Re: I would love to hear the response...
I was aware of the expression, all I meant was that I had never actually head anybody using it in RealLife ... aside from shortly after the early '90s Seinfeld episode, when the usual answer was along the lines of "shut up, you pretentious ass" or words to that effect, thus causing the meme to die before it had a life.
It seems to have originated in the 1920s, probably in the Jazz world of the Mississippi Valley. I have heard it used on a live recording from that era, but for the life of me I can't remember/find the artist and track. I'm fairly certain I digitized it when I archived my Father's collection for him in the mid 1980s ... Would explain your Motown reference.
Atypically, my Big Dic[0] is fairly useless on the subject.
[0] OED, second dead tree edition.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
