1948-11-26 — Page 4

LEE THEATRE

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WINCHELL

WARNER SMASH »

HUMPHREY

BOGART

BARBARA

STANWYCK

ALEXIS

SMITH "The TWO Mrs.Carrolls

NIGELBRUCE PETER GODFREY

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: TO-DAY

ROPE WALKING RECORD

ROYAL VISIT TO THE DAIRY SHOW CHINESE ANTI-BLACK MARKET PARADE ROYAL COMMAND PERFORMANCE

Queen's

At 2.30, 5.15,

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER · 26, ~ '1948. *

DOES HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF?

SHERTOK

(A)

FINE

FAIT ACCOMPLI

OFFICIAL RUBBER STAMP

World Copyright, av arrangement with Evening Standard.

This role was the beginning, of my trid

Too, door

People Today Can't Save

By BERNARD HARRIS

LONDON... WHAT is the No. 1 problem in British house- holds today? If we are to judge from the way in which claims for higher pay are being pressed, it is the problem of making ends meet.

According to Government statisticians. it costs no more to live now than it did last April.

If this were really true most familles would be better off because of the tax concessions given in the Budget to the lower income carners.

But everyday experience shows that tax savings are being swallowed up by price rises which are not taken into account in the official cost-of-living index.

If a survey were taken it would almost cer- tainly show that most people feel worse off than they were a year ago.

SPENDING MORE

According to official figures one; person in four in the US. is spending more than he earns.

Forces' Slang, From

Clew to Earring

Nuts and bolts with owning

Rubber heets and train endsh

07

Or

Oggles with bullets

or

Links of love with round shot and violets

от

Red Lead

7.15 & 9.15 p.m.

or pozzle.

ONE OF THE SCREEN'S MOST EXCITING LOVE STORY!

KATHARINE

A LOVE STORY

SO BEAUTIFUL

M-G-M BUT IT TO MUSICI

PAUL

HEPBURN HENREID

ROBERT

·

WALKER

Song of Love

SUNDAY Morning shoW

AT-11.30 A.M.ONLY...

M-G-M'S TECHNICOLOR SPLENDOR!

Esther WILLIAMS

John CARROLL in

“FIESTA”

AT REDUCED PRICES!

ALHAMBRAL THEATRE

TO-DAY ONLY AT 2.30. 5.15; 7.15 & 9.15 P.M.

THEY SCRATCH?

CHEY INTER

THEY EXET

OPENS TO-MORROW!

SHOWING

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Janninjò conlight simen "The Women

Lana TURNER

LARAINE

SUSAN

DAY. PETERS

IN M-GA'S

'KEEP YOUR

POWDER DRY

Brected by EDWARD BUZIKA

Prodeand Sy

GEOVOR RAJONS

** SONG OF LOVE ??

with Katharine HEPBURN www.Pau! HENRIED

Cathay

AT 2.30, 5.20.

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the Biggest Bogart Thrill! More Than Ever Before! He Fired the Shot Heard Round the Underworld!' DON'T MISS IT!.

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The

Big Shot

IRENE MANNING en 200, and wildernet –

Joanno Crain in "MARGIE" Color By

-Technicolor

Oil, Plonk or red ink.

¡

-by- PETER LOVEGROVE

Light Horse (after a well-known Cairo confectioner's), and, at tho time of the Knightsbridge box battle, the Gezira Box (after the luxurious sporting club in a Cafro suburb).

Mr Partridge has not recorded much play on initials of Commands, but he does mention SEAC as being

is more

He will find it all comprehensive- ly listed, with definitions and dori- vations, from clew to earring (from A to Z) In ☐ 212-page volume. "Forces Slong," which has just been and published by Martin Secker Sinkers, Muckin. Stide and glitter Warburg at 12/6d, It is edited by

Eric Partridge, a

University let- turer who learnt his slang by Oght-

themselves invented "passion- ing in two world wars. He was a killers." "twilights" and "blackouts" Australian private at Gallipoli; in- (airwomen's Service knickers which, Vailded from World War 11 as ДП. this book informs me, were as un- Otherwise, Army Oficer, he joined up agala as romantic in colour and in design an aircraft hand and spent two and as a wise directive could imagine), a half years in the RAF. He has E.T.D.'s (Elastic top and bottom phrases which does get a mention compiled this grand dietionary with Wren

black

Service slang for the help of Wilfred Granville, a

knickers) and pusser's lisle (the re- Naval officer who held a variety of gulation black lisle stocicings which

War, appointments throughout the

revolted the souls of all right-minded and Frank Roberts, an Artillery Wrens). ATS, If this book is to be officer who served in North Africu

been re- believed, appear to have and Italy.

vice issues.

