Life, 1919-03-27 · page 7 of 44
Life — March 27, 1919 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents satirical definitions of contemporary terms, likely from the early 20th century. The definitions mock modern concepts: - **Self-Determination**: Ignoring everyone else (attributed to "See Wilson")—a jab at President Woodrow Wilson's famous political principle - **Freedom of the Seas**: Britain's claimed right to use any ocean as a highway - **The Quantitative Standard**: Measuring progress by congressional output The illustration labeled "SEDANS" shows a street scene with automobiles and pedestrians, likely satirizing how sedans (then-new enclosed cars) had become status symbols or were changing modern urban life. The overall page mocks contemporary political rhetoric and social pretensions through humorous redefinitions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ca, a LIFE’S Dictionary of Modern Words and Phrases S LF-DETERMINATION: To ignore everybody else ber of million words uttered by members of Congress cach it yourself. Idealistic obsession. Derived from year as a guide to the conduct of all little pe schoolmaster. See Wilson, INvemNity: A form of punishment for thieves and mur- c P derers. Now obsolete. pom oF THE Stas: The inalienable right of all peo- P - A Armistice: A period of time to permit a beaten nation hig and little, to use any ocean as a safe highway, : to recuperate. the permission of Great Britain has been obtained. f Moverxisa: A composite philological term for all the te QUANTITATIVE STANDARD: The measure of the num- errors of the past. comicbooks.com