Author Archives: okerstro

Red Ribbon on a Horse’s Tail

Text:

A red ribbon tied around a horse’s tail means that they’re “a kicker”

Context:

C is a current USC student who grew up in Bellevue, Washington and previously worked in a barn there training rescue horses. As indicated in the text, C explained that tying a red ribbon around a horse’s tail meant they were prone to kicking and that other horses and riders should give them extra space. After I asked if this practice was specific to their barn, they explained that the red tail ribbon is a widely-known sign in the horseriding world and has become an important safety practice, especially in competition settings. C then stated that they were introduced to the red tail ribbon early on by people in their barn and that people would assume a rider was a “newbie” if they didn’t know the sign. C also mentioned that jokes were often shared amongst riders about the red tail ribbon – for example, a rider may joke that they’re going to tie a red ribbon around their non-aggressive horse’s tail to get people to “back off.”

Analysis:

As C mentioned, this folk object seems to me to have primarily risen out of a need to quickly and effectively communicate important safety information. A horse’s kick can cause severe injury to a person, and while small groups of people can be verbally warned of a kicking horse, that information seems like it would become much more difficult in a large horse arena or during a fast-paced competition. The use of a visual signal or folk object to communicate danger creates a constant visual differentiator for the kick-prone horse and allows the message to be spread and received much more quickly. Additionally, like much of occupational folklore, knowing the use of the red tail ribbon becomes a marker of insider status and experience in the horse rider world. Joking about the red tail ribbon in turn conveys a sense of familiarity with the sign and further demonstrates the presence of insider knowledge.

Drunk as a Skunk

Text:

“Drunk as a skunk”

Context:

My father, M, grew up in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where he was first introduced to this phrase at a young age. The phrase refers to someone showing visible signs of heavy alcohol consumption and would be used when gossiping with others or seeing someone heavily inebriated. He laughed a little when telling me the saying, questioning what skunks have to do with being drunk, but stated that everyone in his community knew and would use it. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington, where I grew up; I don’t remember hearing him use the phrase in conversation during my childhood.

Analysis:

The actual comparison within this phrase seems to be more a matter of humorous rhyme than truth – like M, I am not aware of skunks having anything to do with drunkenness. Nonetheless, this saying seems to be a lighthearted way of discussing someone’s socially questionable behavior and reveals the cultural attitudes towards drinking in my father’s childhood community. The saying’s use in gossip and in pointing out the drunk person to others gives the phrase a somewhat negative, albeit teasing, connotation. That usage, combined with M’s explanation that it refers to someone “really drunk,” indicates that someone who is “drunk as a skunk” has surpassed a socially acceptable level of drunkenness. However, the humor in the saying’s rhyme indicated by my father’s explanation leads me to believe that the offense is not necessarily considered serious or deserving of punishment – or perhaps the subsequent gossip is seen as consequence enough.

Dead as a Doornail

Text:

“Dead as a doornail”

Context: 

M, my father, grew up in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and dates his introduction to this saying to “sometime in the 80s.” He stated that everyone in his community commonly used the phrase to describe something that was “really dead”; when asked to elaborate, some examples provided of “really dead” things were “birds that hit windows, long dead pets of friends, bugs, mice, and movie characters that get found dead after days.” M also expressed confusion about the origins and meaning of the phrase, saying that he “[didn’t] know what it actually means” before asking “what’s dead about a doornail?” He currently lives where I grew up in Seattle, Washington; I don’t remember hearing him say the phrase in conversation. 

Analysis:

I suspect that my father’s (and my own) confusion about the saying’s practical meaning indicates its original context has since been lost. The saying is therefore likely quite old in nature and feels like a testament to the lasting nature of elements of folk speech. Despite the unclear nature of the saying’s origin, it nonetheless reveals a lot about attitudes towards death in my father’s childhood community. Many examples M provided, like a dead movie character or long dead pet of a friend, convey a degree of distance or emotional detachment to the deceased being. That detachment is contrasted with the lack of deaths relating to close family, friends or pets. It seems as though this saying is only used in reference to beings whose deaths are considered less tragic or important to the person using the phrase. I also find it interesting that my father no longer seems to use it and has not passed it on to me or my sister, perhaps due to regional or generational differences.

“Assume” Saying

Text:

“You know what my Dad loved to do whenever we said the word assume? He’d run to get a piece of paper and write the word assume. Then he’d go ‘You know what happens when you assume? You make an ass out of you and me!’” (As J said the second sentence, she made three motions with her hands as she said the words “ass,” “you,” and “me” to mimic someone underlining the words with a pen or pencil).  

Context:

J, my mother, was taught this saying when she was a young child in Ontario, Canada by my grandfather. She told me this story with a sense of fondness, smiling as she recounted how her father would “run to get a pen and paper” every time she or one of her siblings used the word “assume” in her childhood home. To her, humor seemed to be the main element of her father’s use of the phrase. From what I remember of my own childhood, I haven’t seen her use the phrase-gesture combo, although I have heard the saying. 

Analysis:

To me, this saying’s humorous nature and its accompanying gestures seem to function as emphasis or a form of mnemonic. By breaking down the word “assume” into a memorable phrase and repeating it constantly, my grandfather caused his children to remember the saying well into adulthood. If my mother and her siblings are able to easily remember the saying, they therefore also remember, consciously or not, its accompanying warning against making assumptions. The use of taboo language also helps to convey the saying’s message, possibly indicating my grandfather’s belief in the incorrect or improper nature of assuming. On the other hand, this saying could also be a way to use or explore taboo language in a more socially accepted manner (which, like my mother, I think is likely). Like many instances of folk speech, if saying something directly would get a person in trouble, they can instead use the proverb to call on collective wisdom and divert the blame. I also suspect that my grandfather in particular may have adapted the phrase into a kind of “dad humor” used to tease and bond with his kids.

“Mary’s Mother” Riddle

Text: 

Riddle: “Mary’s mother has five children. Her first four children’s names are April, May, June, and July. What is the fifth child’s name?”

Answer: “Mary”

Context:

H is currently a student at USC. She originally heard this riddle from someone at her elementary school in San Diego, California, where the students would tell it amongst each other. After sharing the riddle, H remarked that the important part of the joke seemed to be the “gotcha” twist. They also noted that the names of the four other children didn’t seem to matter as much as there being a pattern to them that might help trick the riddle’s recipient. 

Analysis: 

H already pointed out many interesting points of analysis about this riddle. Like H, I find it significant that the point of the riddle seems to be to fool the riddle recipient into forgetting the beginning of the riddle, leading them to give an incorrect answer that would seem logical to the sequence of names. I personally think that the desire to trick someone using this riddle ties in closely with the elementary setting in which H originally heard it. As has been discussed, much of children’s folklore stems from trying to establish a sense of authority in a world in which children have very little. By knowing the answer to this riddle, children may temporarily hold authority over a peer or adult who doesn’t. It is also worth noting that knowing the riddle or a similarly structured one creates an in-group; those children who have been tricked by the riddle can then go on to trick others. By learning the structure of the riddle, the recipient also learns to pay closer attention and look for important details in future riddles or logic puzzles.