Grabbling frous free. nothing on the strap.

(B)

Turkey, pena and gravy

.or

Onion ple

or

Salt cel and swedes

Fruit Sated

or

Prunes and Juice

or

Doughnut and gooseberries Bottle of Whisky

F

•

an unsuspecting civilian without any recent Service presented experience was with these alternative menus, he would undoubtedly shy away from the explosive matter in (A), and pick his fancy from the bill of fare at (B)-how- ever unorthodox and unappetis ing some of the items might ap- pear.

And, being a clueless type, would he get his Scotch pulled for his oscar!

conversant with For, not being World War II, Forces slang, he would get a Royal Marine (turkey); bullets (peas) and petrol (gravy); an easy knot' (onion ple); a end (salt eel) and some green re- cruits (swedes); three rows of medal ribbons (fruit salad); incompetent pilots (prunes) and julce (North Sea water): a Carley life-saving float (doughnut) and sunken tramp ships (gooseberries), while, to his dismay; he would find that the Bottle of

known as the Supreme Example of Allied Confusion, and there is good assortment of snafu's, tarfu's, fumtu's and so on, which it than my job is worth to define,

One of the least-publicised cutch-

here is "Vote for Boyle," which was 11 common after the fall of Tunis. was started by the Associated Press war correspondent, Hal Boyle, who

the carly into

Tunisian drove capital, chanting Vote for Boyle, tho "man of the soil; Hanest Hal,

The Arabs' Pal"

natives, with their usual facility for picking up a plirase without knowing the menn- ing, puzzled our troops by greeting them with this cry, which they in turn adopted.

+

Not much-least of all the non-markably qulescent about their Ser- drawing-room varieties-seems tu have escaped this trio, and Service-

From Arabic men as well as ex-Servicemen will browse with delight through these

ARABIC provided a large number to refresh their nmusing pages incmories or And: the origin of of colourful new words, the best

As one would expoet, there is known being, somewhat naturally. famillar phrases.

"backsheesh" (tip), shutty (see colourful collection of synonyms for drunks, You could be whistled, kence shuftikite for reconnaissance.

Exercise Pungent And Vital:

tele- well-bottled, hanked, en aircraft and shuftiscope for mafeesh P.U swamped, stliched or, worst of

Aywi (yes), Scope),

all, become a footer (one who drinks mind). between drinks), but if you "get a PERHAPS it was the RAF that con- (nothing), maleesh (never

tributed more that is pungent and bukra (tomorrow), bahdin (some-

Services, time, later, probably never), chal bottle," that meant to be reprimand- vital than the other two

fica--not char, though the latter is ed. probably owing to its rapid numeri- cal expansion and vast technical a

more common), bint (giri). Trashi improvement; the campaigns in North (get out), iegri (hurry), wadi Africa and Italy provided

(watercourse, wel or dry), magnoun (mad), tammam (fine). "Wog" by greatest influx of foreign words; but the increased numbers and impor- tance of the Women's Services also opened up a most fertile field.

the

Fanny Adams

..

In this country comparable Sgures are not available, but the fact that £520,000,000 has been drawn this year from "small" savings Indicates. that the proportion here is pretty high.

And how about 18387 How many can cinlm

than

then?

to be better off

Affairs,

The Bureau of Current which claims to be non-partisan, han reached conclusions which I think will provoke controversy,

Here are some given in a ́Map` Review published recently.

1. THE WAGE EARNERS, (In cluded in this group arg 04, mil- Hon. families, with an average of three and a half people in each) 10 percent better oft than before the wor. Wages have outstripped price rises ond heavier taxation. 2. THE SALARIED WORKERS (this group comprises 34 million families, with an average of three and a quarter people in each-20 percent worse

They are carning 54 percent more, but this Increase has not kept price with heavier taxes and higher prices.

3. THE 500,000 "UPPERS CLASS" FAMILIES-worse? Olk "by about one-third."

of.

