Speak like Gatsby: Words and Expressions of The Jazz Age (1920s/30s) | History of English

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This is the story of the Jazz age and the words, expressions and idioms that entered the English language at that time. The vocabulary reflects the era. There was immense technological change, increased, cars, telephones, fridges, vacuum cleaners all become widespread in the 20s. There were movies, radio and, of course Jazz. On the hand, there was a great depression starting in 1929, mob violence and racial tension. We'll look at how all this changed the language.
Thanks to Jack for taking part in this video.
00:00 What and when was the Jazz age?
01:51 The history of the jazz age
09:15 Ground News
10:49 Jazz age expressions with Jack
26:37 She's My Gal Now
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[@LetThemTalkTV]

Check out ground.news/letthemtalk to stay fully informed on breaking news as it's happening around the world and compare coverage.

[@ground_news]

Another great cultural & lingual video. Thanks for sharing our mission, for anyone interested in seeing how language shapes our understanding of breaking news check out the link above.

[@michaelhuber6895]

I just been listening to your jazz age slang. I really enjoyed it. I ain't got no dame damn it. I would love to crochet a dame. I am 70 years old and I have known as a slang all my life, I was raised in New York and the Harlem Renaissance was very real to me. I'd scoot round the corner to the joint man. Den, I could create a mind that is blown! Do you get my drift?

[@michaelhuber6895]

@@ground_news I am an old man, and I'm really not quite clear on how to use all this technology, however, what do I need to do to subscribe to ground news?

[@ground_news]

@@michaelhuber6895 Hi Michael when you click the link above all you have to do is select Subscribe and then choose a plan. If you don't need anything too in depth, I recommend Premium which will give you the ability to read as many news articles as you want and to see the bias and factuality ratings of the news outlets. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@Guitcad1]

I have a question: At what point did English scholars take note of the fact that the English they spoke was very different from that which we now call "Old English"? Would, say, Chaucer have recognized the language of Beowulf as "English"? (I realize he would have almost certainly not understood it to any great degree.) At what point did anyone begin to take an interest in the history of the English Language? When did they begin to distinguish Old and Middle English from modern English?

[@charlesstuart7290]

I was born in 1948 and knew most of these, with the exception of "noodle juice" and cake eater. Few places in the US had Chinese restaurants in the 20's outside the big cities. Most people who heard "baby grand" in the 20's would answer "piano". A type of sarcasm ran through American popular English like if there was a movie that you definitely didn't want to see because of the genre or star you might say "I'm running". When you said "listen Brother or listen Sister, it didn't signify closeness but annoyance.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

very interesting insight thanks

[@dinkster1729]

Certainly in the 1930s Chinamen (Chinese restaurants) were so common on the Canadian Prairie that when someone came to a small town instead of asking where the nearest restaurant was, he'd ask, "Where is the Chinaman?" My grandmother who ran a small restaurant and boarding house in Huxley, Alberta during the Depression often told the story of how a salesman came to town and asked a man, "Where's the Chinaman?" and was shocked and pleasantly surprised to find my Grandmother's restaurant featurning North American cuisine.

[@dinkster1729]

I was surprised to find out that "cheaters" was American slang. The only person I've heard use "cheaters" for glasses was a Dutch immigrant to Canada and I assumed he was translating a Dutch term. I guess not.

[@meedwards5]

@@dinkster1729 the term cheaters is still widely used in CA for drugstore magnification eyeglasses but not prescription lenses.

[@truthtriumphant]

@@meedwards5Here in New York as well.

[@philiphrees1]

With reference to the use of Gat - when referring to a gun in jazz speak - I served in the British army during the 1980s and we affectionately called our personal weapon of the time (7.62 Self Loading Rifle) a gat - which, in this sense, was short for gatling gun - an early form of multi-bareled machine gun.

[@christinahogan5145]

Jack is rudiculously adorable 😍

[@jefffarris1288]

I have heard “cheaters” used quite a bit here in the US, but they only seem to refer to the non-prescription reading glasses you get in a store for like $10.

[@dinkster1729]

Yeah, that's how my Dutch friend used them--he was referring to his reading glasses, not glasses like mine which I wear from the time to get up in the morning till I go to bed at night. I thought the term, "cheaters" was a translation from a Dutch term for glasses, but, apparently, not. My friend, the Dutch immigrant to Canada is the only one I"ve heard call reading glasses "cheaters". He learned his English in Corwall, Ontario, close to the American border, so maybe, it's common term down there for reading glasses.

