item girl n. in Indian cinema, a woman who appears in an item song; (hence) a female actress, singer, or dancer, esp. one who is poised to become a star. Editorial Note: An item song or item number is a musical performance that has little do with the film in which it appears, but is presented mainly to showcase beautiful dancing women, to promote a song, or to lend marketability to a film. Item numbers often have a life on stage long after a movie has left theaters. There appears to be some confluence with the term “it” girl, to signify someone who is much talked about or sought after. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The Kong in the name of the 1933 movie King Kong, probably alludes to the Congo in Africa, the home of gorillas. Previous movies used a form of that name as well; Kongorilla, for example. In the 1950s, the English name of the Japanese movie monster...
Andre from Campbellsville, Kentucky, says his mother won’t watch a movie if it’s ary a bit violent. What does the word ary mean? Spelled airy, ara, arey, or ery, this dialectal term a shortening of ever a, and means “any” or...