Life, 1925-01-29 · page 7 of 37
Life — January 29, 1925 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the treatment of the English language in modern word puzzles. The figure on the left (identified as Noah Webster, the legendary American lexicographer) confronts a woman representing a word puzzle creator. Webster appears distressed, gesturing toward the woman whose dress is covered entirely in scrambled letters and word-puzzle squares. The caption's pun—"Nell" (likely referring to Noah Webster's legacy or the English language itself, personified as female)—suggests that word puzzles are mangling, disrespecting, or "not doing right by" proper English and its authoritative standards. The satire targets the popularization of word puzzles as frivolous entertainment that corrupts linguistic integrity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Committee of One Thousand r Law Enforcement is now func- e—which is news to those of us lidn't know there were that many said Congressman Scort on tand at his divorce suit, “a glass of . something.” s about as good a guess as any- can make these days. vil service examination for a tech- assistant in sanitary bacteriology incinnati was recently announced. irt of the duties of the job consists eping typhoid out of the city water ly. The entrance salary is $1,860 ar. Isn't that an inducement for « college graduates to go in for ic service instead of taking up the phone? Al, s rumored that Trinity College will made co-educational and will hence- h be known as Duke's Mixture. aL act Paperewskt has received an cr of three dollars to play the piano t Swiss dance. What will become all the thrifty Scotchman jc L' New York jurist thinks it would be vod idea to have a clinic for family That occurred to the rela- cs long ago. sabbles, «© American bankers who decide what shall do about our foreign loans id, by the way, who are the Ameri- in bankers who decide what we shal! foreign reed to extend the payment period il further, which means that the itish and French press will be hard t to it to think up new causes for ievance against the United States. LL LAPAvETTE, we are there” evidently es not apply to the United States hen it comes to collecting her debts. aL f the great Dawes plan turns out to « a failure, the Republicans can al- vays admit that it really belongs to )wen Younc, a Democrat. about our loans?) have The proposal to erect a monument to baseball in Washington is a matter of no concern to the successful ball player. He has made his pile. “Our jazz,” conchae IrvinG Bern, “is a bit muddy now. The words aren't just right, but the national expression is there just as truly as in the German waltz or the fiery Italian music or that oola something you find in the French musi That “oola something” must be the—er —something that makes French music sound so—well, so Frenchy, if you know what we mean. Tama, Iowa, has a Newspaper with two cditorial columns, one with Republican and the other with Democratic opinion. It could save much space and labor by learning the metropolitan technique of xetting both into the same column. The man who won” $20,000 naming a magazine and then proceeded to tread primrose paths iliustrates the old say- ing that it’s but a short step from “Liberty” to license. A German woman admits having had twenty-seven husbands. Hollywood papers please copy. Many motorists this year have suc- ceeded in having the fhgures on their license plates and their telephones iden- tical. This probably is in the hope that if they are followed by a speed police- man he will get a wrong number. LL The old Concord stage coach has been purchased by Henry Forp. “Just a real good car,” commented Mr. Forp modestly. In view of his fondness for New Eng- land relics, we wonder whether Mr. Forp has put in a bid for the recent earthquake, iL The average adult consumption of whisky per annum in an English indus- trial center is 11.4 gallons. To a hard- ened New Yorker that's merely the shank of the evening. Feminist slogan for 1925: A woman governor in every home. comicbooks.com