15 excellent bits of carnival slang to add to your vocabulary
even if you’ve never worked on a midway, you can still pepper your speech with delightfully authentic carnival jargon. start slipping these terms into conversation and watch as your friends bally about how great talking to you is.
1. Annie Oakley (noun): A meal ticket.
2. Bally (verb): To attract a crowd by making a great commotion about how terrific a show is.
3. Brodie (noun): A clumsy and spectacular fall. Named for Steve Brodie, a man who claimed to have survived a fall from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886.
4. Charivari (noun): A cacophonous and chaotic entrance of clowns.
5. Charley (verb): To toss a stack of posters or playbills in the trash rather than giving them away as ordered.
6. Cherry pie (noun): Outside work performed by carnival employees for extra cash.
7. Clem (noun): A fight between carnival employees.
8. Duke (noun): A box lunch distributed to carnival staff.
9. Kinker (noun): Any performer, but originally intended for acrobats.
10. G-top (noun): Private employee tent for gambling.
11. Larry (adjective): Poorly made, worthless, bad (of items or souvenirs).
12. Lead joint (noun): Shooting gallery.
13. Reuben (noun): A rube or a gullible sap.
14. Scram-bag (noun): A bag packed for immediate use in case a quick departure is required.
15. Waxie (noun): A repairman
“carnies built this country, the carnival part of it anyway.”
– homer simpson
—
credits: carnival – broadway 1961, mentalfloss.com
it came and went
once again
that
special day
the
annual
woodward avenue
dream cruise
in
detroit
the motor city
and
i love
how
on this day
everyone
does things
their own way
most anything goes
as long as
you are
fully enjoying it
and
you are not
hurting anyone
like the group
who moved
their
living room
to the curb
to watch the cruise
in comfort
and the
young man
smiling
on his
mini-bike
a tiny minnow
with a motor
amidst
a great sea
of
classic cars
mobile crime units
pedestrians
traffic lights
and
waves
of happiness
adventure is worthwhile.
– aesop
i saw this
and
imagined
how gentle
this giant
must be.
—
by far
my favorite question
when
purchasing
life insurance
was
‘are you in a rodeo?’
and
i had
to laugh out loud
for
i’m not a fan
of rodeos
i feel for the animals
and have no desire
to be
thrown from anything
to rope anything
to be around clowns
in any capacity
i must
look like
a
rodeo gal.
there are worse things in life than death.
have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?
– woody allen
—
image credit: mycomic.com
babies v, b, j and r
toss their coins
in the fountain
at the zoo
and the
giant
stone bears
standby
ever
at the watch
and keep
their secrets
as
they
send
their
wishes
whispered
from
tiny lips
out
into the
great big
universe
—
where there is great love, there are always wishes.
willa cather
rip robin, you lived the definition of this word
—
jewelry credit: notonthehighstreet.com
when my niece and her family
relocated to the midwest
moving
from
flagstaff, arizona
to
toledo, ohio
for two years of graduate school
i was excited
to have them nearby
and
i told them
about
the beauty of the seasons here
and
no drama
no wildfires
no scorpions
no excessive heat
no worries
then
came the polar vortex
and it was so cold
no one could go outside
or navigate
the mountains of snow
and i told them
that this had never happened before
in my living memory
and not to worry
the worst would be over soon
and then
came
lake erie’s
toxic algae bloom crisis
no one could drink or bathe
or even boil the water
for days on end
and i told them
i’ve never, ever
have
experienced this before
in my entire lifetime
and i told them not to worry
the worst would be over soon
and then
came the 5 inches of rain
in just
a few hours
and the floods
and no one could drive their car on the roads
and basements flooded
and you might
have to kayak
through your neighborhood
to get home
and i will tell them
that this
has not happened here
since 1925
before i was alive
and not to worry
the worst will be over soon
and
i hope they believe me
as we head into autumn
in the beautiful midwest
and
i am
crossing my fingers
that
there will be
no earthquakes
or
volcanic eruptions
or
a series of rogue sheep attacks
and i wonder
if they
are beginning
to doubt my word
———
one person’s disaster is another person’s talking point.
henry rollins
—
image credits: infographicality.com, news net.com, sallyreed.com, nyt.com, acuweather.com, oc115.com, kwana.com
—
image credit: grammarly
this summer
i’ve so enjoyed
spending time
at home
in my cozy little cottage
with
family and friends and animals
and
thinking back
to
last summer
when
i set off
on
a long journey
to see my family
in their home
so far away
and when
i returned
and walked in
i was
left
speechless
when i found
what was waiting for me
on my table
was a basket
of fresh peaches
and muffins
and notes
welcoming me home
and
they were
filled with
so much
love and caring
a surprise gift
had been
given to me
by my dear friends
who
in my absence
had
completed many projects
i had been talking about
for a very long time
they had planned it all
and worked together
for weeks
husbands, wives, children
to make
my cottage
even more of
a home for me
they had
clipboards
and shifts
and materials
and money
and sweat
and tools
and time
and hard labor
and they
asked
my daughters
for my
colors
and ideas
and wishes
and dreams
and most of all
what i saw
when i walked in
was
an incredible act
of
human kindness
and
i
couldn’t believe
what they had done for me
and
i cried
and
my daughter
said
‘mom, all of your stories end with you laughing or crying or sometimes both’
and
isn’t that the way
all things should end?
you can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
~john wooden
—
image credits: leslielane.com, mainzercats
I didn't have my glasses on.... 