# What Does/Did 'Tiger Beat' (tween girls' magazine that was big in the 70s and 80s) Have To Do With Tigers?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Tags:** fashion-clothing
**Created:** [May 16, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631 "2024-05-16T12:07:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/1 "2024-05-16T12:07:05Z")
Tiger Beat, first in print and [now online](https://tigerbeat.com/), was/is a magazine all about things that interest tween girls - fashion, cute boys, lip gloss, etc.
What do tigers have to do with tween girls?
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/2 "2024-05-16T12:15:24Z")
I thought it was pretty clear that Tiger is being used as a euphemism for a young, attractive male.
Using animals as euphemisms for types of people is not exactly uncommon. Quite the reverse. Just looking around today, hairy men are often called bears. Chicks to describe women. People who are dishonest are called jackals. Whales for large people. Etc.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/3 "2024-05-16T12:25:55Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> hairy men are often called bears.
When did this change from apes?
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### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/4 "2024-05-16T12:27:36Z")
[Green’s dictionary of slang](https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/yzcp3ay) has an entry from an article in 1958:
(_US teen_) an attractive girl or boy.
1958 Times([Bibliography: Times — Green’s Dictionary of Slang](https://greensdictofslang.com/sources/10244)) (Munster, IN) 19 Jan. 56/1: Slang keeps changing to keep up […] ‘Tiger or Tigress’ — Good-looking boy or girl.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/5 "2024-05-16T12:29:09Z")
Famous period example:
[ ](https://i.etsystatic.com/27544538/r/il/2b5b76/4417790227/il_570xN.4417790227_hwu9.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/6 "2024-05-16T12:31:45Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#):
>
> When did this change from apes?
I believe the word ape is still used, often with negative connotation.
The word bear often or typically describes a large, hairy gay or bisexual man or sometimes one who would be considered attractive to gay or bisexual people, so it’s a bit more modern.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/7 "2024-05-16T12:36:32Z")
I have heard of the term she’s a tiger before.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S-HCkFWs6Y)
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/8 "2024-05-16T15:13:20Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> I thought it was pretty clear that Tiger is being used as a euphemism for a young, attractive male
I’m not going to ask what “beat” is a euphemism for…
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/9 "2024-05-16T15:15:53Z")
😅
Though, since this is FQ and in case somebody doesn’t know, a ‘beat’ in reporting generally refers to a specialized topic or area a reporter might cover.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/10 "2024-05-16T15:20:20Z")
# “Better to live one year as a tiger, than a hundred as sheep.”
― Madonna
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/11 "2024-05-16T15:53:20Z")
I think Charlie Pierce is the one who coined “Tiger Beat on the Potomac” for Politico.
But agreed, somewhat dated slang that you might hear sometimes even now.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/12 "2024-05-16T17:39:21Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> The word bear often or typically describes a large, hairy gay or bisexual man or sometimes one who would be considered attractive to gay or bisexual people, so it’s a bit more modern
Some things we have to learn the hard way. Bears4Bears AOL Chat Room was not at all what I expected.
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### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/13 "2024-05-16T18:10:52Z")
Like beat cop.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/14 "2024-05-16T19:39:58Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Using animals as euphemisms for types of people is not exactly uncommon.
Cougar Beat magazine seems like a market opportunity.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/15 "2024-05-16T20:09:13Z")
Well [Beaver Magazine](https://beavermag.org/) is a big disappointment. SFW.
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/16 "2024-05-16T20:14:03Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> Cougar Beat magazine seems like a market opportunity.
I get the impression that due to the internet people experience no difficulty finding material on Cougars and perhaps aren’t so interested in reading the articles.
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### Author:  [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/17 "2024-05-19T15:55:25Z")
On Long Island it was more common to hear a good looking guy OR girl a fox or foxy. I reckon tiger is more about their aggressive demeanor yet I can’t see Scott Baio or Andy Giibb being that way.
There is of course Jimi’s “Foxy Lady” though Duran Duran were hungry like the wolf.
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### Author:  [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/18 "2024-05-19T17:49:22Z")
With the FQ out of the way …
Tiger doesn’t mean anything to me without some context or a modifier. Paper tiger, tiger mom, a nonverbal waggling of the eyebrows, an unchanging stripes reference. “Jeremy had a reputation as a tiger,” doesn’t mean anything, unlike if Jeremy was a fox or a dog or a mule or a whale. Even being a turd says more than being a tiger!
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/19 "2024-05-19T18:13:48Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#):
>
> Like beat cop.
You beat cop, get big trouble.
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### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-did-tiger-beat-tween-girls-magazine-that-was-big-in-the-70s-and-80s-have-to-do-with-tigers/1001631/20 "2024-05-19T21:05:51Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> Cougar Beat magazine seems like a market opportunity.
Yep, concur.
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