Joy is a real cool customer. How cool? Well, let’s just say she regularly sleeps in feline PJs, aka the cat’s pajamas. Cat’s pajamas are slang for something being really cool. To prove how much slang she knows, Joy plays a game of First Things First featuring some of her favorite slang terms. Only the coolest kids can win the game, daddy-o.
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SYNTHESIZED VOICE: Now entering Brains On! Headquarters.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOY: Hey, smarty pal. You caught me kicking back in my very cool hip lounge. Over there, we've got my feline sleepwear, a.k.a. the cat's pajamas. Over there, we have my collection of baseball caps, which are only to be worn backwards. And over here, we have my producer, Anna Weggel, who is so cool, she is relaxing in a chair made of ice. What are you up to, Anna?
ANNA: Just chilling. I must say, Joy, you're so cool, so hip, so bombdiggity.
JOY: I beg your pardon?
ANNA: I'm just saying you're cool. That's what bombdiggity means. Did you not know that?
JOY: Oh, yeah, I knew that. I know all the slang terms. I'm ten toes down. [CHUCKLES] I've got my ears to the streets. [CHUCKLES] I watch PBS.
ANNA: Joy, it's fine if you don't know every slang term. Slang is literally the informal words we use in certain groups and times.
JOY: [SCOFFS] Trust me, Anna. I know all about slang. The lingo is my dingo. My vernacular is spectacular. [LAUGHS] And my vocab is so fab. In fact, I probably know more slang terms than you.
ANNA: Really? Because when I said bombdiggity, you looked confused. And as everyone knows, bombdiggity is a piece of '90s slang meaning "something really cool."
JOY: Yeah. Anna, [CHUCKLING] I knew that. [LAUGHS] In the '90s, I said the bombdiggity so much, they called me Joy bombdiggity dolo YOLO.
ANNA: Wait. YOLO wasn't big in the '90s.
JOY: [SCOFFS] Yeah! Anna, I knew that, too. I actually invented the phrase back then but then decided to sit on it until after Y2K because I was afraid it would destroy dial-up internet. So, yeah, you're welcome.
ANNA: You're clearly lying.
JOY: The only reason I would lie is if it were cool because I'm the bombdiggity!
ANNA: Fine. Then let's prove it by putting your coolness to the test.
JOY: What a cool idea.
ANNA: Let's play a game of--
SPEAKERS: First Things First!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANNA: This is the game where we take three things and try to put them in order of which came first, second, and most recent in time. Today, we're going to go over slang terms, specifically-- a butter-and-egg man--
[CHIMES]
--a rain napper--
[CHIMES]
--and a wastoid.
[CHIMES]
Joy, which came first, second, and most recently in history?
JOY: OK. Well, let's just break it down as far as the elements we're working with. So a butter-and-egg man just sounds old-timey, somebody that is always-- not baking, but maybe they're always doing something.
ANNA: Sure. Yep, doing something.
JOY: Just constantly in action. But also, a rain napper seems like somebody that could also be very old school, because it rains all the time, right?
ANNA: Hmm.
JOY: And ovens weren't invented until later. So based on that theory alone, and no other theories that I have, I'm going to say a rain napper is first, and then a butter-and-egg man, and then a wastoid, because I'm thinking of android, and that would be more technologically advanced.
So I'm not sure of anything else in my life, but I think wastoid is the most recent, and I bet everything on that. [LAUGHS]
ANNA: OK. OK. Fascinating. I loved hearing you work through those terms. I loved hearing your reasons. But I'm really sorry.
JOY: [GASPS]
ANNA: You're right.
JOY: No. [SCREAMS]
ANNA: You're 100% right. That is the perfect order.
JOY: I'm a Smarty Pal Pass person.
ANNA: You are. You were right. Rain napper comes first, and it comes from the 1870s. Would you like to guess what it meant back then?
JOY: Well, I'm feeling like it's a camping vibe. Maybe somebody that likes to sleep outside--
ANNA: Oh.
JOY: --for fun. Is that right?
ANNA: Very interesting theory, but it's not quite a person, but rather, an object.
JOY: Oh!
