The Wasp — 1894 — page 293: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a well-dressed gentleman in a carriage being driven by horses, tipping his hat to pedestrians on the street. The caption reads: "Hello! thinkers? Is it windy enough for ye?" and "It vos ven you vos around, you hoodlum!" The satire appears to mock upper-class pretension and affected politeness. The gentleman's exaggerated courtesy—tipping his hat while making a pointed, insulting comment about wind and calling someone a "hoodlum"—reveals the hypocrisy of genteel behavior masking rudeness or contempt. The dialect in the pedestrian's response suggests working-class characters, highlighting class tensions. The joke targets how the wealthy performed civility while actually being dismissive toward lower classes.