A poll for Generation X or younger

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I know lots of people my age will know this reference, I want to find out if it had legs past its original life, hence I am asking folks in the younger age brackets.

Question: would you understand a reference to “Mutt and Jeff?”

  • Yes, I have seen the original, and understand the reference
  • Yes, I understand the reference, but I have not seen the original
  • No, I do not understand the reference
  • I do not qualify for this poll, but my favorite pie is peach.
0 voters

Context: in order for someone I have not met to recognize my husband and myself in a crowded venue, I considered saying “we are an older Mutt and Jeff couple.” But since they are considerably younger than me, I was afraid they would not understand what I was getting at (one of us is quite a bit taller than the other).

2

I am Gen-X but near the top end and I am the youngest in my family (of that generation) by a fair bit so I got exposed to a lot of “older” stuff most people my age didn’t. That said, I probably haven’t seen or thought of it in 40 years.

3

I’m not sure what the relevant answer is for me. I recognize the names as being a pair of comic-strip characters, but I couldn’t tell you any relevant information about either of the characters, including their relative heights.

4

I went with Yes, But. It’s an old timey comic but that’s all I recall.

5

I’m with @Chronos, although I clicked “Yes, I understand the reference, but I have not seen the original” before I finished reading the OP. Upon reflection, “No, I do not understand the reference” would have been a better answer.

6

I’m at the very oldest end of Gen X; I recognize the names, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an example of the strip itself, and I know nothing about it other than the names. I also didn’t know, until looking it up now, that “Mutt and Jeff” is a term for a pair of people, one short and one tall.

7

This is almost exactly me, I’m Gen X but my siblings are boomers 11 and 12 years older.

8

I clicked “yes” but will have to go back and change—I was thinking AKBAR and Jeff, which is, I suspect, subtly riffing on Mutt and Jeff, but an entirely different dynamic! I was aware of Mutt and Jeff but never really spent much time on them.

9

Early returns indicate my instincts about this reference being too old were correct.

10

It started in 1907 and I can’t remember the last time I even saw someone reading a paper.

11

I read the daily newspaper – particularly the comics page – pretty much every day from around age 8 (1973) until I left home for college (1983). The Wikipedia article on the strip indicates that it ran until 1983, but as far as I can remember, it wasn’t being carried in the papers I was reading (Chicago Tribune, Green Bay Press-Gazette).

12

I was born in 1987 and I’ve never heard of this.

13

I used to have a boss who would say “Hey, if it isn’t Mutt & Jeff” when I’d come in with a coworker. My name is Jeff so I think that was more a catalyst than our relative heights (though I was tall and thin, he wasn’t especially short).

If not for him, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the reference.

14

I’m Gen-X by age, but grew up on the other side of the world when the world was big, so not surprising I had no idea.

15

Same, being named Jeff I have heard it many times from older folks when they know or learn my name.

16

Also a Jeff. Same thing here when I was young. No one says it anymore and haven’t for decades.

17

Gen X here, I recall hearing about Mutt & Jeff but didn’t know who they were. The names sounded familiar, but i had to answer that I had no idea who they were.

18

Born early 1970s. Wasn’t sure how to answer. I’ve heard of “Mutt and Jeff”. Fairly sure it was a newspaper comic strip – unsure if there was every any notable spin-off media like television. However, I’ve never actually seen Mutt & Jeff – no idea what the characters look like.

For comparison, other before-my-time characters like Mr. Magoo, Pogo, and even Little Nemo are far more familiar to me – all instantly recognizable.

EDIT: I second exactly what Chronos wrote. I don’t think “Mutt & Jeff are completely different heights!” is anywhere near common knowledge anymore.

19

That’s much older than I figured it was – I though M&J was something big in the 1950s or thereabouts.

20

Born in 1975. I have no clue what you’re talking about.

ETA: Looked it up. Doesn’t look the least bit familiar to me.