ANNA: Does that lead you in the right direction at all?
JOY: An object that likes to-- an umbrella. It's an umbrella.
ANNA: Yes! You got it! It is a slang term from the 1870s for an umbrella. So it's hard to nail down the true date of the invention of the word. But it was published in a slang dictionary in 1873 by John Camden Hotten. And you can find "ray napper" between the words "ragamuffin," which means ragged-looking person, and "raise the wind," which means raising money. So there you--
JOY: Oh, wow!
ANNA: --go, rain napper.
JOY: I have so many rain nappers in my car.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
ANNA: Just rattling around the trunk, and you never know.
JOY: I've got a polka dot rain napper.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
ANNA: I have a red-blue one. OK. So next-- is butter-and-egg man-- this is super interesting. This one came from 1920. What do you think it is?
JOY: I was thinking it was a person that was always on the go because of baking, which I don't think that's-- because butter and egg make food. [LAUGHS] Maybe it's a dairy man. I don't know. Or a mailman? What is it? You have to tell me.
ANNA: OK, OK, OK. So it's not necessarily a man, but it is a person. It is slang for a person. It is slang from 1920 for a wealthy person looking to spend some money in the big city.
JOY: Oh! Is it because butter and egg was expensive back then?
ANNA: Maybe.
JOY: And maybe, they had a lot of money?
ANNA: Yeah. I know that the term was popularized by the nightclub owner, Mary Louise "Texas" Guinan. However, it's also the name of a pretty popular Broadway show. So The Butter and Egg Man was produced in 1926, and it can still be seen in theaters today.
Now, I haven't heard of it. I don't think it's come through the Twin Cities since I've lived here. Another version of this term is the song, "Big Butter and Egg Man," and it's a Dixieland jazz staple. So let's take a listen to it.
SUBJECT 1: (SINGING) I want a butter and egg man
Away out in the world
ANNA: OK. So the next term is "wastoid." And it does come from 1985, if that gives you a clue at all. What do you think a wastoid is?
JOY: Wastoid. Maybe it's-- 1985, so computers and phone, maybe? It's like something that-- like a computer that doesn't work? Or phone that doesn't work? It's a wastoid. Man, my phone's battery is dead. What a wastoid. That's how you'd use it in a sentence.
ANNA: I see. I like that more than what it is. Because it's so mean, actually. And if I heard my three-year-old calling someone this, I'd say, we don't say that in this house, Luna! So--
JOY: [LAUGHS]
ANNA: --it's actually a worthless, empty-headed person.
JOY: Oh!
ANNA: I know. It's so mean. But we do know where it came from. It was a word that was invented for the John Hughes classic film, The Breakfast Club.
SUBJECT 2: ["DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME" PLAYING]
JOY: [GASPS] Yes! OK, I've heard of this movie.
ANNA: Yes.
JOY: Yeah. That's all the kids that were in the library, they had detention, and then they all became best friends.
ANNA: Exactly, just for that moment in time. So Emilio Estevez uttered the line. He was the jock, Andrew Clark, in the movie. And he must have called someone a wastoid-- which is not a nice thing to do.
JOY: No, I will never call anyone a wastoid.
ANNA: Me, neither.
JOY: Wow! Those were some really cool slang terms.
ANNA: I know! It's rad how language lets us explore different time periods, too. Cool people of the past had some really diggity-dope words.
JOY: Hey, speaking of diggity-dope, I'm great and all, but I'm diggity-dope enough to admit I was lying before. I didn't know what the "bombdiggity" meant. I just wanted you to think I was cool, so I pretended to know.
ANNA: Oh, Joy. Being honest is the coolest thing you can be. That's why you're the bombdiggity.
JOY: No, you're the bombdiggity.
ANNA: No, you're the bombdiggity, for real.
JOY: No, no. Anna, listen, you're the bombdiggity.
ANNA: Joy.
JOY: Anna.
ANNA: Joy.
JOY: Bomb--
ANNA: You're the bombdiggity. Bombdiggity. Bombdiggity.
