B'hoy and g'hal (meant to evoke an Irish pronunciation of boy and gal, respectively)[1] were the prevailing slang words used to describe the young men and women of the rough-and-tumble working class culture of Lower Manhattan in the late 1840s and into the period of the American Civil War. They spoke a slang, with phrases such as "hi-hi", "lam him", and "cheese it".[2]
Mary Taylor and Frank Chanfrau as a Bowery g'hal and b'hoy in A Glance at New York.
The word b'hoy was first used in 1846. In the United States it was a colloquialism for "spirited lad" and "young spark". The word originates from the Irish pronunciation of boy. [3]
Theatrical examplesedit
The prototypical artistic representation of a b'hoy came in 1848, when Frank Chanfrau played the character Mose the Fireboy in Benjamin A. Baker's A Glance at New York. Mose is a pugilistic Irishvolunteer fireman. T. Allston Brown gives this description:
He stood there in his red shirt, with his fire coat thrown over his arm, the stovepipe hat — better known as a "plug" — drawn down over one eye, his trousers tucked into his boots, a stump of a cigar pointing up from his lips to his eye, the soap locks plastered flat on his temples, and his jaw protruded into a half-beastly, half-human expression of contemptuous ferocity.[4]
Details varied with each production; some b'hoys were named Sykesy or Syksey, others were butcher's apprentices. Haswell gives a slightly different description of the archetype:
a high beaver hat, with the nap divided and brushed in opposite directions, the hair on the back of his head clipped close, while in front the temple locks were curled and greased (hence, the well-known term of 'soap-locks' to the wearer of them), a smooth face, a gaudy silk neckcloth, black frockcoat, full pantaloons, turned up at the bottom over heavy boots designed for service in slaughter houses and at fires; and when thus equipped, with his girl hanging on his arm, it would have been very injudicious to offer him any obstruction or to utter an offensive remark.[5]
His girlfriend Lize was the prototypical g'hal, dressed in cheap finery and singing songs from her favorite minstrel shows.[6] Mose plays became an enormous hit in New York and other large cities, and theaters were filled with b'hoys and g'hals clamoring to see Chanfrau and other actors perform Bowery b'hoy characters. William Northall even complained that at the Olympic Theatre,
the boxes no longer shone with the elite of the city; the character of the audience was entirely changed, and Mose, instead of appearing on the stage, was in the pit, the boxes, and the gallery. It was all Mose, and the respectability of the house mosed too.[7]
^Northall, William. Before and Behind the Curtain, p. 91–92. Quoted in Allen 66.
Referencesedit
Allen, Robert C. (1991). Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture. University of North Carolina Press.
Brown, T. Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage: From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. Dodd, Mead & Company.
Cliff, Nigel (2007). The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America. Random House.
Brodsky Lawrence, Vera (1988). Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong. Volume I: Resonances, 1838-1849. University of Chicago Press.
Lott, Eric (1993). Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-507832-2.
Sante, Luc (2003). Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.
Wilmeth, Don B., and Bigsby, C. W. E. (1998). The Cambridge History of American Theatre: Beginnings to 1870. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Foster, George G. (1850). "New York by Gas-Light", No. 12, "Mose & Lize". University of Chicago Press, 1990.
May 08, 2024
meant, evoke, irish, pronunciation, respectively, were, prevailing, slang, words, used, describe, young, women, rough, tumble, working, class, culture, lower, manhattan, late, 1840s, into, period, american, civil, they, spoke, slang, with, phrases, such, chees. B hoy and g hal meant to evoke an Irish pronunciation of boy and gal respectively 1 were the prevailing slang words used to describe the young men and women of the rough and tumble working class culture of Lower Manhattan in the late 1840s and into the period of the American Civil War They spoke a slang with phrases such as hi hi lam him and cheese it 2 Mary Taylor and Frank Chanfrau as a Bowery g hal and b hoy in A Glance at New York Contents 1 Etymology 2 Theatrical examples 3 See also 4 Notes 5 ReferencesEtymology editThe word b hoy was first used in 1846 In the United States it was a colloquialism for spirited lad and young spark The word originates from the Irish pronunciation of boy 3 Theatrical examples editThe prototypical artistic representation of a b hoy came in 1848 when Frank Chanfrau played the character Mose the Fireboy in Benjamin A Baker s A Glance at New York Mose is a pugilistic Irish volunteer fireman T Allston Brown gives this description He stood there in his red shirt with his fire coat thrown over his arm the stovepipe hat better known as a plug drawn down over one eye his trousers tucked into his boots a stump of a cigar pointing up from his lips to his eye the soap locks plastered flat on his temples and his jaw protruded into a half beastly half human expression of contemptuous ferocity 4 Details varied with each production some b hoys were named Sykesy or Syksey others were butcher s apprentices Haswell gives a slightly different description of the archetype a high beaver hat with the nap divided and brushed in opposite directions the hair on the back of his head clipped close while in front the temple locks were curled and greased hence the well known term of soap locks to the wearer of them a smooth face a gaudy silk neckcloth black frockcoat full pantaloons turned up at the bottom over heavy boots designed for service in slaughter houses and at fires and when thus equipped with his girl hanging on his arm it would have been very injudicious to offer him any obstruction or to utter an offensive remark 5 His girlfriend Lize was the prototypical g hal dressed in cheap finery and singing songs from her favorite minstrel shows 6 Mose plays became an enormous hit in New York and other large cities and theaters were filled with b hoys and g hals clamoring to see Chanfrau and other actors perform Bowery b hoy characters William Northall even complained that at the Olympic Theatre the boxes no longer shone with the elite of the city the character of the audience was entirely changed and Mose instead of appearing on the stage was in the pit the boxes and the gallery It was all Mose and the respectability of the house mosed too 7 See also editBowery Boys gang Bowery B hoy Mose HumphreyNotes edit Sante Low Life 77 Brodsky 527 note 8 b hoy Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 2020 07 05 Brown 284 Haswell Charles H 1896 Reminiscences of an Octogenarian of the City of New York New York Harper Quoted in Brodsky 527 note 8 Lott 83 84 Northall William Before and Behind the Curtain p 91 92 Quoted in Allen 66 References editAllen Robert C 1991 Horrible Prettiness Burlesque and American Culture University of North Carolina Press Brown T Allston 1903 A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901 Dodd Mead amp Company Cliff Nigel 2007 The Shakespeare Riots Revenge Drama and Death in Nineteenth Century America Random House Brodsky Lawrence Vera 1988 Strong on Music The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong Volume I Resonances 1838 1849 University of Chicago Press Lott Eric 1993 Love and Theft Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class New York Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 507832 2 Sante Luc 2003 Low Life Lures and Snares of Old New York Farrar Straus amp Giroux Wilmeth Don B and Bigsby C W E 1998 The Cambridge History of American Theatre Beginnings to 1870 New York Cambridge University Press Foster George G 1850 New York by Gas Light No 12 Mose amp Lize University of Chicago Press 1990 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title B 27hoy and g 27hal amp oldid 1211119754, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