[@matthewbartsh9167]

What a swell moving picture. I was giggling even though I hadn't had a drop of giggle water.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Cut out the giggle water and stick with the noodle juice. You get my drifter fella?

[@jameshitselberger5845]

In the 1920s if it was said that someone was tight, it could mean he had too much alcohol to drink. I am not sure whether it still had its current meaning of being stingy,

[@fozziebean]

@@jameshitselberger5845 In current African-American English, "tight" means good (or "swell"), but it refers to a situation, not a person. Ex: "My new job pays a lot more than my old one." "That's tight."

[@christinahogan5145]

The acting in the end is too much!!! I'm cracking up 🤣🤣🤣 Jack is such a good sport about participating in these videos I'm even though he seems shy. You guys make a great duo! 😜

[@shinyshinythings]

I still use “snazzy” along with a lot of these 1920s terms! They’re way more fun to say. (I don’t think I’ll be picking up “noodle juice” any time soon though!)

[@isabelatence7035]

Great Gideon!! You don't lose the mojo, your videos are always unique, you made my afternoon, I traveled back in time, your text is sensational, lactose intolerance was brilliant kkkkk, Jack's participation was superb, I feel light, thanks for showing this video. 👏👏👏

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I really appreciate your comment. Anyone who laughs at my jokes must be swell. Best wishes.

[@jacmaclar]

McCoy was a rumrunner in the early 20s. He operated a sailboat where he brought liquor in from the Bahamas. He quit around 1923 as rumrunning became a big business and larger motorized ships took over.McCoy was noted for always having quality whiskey. But there is an argument to be made that the real McCoy was an African-American engineer, who invented an oil valve for steam engines, which changed the way trains ran in that they no longer had to stop every few miles to oil the engine, because now it could be automatically done.

[@dinkster1729]

Wouldn't you bring in "rum" from the West Indies?

[@jacmaclar]

@@dinkster1729 The Bahamas mostly as it was where the British importers were anchored.

[@Sauvageonne]

My 3-month-old laughs hard when I sing Minnie the Moocher along. I had never looked the word up, but could sense it had to do with Harlem's hoodlums. Now I know. Thank you Gideon. I shall be a bad mum and keep on singing Haaa-de-haaa-de-haaaa-de-haaaa to my baby.

[@florkgagga]

That cabaret at the finish line was swell!

[@philpaine3068]

If you want a sample of dialogue in 1920's America ---- specifically in New York --- just read anything by Damon Runyon. He specialized in putting the real vernacular on paper. There was so much popular slang in his stories that now they can be difficult for a modern reader to understand. He is now thought of as a satirist/humorist, but in fact the stories were often very realistic and emotionally sensitive. However, popular speech outside of New York did not much resemble what he documented, though there was some slang that was more widespread and came to be popularized in movies during the 1930s.

[@feralbluee]

this vid was the cat’s meow, the bee’s knees. you’re really Puttin’ on the Ritz - lots of razzamatazz :) 😋

[@OlliePete]

I really appreciate your content. Being a Londoner living in Edinburgh, it's good to have some YT videos (you're channel) to show the many Scots in Edinburgh who hear my accent and automatically call me a cockney. I was born in West London, Hammersmith. Started working on many building sites around the city and East London (Olympic park in Stratford, and the Westfield shopping centre when they were under construction). And yes, there were plenty of East London and Essex contractors who would remind me that we were "posh" from West London, and that they were the true cockneys. Tbh I had no problem with that at all, especially being called posh, because if anyone heard me speak that will be the last thing they would label me as. But you're right, the true cockneys are a proud bunch - and rightfully so. They have been that influential on the people they've been around that their accent and mannerisms have spread across the majority of South East England. To anyone outside of London, I sound exactly like a cockney, and some people will mimic my way of talking when I'm in a conversation with them. Now, I'm not stupid, I know when someone is doing it with venom - when they are intending to belittle me. But there have been plenty of times when I've been speaking to someone for more than a few minutes and you gradually see their own way of talking change to start matching mine, and they don't realise at first. It's quite funny. I actually tried searching, "why do accents sound the way they are," a few months ago, and you're content didn't pop up. And I never got an answer to my question until I found your videos last week. Again, thank you for the interesting history of language, I look forward to more of your content.

[@novaricos]

changing speech patterns and accent slowly to match another person you are speaking to face-to-face, is called 'accommodation', and is an unconscious thing done to help someone else blend in and to not feel like they are odd, unusual or 'stick-out' in some way. Usually indicates a very kind and sensitive person.

