Mullets and mulletheads

[Bob Haas]

Thanks for clearing this up for me, Doug.  I think one reason that I
imagined the "mullet-cut" to resemble more a pageboy was because I recently
read an article (on Salon.com?) that referred to the cut worn by Christopher
Guest's character as a mullet, or that he was mullet-headed.  In any case, I
recall that the context pointed at the hair.  But Nigel Tufnel's hair was
not a mullet-cut as Doug has described below.  The formal front and more
casual--read that longer--back was a very popular cut in the mid and late
80s.  One of its greatest, or most infamous, proponents would have been Huey
Lewis of The News fame.

Are we all on the same page here?  I'm not sure that we are.  I bow to
Doug's expertise in this matter, but I do wish to point out that the Tufnel
coif and the Lewis cut are two very, very different animals.

> From: "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 11:33:42 -0400
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Mullets and mulletheads
>
> I think the mullet is distinct from the pageboy: in particular, the pageboy
> is distinguished by long sides, similar in length to the back, with the
> ears covered (hair experts, correct me!), while the mullet is characterized
> by relatively short sides, with the ears typically uncovered.