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EL
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:06 am
Post subject: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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What is the meaning of the word "blonde" in the expression "blonde/senior
moment" ?
Thanks!
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Nate Branscom
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:06 am
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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EL wrote:
| Quote: | What is the meaning of the word "blonde" in the expression "blonde/senior
moment" ?
Thanks!
|
It's when you are rendered temporarily stupid and do/say something that
eliminates reason, altogether. Usually, it's applied to mundane
instances in life.
For example:
"Honey, where are my sunglasses?"
"Dear, they're on your face!"
I hope that helps.
-- Nate |
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Raymond S. Wise
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:06 am
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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EL wrote:
| Quote: | What is the meaning of the word "blonde" in the expression "blonde/senior
moment" ?
Thanks!
|
In America, the current butt of jokes featuring stupid people is the
"dumb blonde"--nowadays most often referred to simply as a "blonde." So
the expression "blonde moment" means the person was temporarily stupid.
"Senior moment" means the person was temporarily forgetful, because
"senior" here means "senior citizen," that is, an old person.
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com
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Salvatore Volatile
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 1:43 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
| Quote: | Nate Branscom skrev:
I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb".
This is also the case in Denmark. At intervals some group of
people is being ridiculed. It once was "molboer" - people living
on the island Mols. Later it was people from rhus, and then
blondes took over. At present there is no special stream of this
kind of jokes, but it will come.
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My impression re AmE is that "blonde jokes" appeared right around the
time, or shortly after, "Polish jokes" disappeared, BTCBAFI. |
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Nate Branscom
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:03 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb". You can find many blonde jokes in book form
or on the internet.
-- Nate |
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Matthew Huntbach
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:48 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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On Thu, 9 Nov 2005, Nate Branscom wrote:
| Quote: | I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb". You can find many blonde jokes in book form
or on the internet.
|
The stereotype does not exist, at least not to nearly the same level, in
England. If someone were to say "There was this blonde ..." in England,
I don't think the immediate expectation would be that what follows is a
joke about a woman who is not very intelligent. "Essex girl" is something
similar, but not the exact equivalent, since it has connotations not only
of lack of intelligence but also of lack of social charm.
Matthew Huntbach |
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Bertel Lund Hansen
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 5:23 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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Nate Branscom skrev:
| Quote: | I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb".
|
This is also the case in Denmark. At intervals some group of
people is being ridiculed. It once was "molboer" - people living
on the island Mols. Later it was people from Århus, and then
blondes took over. At present there is no special stream of this
kind of jokes, but it will come.
Some of them are actually pretty funny.
By the way, has englishspeaking countries had these harsh
kid-jokes which we have had in Denmark The schema is a long
sentence ending with "except <name>" and then a shorter one which
rhymes. The first sentence always begins: "All the kids were
....". Example:
All the kids were looking down into the freezer, except Bob.
He was looking up.
--
Bertel
Denmark |
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Lothar Frings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 6:40 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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Nate Branscom wrote:
| Quote: | I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb". You can find many blonde jokes in book form
or on the internet.
|
Same here in Germany. We don't have "blonde moments" - that is,
we don't call them that way - but the other day a coworker asked
me something and added "I'm a little blond at the moment",
meaning "this is probably quite simple but I can't figure it out
right now."
We have tons of blonde jokes, too. |
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Matthew Huntbach
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:40 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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On Thu, 10 Nov 2005, Matthew Huntbach wrote:
| Quote: | On Thu, 9 Nov 2005, Nate Branscom wrote:
I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb". You can find many blonde jokes in book form
or on the internet.
The stereotype does not exist, at least not to nearly the same level, in
England. If someone were to say "There was this blonde ..." in England,
I don't think the immediate expectation would be that what follows is a
joke about a woman who is not very intelligent. "Essex girl" is something
similar, but not the exact equivalent, since it has connotations not only
of lack of intelligence but also of lack of social charm.
|
Googling on "blonde jokes", it looks like US "blonde" is almost identical to
Br "Essex girl".
While others have reported "blonde jokes" in other European countries, is this
long-standing or yet another example of Americanisation? I suspect the latter.
The category of jokes about "stupid people" is different - the "blonde/Essex girl"
is not only stupid, but also sexually voracious, hyper-feminine etc. The
traditional category for jokes about stupid people in England is the Irish
(in Ireland it Kerrymen), though earlier historically it was the Welsh (who
now have a slighly diffrent stereotype). However, within a generation it has
become considered unacceptably racist to make "Irish jokes". In India, the
target of similar jokes is Sikhs. I particularly like the Pope v. the Sikhs joke:
http://www.anvari.org/fun/Religion/Pope_and_Sikhs.html
which like the best of these turns the table somewhat (like the only acceptable
Irish joke these days: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=3129)
Matthew Huntbach |
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Martin Bonner
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:05 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
| Quote: | By the way, has englishspeaking countries had these harsh
kid-jokes which we have had in Denmark The schema is a long
sentence ending with "except <name>" and then a shorter one which
rhymes. The first sentence always begins: "All the kids were
...". Example:
All the kids were looking down into the freezer, except Bob.
He was looking up.
|
Nope, but they sound similar in spirit to "Mummy, Mummy" jokes. First
sentence starts "Mummy, mummy" and is a child to his mother, second is
the reply. For example:
Mummy, mummy, why do I keep walking in circles?
Shut up, or I'll nail your other foot to the floor. |
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james
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:36 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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X-No-Archive: yes
In message <Pine.LNX.4.61.0511100944290.27592@frank.dcs.qmul.ac.uk>,
Matthew Huntbach <mmh@dcs.qmul.ac.uk> writes
| Quote: | On Thu, 9 Nov 2005, Nate Branscom wrote:
I forgot to add that (in America, at least) blondes are joked about as
being "dense" or "dumb". You can find many blonde jokes in book form
or on the internet.
