Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-09
The Haskin Letter
By
J. HASKlN
FI,ApPERs AND THEIR METAPHORS

jargon is the use of proper names in
the way that Hooverize was used dur
ing the war. To be put through a ques-
t~ionaire is to be Edisonized. To be on
time for a date is to Houdini. The
analogy of this last is apparently that
p~unctuality is considered a striking
achievement.
BY the same sort of association a
girls new dress is called her Urban
set. TrOtzky- m in for a touch of
this sort of fame, but he is not taken
seriously by the language makers. A
lTrotzky is an old lady with mustache
and chin whiskers.
One reason that flapper talk remains
so peculiarly the property of the flap
per is that the vocabulary is restricted
to the social interests of extreme youth.
It is as specialized as the argot of the
| stage, sport, or politics Almost all
the flapper words are descriptive of
beaux, dancing, parties, clothes, mar
rage. money. automobiles and petting.
Petting, which was itself slang, is
now too tame and too much of a gilt
tering generality for the flapper Ian
guage. Puppy cuddling has partly re-
| placed the word petting. and a whole
assortment of terms refer to this activ-
ity in its various aspects. Thus, a
moving picture auditorium becomes a
petting pantry: the affectionate type
of flapper is biscuit or a cuddler; a
peter who likes to hang on a boys
neck is a necker; and a necker of the
male species is a snugglepup.
How the Language Spreads
The non-flapper element of the pop
ulation has small place in its vocabu-
larry for such terms and so they do not
become general property. All over the
country, however, the language of the
flapper is similar. The newest phrases
travel by letters. by word of mouth,
and in lists occasionally printed in mag
azines and newspapers. One maya
zine devotes its pages entirely to the
interests of the tribe.
A few phrases that have POSSIBLE
ties for use in the conversation Of the
general public have become popular
American slang. There always seems
press greeting! approval, disapproval,
and to replace a simple yes or no.
Just now the flapper and slang
talking America, as well, refers to any
thing pleasing as the berries. The
weird natural history allusions-that's
the frogs eyebrows. or the bees wis
kers. or the ducks quack. or the
| snakes hips, and the rest-used to ex-
press approval. are also epidemic. Any
thing unpleasant is appropriately hloah.
blaah being one of those senseless
words that express an idea clearly oy
sound. A well established substitute
for yes is Il hope to tell you"
These tags are amusing for only q
short time. They are oon stale and
must be replaced. How a phrase has a
meteoric career and sputtcrs out is
seen by recalling the same type of slang
expression. such as the now historic.
I"I should worry and "Il tell the
world"
Occasionally one eof these shelved
sayings stages a comeback. We note
in the latest flapper vocabulary printed
IN The Flapper magazine the ancient
word. ~whangdoodle. Our grandmothers
used this word humorously TO describe
mournful, whining music, or a r~anting
speaker. Modern youth has adopted
the term and made it a synonym for a
jazz band. II is rare. however. that
the slang Of n generation ago can be
busted off and applied to current top
les. Generally there is nothing more
conspicuously ~lifeless than a defunct
slang phrase.