Project 3: The Vietnam War

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Lexicon by Decade: Insults and Compliments of the 1920s

                                  

The 1920s was a great period of social change. People were breaking free of the bonds and norms previously held and creating an entirely new way of life. The greatest example of this change was the flapper. She changed the roles and expectations places on women at that time and with her help and the rest of the social revolution occurring came a slew of insults and compliments, some of which are still used today. 

Insults:

Bearcat- A hot-blooded girl; In Google Books, it came up quite a bit but it was mostly incorrectly read texts that actually said bearest. There was a spike in the 1920s but most references seemed to relate to agriculture or the wilderness. In COHA, the first uses of “bearcat” occur in 1920, with the intended meaning.

Bimbo- a young woman that is promiscuous or unintelligent. This stemmed from the original usage meaning a male bimbo in 1919 which came from the Italian use of the word meaning "baby."

Crackers- Someone who is crazy. This was originally British slang that, as explained in 20th Century Words, "combines the idea of having a 'broken' head with the suffix -ers."

Dumb Dora- A dumb girl; again no hits in Google Books but in COHA, it began to be used in 1920 and was used once or twice a decade until 1970 where it seemingly disappeared. It doesn’t seem that this was a frequently used saying.

Hincty/Hinkty- This term describes someone that is conceited or stuck-up. It's origins are unknown but according to 20th Century Words, it may have come from "handkerchief-head" which is an "Uncle Tom Negro."

Nobody Home- Someone that’s dumb; In Google Books, the first usage that fits this description is in 1922. The COHA has it starting in the early 1940s and slowly rose. It has remained pretty steady, which makes sense since it is something we still sometimes say today.

Nitwit- This is a stupid person. It orginally was a term of a specific British dialect but it became widely popular by the end of the decade. It is thought that the term started by saying someone has the brains of a nit, or a louse. 

Pill- an unlikeable person; This is very hard to find since it is a noun used in regular speech. I was able to find it in 1921 with this meaning.

Wet Blanket-A killjoy; Originally showed up in 1920

Compliments:

Bee’s Knees- something or someone that is extraordinary. Very common to compare someone to some form of animal anatomy.

Blue-eyed Boy- This is a particularly favored person, specifically a male--pretty obvious based on the term itself.

Cat's Whiskers- Similar to "bee's knees" in that in is something tiny or insignificant but the very best.  This is one of the best-known term of "excellence" and has been one of the longest-lasting according to 20th Century Words. Also followed the pattern of comparing someone to a form of animal anatomy. Other forms of this include cat's meow and cat's pajamas.

Doll- An attractive girl; 1920-Mostly found to be used for girls who were pretty and dainty but didn’t speak.

Keen- Attractive or appealing; I was able to find in in COHA referring to objects or about a feature of someone, such as eyes, but not of a person themselves.

Macho- An especially manly or virile male. There are actually no reports of it being used in COHA and it didn't really start to pick up a lot of usage until the 1950s though it is certainly a word that is still used today.

Sheik- A strong, romantic male; I couldn’t find any direct examples referring to a male being sexy, but I did find one or two referring to a male being important, like a Sheik of a tribe or community. In 20th Century Words it is in reference to a novel called The Sheik, "a bodice-ripping novel in an Arabian setting."

Language Change and Culture

Year	Word	Etymology/ Cultural Importance	OED: First occurrence	Google Books: First	Google Books: History	COHA: First	COHA: HIstory
1851	Bloomers	Started with feminist Amelia Bloomer as a way to shorten dresses while remaining modest.	1851	Not working	1860 Slowly rose from 1850 until 1920 when it leveled out.	1847 “if so many of the delegates had not worn bloomer dresses.”	Went gradually up and then dropped down until 1950 when used in a piece of fiction.
1872	jambalaya	A type of stew found in Cajun Louisianna but originating in Southern France, also used to mean any mixture of ingredients	1872	1896 “The editors of Tulane’s Annual, “Jambalaya,” are elected as follows:”	Stayed pretty low until 1990 to 2000 when it shot up.	1937 “The room was a jambalaya of terrified confusion.”	Pretty steady until jump in 2000.
1914	backpack	Started as a term for a blanket that could be folded into a “back-pack.” Moved from being a term for the wilderness to a term for a book bag.	1914	1905  “Just as handy tucked into suitcase or backpack.”	Barely grew until 1970 when it quickly rose in usage.	1950 “so his backpack chute can open without fouling.”	Slowly grew until it jumped in 2000.
1935	boondoggle	A recreational craft for Boy Scouts or cowboys; came to mean a derogatory name for a government job.	1935	1933 “A $500 per child tax credit, not some boondoggle for the rich.”	Grew until 1970 and then leveled off.	1936 “they announced that they had agreed on this boondoggle”	Grew in chunks and stayed level.
1956	brinkmanship	Used during the Cold War as a term for people who wanted to take us to the brink and played with catastrophe.	1956	1933 “To avoid the ‘brinkmanship’ inherent in the present case...”	Jumped in 1960 and then leveled out.	1956 “on this issue it is the brinkmanship of Sir Anthony Eden”	Grew until 1970, dropped off during the 1980s and returned in the 90s.
1977	Loony tunes	A cartoon	Not found	No matches	n/a	1966 “I fought for you upstairs. Loony tunes. Hi ya doc!”	Stayed pretty level, jumped in 1990s, then dropped back to where it was before.

Introduction

My name, if you haven't already guessed, is Brooke and these are a few of my favorite things!

I am from a decent-sized town in Florida, called Winter Haven. We have a little theme park that when I was growing up was called Cypress Gardens and was pretty famous for its ski shows. Now it has been turned into a Legoland. My hometown alone has 50 lakes in it covering about 5,200 acres. There are two chains of lakes, one comprising 8 lakes and the other 16. I, at least, think that is pretty cool!

I come from a tall, wonderful family. I am the youngest of six and everyone but me is married and has kids. I have a niece or nephew for every age between 8 and newborn.

I am graduating in December and when I graduate, I have no idea what will come next. I'd like to be an acquisitions' editor but we'll see what happens!