Life — February 10, 1927 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Cover, February 10, 1927 **What We See:** This cover depicts an elevator scene with a uniformed bellhop/operator on the left and several well-dressed men in suits surrounding a woman in a light-colored coat holding what appears to be a small animal or purse. **The Joke:** The caption reads "Telling her where she gets off," which is a double entendre. In 1920s slang, "telling someone where they get off" meant confronting or rebuking them. The humor derives from the literal elevator setting combined with the suggestive phrase—the men appear to be giving this woman some form of social or romantic reprimand or comeuppance, likely playing on contemporary attitudes about women's behavior and social propriety during the Jazz Age. The specific context of this situation remains unclear without additional text.