Two little-known NYC papers: slang troves?

Mullins, Bill Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL
Wed Sep 28 21:56:00 UTC 2005


>
> _Broadway Brevities_
> http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/programs/AHCS/cultureofcities/galler
> y4/front.html
>
> and its possibly raunchier imitator _New Broadway Brevities_,
> were notorious scandal sheets of the 1920s and '30s.
>
> I doubt if these have been scanned into any database, or are
> even on microfilm, but it would be worth keeping an eye out for them.

It looks like they would provide some real grist for the slang mill.

>From this gallery
http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/programs/AHCS/cultureofcities/gallery4/index.h
tml

We can see the 28 Dec 1931 issue (the second one pictured with any
significant text).

"Hotchacha" jumps off the page (it appears to be an ongoing feature),
and the OED only has 1932/1933 for "hotcha" (doesn't list "hotchacha").

The 29 Aug 1932 has "John Q. Bankroll" buried in the text (2nd
paragraph), but OED doesn't have anything on "John Q" until 1937 for
"John Q. Public".

The 26 Sep 1932 issue features ""Life of Fanny Hill" in Modern
Slanguage".

"Miners Hot Holes'," Brevities, 1932 October 10, p. 1 col 1.
"Big business has copped itself a new job.  It is putting the joy house
industry in step with progress." [OED has 1940 for "joy house"] ["love
hut" is in the next paragraph]

"Gals Yank Chumps," Brevities, 1932 Oct 17, p. 1 col 1.
"The good-time Charlies are either a bunch of pimply kids with the
week's twelve-dollar paycheck freshly cashed, or a bunch of eggs so old
they're gone slightly sour, generally speaking."  [OED has 1957 for
"Good Time Charlie", in the entry for "good time"]

The 20 July 1933 issue has "Caponeville" for Chicago in a headline.



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