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

[Wilson Gray]

Speaking of "(white) naked or near-nked beauties" in the same breath
as "(black) Bert Williams," there was once a whites-only nudie-bar in
Saint Louis that featured only white-female nudies, yet it had an
all-black house band!

I leave the solution to this conundrum as an exercise for the reader.

-Wilson

On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 1:39 PM, George Thompson
<george.thompson at nyu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Etymology of "broad" = [approx.] "gal"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 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
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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>> >
>>
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