A caller who lived in the Bay Area during the 1960s remembers using the word loosecap to describe someone who’s “not playing with a full deck.” He wonders if he and his friends are the only ones to use it, as in, “Don’t be such a loosecap!” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Meaning of Loose Cap: Slang for Someone Unreliable”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Mike and Hamul.
Mike and Hamul. Well, what are you calling us about?
I am calling about a phrase that I used and my friends used from about 1965 to 69 or 70.
I moved here in 70 to San Diego, and I’ve never heard anyone down here use it, unless I’m with some of my friends from the Bay Area, the San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell, Cupertino area, and we’re a bunch of kids going surfing in Santa Cruz.
And the term or the phrase was loose cap.
Two words.
Loose cap.
Loose cap.
So how would you use that in a sentence?
Well, actually, I was going down to Mexico with my friend Tom last summer, and everybody was from San Jose, had lived in San Jose, and had grown up with us in the car.
And I said, Tom, don’t be such a loose cap.
And Tom was driving down the road in Mexico with a cup of coffee in one hand, one of those dental floss loop things in the other, staring with his knee and looking over his shoulder at us in the back seat and reaching into the cooler to grab a sandwich.
With his fourth arm.
Yeah.
And I’ve actually talked to some of my buddies since I called you guys.
And the consensus is it’s a guy who’s not playing with a full deck.
It’s someone who’s kind of wild or someone you can’t trust or rely on or should steer clear of because they’ll probably blow it, whatever they’re doing.
The other image I have for it is like the hubcap on your car isn’t properly mounted so that the lug bolts just fall out on the street if they come loose.
And, you know, the hubcap, what it’s supposed to be for, it’s on and it’s metal.
And if one of your lug bolts falls off, you can hear it rolling around in there.
So if it’s loose or missing, then you’re in danger of your wheel falling off without any pre-warning.
Mike, you think this is driving-related then?
Well, that’s one of the things I remember attaching to it as a kid in high school in the late 60s.
Well, don’t you think that somebody who forgets to put their gas cap back might be likely as well?
Yeah.
Oh, sure.
You know, when you take the gas, I mean, these days they’re usually attached to the automobile, but in the old days they came all the way off, and you’d put it on the top of the car, and you’d fill the thing, and sometimes you’d forget to put it back.
Sure.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term loose cap.
Well, I’d like to hear from our listeners about this.
Maybe other people have heard it, but I sure haven’t, and Grant hasn’t.
So how about you?
Have you heard the expression loose cap before?
The number is 1-877-929-9673, or send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.
We’d love to hear what you have to say about the term loose cap.
Yeah, and Mike, thank you.
You’ve been a most effervescent caller.
You have a good day, sir.
You do.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Well, if you have a question or comment about language, give us a call.
The number is 1-877-929-9673, or email us.
The address is words@waywordradio.org.