STILL GOING UP The Bureau points out that statis- ties cannot measure everything, and that changes in quality and "social clinics Income"-such as malerally

schools should and nursery taken into account.

It has emphoelses that its

figures relate to 1947. Singe then, it hd- mits, prices have risen faster than earnings.

be

My on

calculations show that own unless a man in the up-to-£600-a- year class is making twice what he made in 1938 he is worse off. p

The single man or woman who drew £150 a year just before the war now needs £290 to maintain the same standard of living.

The man who is now getting £1,000 a year is no better off than the £500-a-year man in 1938.

1038 The £1,000-a-year man of must now make around £2,300 a

standards unchanged. ....

the way, comes from galliwog, not A CIGARETTE is a drag (rhyming year If he hopes to keep his living

from Westernised Oriental Gentle-

·man.

nqua

10

slang for "log"), or a tab fairly generally, while "tabs" are feet in the Army, though they change From the Air Force came such

mangarce Italy provided

(from "webs" if you join the Navy. And trenchant tersenesses as bind, erk

mangiare, to eat),

(water) though Nelson's Blood is Navy rum (from aircraftsman, its immediate bono, no capeesh, finito, alento, (so called because Lord Nelson's origin being a song "One of the domani (another bukra and just body was brought back to England Aires"), gen (not from genuine,

pickled in rum). Barmald's Blush is not a wardroom concoction, nor aven a very racy story, but a special used on invasion strade of paint

but

and from

Palestine, bus..

the

general information of all-bandin'), unyi (eggs) and demon vino. From Hindusing! we got ranks"), sprog (a blending of sproc dixie, dolally (mad-effects of sun ket and cog, attributed to a recruit's stroke), bandook (rifle) and ug unintentional confusion of the two

Kerty-boo; words), pleep (echoic of the ery of thalom (greetings, Egged (n rope's a timorous young bird, hence a pilot from the name of the proprietor of who refuses combat), Judder Ten- a fleet of busses) and cobber (from gine noise, from Jerk and shudder); "chaber."). humfleteers (a hiend of bum and

airmen

who pamphleteers, hence dropped pamphlets), pyrotechnics ( severe-reprimand-the Army would say: an imperial rockel), gefufito (fuss), humdinger (a fast plano),

kerdumf, prang,

gerdoying (to crash), and stooge (from studious).

Whisky was only the Blyshawika, a

famous Polish destroyer.

Winnie And Monty

craft.

"Forces Slang" will also tell you brown that "brothel creepers" are suede shoes, much affected by desert warriors and also known to the Navy, Nissen huts are iron lungs." pyjamas are "battledress," to "jump off the dock" is to get married, that

COSTS UP 80% When the higher income brackets graduated are reached the steeply

some taxation of today produces

£2,500-a-year bachelor of astonishing results.

The 1938 paid £500 in tax and was lett with £1,920 to spend.

If we accept the general estimate that living costs are up by 80 per- cent compared with 1938, he would now need £3,450 to keep up his former standards.

for

And to carn £3,450 net his gross income must be around £9,100.00

For the fortunate few who had £5,000 a year or more in 1938, and WINSTON Churchill was respon- "lankers" is a corruption of janglers

it, maintenance of living sible for the popular "bloody on the lookhoo-ha" and "sugs spent

come from the standards has become impossible, and Mounly for the "wel French,' "snake-charmers" nose,

are except by drawing on capital. hen" policy. Any ship

or shore dance bands, the Admiralty is The £5,000-a-year. mari, establishment In which

discipline known as the "Westminster Palace example, would need to have a grosu On the other hand, the "tombstone"

was exceptionally severe

rapidly, of Varletles," "yum-yum" or love income this year of £04,000 to be marked (A) would have given him

known as an Allmark letters, to "whip a "cripple" is to get left with his 1938 purchasing power. ple

Nazi u choice of steak and kidney

prison severe punishment on a charge, and In addition, many of the men in. (nuts and bolts with awning); fried

that Fanny Adams did, in fact, the £2,000-a-year class and and fried (rubber heels)

exist. She etra

was a twelve-year-old wards are subject to Sir, Stafford. tomatoes (train smash): links of love

was murdered Cighty Crippe's "once for all special levy of mys those), "cab rank patrols" and Servicemen who had been station- child who

