Was "supercalifragilisticexpealidocious" a hooker code?

Factual Questions
1

Help me prove my boyfriend wrong!

My boyfriend, bless his little heart, really likes (and seems to trust) Maxim magazine. According to Maxim, the word “supercalifragilisticexpealidocious” (sp?) was once a code word between coal miners and prostitutes in (I think) Scotland. If the coal miner said “supercali…” the prostitute knew that meant something like “Give me the works.” I wish I could provide the exact blurb from the magazine about this, but it’s not on their website and I refuse to buy the magazine.

I always thought the word was made up by the author of Mary Poppins. :slight_smile:

2

You’re the one who’s right.
Sort of.
It was first used as the title of an unpublished song, Supercalafajalistickespialadojus by Parker & Young in 1949.

Bear in mind, Maxim is hardly an authority on etymology. They’re an authority on showing girls who are so skinny you can feel their ribs by running your fingers across the page–in their underwear. They should stick to that–and dirty jokes.

3

Thanks, Blessedwolf. I am well aware that Maxim is not an authority on etymology (or anything else, for that matter) and I wanted to use this opportunity to prove that to my Maxim-lovin’ boyfriend. I will try to do more research myself on that song and what may have come out of it.

4

I read that article. It threw me at first, but judging by the other revelations that piece made, it was fairly obviously a joke. Some of the others were rather outlandish, but the only one I recall offhand was the fairly tame story of 101 Dalmatians being based on an Italian horror movie.

5

thanx for changing the thread title. I kept forgetting which one it was…

6

Thanks, waterj2, for pointing this out…now I guess I’ll chide my boyfriend for being gullible rather than for reading an inaccurate magazine! If anyone else out there disagrees that the article was a joke, please say so–otherwise, case closed.

7

Here’s little history associated with the word. Barney Young and Gloria Parker wrote the song “SUPERCALAFAJALISTICKESPEEALADOJUS” in 1949. Richard and Robert Sherman wrote the song “SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS” in 1964 for Mary Poppins. Young and Parker sued everyone associated with the Mary Poppins song in 1965. The lawsuit was LIFE MUSIC, INC. v. WONDERLAND MUSIC CO., UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, 241 F. Supp. 653; 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9716; 145 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 603, May 24, 1965. The plaintiffs lost.

The ruling says:

Basically, “the word” was in use prior to either song being written, but no one really knows its origins. I think waterj2 is probably right in that the article was a joke. It’s an awfully long way to ask for sex.