A new word?

[Jonathan Lighter]

OK, here's the string: http://www.smokey-stover.com/nolaughmatter.html

  The year: 1936.

  JL



Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: A new word?
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Yes, that part I do remember. But I had forgotten about the string
tying the hat to his nose.

-Wilson

On 8/19/06, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
> Subject: Re: A new word?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> But do you remember that the visor was hinged ?
>
> JL
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: A new word?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> That's right! I remember that backwards fireman's hat, too.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 8/18/06, sagehen wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: sagehen
> > Subject: Re: A new word?
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > >Wilson reminisces:
> > > >>>>>
> > >
> > >Probably the late '50's, Mark. [1] I remember Smokey from the '40's. He
> > >was around During The War.
> > >
> > >Do you have any idea what the point of that strip was? [2] I understood
> > >nothing, though, clearly, the strip was memorable.
> > >
> > >NOTARY SOJAC [3] , not to mention 1506 NIX NIX. [4]
> > >
> > > <<<<<
> > >1. Late 50s works. I remember writing "foo" with my finger on a
> > >winter-fogged window, and my grandmother's over-the-top reaction. It turned
> > >out she thought I was writing another word beginning with the same letter.
> > >... And that places it, almost certainly, late 50s.
> > >
> > >2. No idea. Lots of weird puns and weirdness in general, which I
> > >appreciated without always understanding.
> > >
> > >3. Remember that one! But it was only later that I learned what "notary
> > >public" meant.
> > >
> > >4. That one I don't recall.
> > >
> > >-- Mark
> > >[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Ah, yes! What WAS it all about? Since it may have been my reference to SS
> > that brought this thread to life, I should admit that I found it pretty
> > opaque, too, at the time. It was funny, madcap, a little like Mad Magazine
> > of later days, and with a kind of Rube Goldberg flavor to it. Didn't
> > Smokey wear his fireman's hat backwards with a string tying it to his nose?
> > A premonition of the reversed ball caps of the '80s &
> > '90s?
> > I think it was around even before the War.
> > AM
> >
> > ~@:> ~@:> ~@:> ~@:>
> >
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>
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--
Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have
found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be
imposed upon them.

Frederick Douglass

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