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Hijinks Ensue

Posted by S. on February 09, 2003

In Reply to: Hijinks Ensue posted by ESC on February 08, 2003

: : : I know it's a long-shot, but if any one has an idea as to the original source of this classic critical dismissal, I'd much appreciate it.
: : Thanks.

: : If you mean "high jinks," as loud, boisterous behavior, then it would follow...
: : Hijinks Ensue/ Let the party begin/ Let the good times roll!

: This is a guess. Maybe it was used during silent movies like the following: "Subtitles. Silent films required some dialogue or explanatory words, which beginning around 1907, appeared on separate frames at appropriate places in the story. These were called captions until around 1913, then were called 'screen titles' or 'subtitles.'.Before 1913 they were not even written for individual movies but were often taken from a limited supply of stock rolls, so that certain subtitles were used over and over as, 'That night,' 'A year has passed,' and 'Wedding bells.' At least two of these stock subtitles from silent films entered the general language as cliches and are still in use: 'Comes the dawn' (originally written to be used literally) and 'Meanwhile, back at the ranch'.The nickelodeon could also use such stock frames to make announcements to the audience, the best-remembered such line, thrown upon the screen before the movie started, being: 'Ladies, we like your hats, but please remove them, with the men being advised: 'You would not spit on the floor at home. Do not do it here.'" From Listening to America: An Illustrated History of Words and Phrases from Our Lively and Splendid Past by Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982):

Thanks; I bet you're right.

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