I’ve heard that expression my whole life (and I’m old), so it was long before Herbie.He's also the first person I heard using the word ask as a noun. "Can quarterback Blah Blah drive for a TD with so little time? That's a big ask." I've since heard two or three other people use ask in the same way. Is it a noun? I don't think so but maybe Herbie is doing it so much he's changing the English language.