Well, when Chas. Addams was using "chicks" in the '40s or
'50s, his cartoons' father (tagged Gomez for the television
series and subsequent movies) would refer to the offspring as
"chicks," so the same sort of shift as "baby" for one's lover
may've been in play on this side of the Atlantic.
"Bird," on the other hand, for a woman, seems to be a
Britishism, heard over here in imported Angry Young Kitchen
Sink films and such, that I suspect is unconnected even if
parallel to the USism "chick." TM
-----Original Message----- From: Graham Powell [mailto:
bleekerbooks@hotmail.com]
>From: JIM DOHERTY <
jimdohertyjr@yahoo.com>
>I've been told that "bird" as a slang expression
for
>females derives from the American
colloquialism
>"chick," in the same way that "bread" for
money
>derived from "dough." Any truth in this?
I really think it's the other way 'round. I can't find my
copy of Hugh Rawson's DICTIONARY OF EUPHEMISMS, a great and
hilarious book, so I can't be
sure. BTW, there's a line from "Polythyne Pam" (sp?) where
John sings,
"It's a little absurd, but she's a nice lot of bird..." So it
was current in the late 60s at least.
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