Slang and phrases in The Day of the Locust

This is a follow-up to my post about the book published in 1939: https://1939socal.wordpress.com/?s=Locust

Yours truly finally read the novel this week. It takes place in Hollywood and is about several people on the fringe of the movie industry. Below are some of the slang terms and interesting phrases that the author, Nathanael West wrote in it. I have added bracketed comments after some of them.

“A lollapalooza — all slut and a yard wide.” P. 11 [pejorative description of a woman]

“Would I give you a bum steer?” P. 14

“So you’re a wise guy, hah, a know-it-all.” P. 15

“…his life had consisted of a lightning series of ‘nip-ups,’ ‘high-gruesomes,’ ‘flying-W’s’ and ‘hundred-and-eights’ done to escape a barrage of ‘exploding stoves.’ An ‘exploding stove’ was any catastrophe, natural or human…” P. 37 [vaudeville and burlesque terms describing acrobatic moves]

“Just chinning,” he protested innocently. “Just chewing the fat.” P. 81

“Sure-fire.” P. 92

“Swell idea.” P. 93

“…a sign on the roof of a one-story building across the street that read: ‘Malted Milks Too Thick For A Straw.” P. 96

“Scram!” P. 147

“An’ keep her hot and bothered all the day.” P. 158 [from a 1932 song, “Mama Doan Wan’ No Peas”]

“…the word ‘homo’.” P. 169

“What a hick.” P. 169

“Homer has a t.l. for you.” P. 173 [not sure of the meaning; the context is that one person is telling another that Homer has a message for them]

[Homer’s last name is Simpson — apparently the namesake of the famous cartoon character]

“I was going to make book.” P. 178 [make lots of money]

“What a quiff!” P. 202 [vulgar term for a promiscuous woman but in this instance it refers to a man who could also be described as a doofus]

“Homunculus” P. 205 [Latin for a little man; in this context it is a pretentious synonym for a male dwarf]

New Supermen of America Member

Image: from online auction

A Los Angeles fellow, probably a kid, was hereby certified to be a member of Supermen (with an “e”) of America upon the pledge to adhere to all the principles of good citizenship.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ latest novel

“Carson of Venus is Edgar Rice Burroughs’ third of four novels in the Venus series. They follow the fantastic adventures of earthman Carson Napier after he crash lands on Venus… This third book was written two years before the outbreak of World War II. So, it focuses on spies, intrigue and war and satirizes the Nazis and the Fascists… Illustrations for the novel were supplied by the author’s son, John Coleman Burroughs.”

Excerpt from post by Leo Boudreau at https://www.flickr.com/photos/57440551@N03/15786677732/ .

In 1939 Burroughs was living on his estate in Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley. The area was named after Burroughs’ fictional character when a post office was built to serve residents on land subdivided from portions of his holdings. The story is a bit complicated so read about it here: http://www.tarzana.ca/ and here: http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0008.html . Tarzana was never an actual political entity, it was just a postal designation for an area within the city of Los Angeles. Your blogger grew up in Tarzana about a half mile from what was, by then, the home that Burroughs formerly resided in.

“Day is Darkness” anti-Nazi play

Image: Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b49040/ .

“Although Hitler was on the rise, other people of the world resisted and fought Nazi totalitarian regime of Germany. Underground workers, allied countries, and movements by civilians all were working forces to create a Nazi resistance and sabotage Hitler’s Nazi Germany. They sabotaged in the forms of literature, propaganda, revolts, and by helping Jews escape.

“There were many underground workers in the form of literature. These works of literature were plays, books, articles, or newspapers. In the United States, a famous anti-Nazi play was called, “Day is darkness”, and was written by George Fess. It was put on in 1939 sponsored by the Federal Theatre Project. This is one way the United States used writing to evoke anger against the Nazi’s through a form of literature.”

Excerpt from https://history.libraries.wsu.edu/fall2015/2015/08/28/human-trafficking-during-wwii/ .

The Federal Theater Project was created by the U.S. government. Learn more at http://www.historylink.org/File/3978 .