The stereotype does not exist, at least not to nearly the same level,
in England. If someone were to say "There was this blonde ..." in
England, I don't think the immediate expectation would be that what
follows is a joke about a woman who is not very intelligent.
|
Ho yes they would!
| Quote: | "Essex girl" is something similar, but not the exact equivalent, since
it has connotations not only of lack of intelligence but also of lack
of social charm.
|
All 'Essex girl' means is a sexually immoral lass. A charming trait. I
know one who hates 'Essex girl' and blonde jokes. Tell her you know one
and she has the amazing ability to place her feet over her ears.
Old Amos was reminiscing in the pub about the days when he was a railway
inspector. "One night I came across a girl tied to the tracks," he said.
"I cut her loose. We slid down the embankment together and had a
wonderful time together for about an hour. Wheelbarrows, grand slams --
the lot. She was fantastic."
"I suppose she was a blonde," commented a listener. "You always
did have a soft spot for them."
"Dunno what she was," said Amos. "I never did find her head."
--
James Follett. |
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Bertel Lund Hansen
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:41 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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Martin Bonner skrev:
| Quote: | All the kids were looking down into the freezer, except Bob.
He was looking up.
Nope, but they sound similar in spirit to "Mummy, Mummy" jokes. First
sentence starts "Mummy, mummy" and is a child to his mother, second is
the reply.
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We had the mummy- or daddy-jokes some years ago. These are
similar, but some of them are more harsh, among other things
sexual taboos are challenged.
--
Bertel
Denmark |
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ArWeGod
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:01 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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"EL" <el@abc.net> wrote in message
news:lpAcf.15765$Zv5.10110@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net...
| Quote: | What is the meaning of the word "blonde" in the expression
"blonde/senior
moment" ?
|
A blonde decides to try horseback riding, even though she has had no
lessons or prior experience.
She mounts the horse, unassisted, and the horse immediately springs into
motion. It gallops along at a steady and rhythmic pace, but the blonde
begins to slip from the saddle. In terror, she grabs for the horse's
mane, but cannot seem to get a firm grip.
She tries to throw her arms around the horse's neck, but she slides down
the side of the horse anyway. The horse gallops along, seemingly
impervious to its slipping rider.
Finally, giving up her frail grip, the blonde attempts to leap away from
the horse and throw herself to safety. Unfortunately, her foot has
become entangled in the stirrup, she is now at the mercy of the horse's
pounding hooves as her head is struck against the ground over and over.
As her head is battered against the ground, she is mere moments away
from unconsciousness when to her great fortune...
Frank, the Wal-Mart greeter, sees her dilemma and unplugs the horse.
--
ArWeFunny |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:08 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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"Martin Bonner" <martinfrompi@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1131627907.191272.229970@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: |
Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
By the way, has englishspeaking countries had these harsh
kid-jokes which we have had in Denmark The schema is a long
sentence ending with "except <name>" and then a shorter one which
rhymes. The first sentence always begins: "All the kids were
...". Example:
All the kids were looking down into the freezer, except Bob.
He was looking up.
Nope, but they sound similar in spirit to "Mummy, Mummy" jokes. First
sentence starts "Mummy, mummy" and is a child to his mother, second is
the reply. For example:
Mummy, mummy, why do I keep walking in circles?
Shut up, or I'll nail your other foot to the floor.
We called them "sick" jokes, though not all of them began with "Mommy, |
Mommy", or even rhymed. Back in the early sixties they were all the
rage. I believe the Brits had them, too. My English friend told me the
one that went
"What is it on the railroad tracks that looks like strawberry jam?"
It's only your poor father, dear, run over by a tram". (I think she
gave this genre a special name, and maybe it _was_ "Mummy, Mummy".)
I'm damned if I can recall any others (but I recall the walking in
circles joke).
Oh, and "Aside from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?" |
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Ross Howard
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:44 pm
Post subject: Re: Why is the moment "blonde"? |
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On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 14:41:13 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
<nospamfilius@lundhansen.dk> wrought:
| Quote: | Martin Bonner skrev:
All the kids were looking down into the freezer, except Bob.
He was looking up.
Nope, but they sound similar in spirit to "Mummy, Mummy" jokes. First
sentence starts "Mummy, mummy" and is a child to his mother, second is
the reply.
We had the mummy- or daddy-jokes some years ago. These are
similar, but some of them are more harsh, among other things
sexual taboos are challenged.
|
<thread drift alert>
On the subject of sexual taboos in general, I'm convinced that not
only are sexual associations in the eye (and perhaps other body parts)
of the beholder, they tend to be made far more readily by those who,
in general, seek to repress all expression of them.
I know the claim that the world's prudes are those with the dirtiest
minds is a cliché, but I think, as with many clichés, there's a good
deal of truth in it.
It was reported today that a cameraman employed by a Spanish
public-owned TV channel had been reprimanded and suspended for a time
after he was caught using company video equipment to record casting
sessions for a porno movie he intended to make.
That happened two years ago. Since then, the cameraman has been
working as normal, with no complaints whatsoever from his supervisors.
The reprimand would have remained an internal matter, but earlier
this week the right-of-centre and RC-Church-friendly People's Party
found out about it. Not only are they outraged that such a thing
should be done with public money (even though the cost of the tape
that the cameraman had used was docked from his pay), they are
insisting that he must never be allowed to work on -- wait for it --
any of the channel's children's programmes.
Who made the connection between sex and kids? Not the cameraman or any
of the people who reprimanded him, for sure.
--
Ross Howard |
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