The phrase “Suicide Blonde”…where does it come from?
What is it’s meaning?
I think it come from hard boiled detective novels, or Film Noir, but I can’t be certain.
“Dyed” by her own hand…
I think it’s just an old INXS song: Suicide Blonde - Wikipedia. I’ve never heard it in any other context.
And note from that Wiki link:
This. A bottle blonde who did her own hair.
Also apparently a movie I’d never heard of. Suicide Blonde (1999) - IMDb
ISTM I recall hearing this phrase in the late 60’s.
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t parse that sentence to save my life. I don’t know what it means.
And, like Manduck, the only place I’ve ever heard it is from the song, but I’ve really never listened to the lyrics all that closely. I honestly don’t know what the song’s about.
http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17879
This cites a 1942 source and refers to earlier use in the 1930’s.
First time I ever came across the term was in a Super Friends comic, I kid you not.
It took an embarrassingly long time before I twigged the origin of that phrase. Without really knowing exactly what it signified I vaguely assumed it meant an hot blonde for whom men would happily kill themselves. Yeah, not that at all.
Seems fairly likely to me that it started out as a music-hall gag, along the lines of
“My wife’s a suicide blonde.”
“A suicide blonde, you say?”
“Yes - dyed by her own hand!”
cymbal crash
Yeah, but. That meaning has come into use – it sure seems to be the way it’s used in the INXS song, so it’s as legitimate as the original punning meaning.
I can find a newspaper cite from 1920 saying specifically “dyed by her own hand.” I’d say that helps to prove it.
Nifty.
Many 10Qs to one & all. 
Never saw that before.
I just read the INXS autobiography, and I’m pretty sure the song title comes from an actual name of a blonde hair dye color.
QQQQ.
Heh. QQQQ2.
The first time I saw it was here.