Judge — July 28, 1917 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Telling It to the Marines" This Judge magazine cover from July 28, 1917 uses the phrase "telling it to the Marines"—a contemporary idiom meaning to tell an outlandish lie to someone unlikely to believe it. The cartoon depicts two figures in silhouette whispering to each other while a dog on a leash sits below them. The dog appears skeptical or unimpressed by their conversation. The visual joke plays on the expression: the couple is literally "telling it to" a canine audience, as if the dog represents the Marines—implying their story is so implausible that only a gullible dog (or Marines) would believe it. Published during World War I, the cartoon likely satirizes propaganda or dubious wartime claims circulating at the time.