What’s the origin of the ubiquitous “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” quote? It’s become a fixed part of pop culture, but I don’t know the original movie or whatever it came from.
(My favorite variation: We don’t need no stinkin’ badgers!)
– Greg, Atlanta
Perhaps a bit off thread, but you may also find it interesting the term “Bogart” as in hog the whole thing (joint?) refers to the same flick.
Oh? And what is that quote?
Actually, the term Bogart is a reference to how he used the cigarette as a prop more than he smoked it. When someone “Bogarts” a joint, they are not actually taking a drag but simply holding the thing.
Really? Not a real Bogie fan here, but in my circle “Bogart” was used as a term to describe someone who hogged the whole thing for themselves, as Bogies charactor attempted to do with the gold. Maybe it became coruppted (sp?) in meaning in my area It is an old movie after all. But I definately recall it being used in reference to things other than smoke, liquor most often. I remember there was a song as well, the artist’s name evades me. Anyone?
From a university research project on slang I hereby withdraw my previous post [embarassed blush]
bogart v 1. to steal or hog. (“Don’t bogart my cookies!”) Origin: possibly during the 1960s as a drug reference. The band Fraternity of Man has a song called “Don’t Bogart Me.” Lyrics include: “Don’t bogart that joint, my friend, pass it over to me.” It has been theorized that the term is an allusion to Humphry Bogart, an American actor who always had a cigarette hanging from his lips. To “bogart” a joint, then, would be letting it hang from one’s lips without passing it on.
Based on an e-mail I reply
Oh my oh my, you ought not have done that. I would now like to re-assert my original contention the phrase refers to The tresure of the Sierra Madre. First, the cited litarature places the phrase in the mid/early '60’s. Second the originators of the phrase appears to be the biker community as evidenced by it’s inclusion in the movie Easy Rider. Lastly the usage of the term is specific: to attempt to steal, horde for oneself. While one could see a vauge connection to holding on to something as was Bogies habit with his cig, the actions of his charactor in “treasure” more specificly fit the usage. Further, the biker community of the 60’s was not likely to have a great love of Cassablanca but may well identify with the rough and tumble guys from “treasure”. Granted, Bogie usually played a tough guy but this guy was antisocial even for him. Since the actual coiners of the phrase are unknown, one can only analise usage. To just point at the dictionary and say “the book says” is to fall into a dogmatic mindset, frequently seen in psuedo-intellectuals who prefer others do their thinking for them. As a final note, Bogie died of cancer of the espogus, pretty strong evidence that he did not just hold on to his cig as a prop but did indeed inhale.
I think that it’s more likely that the original meaning of “bogart” was to keep a joint in one’s mouth without not passing it on and the more general meaning of hoarding something was a later development. There’s no evidence that the term developed in the biker community. Easy Rider may have been a movie about bikers, but it was written by Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Terry Southern. Was the phrase “bogart that joint” ever spoken in the film or was it just used in the song? The song was not written for the film. It was written by Elliot Ingber for his group The Fraternity of Man.
I don’t think bikers were particularly fans of either Casablanca or The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. On the other hand, Casablanca was the quintessential cult film of the sixties. Its fans were exactly the sort who were into smoking dope during that era.
And I always thought it came from “Blazin’ Saddles” when Heddy Lamar (Harvey Korman) was recruiting “mugs, pugs, thugs . . .”
“Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.’”
E A Poe
Wendell, good point on the ‘original’ usage. However I can find no reference to the phrase prior to the song. It would be interesting to find out if it was in common usage before the tune or if the songwriters also coined the term. By the wording of your reply it seems you believe that Easy Rider was a movie about bikers written by non bikers. I can’t vouch for the other two, but Peter Fonda was and is still the owner of the chopper “Captain America” and to this day remains a motorcycle rights advocate. Qualifies as a biker in my book.