A nolicitor's are slingers-sorry, baga

on that part of their income which with more "playing the plano"

(releasing ed for a long time in the Orkneys years or so ago by tery-sorry, sausages,

is derived from lovestments, shot) ond onions bombs one after another). And it invariably suffered from "Scapathy" clerk, who cut her up and flung the peas (round (violets). Sinkers,

created a whole world of poltergeists (Scapa Flow and apathy); Scandi- pieces in the river at Alton, Hants. doughnuts, muckin is butter, allde and leprechauns with the common navlans became Scorwegians, Balbo

gremlin (thie, incidentally

course, arc

became Expressive Phrases

ship), while similarly grim Army camps were Belsens.

ALSO such brilliantly expressive phrases as "sloot down in flames." roman-candle landings" (very duff,

(from the notorious

comes was a large formation of

of

from a blend of grinning goblin and Halfaya

aircraft,

Pass became "Hellfire"

and glitter in marmalade and pozzie, Jam: Oil stands for, tonsil-varnish, I mean Rosie Lee, which is

wine course, tea. Plonk is while

red (from the French blanc") and ink, red wine. Grabbling Irons are your knife and fork, and nothing on the strap means that no credit is. allowed, but that oscar (troney) must be handed over.

Rich

Crop

PUT our civilius need not be be- fogged any longer by the rich crop of new slang-mostly vivid, some imes abstruse, often allusive, and

frankly Rabelai more generally slan-which those prolife uniform- ed inventors coined and worked to death between 1930. and 1045.

into

Was

Betty Martin

NO NET INCOME

70

up-

A large number of people in this category at least 12,000, and per is true folk mythology), the span- Centuripe in Sicily was Cherry-ripe 5 for that other oft-mentioned haps more-will this year have no dule (which enjoys being tangled and Crich el Oued in Tunisia A female Betty Martin, who always net income at all. They will pay Unguistiv follows "all my eye," the arose out out, substantially more than they up in airscrews), and phaggosies turned by that soldierly

blow process known as Hobson-Jobson cf the confusion of a sailor who

receive. (which sit on the wings and

Cricklewood. And

and church party "Ash landed with a on the allérons).

In the US. percent of the into attended the wrong church. The national savings come from the 10- The Women's Services Inspired Wednesday" has gone down

memorable only words he could understand in percent of the people who are in the bluebirds, ladybirds, Jennies, Bird Service history as that cages, Rich Sanctuaries, Wrennerics, doy in June 1942 on which GHQ the Latin service, he said Inter, were top income brackets.

from "All my eye and Betty Marin." The Thanks to Sir Stafford Cripps, the Atteries, · Queens Ats and Bees, Calro was filled with smoke

of actual words he heard were: "inter- corresponding 10 percent in Britaih burning documents at the time Quains (nurses from QAIMNS),

to

cessione benti Martini"! Alameln,

are not merely unable to save, but": Hannahs (Wrens at a Royal Marine Rommel's advance

I have little doubt about the popu- are forced to live on past savings Middle East Headquarters oficers Debot from Haberved with the ret several mentions: as "Gaberdine larity of this delightful book wit

A: survey carried out on behalf guised as a man,

the greatest difficulty of, his National Savings Committee. Royals) Grnbló-bodied scamen; Swine," the Shepheard's Short Range only with humer (when they were to superior) Group (after the famous Calro hotel that I managed to retain possession shows that out of every five people- who used to and the year with Ja and in imitation of the Long Range of my copy long enough to write this and Targets for Tonight...

abit of cash in hand three now spend This in turn led to the adjective Desert Group, which performed fan- review. And if you can't raise

every penny. They can no longer wrenpecked" and the verba to tastle deeds hundreds of miles be emile out of it, your liver certainly

Gruppt's wants scraping, "atterize" and "waafize.". And they hind the enemy lines),

With or Without Fog Horn?

NANCY

BOATS YACHTS

HEY--- HOW "ABOUT. SOME SERVICE HERE?

dig-

By Ernie Bushmiller

I'D LIKE. ONE THAT FLOATS

IN THE BATHTUB

save

Fitch's SKIN PEP

AFTER SHAVE LOTION makes your face SMILE HAPPY

On Sale at Leading Stores o

PLAND NAN KANG CO, WATd et

JE

Hoff