"Wop" in 1908?

[Jonathan Lighter]

Now I'm wondering if there might be an Italian dialect source of the word.

JL
On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 6:57 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "Wop" in 1908?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 1884 Joshua S. Lawrence, "The Italians of New York," _Ballou's Monthly
> Magazine_  LIX (May) 453: The Italian language...has given rise to the
> nickname applied to the Italian women when speaking of "Guineas," as the
> sounds emitted by them are similar to those made by guinea-fowl.
>
> 1887 _Brooklyn Eagle_ (Sept. 5) 4: Louica...showed fight and called Bianca
> a
> guinea. Bianca drew a revolver and discharged...two shots at Louica.
>
> So people were reduced to wild guesses as early as 1884.
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 6:15 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: "Wop" in 1908?
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I'm stumped by "mattress" too.  Bustles were out by '08, though that
> would
> > have been my guess.  Anything earthier would presumably have been taboo
> > in song from a prominent publisher like Witmark.
> >
> > Other than that, no suggestions.
> >
> > Walking like a "kangaroo" may humorously imply a springy step. Maybe.
> >
> > I wonder if Brockman inspired Chico Marx.  See photo on the cover of the
> > sheet music.
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 5:16 PM, Baker, John M. <JMB at stradley.com>
> wrote:
> >
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> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Baker, John M." <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: "Wop" in 1908?
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >        What do the lyrics mean when they say that his ex-girlfriend has
> > > "got big mattress and a blond-a curl"?  Presumably it's not the literal
> > > meaning of "mattress."  I'm also a bit bemused to see the assertion
> that
> > > she "walk joust like a big Kangaroo," in a context that seems to imply
> > > that this would be an attractive thing to do.
> > >
> > >
> > > John Baker
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf
> > > Of Jonathan Lighter
> > > Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 4:54 PM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: "Wop" in 1908?
> > >
> > > James Brockman's novelty song, "Wop, Wop, Wop!" (N.Y.: Witmark, 1908
> > > [but
> > > actually copyright Feb. 3, 1909]) may have helped popularize the word.
> > >
> > > Acc. to the N.Y. _Eve. Telegram_ (July 29, 1909)  (findable here if
> > > you've
> > > got lots of time:
> > > http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html<
> http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fu
> > > lton.html>
> > > ),
> > > it was "one of the quaintest Italian novelty songs of the many that
> have
> > > been offered to the public the last two or three years. It is by no
> less
> > > a
> > > person than Mr. James Brockman [1886-1967: ed.], the well known writer
> > > and
> > > composer.
> > >
> > > "The story, told in a serio-comic way, tells of the troubles of an
> > > Italian,
> > > whose feelings are injured by the various nicknames given him in this
> > > country, and deals with his efforts in trying to prevent being called
> > > first
> > > 'Dago,' then 'Guinie,' and last of all, 'Wop.'
> > >
> > > "Mr. Brockman has set the words to a tuneful and pleasing little melody
> > > that
> > > makes it a particularly bright song for a part of the social
> programme."
> > >
> > >  Check out the lyrics. They imply that "wop" was something new:
> > >
> http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100004968/pageturner.h
> > > tml?page=2&section=&size=640
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
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