What's a maroon?

[PublicBlast]

In old Warner Brothers’ cartoons, Bugs Bunny would occasionally chuckle and say, “Heh! What a maroon!” about a silly character or villain.

What is a “maroon”? Was this a slang term popular during the 1940s, or was it an insult to University of Chicago athletes, or what? Any ideas?
Akash
P.S. The team name of the University of Chicago athletic teams are “The Maroons,” for those who don’t know.

[Kamino_Neko]

It’s Bugs’s particular pronunciation of ‘Moron’.

[Fear_Itself]

I know this one.

A Maroon, as in a a backward or foolish person, refers to the name for runaway slaves on the Island of Jamaica in the 18th and 19th century.

Maroon, in turn, is a corruption for the Spanish word, <i>cimarron</i>, meaning wild people (literally peak dwellers).

[samclem]

Damn literate rabbit, knowing all that.

[Alphagene]

No, I think Tengu’s got it. Bugs would frequently mispronounce words describing idiots (What a maroon, what an ignoranimapus…). Ironic, no?

While maroon can mean a fugitive black slave of the West Indies and Guiana in the 17th and 18th centuries, I don’t think Bugs was using that reference.

Besides, I don’t think Elmer Fudd is West Indian.

[RealityChuck]

While maroon can mean a fugitive black slave of the West Indies and Guiana in the 17th and 18th centuries, I don’t think Bugs was using that reference.

Exactly. Remember, Bugs said it to be funny. It was highly unlikely that his audience would get that particular reference, so the joke would be lost if that was the source (do you laugh at the various Jerry Colonna references in Warner Brothers Cartoons? I doubt it). It was always intended to be a mispronunciation of “moron.”

[PublicBlast]

(do you laugh at the various Jerry Colonna references in Warner Brothers Cartoons? I doubt it).

Ehhh, pardon my ignorance, doc, but who’s Jerry Colonna?

[Fear_Itself]

From the Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion:

COLONNA, JERRY
(1905-1987)
Character actor – emphasis on character! – distinguished by a walrus-like mustache, pop-eyed expression, and complete zaniness. Colonna was a long-time sidekick of Bob Hope as a supporting player in his radio, television, and USO shows.
Colonna himself is caricatured in a number of cartoons. Two cartoons directed by Freleng feature a little worm character with the Colonna mustache and eyes, and a Colonna-like voice. These are The Wacky Worm (1941) and Greetings Bait (1943). Colonna himself makes an appearance at the end of Greetings Bait as the fisherman. Colonna also makes an appearance in Hollywood Steps Out (Avery, 1941), doing a Yehudi shtick.

Caricatures of Colonna and Hope also appear in Hollywood Canine Canteen (McKimson, 1946) doing their Professor Colonna routine from Hope’s Pepsodent radio show. Bugs Bunny does Colonna imitations in What’s Cookin’ Doc? (Clampett, 1944), in which Bugs is saying hello to various Hollywood stars off-screen at the Academy Awards ceremony, as well as in The Unruly Hare (Tashlin, 1945), where Bugs, in a Colonna-like accent, invites Elmer Fudd to “have some cheese, rat!” Daffy Duck, in Plane Daffy (Tashlin, 1944) and The Wise Quacking Duck (Clampett, 1943) and the title character in The Hep Cat (Clampett, 1942) both do Colonna-like turns in announcing “Aahh! Something new has been added!”, as does Private Snafu in Booby Traps (Clampett, 1944). A whole jury of Colonnas acquits Daffy Duck, the Mustache Fiend in Daffy Doodles (McKimson, 1946).

Colonna inspired a huge number of catch-phrases, many of which worked their way into Warner Brothers cartoons. A sampling would have to include:

“Okay – so I ain’t neat.”
Porky’s Hired Hand (Freleng, 1940) at the bottom of Gregory Grunt’s letter of introduction, and
by the dirty pig in Farm Frolics (Clampett, 1941).
Yehudi. This refers to classical violinist Yehudi Menunin. Wertheim describes the origin of the gag, stating “apparently, Colonna, not knowing who Yehudi was, asked the cast of the radio show, who didn’t know either. The search for the mythical Yehudi became a running gag and, eventually a popular song.” Yehudi references can be seen in
Hollywood Steps Out (Avery, 1941) in which an invisible figure is sitting next to Colonna, identified by Jerry as Yehudi,
Farm Frolics (Clampett, 1941) in which an owl says “Who’s Yehudi?”, and
Crazy Cruise (Avery/Clampett, 1942) in which an invisible battleship, the S.S. Yehudi, is seen.
“You and your education.” Said to Porky Pig by the wind-up-toy son of Daffy at the very end of A Coy Decoy (Clampett, 1941).
“Greetings, Gate!” Besides being the obvious inspiration for the title of Greetings Bait (Freleng, 1943), variations on the Colonna trademark greeting can be seen in
Slightly Daffy (Clampett, 1944) in which an Indian says “Greetings, Gate, lets scalpitate!”
The Wise Quacking Duck (Clampett, 1943) in which Daffy Duck, dressed in a mystic outfit, greets Mr. Meek with “Greetings, Gate, lets oscillate!” (followed by a mucky kiss), and
Porky’s Last Stand (Clampett, 1940) in the message left by the mice who have swiped all the food from the café.
Colonna also lent his voice to the Walt Disney feature Alice in Wonderland (1951), in which he played the March Hare opposite Ed Wynn’s Mad Hatter.

That enough for ya?

[PublicBlast]

That enough for ya?

Yes indeed, thank you! And now I know who that jury full of mustachioed guys was in that Daffy Duck cartoon. Many thanks…

[DAVEW0071]

Besides, I don’t think Elmer Fudd is West Indian.

Be vewwy quiet. I’m huntin’ wabbits, mon.

[radar_ralf]

…and don’t forget all the references to ‘maroon’ in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”…

[Ukulele_Ike]

I always thought that a maroon was a cross between a moron and a baboon.

Wow! **Fear, **thanks for the Colonna info! I’d heard of the actor, but was unfamiliar with the “Yehudi” routine.

This clears up TWO pop culture mysteries for me:

1. The use of the name “Yahootie” in various underground comix (see, for example, the infamous “Meatball” story by R. Crumb in ZAP No. O, in which an angry housewife yells at another to “Tell it ta Missus Yahootie.”).

2. The little sign that would often pop up in the background of comics panels in the old CARtoons comic magazine, circa 1964-70, that read “Who’s Yer Hootie?” or “Hooz yer Hootie?”

Yes, it’s certainly a gala day for me.

[JillGat]

The maroons of Jamaica are not a thing of the past. They were escaped slaves a couple of centuries ago who successfully fought off first the Spanish and then the British for many years. Nowadays they have something like reservation status in Jamaica, with their own leaders. They are very proud people who still use many West African words, sing African songs and eat African dishes. Very interesting folks with a direct connection to their roots, unlike most African Americans. - Jill