrown at ten paces?"

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