Low-Cut Pants; Drop Dead; Legalized Murder; Slurb; Wonder Stocks

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   Some non-Clementine Paddleford items from the New York Herald Tribune.

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LOW-CUT PANTS

   Low-cut pants are back.  Bringing them back are pop star Britney Spears and my wife, Jennifer Lopez.
   From THIS WEEK magazine, NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 10 December 1961, pg. 20:

_FASHION FIND_
_Current Exposure:_
_The Middle Look_
THE STORY GOES that a French designer visiting the U.S. was so intrigued by the low-slung cowboy pants he saw on American TV that he copied them for the girls back home.  Last summer the girls back home in St. Tropez (see left) went mad for the hip-rider pants.  The word got back to the U.S. and now American girls will be wearing them at all the winter-vacation hotspots.
   Here are some American version: First, a two-piece lime poplin outfit by Mister Pants (about $18).  Next, by Robert Sloan, a short wrap hipster skirt worn over Bikini shorts, and a cropped top ($35).  Then stretch denim low-downers by John Weitz for Compass ($8).  Last, from Robert Sloan, a cotton polka-dot outfit (together, about $26).--JOAN RATTNER

(Any consistent name?  Low-cut pants?  Low-slung cowboys pants?  Hip-rider pants?  Low-downers?--ed.)

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DROP DEAD

   The RHHDAS had "drop dead" from 1970; various fashion cites follow.
   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 18 January 1962, pg. 14, cols. 7-8:

_Fashions From Florence_
   _Not Drop-Dead_
By Eugenia Sheppard
   (...)  For almost the first time in history Simonetta failed to deliver an absolutely drop-dead collection.

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LEGALIZED MURDER

   Boxing.
   There was a death in the ring, and this article from Red Smith in the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 3 April 1962, pg. 28, col. 1:

   The habitually hysterical raise the scream of "legalized murder," and their number includes some who are equally quick to revile any fighter who, unlike Paret, quits under punishment.

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SLURB

   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 15 January 1962, pg. 16, col. 2:

   _Beware the Slurb_
   (...) A non-profit foundation has just been set up in the Golden State to combat the spread of what it calls "slurbs"--"our sloppy, sleazy, slovenly, slipshod semi-cities."

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WONDER STOCKS

   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 25 March 1962, section 5, pg. 3, col. 2:

   Most notable among the stocks that have dropped are the science issues.  Few people seem to call them "wonder" stocks any more along Wall Street.

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GUN-JUMPING

   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 15 March 1962, pg. 32, col. 5:

_SEC Target: "Gun Jumping" Publicity_
   The Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on "gun-jumping" in the sale of new issues. (...)

(I think this dates to the 1930s and the SEC Act, but I can't quickly find the cites--ed.)

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THE TWIST

   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 14 March 1962, letters, pg. 28, col. 4:

_Birth of the Twist_
(...)  The originator of the Twist and the composer of the original song called "The Twist is 27-year-old Hank Ballard.  In 1954 Ballard formed a five-piece band to play dance dates.  Ballard's group had a dance routine in their act.  When in 1958 Ballard recorded the original Twist record, he added a few new steps to the routine.  Patrons of the clubs in which Ballard was appearing began imitating this routine and the Twist was born.

(The writer denies a Peppermint Lounge origin--ed.)

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BINGO!

   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 16 March 1962, pg. 19(?), cols. 7-8:

_The Biography of Bingo_
   Bingo--What is the origin?  As "lotto" it was a child's game, played about 1900.  As "beano" it became a carnival attraction.  The following version of the origin of "bingo" was offered by Edwin S. Lowe, manufacturer of games, and is contained in the commission's report to Gov. Rockefeller:

   "It was in the winter of 1929," Mr. Lowe recalled, "when I finished working in Atlanta, and I was then selling toys in a newly organized company of my own, that I started to drive to Jacksonville to prepare for the next day's work.
   "Somewhere between Atlanta and Jacksonville, I noticed in the distance lights....As I approached, I discovered it was a carnival....It was about 11 o'clock in the evening and the midway was rather deserted, except for one booth where it seemed everybody had congregated.
   "Naturally, I veered toward that booth, and there I noticed a number of people sitting around a horseshoe table, playing a game I never saw before....a game which was crudely marked with a rubber stamp as Beano.
   "...When the game was over...I approached the announcer and I asked him how he discovered this game....He told me that he had discovered the game in Europe, under the name Lotto.  THere were a few men, but I would say nine out of ten were women.  So I decided that I would make up by hand a set of cards...and to put a little interest in the game I went to Woolworth's and I bought a number of prizes, and I invited a number of neighbors and friends to my home, at that time in Brooklyn, to come in and play a game of Beano.
   "During the game, I noticed that one lady just almost had her five numbers filled and she needed one more number...andwhen I announced the number this lady got so excited she hollered out 'B-B-B-B,' and hollered out loud---'BINGO!'  It was quite a bit of excitement there.  There I discovered a better name than Beano...Bingo!"

(See an installment of NAKED GUN.  Leslie Nielson opens a drawer and shouts "BINGO!"  He doesn't discover the evidence, but finds a Bingo card--ed.)