Life, 1927-03-03 · page 25 of 35
Life — March 3, 1927 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humorous pieces satirizing early 20th-century social attitudes: **"Just Between Us Girls"** mocks women's obsession with the term "IT"—slang for sex appeal. The piece, written by Lloyd Mayer, ridicules the vague concept through a breathless female monologue using exaggerated capitalization for emphasis. The satire targets both the undefined nature of "IT" and women's anxiety about whether they possess this mysterious quality. **"A Sure Sign"** is a brief joke about a father and mother discussing their daughter Jane's absence, implying she's at a dance. **"A Great Decision"** humorously depicts marital dynamics: Mr. Meeker, exhausted from carrying groceries, decides to buy an express wagon—a seemingly momentous decision his wife receives with cold indifference. The joke satirizes both male self-importance over minor decisions and marital tension. **"The Safe-cracker's Wife"** darkly jokes about criminal life: a wife plans to save stolen money to bail out their son when he inevitably gets arrested, normalizing crime as family business.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SUST BETWEEN US GIRLE “y TELL, my dear, I’m all hot and BOTHered about this SEX appeal thing you keep HEARing about all the enTIRE time because I mean WHAT does it MEAN, my dear, ANYways, when you say a per- son has SEX appeal? I mean you keep hearing MEN say ‘She’s got IT’ all the time, which means the GIRL they are TALKing aBOUT has appeal but I mean if you ASK them what they MEAN when they say this GIRL has got ‘IT’ they will just sort of SNICKer in an obNOXious manner and say they can't TELL you but the fact re MAINS this GIRL has ‘IT’ and this OTHer girl has NOT got ‘IT,’ but I mean the whole THING makes me so MAD I could SPIT be- cause I n simply NObody will TELL me whether I have got ‘IT’ or NOT, my dear, which is the R I mean, that I am HONestly BAFfled and conFUSE —I mean I ACtually AM! Well, ANYways, my dear, I think it is a very VULgar and disGUSTing idea for MEN to sort of go ROUND simply CLASsifying GIRLS whether they have got this SF peal thing or not because I mean practicably ANYbody knows it is a girl's CHARacter and not her SEX apPEAL or anything POI- sonous like THAT which really NICE men apPREciate but I mean ANYways I am comPLETEly SUNK and in the LOWer depths of WOE about this ‘IT’ business, my dear, because I mean I am HON- estly conVINCED I have NOT got ‘IT’ because I mean I have heard that they HEARD that tl who LOOKED quite ex- but that I was too NICE to be exCITing which HONestly de- PRESses me FRIGHTfully, my dear, because I mean I think I would PROBably be VEry exCITing ‘in- DEED if I was only SURE I had this SEX appeal—I mean I ACtual- ly DO!" Lloyd Mayer. A Sure Sign ATHER: Has Jane gone to the t? “oll, ELAINE! MR. BROOKLEBANK W. COFFEE—AND BRING HIM A YARMOU She must have. Most of The Safe-cracker’s Wife: vive THOUSAND DOLLARS! ont, SPIKE, DEAR, HOW WONDERFUL! We’LL PUT IT ASIDE AS A NEST-EGG TO BAIL JUNIOR OUT THE FIRST TIME HE GETS PULLED. A Great Decision ME: MEEKER was pacing the floor in one of his tan- trums. “Henrietta,” he finally squeaked, “I'm tired of carry- ing all those groceries home every day.” “Yes?” inquired Mrs. Meeker, coldly. “Yes,” he concluded firmly, “and I'm going to buy a little express wagon to-morrow. TEA THIS MORNING AND SOME DUNDEE MARMA- her clothes are here. LADE. HE HAS TO TELEPHONE TO FE? AND TO-DAY.” comicbooks.com