[Ads-l] Stix Nix Hix Pix

[Jonathan Lighter]

Can't believe I misspelled the primal "STICKS" as "STIX."

But then Garson confused me with Larry. That makes me feel better.

JL

On Fri, Jul 14, 2023 at 10:23 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:

> Fun topic, LH. Here are citations for six versions of the headline.
> This is a sampling of close matches. I have not tried to find the
> earliest citations or the widest variety.
>
> 1935: STICKS NIX HICK PIX
> 1936: STIX NIX HICK PIX
> 1937: STIX NIX HIX PIX
> 1949: STIX NIX HICKS PIX
> 1953: STICKS NIX HICKS PICS
> 1955: STICKS NIX HIX PIX
>
> Here are some of the citations.
>
> [ref 1935 July 17, Variety, Volume 119, Number 5, (Front page
> headline), Quote Page 1, Column 1, Variety Inc., New York. (ProQuest)
> [/ref]
>
> [Begin headline]
> STICKS NIX HICK PIX
> NOT INTERESTED IN FARM DRAMA
> [End Headline]
>
> [ref] 1936 October, Word Study, Volume 12, Number 2, Variety of
> Variety, Start Page 2, Quote Page 2 and 3, G. & C. Merriam Company,
> Springfield, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
> https://books.google.com/books?id=gL0_AQAAIAAJ&q=Stix#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Perhaps the most famous instance of Variety’s new brand of English is
> a headline that  appeared a year or so ago: Stix Nix Hick Pix. One may
> puzzle over this for quite a while before discovering that it
> signifies (in Mr. Green’s choice language) that “the bucolic belt
> refuses to patronize mustang mellers, giddy-appers, horse operas, or
> bronc pix [Western films that is], along with other rural themes.” The
> 1929 debacle was translated in Variety as Wall Street Lays an Egg.
> [End excerpt]
>
> [ref 1937 January 6, Variety, Volume 125, Number 4, Radio: With Baker
> Through Darkest Radio Gags by Phil Baker, Quote Page 136, Column 5,
> Variety Inc., New York. (ProQuest) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> And so with utmost reluctance, we pack gag and camera as we prepare to
> leave the beautiful island of Kgnu. And our last thought as we pass
> under the sheltering palms is STIX NIX HIX PIX.
> [End excerpt]
>
> [ref] 1949 April 8, The Bergen Evening Record, Remember?, Quote Page
> 36, Column 2, Hackensack, New Jersey. (ProQuest) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> . . . but all most of us remember of “Variety” is that once, many
> years ago, a copyreader trailing clouds of glory wrote the headline
> “Stix Nix Hicks Pix”.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Fri, Jul 14, 2023 at 11:50 AM Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > WikiP y notes that the celebrated _Variety_ headline was the less
> > euphonious but slightly more idiomatic "Stix Nix Hick Pix" (July 17,
> 1935).
> > See https://variety.com/1935/film/news/sticks-nix-hick-pix-1117922332/
> >
> > It doesn't mention, though, that the paper misquoted itself at least
> twice:
> > on Jan. 6, 1937 and on Dec. 22, 1937:
> >
> >
> https://archive.org/details/variety125-1937-01/page/n135/mode/2up?q=%22stix+nix+hix+pix%22
> >
> > <goog_619687204>
> >
> https://archive.org/details/variety128-1937-12/page/n199/mode/2up?q=%22stix+nix+hix+pix%22
> >
> > So it's quite correct to say that "_Variety_ published the line 'Stix Nix
> > Hix Pix.'"  Heh heh. More importantly, perhaps, I found this out the
> > old-fashioned way. Google Bard and Bing AI both came up short - though
> Bard
> > alone directed me the Variety website.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org