The "soul patch"

[Beverly Flanigan]

Has anyone mentioned Bruce Springsteen's soul patch?

At 11:03 PM 6/19/2005, you wrote:
>On Jun 19, 2005, at 10:06 AM, Orin Hargraves wrote:
>
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       Orin Hargraves <orinkh at CARR.ORG>
>>Subject:      Re: The "soul patch"
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>--------
>>
>>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
>>>Subject:      Re: The "soul patch"
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>-------
>>--
>>. . .
>>>
>>>Here's a differently named, contemporaneous description, courtesy
>>>HDAS:
>>>
>>>1956 E. Hunter _Second Ending_ 342: Dizzy Gillespie...wears a
>>>little beard here under his lip, a sort of a goatee, a little
>>>triangular thing. We call it a "Dizzy kick" in the trade.
>>>
>>>Jesse Sheidlower
>>>OED
>
>That sounds more obscure and, therefore, more hip than "soul patch."
>However, as the author notes, "Dizzy kick" was used by people in the
>trade. For those of us outside the trade, there was no term for it. I
>read "soul patch" somewhere or other, so I have no idea of its actual
>currency.
>
>Speaking of Dizzy kicks/soul patches, how about the one that Frank
>Zappa wore?
>
>-Wilson Gray
>
>
>>The term I learned for this growth, circa 1982 from a Californian, was
>>"womb
>>broom".
>>
>>Orin Hargraves
>
>I learned that as a term for "mustache" ca.1952 in St. Louis. Another
>term in use at the same place at the same time for the same thing was
>"tissy puckler," still the funniest Spoonerism that I've ever heard in
>real life, given that it was spoken  by the same speaker who, seconds
>before, had just introduced us to "womb broom." Also, a man who wore a
>mustache was said to "fight fire with fire."
>
>-Wilson Gray