Difference between revisions of "Chapter 16"
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In vaudeville, burlesque, and comic radio talk, ''umbatz'' was a sound word that turned into an adjective, describing someone wild, excitable, or mentally offbeat — the kind of character who’d make noisy gestures, talk fast, or act manic, like a musical oom-pah caricature come to life. | In vaudeville, burlesque, and comic radio talk, ''umbatz'' was a sound word that turned into an adjective, describing someone wild, excitable, or mentally offbeat — the kind of character who’d make noisy gestures, talk fast, or act manic, like a musical oom-pah caricature come to life. | ||
| − | '''miles o' smiles, as it sez in the ads'''<br /> | + | '''"miles o' smiles, as it sez in the ads"'''<br /> |
"Miles o’ Smiles" was a popular advertising and publicity slogan in the early 1930s — especially tied to the 1933–1934 Chicago World’s Fair, officially known as "A Century of Progress," capturing the cheerful, modern, and escapist tone the fair tried to project during the Great Depression: optimism through technology, entertainment, and American ingenuity. | "Miles o’ Smiles" was a popular advertising and publicity slogan in the early 1930s — especially tied to the 1933–1934 Chicago World’s Fair, officially known as "A Century of Progress," capturing the cheerful, modern, and escapist tone the fair tried to project during the Great Depression: optimism through technology, entertainment, and American ingenuity. | ||
Revision as of 14:39, 16 October 2025
Contents
Page 115
Little Cosenza
a locale, possibly a Pynchon invention, Calabrian-flavored micro-enclave name riffing on real Chicago neighborhoods.
Page 116
"Liberty, out for a stroll [...] around dawn"
Page 117
"Packard Custom Eight limousine [...] no chrome, no wax job, no shine, flat black all over"
"I call it spinach"
1930s slang meaning a sarcastic dismissal, i.e., "I call it nonsense," "I don’t buy it";
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omertà
Italian: a code of silence and loyalty, especially associated with the Mafia and other criminal organizations in southern Italy and their offshoots in America.
a roscoe he may not be carrying
"roscoe" is American gangster/slang for a gun, most often a handgun (a revolver)
che figata
An informal Italian exclamation meaning roughly "How cool!", "That’s awesome!", or "What a great thing!"
Chazzy's umbatz
In vaudeville, burlesque, and comic radio talk, umbatz was a sound word that turned into an adjective, describing someone wild, excitable, or mentally offbeat — the kind of character who’d make noisy gestures, talk fast, or act manic, like a musical oom-pah caricature come to life.
"miles o' smiles, as it sez in the ads"
"Miles o’ Smiles" was a popular advertising and publicity slogan in the early 1930s — especially tied to the 1933–1934 Chicago World’s Fair, officially known as "A Century of Progress," capturing the cheerful, modern, and escapist tone the fair tried to project during the Great Depression: optimism through technology, entertainment, and American ingenuity.
