Daffodils?
John Chivers
'Golddiggers of 1935', recently shown on Turner Classic Movies) there is the
following refrain:
The rumble of the subway trains
The rattle of the taxis
The daffodils that entertain
At Angelo's and Maxie's
I assume that Angelo's and Maxie's are 1930's-era nightclubs, but what in
the world are "daffodils"? I've checked all the slang dictionaries (paper
and online), and can't find anything. Anyone up on their 30s slang?
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
A _daffodil_ is an "effeminate young man"; same as _pansy_. The word is
spelled _daffydil_ in the 1935 song, by the way. Source: Lighter,
_Hist. Dict. of Amer. Slang_. vol. I, p. 553. It's also in Partridge.
Chapman and Wentworth & Flexner list _daffydill_ in their slang
dictionaries: "an insane person," "a nut"; from Brit. "daffy." In the
1935 song, however, the daffodils are homos, not crazies.
--
Reinhold (Rey) Aman, Editor
MALEDICTA: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression
Santa Rosa, CA 95402, USA
http://www.sonic.net/maledicta/
Robert Lipton
John Chivers wrote:
>
> In the song "Lullaby of Broadway" (from the wonderful Busby Berkeley musical
> 'Golddiggers of 1935', recently shown on Turner Classic Movies) there is the
> following refrain:
>
> The rumble of the subway trains
> The rattle of the taxis
> The daffodils that entertain
> At Angelo's and Maxie's
>
> I assume that Angelo's and Maxie's are 1930's-era nightclubs, but what in
> the world are "daffodils"? I've checked all the slang dictionaries (paper
> and online), and can't find anything. Anyone up on their 30s slang?
There is no such slang term in any of my references. It is my guess
that it is a reference to 'pansies' -- camp queers -- and a pun on
'daffy'.
There is an Angelo & Maxie's again: a steakhouse on Park Avenue. My
guess is that it is named from the song.
Bob
Kai Werner Dathe
In the Queen song "I'm going slightly mad", a song full of expessions for
"going insane" there also a daffodil line:
I'm Gong Slighly Mad
When the outside temperature rises
And the meaning is oh so clear
One thousand and one yellow daffodils
Begin to dance in front of you - oh dear
Are they trying to tell you something
You're missing that one final screw
You're simply not in the pink my dear
To be honest you haven't got a clue
I'm going slightly mad
I'm going slightly mad
It finally happened - happened
It finally happened - ooh oh
It finally happened
I'm slightly mad
Oh dear
I'm one card short of a full deck
I'm not quite the shilling
One wave short of a shipwreck
I'm not my usual top billing
I'm coming down with a fever
I'm really out to sea
This kettle is boiling over
I think I'm a banana tree
Oh dear
I'm going slightly mad
I'm going slightly mad
It finally happened - happened
It finally happened - uh huh
It finally happened
I'm slightly mad
Oh dear
Ooh ooh ah ah
Ooh ooh ah ah
I'm knitting with only one needle
Unravelling fast it's true
I'm driving only three wheels these days
But my dear how about you
I'm going slightly mad
I'm going slightly mad
It finally happened
It finally happened - oh yes
It finally happened
I'm slightly mad
Just very slightly mad
And there you have it
The song is from the album Innuendo (1991) and was the last album of which
Freddie Mercury saw the release of.
It's a very wierd feeling to know that daffodils were also gay people.
Freddie was bisexual and died of Aids. The song is considered a methaphor of
his aids desease getting worse. He died nearly on year after the release of the
album.
Kai
Till the head is full
The eYe - 255 ammo at http://members.xoom.com/Kai_Dathe/eyecheat.htm
Parodies - with ra files at http://members.xoom.com/Kai_Dathe/parodies.html
Bonnie Granat
Robert Lipton wrote in message <38B68FF8...@earthlink.net>...
Looked up "daffodil". It has "showy, usually yellow flowers with a
trumpet-shaped central crown". Perhaps the shiny brass instruments reminded
the lyricist of daffodils.
Bonnie Granat
http://home.att.net/~bgranat
Matti Lamprhey
news:38B793...@sonic.net...
> [...]
> Bonnie dear, trust me, a _daffodil_ is also an *effeminate young man*,
> or as George Carlin says, a(n)
>
> [long list snipped ending with...]
> Wonk.
Yes, I had a feeling that those who used this word to mean "techie expert"
were going to regret it.
Matti
John Davies
<am...@sonic.net> writes
>
>Bonnie dear, trust me, a _daffodil_ is also an *effeminate young man*,
>or as George Carlin says, a(n)
>
[snip list]
>Wonk.
>
I'm slightly unsettled to discover I know two that aren't on your
amazingly comprehensive list: "Beefer" (Royal Navy) and "Jessie"
(Glaswegian). Both are in Partridge.
On reflection, there are two overlapping concepts underlying your list:
effeminacy and homosexuality. Some of the words give more emphasis to
one than to the other. "Ass bandit" (UK = arsehole bandit) and "betty",
for example, have rather different connotations.
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)