MovieChat Forums > Ball of Fire (1942) Discussion > oh, how slang changes

oh, how slang changes

posted 17 years ago by rship1
14 replies | jump to latest

Barbara Stanwyck is a dancer in a nightclub with a nickname 'Sugarpuss' and when Gary Cooper says to his fellow lexicographers "Her name is 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea, it's slang.... 'sugar' must mean pretty and 'puss' must mean face, because she has a pretty face", I cannot help but laugh out loud.
Today, if a nightclub 'dancer' was nicknamed 'Sugarpuss', it certainly would not be referring to her face.
If we could only turn back the hands of time away from vulgarity and back toward innocence

[–] Tom_Veil 17 years ago

18 years after this film, Ian Fleming introduced a character named Pussy Galore.

[–] vonhangman 17 years ago

How truly the original poster writes, "If we could only turn back the hands of time away from vulgarity and back toward innocence". I for one would be appalled if they had a had a character in a film, a lap dancer or such, rejoicing in some such name as Desiree Honeylips but in those other, more innocent times, a slang phrase such as "Sugarpuss" or even "Sugarlips" was not prurient.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] exodus_laughing 14 years ago

ditto this

i remember watching an OLD silent Harold Lloyd short where a sad tired bum is walking along the street and suddenly pulls out a syringe and shoots up, shown obviously feeling great about it, then Lloyd steals the syringe and uses it to jump-start his car.. which, of course, races off down the street without him...

i almost fell off the couch.. pre-code stuff can be very illuminating.

:-)

[–] gbennett5 13 years ago

How about Hume Cronyn in "The Postmans Always Rings Twice:" "He used to
be a dick, but he's not a dick anymore." He's referring, of course, to
the D.A., but even in 1946, the word "dick" was used to refer to the male
organ, so they HAD to have known what they were writing, LOL.

[–] jimmye184 12 years ago

The word dick was common slang for a detective when "the postman always rings twice"came out and I believe that is what Hume Croyn's character meant when referring to the DA's investigator.

let's go and say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could

[–] gribfritz2 11 years ago

double entendre

[–] Scott-101 13 years ago

I thought it was funny that a couple of the cutting edge slang words from that film's time "Jerk" and "Corny" are still around today in mainstream form

www.examiner.com/x-3877-dc-film-industry-examiner

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

That's true. Some of the words/phrases used in this movie are still understood today. Jerk, corny, boogie-woogie (when talking about older music), "are you kidding?", "shoo, scram, skedaddle", and a couple of others which I can't think of right now.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

[–] hodie 12 years ago

I don't think I've ever heard the word 'puss' used for the female genitalia. With a 'y' at the end, yes. People still say 'sourpuss.'

My dad came of age in the '40s and never used off-color language around us. Puss meant face. As far as I know it still does. But add a 'y' and it becomes a whole nother word!

"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

I'm sure that they had crude expressions back then, too. It's just that they weren't allowed to say those in movies.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] marhefka 10 years ago

My favorite was "Stay close to the Ameche." I immediately knew the meaning. Oops, I just revealed my age.

[–] President_Bosch 9 years ago

I'm reading a book that was written in 2012 and I just came across this passage...

“...Then I caught a glimpse of my puss reflected in the window, and I told myself to stop being such a snob."

It caught me by surprise and I immediately thought of this movie. Apparently, 'puss' still means 'face' in some parts of the country.