Other Slang in Mad Comics

[Baker, John]

In addition to its use of "Bop" slang, Mad comics also contribute a few other notable slang uses.  All ellipses are original, with my comments in brackets.
 
>From issue no. 8 (Dec. 1953 - Jan. 1954):  "Phew!  Dot's a tough chob, knocking on der radiator!  Now maybe dot fershlugginer landlord sends up some heat!"  This is the first use I found of "fershlugginer," usually spelled "furshlugginer" in Mad comics and spelled "ferschlugginer" in HDAS (which has the term from 1955, citing Inside Mad, a reprint collection).  This became a characteristic catchphrase of Mad, one that delighted many readers but mystified others.
 
>From the letters column, Mad Mumblings, in issue no. 10 (Apr. 1954):  ". . . Please tell me what in the world "Furshlugginer" means. - Larry E. Lengle E.M.F.N. - c/o F.P.O., New York, New York".  The editors replied:  "It means the same as Potrzebie."  This is the first use of "Potrzebie" in Mad, where it became even more of a catchphrase; see the Wikipedia article for Potrzebie, which inaccurately says Mad did not use the word until issue 12.  Actually, ferschlugginer means "confounded; darned," according to HDAS, and was appropriately so used in Mad.  Potrzebie is a declined form of the Polish noun "potrzeba," which means "need," according to Wikipedia, although it was essentially used as a nonsense word in Mad.
 
>From a Ripley's Believe It or Not parody (Ripup's Believe It or Don't) in issue no. 23 (May 1955):  "GALUSHA STURDLEY of Poontang, O. is the tallest man in the world."  While this is not an antedating of "poontang," note that in 1955 it could be used in a comic book directed primarily at children.  It may be significant that this was the final issue of Mad as a comic book.  The publisher, faced with public outrage over allegedly improper material in comic books and unable to comply with the new Comics Code, had already decided to cancel its other comic books and to convert Mad to a magazine, in which form it was extremely successful.
 
Finally, from issue no. 21 (Mar. 1955), this dialogue is relevant to the recent discussion of the pronunciation of "chard":
 
<<Mazola [parody of Olive Oyl]:  . . . There's only one thing I can't figure out, Poopeye! . . Why is it that you didn't gain strength when I gave you that last bowl of frozen spinach I had in the refrigerator . . . Hah? . . . Why? . . . Hah? . . . Hah, Hah?  Why?
 
Poopeye [parody of - oh, heck, you know who]:  Elementary!  That was no SPINACH!  That was CHARD!
 
Mazola:  You mean it was charred spinach?
 
Poopeye:  . . . No, it was chard!
 
Mazola:  . . . Spinach?
 
Poopeye:  . . . Chard!
 
Mazola:  . . . Charred spinach?
 
Poopeye:  . . . Chard!
 
Mazola:  . . . Spinach?
 
Poopeye:  . . . Chard!
 
Mazola:  . . . Spinach charred?
 
Poopeye:  . . . No, chard!>>
 
 
John Baker
 
 
 

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