Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

I remember reader's digest yelling of a foreign military man, visiting after WWII, who had been told by his government not to return before he mrt with General Eisenhower, General Motors, and General Electric.

I would say that Miss Finch was a woman of principles, the firsrt being that whe wanted to play in the war between the sexes, and she wanted him to invade her defenses, and peninsulate her.  Women are more aggressive these days; they no longer somply wear black patent leather shoes to reflect up. 

The Patty Duke theme claimed a hot fog made her lose control, certainly a good excuse in an era when women weren't allowed to admit sexual desirre.  One didn't need much of an excuse, though.  A couple of times. I asked dates if "aspirin and Coca-Cola" made women uncontrollably horny.  "I dunno", each said, "Let's try it and see."  Both times. it worked very well.

I still haven't solved the mystery behind girls wearing a red dress on Friday, though.

DeaconB: Some time back you mentioned how there would be typos in your posts because you were using such a small keyboard.

Actually, the problem is retinopathy.  They're injecting shots into my eyeball, and I may start seeing better in a few months.

Maybe a tablet or smart phone? Anyway, for those too young to recall the Patty Duke show, the theme song mentions a "hot dog" and not a "hot fog." That typo wasn't obvious like most, and could send readers scurrying to research the connection between "hot fog" and "sexual desire."

Especially since a "hot fog" could be construed as Scarlett O'Hara's "vapours" ... that was my first take. I never watched the Duke show and had to look up the theme. At least now your claim of sexual innuendo makes some sense, but I doubt it was intentional. This was, after all, a prime-time show in the 1950s.

For certain values of "the 1950s", yes.  Fort Wayne was so behind the times, it was 1963-1966 when it origiinally aired on the ABC affiliate, and it's now being broadcast on Antenna TV, the CBS affiliate's secondary channel.

Sending you on a wild goose hunt wasn't my intention, and I apologize for that, but sometimes I really enjoy the connections I find when I go on a wild goose hunt. 

I'm not sure I'd categorize the 1950s as innocent as you suggest, though.  Nobody blushed when referring to "Jelly Roll" Morton. Nobody censored Isaiah or Song of Solomon from the Bible, nor held book-burnings over The Cuckold's Tale in Canterbury Stories.  Fairy tales often had bawdy themes and nursery rhymes as well - although people assumed children wouldn't understand the double-entendres of nursery rhymes.  If you watch cartoons from that era, you again see the humor that appeals on one level to children and another to adults.  How many 8-year-olds would understand "the drapes don't match the carpet", or references to the death of Catherine the Great (although she seems to have died of a stroke rather than being fallen on by a horse.)