In the original trailer for the 1946 movie "The Harvey Girls" starring Judy Garland, the film is described by MGM as "Gay and Lusty." It is the story of a young woman riding a train from the East out West to become a mail-order bride, who falls in with a company of young women who are going to some remote place to open a "Harvey House" restaurant. The arranged marriage is never accomplished, Judy falls for the nasty owner of a nasty saloon in competition with the Harvey House and ... you know.
While there is romance in the story, it could properly be described as neither "gay" nor "lusty" in 2005 terms. My, how this language of ours changes.
What did 'lusty' mean then?
Filled with a love of or zest for life; vigorous...I think.
In a simpler age (the Forties), lusty meant full of life, vivacious, vibrant, robust, vigorous and strong.
William Bradford Of Plimouth Plantation
September 6, 1620.
All being compact together in one ship, we put to sea with a prosperous wind, which continued for many days, which was some encouragement to us; yet many were afflicted with seasickness. And I may not omit here a special work of God's providence. There was a proud and very profane young man, one of the seamen, of a lusty, able body, who would always be condemning the poor people in their sickness and cursing them daily. He told them that he hoped to help cast half of them overboard before they came to their journey's end. But it pleased God before the journey was not yet half complete, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard.
"Full of life"
So that a lust for life...
No, Insel, "Lust for Life" is a biographical novel, written in 1934 by Irving Stone, about Vincent van Gogh, turned into a not-very-good movie (of the same name) in 1956.
They made significant changes to the plot, also. Instead of the life of Van Gogh, the movie was about a fellow named George Lust, who was a stringer for Life Magazine. One of the more memorable scenes involved Lust's task of searching for Synghman Rhee, who was also a part-time stringer in Korea prior to his election as president.
After looking for the elusive man for some six months, Lust finally caught up to him in a bar outside of Seoul. Lust rushed up to him and said, "Ah, sweet Mr. Rhee of Life, at last I have found you." Brought tears to my eyes.
2
How *do you do it, TEd? [rolling-eyes e]
and *why...? :)
> Brought tears to my eyes
Quite. :~
"A pun is the lowest form of humor - when you don't think of it first." ~Oscar Levant
http://www.essaydepot.com/essayme/1145/
yeahbut the pun for me is an instantaneous form of wit or it's nothing. I don't fully understand this desire to travel miles off course chasing a chimera of mere near-homophones. But that's parbly jest me.
<<No, Insel>>
Well, yes. And it is redundant.
<<near-homophones>>
I'm not sure if this near-quote is inviting a response from me, or directed elsewhere.
> unmanageable Punsters, who interrupt others when engaged in conversation, with Puns or attempts at the same, shall be deprived of their Joseph Millers, and, if necessary, placed in solitary confinement.
;)
I am more or less resigned to the fact that such a fate is in my cards.
Aren't you getting a bit parsonal?
Aren't you getting a bit parsonal?
Yes, and the other half of the time, I get a bit judgemental.
so who/what were "Joseph Millers" and why did the OPs fear losing him/them?
- joe (if you have no pun, a ha'pun will do) f.
See the entry in the Vaudeville Lingo Glossary:
http://www.goodmagic.com/carny/vaud.htm
Great site, Faldo. My old man, who did vaudeville publicity way way back before the Great Depression used several of those phrases. I often wondered about the derivation of the haircuts one. Obvious in context that he meant he'd fired some guy, but now I know why he said it.
Thanks!
TEd
(in French) "allez" ("everybody")
That doesn't bode well for the accuracy of the site!
I was interested to see that it quotes the otherwise English idiom for 'to bomb'.
the otherwise English idiom for 'to bomb'.
Am I mis-taking you? That usage of bomb is pretty standard USn show biz terminology.
Mebbe I'm misrememerificating ~ thought we had discussed the relative divergence between bomb as succeed or fail?