[@OlliePete]

@@novaricos thanks for that. It's quite an interesting quirk in human behaviour, but also very easy to misinterpret and take the wrong way.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

In the 1920s, it was common to hear the word "flat" used for "apartment". My mom used to use that word and she was born in the '20s. I think "cigarette" had a slang word too.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

We still use flat.

[@Xisbrezatsgzormd]

What’s wrong with flat? 😅

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

@@Xisbrezatsgzormd - Nothing. It seemed that Gideon went out of his way to use the word "apartment" in his sketch. Flat would have been appropriate for the time. Today, Americans say "apartment" but not back then.

[@williampatten9165]

The only slang I remember for cigarettes was "smoke". And you would say "Gimme a light, would ya (pronounced "Wooja)". The other terms I know for cigarettes I think came much later after the dangers of smoking became known, and weren't used by the smokers. As a side note, cowboys call chewing tobacco a pinch.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

@@williampatten9165 - Back in the 70s, in my neighborhood, I would often hear, "Lemme get one o' dem squares off ya." It seems that "square" was a reference to the rectangular package in which the cigarettes came. Either that or the 2 dimensional view of the cylinder, which is a cigarette. There is another old timey slang word for a cigarette that I haven't seen here yet.

[@fozziebean]

Boy, that skit at the end sure was swell! 🤣

[@BlueSkies.73]

Simply the best English teacher, EVER. On and off line. Thank you! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You're too kind.

[@sluggo206]

"Swell" also means a rich person, who may live "where the swells live". My dad used to say that. A "baby grand" is a smaller version of a concert piano ("a grand piano"), still current. Both are larger than an upright piano. I've never heard "noodle juice".

[@bobmccarty2022]

"Cake eater" is current US military slang for "officer", as opposed to enlisted personnel (lower ranks) who don't get to eat fancy stuff while downrange (deployed in a battle zone).

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Interesting to know.

[@constantingioev6223]

The word "to lick" with a meaning of "to beat" or "to blow" I first came across in M.Twain's "Adventures of T. Sawyer" and "Huck Finn". From "The Great Gatsby" I remember the usage of "toward" instead of "towards"

[@Rastafirez]

I've just discovered your channel and am an immediate subscriber. I always love working on improving my English and you and Jack managed to somehow make that even more fun. You're a couple of swell fellas and I had the grandest of times absorbing this talkie of yours!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You're kind of neat yourself. thanks fella.

[@fozziebean]

Hi, fellow Contrapoints fan! 😁

[@carlosatashian6569]

Noodle Juice reminded me of Umbrella Juice. In Spanish we have the equivalent to “umbrella juice” (jugo de paraguas) for a bad quality coffee.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

unfortunately there is a lot of umbrella juice around

[@ashleyng323]

@@LetThemTalkTV even in Paris? Great video- I learned and laughed a lot 😂

[@mariejeannemathurin423]

Swell, guys ! I really digged it . That Trac(e)y must be some broad ! Kudos, but don't smoke each other, for her, we don't want a stiff with the cops crawling around. I'm saving the video, I want to watch it again.

[@EllaOstrova]

Gideon, what a clever man you are. Absolutely amazing video! Your guest is handsome and pleasant in communication. Have a lovely December for both of you.

[@alanlawrence2954]

I got ALL the transatlantic expressions easily... Now where's my prize? The roaring 20s giggle juice screen play should get you an Academy Award.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I agree. I'm awaiting the call from the Academy.

[@scottstrain8388]

Entertaining and informative. I particularly enjoyed the preliminary historical background for the jazz era. There are a couple of items that you might add, though: - "gat" is from "Gatling gun", which was an alternate reference for a "tommy gun", based on the old weapon with multiple barrels. Some used it as a reference to a double action revolver, though. - "swell" is also used to refer to a rich (or posh) individual "That guy's a real swell." - "the real McCoy". What you said was pretty close, but this is the full information, which is pretty interesting and you might enjoy: "The real McCoy" was the inventor Elijah McCoy (black),born in Canada in 1844. He had many different inventions including an ironing board and a lawn sprinkler. Other companies copied his devices, but these never worked as well as Elijah's so people would say, "I want a , and make sure it's a real McCoy."

[@OceanChild75]

This is such an amazing video - once again you excelled yourself. Many thanks for your dedication and I’m looking forward to hearing you again on Zeitgeist Banana! All these chilled chats you are having with Matt Damon are such a goldmine of trivia facts, slang words and idioms

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Many thanks. Zeitgeist banana is on pause but we'll be back.

