My four-year-old boy is a Batman fanatic and has found at the library
compilations of the original Batman cartoons from the 30's and 40's drawn
by the originator, Bob Kane. Today we were reading an episode and look at
the language I found ...
"I do not wish to seem ungrateful ..." (For the Roses: "I know I seem
ungrateful/with my teeth sunk in the hand ...")
"To the victor belong the spoils .." (Number One: "To the victor go the
spoils/honey, did you win or lose?")
"Cohorts in crime, Weasel and his men gain entrance to the hospital singly
and in pairs ..." (Song for Sharon: "Now there are 29 skaters on Wollman
rink/circling singly and in pairs ...")
Just seemed funny how the little turns of phrase seem to parallel with some
of Joni's choices. I know she's said she was kind of a good-time Charlie
in grade school and read lots of comic books ... hmmm.
By the way, there is some language that, of course, is quite dated (like I
have to explain to my son what war bonds are that they mention in some of
the comics) but one thing I haven't figured out. Whenever they have a
newspaper boy calling out the headlines to the passersby, he says, "Wuxtry!
Wuxtry! Joker still alive! Wuxtry!" What does "wuxtry" mean and/or what
is its origin? I don't find it in my dictionary and neither of my parents
who would know are with us anymore. Just curious. Waiting to hear from
you resourceful librarians ...
Musing in San Diego,
Lindsay
