Mullet mysteries...

[Loopydude]

When I see this, and this I think, “One of these things is not like the other thing. At all. Nope.”

So how did this perfectly lovely little fish come to be associated with that hideous growth on Billy Ray Cyrus’ head? I mean, a DA does sort of look like a duck’s ass. A flat top? It’s flat! But the mullet? It resembles a fish not so much as some hirsuite, brain-sucking alien lifeform.

Why do I care? I honestly don’t know. I saw a prime specimine of mullet tonight in the supermarket parking lot, and such an enounter always inspires a number of questions starting with “Why??”

So, really, how did the mullet come to be a “mullet” as opposed to, say, the “head-humping raccoon”, or the “line dancer’s helmet”?

[Nilor]

It’s the feel after it goes unwashed for a week

[Regallag_The_Axe]

The origen of the word is quite possibly due to the fact that Lord Verici the Ugly of the Itallian dutchy Waratucoo was the first man to ever wear his hair in such a manner in 1907. Waratucoo was known for it’s fish, though not particularly the mullet. However it is rumored that he grew jealous of the fact that mullets (the fish) would not reside in his domain, and as such he hired a wizard to summon them to him. It worked, and because of this Lord Verici also earned the nickname “The Mullet Man” (as a sidenote, those who gave him the nickname were executed) and some folk may have confused his want for the fish with his peculiar hair style.

[mhendo]

Well, according to the Oxford English Dictionary:

[**Origin uncertain. Perh. an extended use of MULLET-HEAD n. 2; but Grand Royal (1995) No. 2 proposes a number of other, largely humorous origins, including a relationship with MULLET n.[sup]1[/sup] and with the obsolete MULLET v.
Apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys (see quot. 1994), who also publish Grand Royal.]

The quotations given date back to 1994:

1994 Mullet Head (song) in ‘Beastie Boys’ Tour Shot! (CD notes), You wanna know what’s a mullet? well I got a little story to tell About a hair style, that’s way of life Have you ever seen a Mullet wife? 1995 Grand Royal No. 2. 46 The Mullet does not discriminate, though it is rare to see one worn by a senior citizen of any stripe. 1997 Independent on Sunday 2 Feb. (Real Life section) 2/1 Connoisseurs of the absurd in gentlemen’s hairdressing have been enjoying a laugh at…those unfortunates who continue to commit that most heinous fashion don’tthe Mullet. 1998 Sunday Mirror 12 Apr. (Personal suppl.) 3/2 The Mullet… If you have one, then a word in your ear: Scissors. 2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 16 Apr. (Seven Days section) 1/4 A malodorous guy with a flowing mullet.

[aruvqan]

@mhendo

Well, according to the Oxford English Dictionary:The quotations given date back to 1994:

Hm dont know about all those accumulated mullet definitions, but an additional one is a starfish shape found in heraldry as well. Not that I can transfer the sheriif’s star shape into that funky hairstyle though. shrug

[YaWanna]

I can’t give you a cite, but this topic was being discussed last week on the radio station I listen to. Someone apparently had, through research, come up with a legend that the “mullet” haircut gets its name from a time in the past (I can’t remember when) when short haircuts were the norm for men, but certain working-class men grew the backsides of their hair longer to keep their necks warm while out fishing in the cold weather for hours.

[Hal_Briston]

In the 80’s when my friends and I all had hair down to our asses, we called the mullet a “please, mom”. As in “Please, mom, can’t I grow my hair long? I’ll only grow it the back, I promise”.

[Terminus_Est]

If you follow the definition of mullet-head in the OED, you’ll find that it’s either 1. An imaginary fish having no brains, or 2. A stupid person.

Seems apt to me.

[Ellen_Cherry]

I thought Wikipedia might help clarify things, but they’re really no help. They do provide a fun list of synonyms, though:

The mullet goes by various nicknames, including Ape Drape, Absolom, Camaro Cut, Camaro Crash Helmet, Shlong (Short-Long), Sfelby (Short Front, Long Back), Mississippi Mudflap, Hockey Hair, Femullet (woman’s variety), ten-ninety, Tennessee Tophat and Kentucky Waterfall, Neck Warmer, Canadian Passport and Coupe Longueuil (Quebec French term meaning Longueuil-haircut). The popular phrase “Business in the front, party in the back” describes the look of the mullet; Mike D of the Beastie Boys is purported to have coined this word usage.

[Loopydude]

Hmm. Didn’t know “mullethead” was synonymous with, er, “dumbass”…didn’t know the Beasties actually may have coined the term, either.

Interesting…vedy, vedy interesting…