[@OceanChild75]

Awesome I’m looking forwards to anything you release 🌟

[@abdullahsaif9196]

You are truly a big shot. A got the drift of jazz age through your video. And the Great Gatsby is a big shot.

[@jameshitselberger5845]

Big shot can be used in a derogatory way..still is I think...as in "He thinks he is such a big shot." i.e. he has a little glory, but not as much as he apparently think and acts as though he has. I never heard it used with a positive association as the writer here places it.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Well ain't that something. Your comment is swell.

[@jameshitselberger5845]

Now that I think about it more...it might be a neutral description of some perrsons...e.g. "They're big shots on the football team"...though in this case someone is more likely to say..at least since the 1970s..."They're jocks on the football team." a jock from jock strap referring to a good male athlete in general. But if someone seriously said he was a big shot it would be emblematic of a big ego. By the way, I was intrigued when a British tourist in Thailand told me that Jock was another Scottish name for someone named James. What do you say Jack? I was not sure of the correctness of this statement, but none of the nicknames in the U.S. for James are satisfactory, Jim being misheard for Tim, Jimmy being just too stupid, and Jay..well, Jay is a proper name by itself. Tell me please if Jock can be used..that would be interesting to use in the U.S. ! But lastly, I thought the Scottish name for James was Haymish (spelling no doubt wrong, but this is phonetic). Am I or that British tourist mistaken? I have been using James now for a while despite the fact that people who do not or should not know me by my first name want to go straight to Jimsince they think anyone who goes by James is affecting airs. For those people I think it would be great to say Jock..see what their faces look like then.

[@jameshitselberger5845]

Swell had its last gasp in 1960s American English when it was used in a sarcastic way or as an expression of resignation / anger, e.g. "Swell!" She forgot to bring the picnic supplies? Swell! or He did not show up?! He was supposed to clean off all the tables for us! Swell! I only recall its usage as a noun describing someone from 1930s writing...They're swells from the football team (perhaps being an accurate usage.)

[@dinkster1729]

@@jameshitselberger5845 I think I"ve heard, "He's a big shot at . . ." Meaning he's in a position of authority. You can also say, "He's a wheel." I remember my husband once describing a friend 's father as being "a wheel." Another friend to whom he was speaking answered, "If you can call a foreman "a wheel". Maybe, "a big shot" is higher up the employment hierarchy than "a wheel" though.

[@philippel.5013]

You have definitely got your mojo working. Outdone yourself on this one, Gideon! Thanks for this great video. And now for some tomato cake ...

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Glad you liked it.

[@msadurski]

Fairly awsome episode, Gideon!

[@ritaroad]

😂I loved this. I’m 67 and to young for the jazz age jargon but I grew up watching old movies. I also grew up in Chicago. I figure that as late as 1970 when I was 15 my friends and I used at least half of these terms. I certainly know the guys used the term broad. A gat became a piece. Liquor was booze. I read recently that Chicagoans no longer want a Chicago accent. I suppose it has to do with being pegged as the working class, blue collar. For example, dat was that and I was a nort sider, meaning I lived on the north side of the city, north of Madison.

[@colinedmunds2238]

“Cake eater” is now used disparagingly amongst carnies to mean a “dupe” or a “sucker” or an easy target

[@user-qq5hd9wo9t]

Thanks for the idioms. I may start using a couple of them)

[@simong8527]

What a great history lesson included, all in one 🎉

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@dinkster1729]

The description of the Great Depression is very inaccurate frankly. Try George Orwell's earlier works or John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath for a better description of the Dirty Thirties. Woody Guthrie's , Lead Belly's and Pete Seegar's music is not even mentioned.

[@lisaesposito7317]

Truly enjoyed this video

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I enjoyed your comment. Thanks

[@dean828]

snazzy (adj.) "stylish, flashy," 1932, U.S. colloquial, perhaps a blend of snappy and jazzy... one of my fave words from this era... "A Gat" came from the Gatling gun invented in 1861 by Richard Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon... you have seen it used in tons of Cowboy movies...

[@jimmycantu7651]

You are a very good teacher, I am really sorry for my previous comments ...God bless you

[@scrappingfla9016]

Love this video...😊

[@lotus1695]

Loved it. I'm hooked you MOJO!

[@hollacebeard-hunting2689]

So much fun to watch. Swell!

[@elainebelzDetroit]

I hadn't heard about that McCoy! Fascinating! I'd only heard of the earlier one, Elijah McCoy, a Black Detroiter (born in nearby Essex Co., Ontario) who invented a self-lubricating device for train motors. (Trains were once one of Detroit's big industries but it wall went to Chicago pretty quickly for obvious geographic reasons.)

