# oldie time slang? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486 "2004-05-28T08:27:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/1 "2004-05-28T08:27:44Z")
I am in need of old timey slang( for perverse sexual matters), especially from near the turn of the century to before WW2. Stuff like “You got Moxie, kid.” “Get on the trolley bub.” “Gee Whiz, that’s swell”. Do any of you know of any more old-time sayings/cliches? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/2 "2004-05-28T12:00:19Z")
Eve, your assistance is needed in MPSIMS… I’d recommend a book called “Flappers to Rappers,” which does 20th-century slang broken down by decade. I _love_ this book. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/3 "2004-05-28T12:02:39Z")
(Rereading the OP) Ah, perverse sexual matters. You do realize that none of your examples indicate any kind of perversion, don’t you? There’s a book called … damn, don’t remember what it’s called. It’s “[the something or other] of Sin” – slang on sex, drinking, gambling, etc. I have a copy at work – I’ll get the cite for you when I get there. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/4 "2004-05-28T12:23:40Z")
“Gimme the skinny on that new movie!” “Everything’s Jake!” “I’ll kick 'im in the slats!” ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/5 "2004-05-28T12:51:40Z")
That hipster with the jelly roll cruised by. He’s got it made in the shade. His car is cherry. My sister said he’s the most. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/6 "2004-05-28T12:55:00Z")
Every so often the History Channel does a “History of Sex” series which does include some references to outdated slang. It’s a lot of TV to watch just to pick up the slang, but it’s also fascinating of its own accord. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/7 "2004-05-28T13:11:46Z")
Glorioski, that _is_ a puzzler. I’ll getcha on the Ameche if I think of any. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/8 "2004-05-28T13:21:09Z")
Here’s a great glossary of classic “hard boiled” slang: [http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html](http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html) And Jazz Age slang: [http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm](http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm) Enjoy! I hope these’ll have everything you need! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/9 "2004-05-28T13:28:05Z")
The book I was thinking of is “The Slang of Sex,” (duh!), by Tom Dalzell, Merriam Webster. I paid $4 as a remainder – making me, I guess, a cheap date. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/10 "2004-05-28T15:14:20Z")
Does anyone know what a “beezle” is? The context I heard it was in the movie “The Women.” Sylvia Fowler refers to Crystal Allen as a “beezle” then later refers to Miram Aarons as one. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/11 "2004-05-28T15:49:48Z")
This thread is the bee’s knee’s daddy-o! And that ain’t no banana oil! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/12 "2004-05-28T16:13:40Z")
**Seven’s** contribution to this Reefer Madness thread is old-time slang at its utter best. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237959&highlight=Reefer+Madness](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237959&highlight=Reefer+Madness) I laughed for days after this. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/13 "2004-05-28T16:33:17Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > The book I was thinking of is “The Slang of Sex” \ Er, “The Slang of Sin.” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/14 "2004-05-28T16:54:08Z")
Oh, so they’re 1920’s Style Perverse Sexual Matters! You can find a quiet bed at the squeak-easy. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/15 "2004-05-28T22:40:21Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Does anyone know what a “beezle” is? The context I heard it was in the movie “The Women.” Sylvia Fowler refers to Crystal Allen as a “beezle” then later refers to Miram Aarons as one. I don’t vouch for what I’m posting. Just was easy to find in a search. > [@](#): > > You’re a kindred soul. I, too, went on a maddening search for “beezle” after rewatching “The Women” the other day. > > And I have tracked it down. Actually the word has a lot of meanings and associations. In the 20s it was slang for a nose. In Horton Hears a Who Dr. Seuss depicts the animals threatening to boil the Whos in beezle-nut oil. There is something called a beezle bug (no idea what kind of bug it is). It is an ordinary last name. And it even seems to be sometimes used in association with the devil as a warped version of “Beelzebub”. > > But in our case it is actually specific to the movie “The Women”. I followed a trail to The Divas Site [http://home2.planetinternet.be/verjans/index.htm](http://home2.planetinternet.be/verjans/index.htm), a nice fan site for a number of Hollywood divas, where the word was jokingly used in a tribute to Norma Shearer. I had to inquire then at the site what the word means, and I got this answer today: “Beezle” came about during the writing of the film’s screenplay. Anita Loos and Jane Murfin couldn’t have their characters say “bitch” or “whore,” so they invented “beezle.” > > How about that? I hope this eases your mind as it did mine. The author of that quote refers to [http://www.divasthesite.com/](http://www.divasthesite.com/) The quote above mistakenly attributes “beezle” to mean _nose_ in the 20’s. The word was actually “beezer” and was slang for the head or nose. I couldn’t find the word _beezle_ in my rather good slang reference library. I think it’s rather modern. I’ll try to keep looking. Again, I don’t vouch for anything said in the quotes to which I linked. ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/16 "2004-05-29T00:17:27Z")
If my grandfather saw / heard something he found it hard to believe, he’d say, “Well, I hope I’m a never!”. I have no idea what this means. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/17 "2004-05-29T00:51:10Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Does anyone know what a “beezle” is? The context I heard it was in the movie “The Women.” Sylvia Fowler refers to Crystal Allen as a “beezle” then later refers to Miram Aarons as one. Hmm, I swear I’ve seen this term in P. G. Wodehouse’s writing, but it didn’t have a derogatory meaning. I think it was just another term for a young woman. (I thought at first I’d seen in it Raymond Chandler, but he uses other words like “frail” for a woman.) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/18 "2004-05-29T06:12:50Z")
Oh, yes. I remember old Beezle-Bum. The engineers said she couldn’t fly, but she did, every Saturday night. 🆒 That’s a couple layers deep. I hope you didn’t strain anything. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/19 "2004-05-29T07:45:13Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Here’s a great glossary of classic “hard boiled” slang: > > [http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html](http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html) > > And Jazz Age slang: > > [http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm](http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm) > > Enjoy! I hope these’ll have everything you need! Those are great! I wish they had more phrases, rather than single words, though. ---
**Author:** ![leland1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@leland1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leland1)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486/20 "2010-12-19T02:21:49Z")
Was rewatching Sullivan’s Travels and about 39 minutes into the movie they use the same word. Drove me crazy trying to figure out the meaning. Agree with the earlier post about “bitch” as the word refers to Veronica Lake as his sidekick. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldie-time-slang/247486.md?page=2)