If you hear any of the following words or phrases used to describe someone in a movie made before 1970, odds are good that they’re trying to tell you about a tight ankle, a real bank-opener, a central casting girl, a man who knows his onions from his applesauce.
A berry-picker
Someone who takes her meals in a cafeteria
An and-how baby
A gal who knows how to use a revolving door
A man with a downtown name
An elevator friendship
A threepenny stamp
A trolley orchid
A girl with cake in her hand
Chicken farmer
Two-time streetcar rider
A professional skirt
A fella with a lot of hotel friendships
Girl who brings her own skates to the rink
Bedsheet boyfriend
Member of the Pony Express
Jukebox pants
Next door to the Queen of Sheba
A girl who bowls with both hands
Friend to doctors
Laughing-gas Sally
A member of several clubs
A candy-apple sister
“Knows where the cloak room is”
A late-night newsie
Lamppost gentleman
A man who sleeps in his hat
Telephone boy
An outdoors checkout clerk
A boarding-room Beau Brummel
Tags: code words, movies, pre-code hollywood, this is not 100% serious
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i know :/
on a happier note, Beyond Belief has always been my favorite part of the show
a prairie home companion's guy noir bits often had good ones. one i've remembered for a long time:
'her pants were so tight i couldn't breathe'
"God-damn these electric jukebox pants!"
STILLING PICKING UP STICKS IN THE SPRING TIME
But why is only one of them in quotes??
"A girl with cake in her hands."
Oh shit am I giving a lot of older gentlemen really mixed signals???
Turns out she prefers the tacos. Shoulda guessed with such a sturdy gal. I knew she had had all those singular friends, but like always, I still fell.
Frank and Sadie! *sob* Craig Ferguson, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Thrilling Adventure Hour. This has been a bad year for me and my entertainment favorites.
I'm reminded irresistibly of this Jeeves and Wooster moment. "Jeeves, what do you suppose 'a hoochie-coocher' is?"
Me too! My husband, lamppost gentleman that he is, has been hysterical about this.
It is of vital importance that I obtain that fantastic snake bra and steely gaze for mine own luxurious stylings.
If I use any of this as my twitter bio will it be copyright infringement?
This truly is a dark year.
Haha!
These are amazing.
I've been listening to the "You Must Remember This" podcast recently (which is an excellent 'cast about the "secret and forgotten history of Hollywood"), so this list made me laugh quite a bit. Most of these code words would apply even more to actors and actresses off the stage than on it – such as the indomitable Kay Francis, who not only always brought her own skates to the rink but was also well known to occasionally stand up on the night train.
<img src="http://pre-code.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/kayfrancis1.jpg" width="400">
Someone who takes her meals in a cafeteria
brb getting business cards printed that read "a real automat baby"
Reminds me of Nedroid's noir fiction tweets.
"He had a face like a stack of pancakes and whenever he talked he sprayed butter and syrup everywhere #noirfiction"
God, I knew there was a pancakes one that always made me crack up!
http://nedroidcomics.tumblr.com/post/43047344816/…
If this were serious it would at last make me understand why Rilla of Ingleside felt so mortified at the prospect of being seen carrying a cake