Judge, 1925-02-14 · page 21 of 36
Judge — February 14, 1925 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from the satirical magazine *Judge* contains several pieces satirizing 1920s American culture. The main article, "Four Letter Word Meaning 'Cute,'" mocks a character named Arabella who overuses the word "cute" to describe everything—from Jackie Coogan and Rudolph Valentino to shrimp salad and Yellowstone National Park. The satire targets the affectation of young women who adopted trendy vocabulary without discrimination. The narrator's exaggerated threat to push her off a gorge is hyperbolic humor about her linguistic excess. The "Funnybones" section offers brief witticisms, while "Omar to His Infant" parodies the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, replacing romantic imagery with mundane domestic life—a common literary-mockery technique. The bottom cartoon dialogue about chocolates versus caramels presents mild domestic humor about spousal preferences, typical of era's relationship comedy. The page targets 1920s consumerism, linguistic trends, and romantic idealization.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Here's a yo! Ure got Licerpoot Four Letter Word Meaning “Cute” Eye woman has the privilege of 4 ning dumb, but some women | abuse the privilege. Take Arabella, (Please T don’t want her.) Aral limited as that of a United Sta Senator. Her vocabulary, in consists of just. one word. That word is “cut Arabe! ja manages to get a good of mileage from her one-cylinder erything, to. Ara- from French pastry vin Coolidge. Now, personally, I have no objec- tion to the word “cute.” It's all right in its place. In fact, I know some very cute girls who use the word, But Arabella overdoes it When she says that Jackie Coogan is cute, I agree with her, but when she goes on to say that Rudolph Valen- tino, Mah Jongg, banana fritters, The Atlantic Monthly, the mad scene from “Lucia,” Spumoni, John Roach Straton, “Yes, We Have No Bana- nas.” poached eggs on toast, “Red” Grange, “What Price Glory?” Han- del’s “Messiah,” shrimp salad, “Bar- ney Google,” and the Yellowstone National Park are all cute, I register a protest. The other day Arabella and I drove out into the country. When we got to a nice quiet spot we parked the car and started walking. It was a glorious day. All nature seemed to be bubbling over. So was Arabella. and a bite Funnybones / \ The man who is always s hands generally has something up Jack an “Oh, isn’t this just too cute for thing! she gurgled — ecstatic- We paused on the brink of a nar- row gorge. Far down below we could see a tiny brook winding its rap- turous way between the high rocky walls. It wasa thrilling sight. Even Arabella kept silent for a moment. But only for a moment. “Don’t you think this gorge is per- fectly gorgeous?” she asked. It was too much. 1 advanced toward her with murder in’ m heart. But first I gave her one last chance, s that the only word that de- scribes it?” [ inquired, pleasant “Oh, not It’s cute, too,” murmured. she I thrust out my arm and pushed her gently but firmly off the brink of the chasm! Harold L. Saze Omar to His Infant A perambulator beneath the bough, A rattle-box, a flask of milk, and thou Beside me, howling in the wilderness; Ah, wilderness were hell enow! So young Jones has been sending you chocolates again? But surely you don't mind, hubby dear. Yes, I do—tell him I prefer caramels. comicbooks.com