This is part three of our look at comics’ contributions to colloquial English.
Another prolific contributor to the language was Al Capp, creator of the strip Li’l Abner.
“My Mom and Dad met when she picked him out at a Sadie Hawkins dance.”
Sadie Hawkins is one of Capp’s memorable characters; she first appeared in November 1937, and until the mid-50s, November was known as Sadie Hawkins month and became an unofficial collegiate holiday.
Hawkins was the ugly daughter of the most wealthy and powerful man in town and was avoided by all the town’s men.
Hawkins’ father lined up all eligible males and shot off his gun. When the gun was fired, they ran for their lives and their freedom from matrimony.
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The gunshot signaled the unwed women to enter the race and try to catch a man. When an unlucky male was brought back, kicking and screaming, he had no choice but to marry the woman. Thus was born a Dogpatch annual tradition: Sadie Hawkins Day.
Capp also came up with the idea for a Sadie Hawkins dance — a dance where only the ladies picked their partners.
The craze spread throughout the ’40s and ’50s, and continues today.
