Life, 1926-12-30 · page 12 of 37
Life — December 30, 1926 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical features typical of 1920s Life magazine: **"A New Year's Eve"** (top illustration): A chaotic party scene mocking post-Prohibition revelry—people dancing wildly with decorative balls and streamers, depicting the frantic social excess of the Jazz Age. **"Mrs. Pops's Diary"** (middle section): A domestic humor column from December 7th chronicling mundane household frustrations—replacing books, furniture deterioration, and financial strain. The accompanying cartoon shows a father questioning why he should fund radio programs for his home, satirizing early radio adoption costs. **"Life's Hotsy-Totsy Dictionary"** (right column): A glossary of contemporary slang terms ("flapper," "sheik," "aftallie") that mocks how magazines constantly publish new slang to seem current and relevant to younger readers—itself a meta-joke about magazine culture. The page captures 1920s consumer culture anxieties and generational language gaps humorously.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A NEW YEAR’S EVE December Awakened too betimes I by the telephone com- 7th pany’s determination to replace its books in my room with new ones, and why it should insist on having the old ones back I have never understood, nor what disposi- tion it makes of them, and some day I do mean to write an inquiry to that effect, but not at this season of the year. A communication on the first post from one Cholly Knickerbocker in regard to his jour- nal's activities in be- half of the poor, which Sam bade me answer at once as a beneficiary in the first flight of neediest cases, nor would such a proceeding have been so far out, neither, because since casting up my ac- counts and_ finding myself solvent, I have indulged in great ex- travagance, so that I do fear my bank bal- ance to be below the sum set as a carrying minimum, and how I am to pay for all the boxes I have promised to buy for charity benefits, only God knows. Lay abed, pondering this and that, such as why the sleep gained before midnight should be considered su- perior, what handwriting experts do when there are no murder trials, and why it is never convenient to go to (Continued on page 29) “THESE RADIG PROGRAMS ARE SO NAIVE. COULDN'T I HAVE A STATION OF MY OWN, FATHER?” Lire's Hotsy-Totsy Dictionary A LL the smart magazines are publishing lists of the really up-to-date slang words and phrases, such as “flapper” and “sheik” and “Oh, go to hell!” You stamp your- self immediately as a ‘wet smack” ora “flat tire” if you do not sprinkle your conversation with some of these expressions, which are awfully clever and invented by the country’s very best minds. Here are a few swell ones that practically dispense with thinking altogether. Try them on your Society friends. Afgtlie—an engagement with a beautiful woman, named Mrs. Edith Berkowitz, who is not good dancer. Agnes Murphy—a raccoon coat; or “Your petticoat is showing,” or “Isn't this my dance?” Borgling—crossing Times Square on all fours. Cream Puff—an engagement with a young man who has an uncle who is a janitor. Chocolate Cream Puff—an engage- ment with a young man who has not an uncle who is a jan- itor. Is this the way to the z00?—I should like to take your father to a movie. Dassent—Dare not, like “Das- sent! dassent! dassent!” Drunk—Having been drinking, like “Alice, I sup- pose, is drunk.” Big Stuck-up—a So- ciety matron. Popsy-opsy—F ather. Momsy-omsy—Mother, like “Momsy-omsy Machri Yosemite National Park —a_ national reservation in cen- tral California, 71 622 acres, includ the Yosemite Valley, a gorge about eight miles long. Phyllis Ryan. A Repeater H ILL (at tea): Mrs. Davis scems to have been married to every man here. Git: Yes, she’s the wife of the party. comicbooks.com