[@donnawalters7060]

That was the cat's pajamas! The bee's knees!

[@freddiemercury8700]

Come to thinks of it: Merry chrimbo to you Gideon! Greetings from Casablanca Morocco. I have been with you through thick and thin since the lockdown started. Have a good one gaffer! Thanks ever so much for your time, as well as dog's bollocks lessons. Off I go ! Bye for now and stay mellow as you would say.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Best wishes. Happy holidays to all in Casablanca.

[@colinedmunds2238]

“Dead soldiers” was used on the show “The Wire” to describe discarded drug vials by Bubbles, one of the main drug addict characters

[@yensid4294]

Most of these I knew mainly from watching old B&W classic movies altho some are still in usage today. Baby Grand I wasn't familar with but considering a Grand Piano or Baby Grand Piano is a large/heavy object (I'm assuming this is the reference) it makes sense as slang for a larger person.

[@lisaesposito7317]

That was swell!! 👏👏

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Ah jeez. You're too kind.

[@mityakirillov89]

What a grand flick!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

ah shucks. You're too kind.

[@michaelduffy6874]

"Broad", meaning a woman, is a strange word. I remember Frank Sinatra referring to his then wife Mia Farrow as a broad, which sounded quite insulting, and didn't seem to fit her.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I always thought it was strange too. Doesn't look like it's making a comeback

[@jameshitselberger5845]

never a polite way to refer to a lady

[@CristinaAcosta]

Always made me cringe

[@tmp3477]

Comes from the Norse (brud) meaning bride, I think, which is not that bad.

[@jameshitselberger5845]

@@tmp3477 That is great that you found that connection...it seems that many slang words which we consider taboo (and never enter the literary language) have old and even ancient indo european origins or connections. I was astonished to learn that a word in Persian never taught in class جاق زدن 'jag' is the equivalent to 'jack off.'

[@FuerteEnglish]

Great videos

[@pooroldnostradamus]

0:38 “Jazz era was still in full *swing*”

[@colomba8722]

That was swell! 😍👏🏼

[@GoodNewsEveryone2999]

Big Shot is still everyday talk for me in the US (late gen x - early millennial) . Mojo, everyday speech since before Austin Powers, Real MacCoy is maybe not daily but common speech, Fat Chance - daily speech, Carry a torch - daily speech, noodle juice - for broth, occasionally; for tea - never, it's racist, Baby Grand, rarely but it could be considered body-shaming, Dead Soldiers - rarely, possibly also for cigarette butts, Cheaters - Never, it's shaming the visually impaired, live wire - common but not daily speech, joint = place makes me realize that I'm not sure if I've ever used the word "place" in common speech - the normal word for place unless you say "spot"... I've said "Ready to blow this joint?" a million times, swell - still used if you are intentionally trying to sound ironically pure, giggle water- occasionally used if you want to be cute, manacle/handcuff - not really used anymore (most people have no idea what a manacle is, we don't use that word here in any context, but they would still understand handcuff), tomato - not really used unless you want to sound old-timey but people still know what it means, cake-eater - lol not daily but we still use it (cuz cake is also slang for sex or...um the "kitty"), goofy for - not really used often but we get it, dipped the bill - not common, flapper - everyone knows but it's not really a style/designation now, gun slang has changed but we get/use most gun slang at least occasionally, mooch - daily speech and the most common term for that meaning out of all terms equaled possibly only be free-loader.... crazy that so much of our modern American speech has it's origins in the Jazz age. The vast majority of these both myself, my older, and my younger friends use daily!!!! It only sounds old-fashioned is you use them all in one conversation. Even the extra stuff from the skit: on the level, broad, razz, dolled up, yes, siree, licked, cheese ($), jitters - all daily usage, many others common or at least understandable....also I WAS a cigarette girl at one point, (early 2000s) lol. I never thought about how American these phrases are. Thanks for the video.

[@tracyfrazier7440]

Cheaters is shaming the visually impaired? You have got to be kidding. I never hear it, nor Baby Grand-which you say is also shaming, but wouldn’t any reference to a person’s weight be shaming? Sounds better than fat. You forgot to say, “Tomato, rarely, it’s not PC.” I have never heard cake eater either, disgusting. I say place all the time. “What kind of place is this?” Used much more than “spot.” Maybe some of these words have been dug up and given new meaning by younger generations than mine.

[@kavimontanaro7976]

I grew up in rural Maine, in northern New England, and dead soldiers is a very common expression there.

