Richard Curland For The Bulletin| The Bulletin
The 1930s was the fourth decade of the 20th century and it had a plethora of linguistic slang. Some of those words and phrases have remained with us while others have “died on the vine.”
Here are some selected choices of the period.
“Okies” were families who were leaving the Dust Bowl during that bleak time. “Apple” referred to any big city during that decade. In 1931 in the “Big Apple,” the EmpireStateBuilding was erected and wore the title as “The World’s TallestBuilding.” The “big house,” the “cooler,” the “pen,” the “slammer,” the “rock,” the “pokey” and the “hoosegow” emerged during the decade as meaning a prison, and they are still used today.
A “sweet patootie,” a “looker,” a “tomato,” and a “hot mama” all meant a good-looking woman. A female singer was known as a “canary,” and a vocalist, male or female, who substituted nonsense syllables for words was known as a “scat singer.” Harry Mills, Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Lena Horne were among the best singers who could “scat.” Members of a swing band were called “cats.”
The Thompson submachine gun was also known as a “chopper” or “Tommy gun.” “Dukes,” “paws” and “meat hooks” were other names for hands. A “carny” was a person employed by a carnival. A “coupler” locked railroad cars and locomotives together. A “bull” or “cinder dick” was a railroad yard security officer.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt kept the public informed with his iconic and historic fireside chats. One was delivered from ColumbiaLake. If one received the “low down” he or she got all the information. “Making tracks” meant taking a quick exit. “Making whoopie” meant making love, popularized by entertainer Eddie Cantor. “Ring-a-ding-ding” was often used to indicate having a good time at a party. “Shake a leg” was an imperative meaning “hurry up.” A “snitch” was a person who informs the authorities. The term was effectively used in the film “Scent of A Woman.” A “flivver” was a car, and a “licorice stick” was a clarinet.
The Great Depression was a major calamity that spawned the emergence of specific regimes such as the Third Reich. To help combat that gigantic economic slump, the New Deal was created. There were a number of major disasters in the decade including the fire and destruction of the German dirigible the Hindenburg in 1937, the New England Hurricane of 1938, the aforementioned severe dust storms from 1930 to 1936, which was the inspiration for the book and film, “The Grapes of Wrath,” and the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
One of the most famous women identified in that decade was aviatrix Amelia Earhart, noted for her record-breaking flights and her disappearance in 1937. She was married in Noank to George Putnam on Feb. 7, 1931. Technological advances in the decade included frozen foods, the first color cartoon film, the first all-talking, all-color wide-screen movie, Radar, scotch tape, the first long-playing record, the first color film by Eastman Kodak, FM radio, and the first full-length feature cartoon, Disney’s “Snow White.”
Historically Speaking, which appears Sundays, presents short historical stories written by Richard Curland of the Norwich Historical Society in cooperation with society president Bill Champagne. Call the society at (860) 886-1776.