JOY: You're the bomb! You're the bomb-- diggity!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was produced by Aron Woldeslassie and edited by Sanden Totten. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman and the APM Studios executives-in-charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith Forever Ago is a non-profit public radio program. Thanks, Smarty Pass friends. See you later. Bye.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOY: Hey, smarty pal. You caught me kicking back in my very cool hip lounge. Over there, we've got my feline sleepwear, a.k.a. the cat's pajamas. Over there, we have my collection of baseball caps, which are only to be worn backwards. And over here, we have my producer, Anna Weggel, who is so cool, she is relaxing in a chair made of ice. What are you up to, Anna?
ANNA: Just chilling. I must say, Joy, you're so cool, so hip, so bombdiggity.
JOY: I beg your pardon?
ANNA: I'm just saying you're cool. That's what bombdiggity means. Did you not know that?
JOY: Oh, yeah, I knew that. I know all the slang terms. I'm ten toes down. [CHUCKLES] I've got my ears to the streets. [CHUCKLES] I watch PBS.
ANNA: Joy, it's fine if you don't know every slang term. Slang is literally the informal words we use in certain groups and times.
JOY: [SCOFFS] Trust me, Anna. I know all about slang. The lingo is my dingo. My vernacular is spectacular. [LAUGHS] And my vocab is so fab. In fact, I probably know more slang terms than you.
ANNA: Really? Because when I said bombdiggity, you looked confused. And as everyone knows, bombdiggity is a piece of '90s slang meaning "something really cool."
JOY: Yeah. Anna, [CHUCKLING] I knew that. [LAUGHS] In the '90s, I said the bombdiggity so much, they called me Joy bombdiggity dolo YOLO.
ANNA: Wait. YOLO wasn't big in the '90s.
JOY: [SCOFFS] Yeah! Anna, I knew that, too. I actually invented the phrase back then but then decided to sit on it until after Y2K because I was afraid it would destroy dial-up internet. So, yeah, you're welcome.
ANNA: You're clearly lying.
JOY: The only reason I would lie is if it were cool because I'm the bombdiggity!
ANNA: Fine. Then let's prove it by putting your coolness to the test.
JOY: What a cool idea.
ANNA: Let's play a game of--
SPEAKERS: First Things First!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANNA: This is the game where we take three things and try to put them in order of which came first, second, and most recent in time. Today, we're going to go over slang terms, specifically-- a butter-and-egg man--
[CHIMES]
--a rain napper--
[CHIMES]
--and a wastoid.
[CHIMES]
Joy, which came first, second, and most recently in history?
JOY: OK. Well, let's just break it down as far as the elements we're working with. So a butter-and-egg man just sounds old-timey, somebody that is always-- not baking, but maybe they're always doing something.
ANNA: Sure. Yep, doing something.
JOY: Just constantly in action. But also, a rain napper seems like somebody that could also be very old school, because it rains all the time, right?
ANNA: Hmm.
JOY: And ovens weren't invented until later. So based on that theory alone, and no other theories that I have, I'm going to say a rain napper is first, and then a butter-and-egg man, and then a wastoid, because I'm thinking of android, and that would be more technologically advanced.
So I'm not sure of anything else in my life, but I think wastoid is the most recent, and I bet everything on that. [LAUGHS]
ANNA: OK. OK. Fascinating. I loved hearing you work through those terms. I loved hearing your reasons. But I'm really sorry.
JOY: [GASPS]
ANNA: You're right.
JOY: No. [SCREAMS]
ANNA: You're 100% right. That is the perfect order.
JOY: I'm a Smarty Pal Pass person.
ANNA: You are. You were right. Rain napper comes first, and it comes from the 1870s. Would you like to guess what it meant back then?
JOY: Well, I'm feeling like it's a camping vibe. Maybe somebody that likes to sleep outside--
ANNA: Oh.
JOY: --for fun. Is that right?
ANNA: Very interesting theory, but it's not quite a person, but rather, an object.
JOY: Oh!
ANNA: Does that lead you in the right direction at all?
JOY: An object that likes to-- an umbrella. It's an umbrella.
