Judge, 1929-05-18 · page 24 of 36
Judge — May 18, 1929 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This early Dr. Seuss piece is a humorous wordplay exercise rather than political satire. It plays on the phrase "left in the lurch" (meaning abandoned in a difficult situation) by collecting invented, absurd definitions of "lurch" from different American regions. Each section presents a fictional expert providing a ridiculous regional meaning: a Western traveler claims it's a seat on a transcontinental vehicle; a Kentucky woman describes it as a sag in a lady's dress (with a tiddle-de-winks anecdote); the Frothing Bros. in Cambridge, Massachusetts define it as a croquet equipment storage or repair location. The satire mocks regional pride and made-up "local traditions," with the final image showing a Harvard student leaving equipment behind. This is characteristic of Seuss's early Judge work—lighthearted, nonsensical humor aimed at educated readers who'd appreciate the absurdist premise and regional stereotypes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE “Left in the Lurch” and Just What Does It Mean? Wherever you roam, you'll always find lurches are different By Dr. Seuss The Lurch in the West “A lurch,” says Simon Whistle- booster, the famous traveler, “is a de lure accommodation aboard a speedy transcontinental lawn-mower, | In passing over the foothills of The Lurch in the South Nebraska, it often happens that the “A lurch.” writes Annabelle Choochoocubb of Lex | engineers desert their posts and go ington, Ky., “is a sag in the back of a lady's gown. native. The passenger. then, is left In the old days, at tiddle-de-winks tournaments, the , in the lurch.” winks were forever going astray and popping into | | some damsel’s lurch. And as all men were gentle . men in that era, nothing was done about it. The tiddle-de-winks were left in the lurch.” SORat \ HINGHAM BROS \ ] High + Grase | | | The Lurch in the East fi “There's only one truc lurch in the whole ” declares the Frothing and that’s our lurch in Mass. Here the Harvard boys get their croquet wickets straight ened out before sending them home at the end of the year.” (The picture shows a sophomore, leaving the Bros. in the lurch.) comicbooks.com