[@ihavenoname6724]

Haha, I believe it's the kind of language whose equivalent in French is that spoken in the movies staring Jean Gabin. Thank you---take care 👍👍

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'll have to check that out.

[@feralbluee]

25:41 very famous song - “Minnie the Moocher” sung by Cab Calloway. (26:03 you played it! :) it was made into an incredible cartoon in a Betty Boop by Fleischer Studios. the movement in their cartoons was so fluid. nothing like their work has ever been done. the Hallowe’en ones were fantastic - dancing skeletons, ghosts and witches. even trees danced. it’s as if the cartoonists were high. rotfl 😋🤣

[@meedwards5]

That was really swell!

[@susanstoltz5749]

Thanks for the informative and enjoyable video. As 60-year-old American, I never heard the idiom "noodle juice." - Sincerely, Mark

[@TerryMcKennaFineArt]

There is a style of speech in Gatsby that reflects the spirit of the age - and if you want to hear more speech like this, you should watch American films from the 1930s. Movies like King Kong etc.

[@MisterPhat]

Nifty video. Now I'm on the trolley.

[@MaryBrown-pj4wl]

We still use dead soldier in the st. louis area. When you finish your can of bud you throw the can and yell "dead soldier".

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Interesting to know that.

[@dinkster1729]

@@LetThemTalkTV There's the context. LOLOL! I would have thought you say, "We better gather up the dead soldiers. The wife is coming home soon." I thought of a mess of ciagarette butts as well, but ciggies are so expensive now that not that many people smoke.

[@user-fu2be8zn8l]

I assimilated so much about your video, that I use some of phrases...but my friends are not English-people speaking...so I have to explain, and come back to my school Emglish. So, I keep all your funny and cultural phrases for myself...as long as I can use them to UK-US and other "natives".

[@flaviangsm2]

Hello , seeying many videos of yours i was getting curious about Irish accent , found some usefull tech but i wonder if you can find anything close to Alastair Duncan AK - " Mimir " from GOW Ragnarok , i just love that accent and i wanna learn that in some way as my accent goes more to russian accent and i have to rectify that , if this could be consider advertisement , i'm sorry and i will delete my comm . Many thanks !

[@FifthCat5]

Do you know the music hall duo Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam? They poked fun at American slang from the British perspective in the 1930s and 40s. “Oh yeah? And how! Says you? Says me.”

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I don't know them. I'll check it out.

[@FifthCat5]

@@LetThemTalkTV Try “New Songs for Old” to start. While many of their songs play off the novelty of American slang, this one is almost a glossary of Jazz Age expressions. “Once upon a time we said ‘Gor Blimey!” Now we say “‘And how!’” (They have a bit of a fixation on “And how”) Other songs explore such subjects as Belisha Beacons, bootleggers, and Mrs. Peer Gynt. I only know about them because my grandfather had a whole collection of their 78s. kzbin.info/www/bejne/roPNno2On72ml6c

[@shinyshinythings]

@FifthCat What a delightful find!

[@davidkantor7978]

Gat: from Gatling Gun, one of the earliest rapid-fire weapons. Named for inventor Richard Jordan Gatling.

[@davidkantor7978]

Though, gangsters in the 1920’s would not use an actual Gatling gun; it’s rather large and heavy.

[@davidkantor7978]

And it took 4 men to transport and operate it. Was obsolete by the 1920’s.

[@Andrew-iv5dq]

@@davidkantor7978Until the idea came back in use for anti-tank guns, eg the think that go BRRRRR! In an A-10 Warthog attack aircraft. Also anti-missile systems on ships, eg Phalanx.

[@violetvonpumpernickel1796]

Holy Toledo! That’s a gangster era exclamation one still hears in the states. Not sure if it made its way across the pond.

[@anyabrooy]

23:00 Well might be used by someone old-fashioned, but I learned it from the Hey Arnold cartoon where Helga Pataki said "I'm never feeling goofy inside about any guy!" :)))))

[@ernestosardain4307]

Dead soldiers is also still used in Canada. I heard it in French and learned its meaning back in 2011.

[@kirstenriehl700]

Amazing! How long did it take to find all those movie scenes?🎥

[@LetThemTalkTV]

It took a long time but I enjoyed it.

[@ground_news]

Another great cultural & lingual video. Thanks for sharing our mission, for anyone interested in seeing how language shapes our understanding of breaking news check out the link in the description.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for your comment. I'm always happy to support free and independent journalism.

