"Hep" vs. "Hip"

[Jonathan Lighter]

How could I have doubted you, Wilson ?  (Rhetorical question only.)

  JL

Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: "Hep" vs. "Hip"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Absolutely 100% certain, in this case. It was in November, 1959, at
Fort Devens, MA, otherwise known as the "armpit of the Army," the
first instance of this type of phrase that I ever heard. "How ADJ is
that?!" was the catchphrase of Gregor Bruce McCurdy. Greg also was the
first - and last - person that I ever heard use "fine baby" as slang
for "attractive woman." And he was the person who asked me to teach
him how to say "cool"' a la mode noire. He was stone into le jazz cool
and his favorite sound was "Joy Spring," by Clifford Brown & Max
Roach. Though I was familiar with their names, I had never heard or
even heard *of* this piece of music. It was one of those annoying
"Damn! How is this white motherfucker hipper than I am?" moments.

-Wilson

On 1/1/07, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
> Subject: Re: "Hep" vs. "Hip"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Wilson, are you 99.44% sure about "How ADJ is that?"
>
> It's become very prominent over the past few years (esp.in "How cool is that?"), but I can't say that I noticed it any earlier.
>
> JL
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: "Hep" vs. "Hip"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Whoa! How lame is that?
>
> When I was in the Army, "how ADJ is that?!" was quite a popular
> catchphrase among my white colleagues, one of whom, I'm fairly certain
> - well, as certain as anyone can be WRT this sort of thing - gave the
> English-speaking world the still-used catchphrase, "Tell me about it!"
> in the meaning, "Don't tell me about it, because I already understand
> completely." If the phrase can be dated to any time prior to 1961,
> then I'm more than willing to admit that I've been "living in a
> dream," i.e. that I don't know what I'm talking about.
>
> Yes, I realize that even a lack of earlier cites is not proof of my
> claim. But, as the Canadians say, "What the hell, eh?" It's all in
> good fun.
>
> BTW, speaking of Canada, what happened with the thread re the proper
> pronunciation of "Toronto"? Did anyone contact our colleague, Geoff
> Nathan. about it? He's the one who taught me how to say it: "Tronna,"
> IIRC. We were floormates at the LSA's institute at Buffalo in 1971.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 12/23/06, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: Jonathan Lighter
> > Subject: Re: "Hep" vs. "Hip"
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I took a Black Literature class in the early '70s. Our African-American professor - can't think of his name just now, but I believe he was from upstate N.Y. - used "hep" rather frequently.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > Wilson Gray wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: Wilson Gray
> > Subject: "Hep" vs. "Hip"
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > As I was reading through a list of the Christmas sounds (here =
> > "music") of my lost youth, I came across
> >
> > 1955-ROCKIN' 'N' ROLLIN' WITH SANTA CLAUS-The Hepsters
> >
> > 19_55_?! The _Hep_sters?!
> >
> > I would have bet money, i.e. as opposed to merely using the phrase, "I
> > bet you," that "hep" in all its forms had died out before 1950!
> >
> > One never knows, do one?
> >
> > -Wilson
> > --
> > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> > come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> > -----
> > -Sam'l Clemens
> >
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>
> --
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -----
> -Sam'l Clemens
>
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Sam'l Clemens

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