ANNA: Yes! You got it! It is a slang term from the 1870s for an umbrella. So it's hard to nail down the true date of the invention of the word. But it was published in a slang dictionary in 1873 by John Camden Hotten. And you can find "ray napper" between the words "ragamuffin," which means ragged-looking person, and "raise the wind," which means raising money. So there you--
JOY: Oh, wow!
ANNA: --go, rain napper.
JOY: I have so many rain nappers in my car.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
ANNA: Just rattling around the trunk, and you never know.
JOY: I've got a polka dot rain napper.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
ANNA: I have a red-blue one. OK. So next-- is butter-and-egg man-- this is super interesting. This one came from 1920. What do you think it is?
JOY: I was thinking it was a person that was always on the go because of baking, which I don't think that's-- because butter and egg make food. [LAUGHS] Maybe it's a dairy man. I don't know. Or a mailman? What is it? You have to tell me.
ANNA: OK, OK, OK. So it's not necessarily a man, but it is a person. It is slang for a person. It is slang from 1920 for a wealthy person looking to spend some money in the big city.
JOY: Oh! Is it because butter and egg was expensive back then?
ANNA: Maybe.
JOY: And maybe, they had a lot of money?
ANNA: Yeah. I know that the term was popularized by the nightclub owner, Mary Louise "Texas" Guinan. However, it's also the name of a pretty popular Broadway show. So The Butter and Egg Man was produced in 1926, and it can still be seen in theaters today.
Now, I haven't heard of it. I don't think it's come through the Twin Cities since I've lived here. Another version of this term is the song, "Big Butter and Egg Man," and it's a Dixieland jazz staple. So let's take a listen to it.
SUBJECT 1: (SINGING) I want a butter and egg man
Away out in the world
ANNA: OK. So the next term is "wastoid." And it does come from 1985, if that gives you a clue at all. What do you think a wastoid is?
JOY: Wastoid. Maybe it's-- 1985, so computers and phone, maybe? It's like something that-- like a computer that doesn't work? Or phone that doesn't work? It's a wastoid. Man, my phone's battery is dead. What a wastoid. That's how you'd use it in a sentence.
ANNA: I see. I like that more than what it is. Because it's so mean, actually. And if I heard my three-year-old calling someone this, I'd say, we don't say that in this house, Luna! So--
JOY: [LAUGHS]
ANNA: --it's actually a worthless, empty-headed person.
JOY: Oh!
ANNA: I know. It's so mean. But we do know where it came from. It was a word that was invented for the John Hughes classic film, The Breakfast Club.
SUBJECT 2: ["DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME" PLAYING]
JOY: [GASPS] Yes! OK, I've heard of this movie.
ANNA: Yes.
JOY: Yeah. That's all the kids that were in the library, they had detention, and then they all became best friends.
ANNA: Exactly, just for that moment in time. So Emilio Estevez uttered the line. He was the jock, Andrew Clark, in the movie. And he must have called someone a wastoid-- which is not a nice thing to do.
JOY: No, I will never call anyone a wastoid.
ANNA: Me, neither.
JOY: Wow! Those were some really cool slang terms.
ANNA: I know! It's rad how language lets us explore different time periods, too. Cool people of the past had some really diggity-dope words.
JOY: Hey, speaking of diggity-dope, I'm great and all, but I'm diggity-dope enough to admit I was lying before. I didn't know what the "bombdiggity" meant. I just wanted you to think I was cool, so I pretended to know.
ANNA: Oh, Joy. Being honest is the coolest thing you can be. That's why you're the bombdiggity.
JOY: No, you're the bombdiggity.
ANNA: No, you're the bombdiggity, for real.
JOY: No, no. Anna, listen, you're the bombdiggity.
ANNA: Joy.
JOY: Anna.
ANNA: Joy.
JOY: Bomb--
ANNA: You're the bombdiggity. Bombdiggity. Bombdiggity.
JOY: You're the bomb! You're the bomb-- diggity!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was produced by Aron Woldeslassie and edited by Sanden Totten. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman and the APM Studios executives-in-charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith Forever Ago is a non-profit public radio program. Thanks, Smarty Pass friends. See you later. Bye.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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