Etymology of "broad" = [approx.] "gal"

[George Thompson]

did the number of broadway shows (and
> Broadway actresses, and aspiring actresses) peak around that time?

Well, the Ziegfeld Follies began its run of annual productions in 1907, featuring naked or near-naked beauties, as well as the major vaudeville stars of the day: W. C. Fields, Ed Wynn, Fannie Brice, and especially Bert Williams.  Ziegfeld's slogan was "Glorifying the American Girl".  George White's Scandals began in 1919; like Ziegfeld, he worked with Gershwin and other major popular composers.   Earl Carroll's Vanities began in 1923; he was described as "selling gutter humor and naked female flesh to morons".  Ziegfeld may have had other imitators before White.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: Marc Velasco <marcjvelasco at GMAIL.COM>
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2008 9:16 pm
Subject: Re: Etymology of "broad" = [approx.] "gal"
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU


> I think the 'Broadway girl' idea has some merit.  Also consider that in
> 1900-1920, it was before the movie really came to the fore, and so most
> entertainment was still live.   did the number of broadway shows (and
> Broadway actresses, and aspiring actresses) peak around that time?  I've
> looked (briefly) for this historical data, and found none.
>
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> On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 7:37 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: Etymology of "broad" = [approx.] "gal"
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Hmmm. Interesting.  So "broad' might be a shortening of "Broadway
> girl." =
> >  If so, there should be mention somewhere of "Broadway girl(s), or =
> > 'broad(s)' for short"  or perhaps "broad" specifically in reference
> to a =
> > Broadway girl.  Can either such comment be located?
> > =20
> > Gerald Cohen
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > Original message from American Dialect Society on behalf of Douglas
> G. =
> > Wilson, Thu 6/26/2008 5:54 PM
> >
> > I have another candidate etymon. I don't know whether anybody's
> > suggested it before.
> >
> > It is found in periodicals of the early 20th century, but here is an
> > excerpt from a recent book which describes (some) the apparently
> > relevant milieu (New York, 1900-1920).
> >
> > Can y'all spot the candidate?
> >
> > ----------
> >
> > Katie N. Johnson, _Sisters in Sin: Brothel Drama in America, 1900-1920_
> > (Cambridge, 2006): p. 22:
> >
> > //Early twentieth-century American popular culture was smitten with
> the
> > figure of the actress. Countless novels, short stories, articles, and
> > plays about actresses at the turn of the century reveal a cultural
> > fascination with a purportedly champagne-drinking, lobster-eating, and
> > sexually naughty Broadway girl. .... / Many dramas on the New York stage
> > at the turn of the twentieth century featured a Broadway girl as the
> > main character, especially the ubiquitous "girl" musicals. Particularly
> > popular were _The Dancing Girl_ (1891), _A Gaiety Girl_ (1894), _The
> > Ballet Girl_ (1897), ..., _The Belle of Broadway_ (1902), ....
> > Championed by burlesque producer George Edwardes, these productions
> > featured the erotic spectacle of dancing, scantily-clad women known
> as
> > the "girl chorus." Representations of the Broadway girl were obsessed
> > with objectifying her sexuality.//
> >
> > ----------
> >
> > Candidate number 6, at least!
> >
> > Note that I am not making any extravagant claim ... just another
> > candidate .... I like it, though, on brief acquaintance.
> >
> > -- Doug Wilson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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