When my grandfather died, I got a stack of old letters-home-from-college. This would have been in the nineteen-twenties. In addition to mentions of adventures, like “Friday, Jimmie and Marv and I walked to Baraboo” (from the Univ. of Wis., google map it), they were full of slang and catchphrases. I asked my dad why “Wowee Zowee” was used so much. He said “From some radio show I don’t remember, but EVERYone was saying it.” Them he paused and very seriously told me “And get it right, it was ‘Wowee WOWee!’”
My mom loved “Tain’t funny, McGee!” too!
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The term ‘petting’ always grossed me out
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Back ontopic…do you all have any kids? Do you think catch-phrases have dropped off? Inscrutable slang hasn’t…(I still cant grasp ‘based’)…but i have this theory catch-phrases have dropped off because:
There are a lot more than three-four channels…kids watch TV/go to movies less. And memes ascatch-phrases certainly exist but haven’t quite filled the void.
Thats all IMHO of course based on two admitedly socially-averse boys. I’m certainly not saying kids don’t use TV/movie catch-phrases, just that its less prevelant.
I want to piss on the grave of the guy who wrote “Open the Door, Richard”.
I remember, “Hey there, Boo Boo” and “I’m smarter than the average bear,” from Yogi Bear.
That’s not the way I understand it. I see it as having gone directly from using words as flirtation to intercourse without a stop at physical foreplay. I checked Google Books and found that change happened after WWII. Nothing before it hints at a foreplay usage, though there are a few uses as actual sex.
That’s probably right, I can’t think of a state in between in the movies. And in the movies there was a point where referring to sex that directly was suddenly allowed. I don’t know when but in my mind it’s already Lauren Bacall saying it.