"cake-basket" (1922) = limousine--et al.

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Blouse" may be an intentionally ridiculous alteration of "blow," to leave, very common in that era.

JL

"Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard"
Subject: "cake-basket" (1922) = limousine--et al.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm continuing to look at Barry Popik's earlier post on the 1922 Flapper's Dictionary (actually a glossary). Here are a few more items of interest (not in HDAS):

Barneymugging: Love making. Bean picker: One who patches up trouble and picks up spilled beans. Blouse: To go, as, "Let's blouse." Boob-tickler: Flapper who has to entertain her father's customers from out of town. Blushing Violet: A publicity hound. [G. Cohen: lucus a non lucendo!] Cake-basket: A limousine.

Why is a "cake-basket" a limousine? Why does "to blouse" mean "to go, leave"? And why is "barneymugging" love making?

Would anyone have any ideas?

Gerald Cohen

P. S. My thanks to Doug Wilson and Benjamin Zimmer for their thoughts/information on "dipe"-(ducat)" = "subway (ticket).'


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.