Michael from Jones, Michigan, says he was stationed on a U.S. Army base in Germany in the early 1960s. If there was a gust of cold wind, a fellow soldier would say the hawk’s out. This expression is largely associated with Chicago, Illinois, where the Hawk refers to the frigid wind coming off of Lake Michigan and the bear is sometimes used to mean “bitter cold.” As early as the 1870s, the terms Hawkins, and Old Hawkins, and Old Mr. Hawkins were applied to “cold weather.” The idea may have been reinforced by the fact that in the 1930s, jazz musician Coleman Hawkins blew the saxophone and was nicknamed the Hawk. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “”The Hawk’s Out” Means There’s a Cold Wind”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, I’m Michael Swartz from Jones, Michigan.
And my question is, when I was stationed in Germany on a U.S. Army base in the early 1960s, a buddy of mine from North Carolina would use a phrase I’d never heard. When we would be walking into a cold, sharp wind, he’d say, the hawks out. It always made me think of a hawk or a falcon diving down on an unsuspecting victim. Can you tell me anything about the origination of this thing?
So your fellow soldier, was it?
Yes, I was a soldier.
So your fellow soldier was from North Carolina. Were they African American, perhaps?
No, he was full of country-fied sayings, and I really enjoyed being around him.
Well, we can tell you something about that. These days, the hawk, for some reason, is mostly associated with Chicago, where it specifically describes cold wind, especially the wind that comes off the lake. Sometimes they’ll say that the hawk is the wind and the cold is the bear. That kind of took hold of Chicago as kind of a thing that people in Chicago say in the 1960s.
But it’s actually older than that, and it’s actually got much older forms, original forms that aren’t the hawk, but Hawkins, H-A-W-K-I-N-S. So as far back in the 1870s, Hawkins or old Hawkins or old Mr. Hawkins was used to describe cold weather, and not just cold, windy weather, but any cold weather.
And then by the 1930s, Hawkins also starts to be used in jazz, possibly because of the influence of the jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who was known as the Hawk. And because the wind blows and Coleman Hawkins blows his sax, there’s kind of a little wordplay happening there.
And so I believe what happened was Hawkins became Hawk, especially in black English, because jazz for a long time was very much a black art form. And then somehow, for some reason, it stuck in Chicago, and though it still occurs elsewhere in the country, and the Chicagoans are very proud of it. But it’s no surprise to have somebody from North Carolina say it, because at one time it was more widespread than Chicago.
Oh, wow. Like I say, this fellow was full of country-fied sayings. And he was an athlete, and possibly he was on a football team with some African-Americans maybe, and he heard it there. But my time in the military just is a melding pot of people from so many different places. And I really treasure that time.
I can imagine. Yeah, it’s a really intense time of fraternity and learning and experiencing what the body and the mind are capable of. And people from virtually every part of the nation coming together. I mean, so many different cultures in one place.
My father, who was in the marine landing on Iwo Jima, he told me one time, I wouldn’t take a million dollars for the experience that I’ve had, but I wouldn’t give a nickel for the opportunity to do it again.
Smart man.
Absolutely. Michael, thank you so much for sharing your memories and bringing this question to us. We appreciate it.
And thank you so much. I love your show. It’s absolutely a great show.
Thank you very much. And take care of yourself, all right?
Yes, sir. Bye-bye.
Well, we know that we have lots of listeners on military bases and a lot of military veterans out there. We’d love for you to call and share your stories about language that you encountered when you were in the military. Give us a call, 877-929-9673, or send them to us in email. The address is words@waywordradio.org.
