Main Line Brat

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, my name’s Lisa and I’m from Groton, Connecticut.

Hello, Lisa, welcome.

Hi, Lisa.

Hi.

So I heard a phrase in a movie, or actually two places, a movie and a show, and I was wondering what it meant.

The first place I heard it was in the movie In Her Shoes, and the character says, I don’t know what to wear to a mainline wedding. And so the first time I heard it, I didn’t really think much of it. I just thought it meant, I thought it was perhaps maybe a family name or something like that.

So the second time I heard it was on a TV show, and it’s my favorite TV show, Mad Men. And it was in the season finale, and it’s a pivotal moment in the show. He’s arguing with his wife, and he calls her a mainline brat. So then I thought, well, it must mean something entirely different. So I was wondering if you could help me with that.

Yeah, so in Mad Men, this is a show about the advertising business in New York City in the 1960s. Who were the characters that were arguing?

Oh, I’m sorry. It was Don Draper, the main character, and his wife, Betty Draper. And do you know anything about Betty Draper’s background, where she’s supposed to be from?

I can’t remember where she’s supposed to be from, but just that she’s from a well-to-do family.

Okay, that’s good information. And now the movie was In Her Shoes. I don’t think I know that movie. What’s the background? Where is that set?

That one’s set in Philadelphia and Florida. That’s with Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz and their sisters.

Okay. Okay, it’s ringing some bells now. All right, so yeah, this is interesting. So Mad Men, Don calls Betty a mainline brat. It’s not a nice thing to say, right?

No, no. And she’s from a wealthy background. So we’ve got just enough information here to figure out exactly what they meant. It turns out that Mainline, and everyone in Philadelphia is going, yes, yes, that Mainline is the name of a neighborhood in Philadelphia. And it runs from Marion to Bryn Mawr to Paoli. And it’s through which the Mainline of the Pennsylvania Railroad ran. It’s a ritzy neighborhood. It’s she, she, it’s Tony, whatever you want to call it. And so if a mainline brat goes to a mainline wedding, it’s one rich, spoiled person going to a very fancy affair. And so mainline, which is the name of this neighborhood, became kind of generic to mean ritzy or fancy or tony or somehow involving money or prestige or elitism.

Oh, okay. So I guess Betty Draper must be from that neighborhood too.

I can’t remember though. I can’t remember where she’s from. They give so much information in that show. It’s like, it’s all coming at you all the time. Didn’t she go to Bryn Mawr in the show?

Probably. I can’t remember where she’s from. That’s interesting. And I should say, for the record, it has nothing to do with mainlining drugs. Just in case you were wondering. Just in case you were wondering. It’s not about shooting up.

Yeah, that’s what it says. That’s the only thing I could find on the Internet. So, Lisa, you must have an ear for this stuff, that you picked out this one expression mainline, which is kind of bland out of two different shows.

Oh, yeah. I feel very good. I guess I do.

That’s cool. Well, there’s your answer.

Well, thank you very much. I’m surprised. It’s actually a place, so that’s good to know.

Yeah. Yep. Cool. Cool. Thank you for calling.

Thank you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Well, have you heard something on your favorite TV show that has you scratching your head? Give us a call, 1-877-929-9673, or email us. That address is words@waywordradio.org.