Antedating of Bazooka(the instrument) 1918
Douglas G. Wilson
douglas at NB.NET
Sun Mar 25 01:48:37 UTC 2007
>Using Newspaperarchive 17 January 1918, _The Waukeesha(WI) Freeman_ pg
>6, col. 5
>
> Port Royal, S.C.Jan, 15.--U.S. Marines at this station have a new
> invention. It's called a "bazooka." No, it isn't a cannon, nor a flying
> machine, nor a machine gun, but when in operation it will make you "shake
> your feet." The "bazooka" is a simple contrivance, consisting of but two
> pieces of gas pipe and a funnel, but it's secret is in the playing. It
> is said that the Marine Corps Jass Band is the only one in the world that
> boasts of a "bazooka."
>
>
>I 'think' this is the earliest cite for this homemade invention, which has
>thousands of later hits, used in Vaudeville, etc. But I only searched
>Newspaperarchive. Others may find earlier.
Very interesting.
There's a photo of the band, including the bazooka, in a Syracuse paper
from 1919, at N'archive.
It was speculated in 1920 (reasonably, I suppose) that the name was
inspired by "bashi-bazouk".
But ... is the following relevant?
----------
P. G. Wodehouse, _The Swoop_ (1909) [Project Gutenberg] (Ch. 6):
<<"'Ow about not waiting, chaps?" he suggested. "I shouldn't 'arf wonder,
from the look of him, if he wasn't the 'aughty kind of a feller who'd
cleave you to the bazooka for tuppence with his bloomin' falchion. I'm
goin' to 'urry through with my dressing and wait till to-morrow night to
see how he looks. No risks for Willie!">>
----------
By analogy with the usual "cleave [someone] to the
brisket/waist/teeth/etc." I suppose "bazooka" here refers to a body part.
My casual guess would be that it's an alteration of "bosom" (cf. "bazooka"
= "bazoomba" = "bazoom" = "breast"). Any relation to the musical
instrument's name?
-- Doug Wilson
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