[Ads-l] Mae West (life jacket)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Nice work everyone.
Contemporary newspaper reports offered differing opinions regarding
the etymology of the slang term "Mae West". In May 1941 a newspaper in
Glasgow, Scotland stated that "Mae West" was not an instance of
rhyming slang. The article asserted that the term was derived from the
"graceful contours" of Mae West. However, in January 1942 a newspaper
in Bristol, England stated that the term was an example of Cockney
rhyming slang.

Date: May 2, 1941
Newspaper: Daily Record and Mail
Newspaper Location: Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland
Article: They Take Their Own Films Of Air Fights
Author: James McDowall
Quote Page 6, Column 3
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record-mae-west-life-saving-vest/153363727/

[Begin excerpt – please use link above to double-check for errors]
Among the things which fighter pilots decorate are their Mae Wests,
their aircraft and their huts. If you are an Australian you probably
have a kangaroo or a boomerang on the back of your Mae West. "Mae
West," by the way, is not rhyming slang for "life saving vest." The
name arises from the graceful contours which the article gives to the
upper part of the body.
[End excerpt]

Date: January 3, 1942
Newspaper: The Western Daily Press
Newspaper Location: Bristol, Avon, England
Article: Origins: Cockney
Author: T. J.
Quote Page 4, Column 3
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/article/western-daily-press-mae-west-slang/153364131/

[Begin excerpt – please use link above to double-check for errors]
News pictures show soldiers being taught to swim in kit and wearing "
Mae Wests." This latter slang phrase is Cockney rhyming slang for
"vest." Your true Cockney has a rhyming slang word for almost
everything. "Down the apples and pears" means down the stairs. Other
slang phrases are "All afloat" (throat), "Bushel and peck" (neck),
"Salmon and trout " (gout), ...
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, Aug 15, 2024 at 5:12 PM Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> For what it's worth, in 1937, an article by the North American Newspaper Alliance, appearing in the Tacoma Daily Ledger of April 19, 1937, page 3 (newspapers.com), lists the supposed measurements of more than 100 female celebrities.  Two were listed with the largest bust size on the list, of 38 inches, and two more with the second largest bust size - 37.5 inches.  Mae West is one of the top-four busts, listed with a bust of 37.5.  Listed at 5'4", 126 lbs, with measurements of 37.5-29.5-37.5.
>
> Those measurements are consistent with a 1935 article, comparing Mae West's measurements to the Venus de Milo, Northern Star (Lismore, New South Wales Australia), January 29, 1935, page 4.
>
> Venus de Milo, 5'4" tall, 34.5-28.5-36.
> Mae West, 5"2" tall, 37.5-29.5-37.
>
> Early references to the inflatable life-jacket/vest mostly credit RAF fliers with the nickname.  The earliest example I could find is from an English newspaper in March 1940.  Huddersfield Daily Examiner, March 6, 1940, page 4. Newspapers.com.  It does not give a reason.
>
> Another early account suggests the reason for the name was their shape, not their sound. "Actually they are life jackets. They are rather plump in front and the boys call them their 'Mae Wests'  This started off as R.A.F. slang."
> The Ottawa Journal, October 23, 1941, page 16.
>
> As for whether "life vest" or "life jacket" would be more likely in British rhyming slang, a simple search for "life vest" in the United Kingdom, from the years 1940-1944, on Newspapers.com yielded 15 hits.  A similar search for "life jackets" yielded 953 hits.
>
> Sometimes the simplest answer is the bust.

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