Life, 1921-05-12 · page 25 of 36
Life — May 12, 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early-1920s New York City vernacular and immigrant speech patterns. The main feature, "Life's Lessons in Yorkese," mocks how working-class New Yorkers—likely recent immigrants—speak English, exaggerating their accent and grammar through phonetic spelling ("Yaseddit," "Sfunny," "Jussasame"). The humor derives from depicting rapid-fire, colloquial conversation about mundane topics like weather. The top illustration references Prohibition-era concerns ("hooch days"), showing a burglar interruption—a commentary on home security fears during lawlessness. The page also includes three short humor pieces: "No Time Like Now" (a dark joke about learning to swim while drowning), and "Poetic Lack" (art criticism). These reflect typical early-20th-century American magazine humor—broad, often cruel mockery of ethnic speech patterns and working-class life that would be considered offensive today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ith pri- sup his has THESE HOME HOOCH DAYS “WAKE UP, HENRY! 1 HEAR A BURGLAR. CALL THE AND HAVE THEM SNOOPING ‘ROUND THE HOUSE? “wat! “You tellum. One minute sclear. . . .” “Yaseddit. They got swell weather allatime outin Saffracisco.” “Swat they say. Dunno zidbelievum.” “Oh yeah, ats straigh awrigh. I know- LIFE’S Lessons in New Yorkese How to Converse in the Tongue of the Greatest City The Weather “QWELL day, aintit, huh?” POLICE.” NOT LIKELY!" ut. I gotta cousin lives outin Saffracisco.” “ Howsee likut?” “ Swell. enuffa me.” “You seddit. One minut sclear. Jussasame, slittle boig sgood- Sfunny climut, though. “Sprettygood, all | right.” “Maybe sgonna rain.” “Naw, Idathinkso.” “Yanevvacantell, Sfunny cli- mut.” “Yaseddit. “One minut sclear, next minut n catsandogs.” ‘ou tellum. Cha get caught- storm yestiddy ?” Naw. Jusgotinin time. Peach- uvva storm, wuzzuntit?” “You seddit, boy. Yanevvacantell.” Looka Chagot chours, all f tamakea guy go round allatime thanumbreller, sweather we're havin.” is. Swell daytaday, Yeah, snossobad.” “Scloud over there. again, maybe?” aw, twont. Might atat though. Nevvacantell.” Sgonna “Anna next minut srainin catsandogs. You seddit, boy. “Yeah, you seddit. Henry William Hanemann, No Time Like Now THE chap who had persisted in walking on the extreme outer edge of the sea wall pres- ently tumbled into the water, and while splashing mightily yelled at the top of his voice “Help! Help! Ican'tswim!” “Well, young fellow,” was the cool observation of the self-pos- sessed man who stood looking on, “T'd say that now is certainly the time, if ever, for you to learn.” Poetic Lack OET: What is wrong with my poem? Critic: Itis lacking in feeling. “Lacking in feeling! Why—” “Yaknow howat tis, cimut.” Sfunny The Cat: voor tuincs! AT ’EM IN A MINUTE. SOMEBODY WILL THROW A BRICK “Tt ought to feel ashamed of itself and evidently doesn't.” comicbooks.com