[@alec_baldman]

American here- "gat" is definitely not obsolete. It is less common today- but it features prominently in the chorus of Notorious BIG song "Spit Yo Game" and a lot of other 90s and 2000s rap. Heater and stick are also still common, sadly. All 3 of these words people will know exactly what you mean.

[@dinkster1729]

I've never heard "gat" or "stick" used for a revolver (hand gun). I'm Canadian. Heater, yes. 6-shooter, yes. Rod, yes.

[@alec_baldman]

@@dinkster1729 Like I said the Biggie Smalls song I mentioned in my original comment is a good example of a relatively recent and popular use of "gat". The rapper future has a song called "Stick Talk" if you'd like an example of stick for a gun.

[@aaani79]

Hey there, Can you make a video on helping speakers somehow to mimic the rhythm of English? Im Hungarian and we speak in such a low monoton tone that i find very hard to beat obviously because it comes from within.. Most of the time it's not my pronunciation that's wrong but the tone the flatness of my voice. Any suggestions pls? I hate when ppl don't understand me it destroys the little confidence i have when i need to speak :(

[@rycallter3372]

Valassz ki egy par perces reszt egy filmbol/sorozatbol es ird le. Halgasd meg a szoveget megint es jelold meg piros ceruzaval a leirt valtozatban azokat a szavakat amik nyomatekot kapnak. Hangosan olvasd es probald meg odatenni a nyomatekot. Ha ugy erzed hogy tulzasba vitted a nyomtekot, akkor jo a kiejtesed (ritmus). Ugyanazon a szovegen gyakorolj amig ra nem erzel a nyomateki ritmusra. Azt is csinalhatod hogy mondatonkent halgatod a szoveget es ismeteled ugyazzal a ritmussal. (shadowing). A redszeres hangos olvasas nagyon fontos, meg ha napi 5 perc akkor is. Addig ismeteld a mondatot amig jo a nyomatek. Bonusz: Vedd fel az olvasasod a telefonoddal es halgasd vissza. Igy tudod ellenorizni a fejlodesed.

[@dinkster1729]

A Hungarian immigrant I know said he learned his English from comic books. He speaks excellent Canadian English but he's been here for 61 years and came here after the Hungarian uprising. At 12 or so?

[@aaani79]

@@dinkster1729 im thinking it's something that comes from within..some ppl can some ppl can't I left my country in 2001 but still struggle with speaking i don't have the best confidence In my mind i know how to pronounce words but doesn't come out in the right way

[@shinyshinythings]

Perhaps watching more movies and television in English would help. The rhythms and intonations will start to sound more natural to you and you can imitate the lines in the shows to get a feel for how to vary your tone.

[@VNExperience]

As a Finn, I can relate to you. We're cousins, linguistically speaking, after all. What I do to mask my monotone accent is imitate the rollercoaster inflection rides that are the various native accents. You need to exaggerate them because it doesn't come naturally, at least to me. I thought my standard American accent was on point until I recorded myself and played it back (a horrible experience, hearing your own voice, isn't it?). After repeating the process many, many times, I was more satisfied with the intonation. I highly recommend doing the same, as painful as it may be. I can't fathom how Gideon (or any non-narcissistic youtuber) is able to edit their videos, having to listen to themselves speak, over and over and over again.

[@dinkster1729]

I can't agree with you that the Jazz Age continued into the 1930s. Life was wonderful until the Crash of 1929, I gather. My Grandfather born in 1888 went bankrupt in 1929 because his crop failed and he lost his Alberta grain farm. He never recovered from that. My father's father died in 1933 and born in 1864, but he married late and had a family with very young children that threw his family in northern New Brunswick deeper into the poverty in which they were already mired. My mother and father (mother born in late 1923 and father born in 1918) were both raised in the Jazz Age & Great Depression Era. They experienced the good times of the Jazz Age and, then, the poverty-stricken years of the Great Depression. My mother when she was forced to come back to rural Alberta with her mother and younger brother: "Nobody had a car." My Grandmother actually in the 1920s drove her neighbours into town to shop! Now, in the 1930s, "nobody had a car." Maybe, in the big American cities, there were speak easies, but in the Calvinistic smaller towns, I can't see that happening. Cigarette smoking for women? My Grandmother liked to tell the story about how she caught my mother at 16 smoking behind the barn! She didn't approve. Not one bit. My mother liked to rat on her father, "He didn't approve of dancing, but he liked playing cards so that wasn't a sin." LOLOL! My mother liked dancing and playing cards. She also had a beer every day. She dropped cigarettes in the 1950s long before it was fashionable not to smoke when cigarette went up a cent or 2 a pack and one of us dumped an ash tray at 2 over the other one's head. You're showing a 1920's and 1930's lifestyle maybe enjoyed by the college set, not most of the people. I was shocked that such a high percentage of Americans owned a car. I doubt that was true in Canada though although I think my parents came from backgrounds that were poorer than most.

