Book Review: "I Love it When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech" by Ralph Keyes

I Love it When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech by Ralph Keyes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon Book Description

An entertaining and informative book about the fashion and fads of language

Today’s 18-year-olds may not know who Mrs. Robinson is, where the term “stuck in a groove” comes from, why 1984 was a year unlike any other, how big a bread box is, how to get to Peyton Place, or what the term Watergate refers to. I Love It When You Talk Retro discusses these verbal fossils that remain embedded in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped off into the sunset. That could be a person (Mrs. Robinson), product (Edsel), past bestseller (Catch-22), radio or TV show (Gangbusters), comic strip (Alphonse and Gaston), or advertisement (Where’s the beef?) long forgotten. Such retroterms are words or phrases in current use whose origins lie in our past. Ralph Keyes takes us on an illuminating and engaging tour through the phenomenon that is Retrotalk—a journey, oftentimes along the timelines of American history and the faultlines of culture, that will add to the word-lover’s store of trivia and obscure references.

"The phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” is a mystery to young people today, as is “45rpm.” Even older folks don’t know the origins of “raked over the coals” and “cut to the chase.” Keyes (The Quote Verifier) uses his skill as a sleuth of sources to track what he calls “retrotalk”: “a slippery slope of puzzling allusions to past phenomena.” He surveys the origins of “verbal fossils” from commercials (Kodak moment), jurisprudence (Twinkie defense), movies (pod people), cartoons (Caspar Milquetoast) and literature (brave new world). Some pop permutations percolated over decades: Radio’s Take It or Leave It spawned a catch phrase so popular the program was retitled The $64 Question and later returned as TV’s The $64,000 Question. Keyes’s own book Is There Life After High School? became both a Broadway musical and a catch phrase. Some entries are self-evident or have speculative origins, but Keyes’s nonacademic style and probing research make this both an entertaining read and a valuable reference work." --Publishers Weekly

This is a fabulous book I stumbled across at my local library. I enjoyed it so much that I am putting on list of must-have books for my personal library.

This compilation of word and phrase origins that have become cultural staples in American language. Many of the phrases that are covered by the author are ones that I have used for as long as I can remember and never knew the origin or the intent of the phrase when it first became a part of the lexicon in the United States.

The way in which the book is organized allows the reader to browse and read about topics of interest as a reference or read straight through. The author does an outstanding job of using engrossing narrative that draws the reader in and this doesn't read as a stale reference tool. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the analysis of why some verbal artifacts stand the test of time and linger in conversation long after the topic they originally referred to has been forgotten. This compilation of catchphrases is what the author, Ralph Keyes, calls "Retrotalk". A great combination of history and culture in a highly entertaining and interesting fashion.

Here is a chapter overview of how the author groups the retroterm origins together by subject:

Story Lines- Classic stories and fables
The Name's Familiar- Famous people whose names have lingered
Fighting Words- Words and phrases that originated during wartime
Stump Speeches- Words and phrases made famous by politicians
From Levittown to Jamestown- Words and phrases left over from protests
Law and Order- Words and phrases from the legal and enforcement field
Good Sports- Words and phrases from the world of sports
Getting Around- Words and phrases from various modes of transportation
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Casting Couch- Journalist and movie-maker
Movie Metaphors- Words and phrases from the silver screen
Home & Hearth- Words and phrases from the farm
Sizzling Widgets- Words and phrases from advertising
On the Job- Words and phrases from the office
Over the Wires and in the Groove- Words and phrases from news and radio
Kid Stuff- Words and phrases from toys of yesteryear
Stay Tuned!- Words and phrases from TV
Seen in the Funny Papers- Words and phrases from the comics
Between Covers- Words and phrases from famous literature


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