Life — March 31, 1921 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Language of the Spirits" - Life Magazine Page 456 This page discusses how Prohibition (the Volstead Act) has spawned new American slang terms for illegal alcohol: "booze," "hooch," "blind pig," "speakeasy," "bootlegger," and "home-brew." The article notes these words emerged because the liquor trade was driven underground, creating colorful colloquial terminology. The accompanying cartoon shows two well-dressed men in top hats. The "Tragedian" (actor) complains he earned only two hundred dollars weekly; the "Comedian" asks what he did the other fifty-one weeks—implying theatrical work was inconsistent. Below, "No Cause for Complaint" humorously depicts an actor reluctant to sign a hotel register after being told the roof needed repairs—a darkly comedic anecdote about accepting poor conditions.