Life, 1928-01-05 · page 10 of 34
Life — January 5, 1928 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a dinner party where a woman is confronted about her birthday—the man says "But, Gracie, I thought you had your birthday months ago. For the love of Mike, shut up, can't you?" **The joke:** The woman (Gracie) appears to be constantly mentioning or celebrating her birthday repeatedly, suggesting she's obsessed with age or seeking attention/gifts. The man's exasperated response mocks women who allegedly overemphasize their birthdays. The page's lower half is "A Glossary of Broadway Slang"—definitions of theatrical jargon and slang terms used by performers and theater workers. Terms include "Azzle" (mess up), "Bronson" (bronchitis from stage drafts), and "Tasking-illay" (don't give your phone number—a warning cry). **Context:** This reflects 1920s-era theater culture and attitudes toward women's vanity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“But, Gracie, I thought you had your birthday months ag “For the love of Mike, shut up, can't you?” A Glossary of Broadway Slang ZZLE. To mess up. azzled the act.” Bargling It. Cooking over a gas jet in a rooming house. Blowing the Triangle. Playing ex- y to the upper left box (the traditional spot in which managers catch an act). Probably intends some meaning of futility. Bronson. A bronson is anybody in a fur coat and spats. Circassian. Anybody who doesn’t quite belong. A freak. Crumpet. An English actor. Cutting a Melon. Stepping out with the heavy sugar. Drooling. Putting over a song of the Mammy variety. “‘He’s the best drooler in the bus: , Drowning the Duck. Doing the same thing over again for an encore. Easel Money. Income derived from posing for photographs. Fladding. Using somebody else’s charge account. Grabbing the Gronk. Leaving a partner (or husband, or wife) flat. Holocaust. A hot hit; a wow; an intensely successful production. Horse Tail. A man that plays only parts involving long whiskers. A flop. Todine. Anything told to you for your own good, Adverse criticism given in a friendly way. As “He Lozenge-Lizard. A tenor or any singer constantly fussing over his vocal cords. Lurid. Un-subtle. “My dear, the yay she makes up to the stage di- rector is positively lurid!" (Possi- bly confused with’ lewd.) AN Otp Lapy From Dusugue: as I thought, Ezra. That actress has been using cosmetics! Mashing. Taking a fall for the sake of a laugh. Mizzle. A character comedian with Shakespearean experience. Slightly derisive. Nosing the Binge. Stealing the show from the leading lady. (Some- times slightly varied.) Orphan. A girl looking for a date. Otter. A heavy drinker. Otto Kahn. An Otto Kahn, or an Otto, is a free meal. Parboiled. Too much make-up. Riding Habit. Rehearsal clothes. Rimming the Bidey. Watching an act from the wings. (Implies that the person so doing is sort of stuck on the person acting.) Ronkonkoma. Hick. ‘Don’t get Ronkonkoma, Gladys. Sit on the gentleman's lap.” Sigsbees. Midgets. Smokehouse. A_ theatrical hotel. Taskay-illay. Don't give your right telephone number or address. Generally used as a cry of warning. “Taskay-illay for that bozo.” Trap-drummer. A gentleman who is no gentleman. Turnip. An acrobat. Wheat-wrassling. Supporting one- self by honest labor. Znooch. A sneak; a tale-bearer. Henry William Hanemann. ‘comicbooks.com