[@Frostvul]

"If you must know mate, I gaught, ma self a girl now, that's right!" "Oh innit mate? Guvna?"

[@mikemcnamara3777]

That was swell fellas!

[@Bayerwaldler]

Swell video - it got my mojo rising! 😁

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You've got to have mojo. Yer.

[@brucesorensen]

That was the cats meow.

[@Got-lander]

Say, that was really swell!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

you ain't too bad yourself.

[@marekpoudnikiewicz9846]

Best English classes there are...! I got my mojo back!

[@esra2146]

That gun gave me jitters..

[@ColaSpandex]

"Spit your game, talk your sh*t, grab your gat, call your click, squeeze that clip, hit the right one, pass that w**d, got to light one." - Notorious B.I.G. One of many examples in modern rap music. Now all you've got to do is decipher the rest. 😂

[@charliebender8794]

It is a misconception that consumption of alcohol was outlawed during prohibition. Actually, only the manufacture, transport, and sale of alcohol was outlawed. The thinking was the current supply would eventually run out and people would then be forced to stop drinking.

[@Andrew-iv5dq]

In some places the possession was illegal. I lived in a dry county in the American South in the late sixties and my dad always said that they kept the law like that so that most everyone was a criminal and thus the local powers that be could put the heat on you whenever they wanted. Say you went public about the “wink-wink” bible study meeting that was really a KKK event.

[@voliabrandaolaveneremachad7849]

That was swell!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Ah heck. ain't that something.

[@dr.chrisketo7193]

Absolutely great & funny 👍💐🍾🍺

[@mgh1628]

Subtitle is very usefull🙏❤

[@beatrizlenguacastellanamej8351]

I love Jazz

[@lewismercy4133]

Hi Gideon！It's World Cup season now. What about talking about the sports English in the next video？Thank you and Happy winter！

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks but I'm not sure that's my skill. I'll leave it to others on the platform.

[@ShannonStellato-zj4ei]

Swell performance fellas!

[@linctendler9606]

Solid, Jack! And I got me a couple of Tommy guns! Swell, yeah!

[@ereviscale3966]

I just wanted to say where I am in the US we still use dead soldiers to refer to empty beer bottles and cans

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for letting me know. I was wondering if it was still used anywhere. I'll start using it myself. As soon as I've finished my beer.

[@bobmccarty2022]

+1. Dead Soldiers is in current use (possibly regional?). Also used for an accumulation of used cigarette butts.

[@matthewbartsh9167]

I always thought a live wire is an electric cable or wire that is at a voltage high enough to give you a shock, for example a wire connected to the mains electrical supply, as opposed to a neutral or earth wire. Is a trip wire also known as a live wire?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

your electrical knowledge is impeccable

[@tracyfrazier7440]

A trip wire is not the same as a live wire. You defined the actual meaning of live wire. In slang, it is as Gideon defined it. I don’t think anyone uses the slang anymore, which is a shame.

[@matthewbartsh9167]

@@tracyfrazier7440 Do you have any evidence to support your claim?

[@matthewbartsh9167]

@@tracyfrazier7440 I mean your claim that in slang it is as he defined it.

[@tracyfrazier7440]

@@matthewbartsh9167 Cambridge dictionary live wire noun [ C ] UK US someone who is very active and has a lot of energy

[@georgeatef2213]

Hi all, how can I follow Jake! any account/channel?

[@hridoygovindadas914]

Gat is still used today. Especially in East coast (usa) slang.

[@milk_is_a_lie9331]

Some of these were already used in the Old West not the 1920's, but became more common do to the 1920's and 30's. Ok I watched more of the video... he is saying the same thing.

[@atifgawad3302]

Hi I am from Egypt. Please what is your advice for me to be a good English teacher for 10 years kids

[@ariadne3288]

Swell ❤

[@jormamaattanen3048]

That was a swell video! You haven't lost your acting chops ..

[@LetThemTalkTV]

thanks fella.

[@hurbit123]

in German we use the term 'dead soldiers' = tote Soldaten for the speed breaker bumps on the roads, which are supposed to slow down motorists. Ironically here we have British black humor made in Germany.

[@charleyBrownBear]

Super duper.

[@user-qq5hd9wo9t]

Also, the sketch is funny)