Square used as slang may mean many things when referring to a person, or it may refer to a cigarette A Cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered.
The term "square", in referring to a person, originally meant someone who was honest, traditional, and loyal, hence the saying "be there or be square". An agreement that is equitable on all sides is a "square deal". The evolution of American culture transformed the term from a compliment to an insult to an obsolete term.
In the parlance of jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. Its West African pedigree, a square was a person who failed to appreciate the medium, hence (more broadly) someone who was out of date or out of touch. In the counterculture Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. It is a neologism attributed to Theodore Roszak movements that started in the 1940s and took momentum in the 1960s a "square" referred to someone who clung to repressive, traditional, stereotypical, one-sided, or "in the box This is sometimes called a process of lateral thought. The catchphrase, or cliché, has become widely used in business environments, especially by management consultants and executive coaches, and has spawned a number of advertising slogans" ways of thinking. The term was used by hipsters Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular modern jazz, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: manner of dress, slang terminology, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor, self-imposed in the 1940s, beatniks Beatnik, a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s, was a synthesis of the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s into violent film images and a cartoonish misrepresentation of the real-life people and the spirituality found in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical fiction. Kerouac spoke out against this in the 1950s, hippies The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s, swiftly spreading to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into New York City's Greenwich Village and San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, yippies The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a more radically youth-oriented and countercultural offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s. It was founded on Dec. 31, 1967. They employed theatrical gestures — such as advancing a pig as a candidate for President in 1968 — to mock the in the 1970s, and other individuals who took part in the movements which emerged to contest the more conservative Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and opposes rapid change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were." The first established use national, political, religious, philosophical, musical and social trends. It was in this context that Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone are an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music. Headed by singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, and containing several of his family members and friends, the's trumpet player Cynthia Robinson Cynthia Robinson is an African-American musician, best known for being the trumpeter in the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone. Robinson is notable for being one of the first (both) black and female trumpet player in a major American band, and also for being the only member of the original Family Stone yelled out in the hit "Dance to the Music": "All the squares go home!" If the counterculture was a shift from conservatism to liberalism, then square was what liberal people called a conservative people and things. While the term waned in popularity by the 1980s, it remained in the public consciousness, particularly of the American baby boom generation, enough that its broad meaning (of a person who respects traditional principles) is exemplified in Huey Lewis's 1986 hit Hip To Be Square.
In modern usage it can be used to describe a person who leads a lawful existence, particularly in regard to employment.
The term found its way into various parts of popular culture. Perhaps the most obvious recurring reference today would be this line from "Jailhouse Rock "Jailhouse Rock" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit for Elvis Presley. The song was first released as a 45rpm single on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the release of Presley's motion picture, Jailhouse Rock. Composer Mike Stoller can be seen playing piano in the film presentation of the song", a song most famously sung by Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presleya was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King":
- The warden said hey buddy don't you be no square
- If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair
One of the earliest records with the usage of the term can be found in the 1946 recording by Harry Gibson "What's his Story?," which includes the stanza:
- At the gate stands a sinning fool
- Shouting "Lordy Lordy"
- Saint Peter said "You square,
- Your place is way down there"
- And the square said, "What's his story?"
Or an earlier song by the same artist, from 1944, called "Stop That Dancing Up There," which includes:
- The people downstairs
- Say I'm an aweful square
- When I shout, "Stop that dancing up there."
Positive connotations
Square can mean good and honest, a sense preserved in the phrases "fair and square", "a square deal" and "a square meal"; or upstanding, as in "squaring up" (to an antagonist). As a symbol of rectitude, the square, or set-square, is one of the principal allegorical symbols in Freemasonry.
The term was used in the American Cub Scout Promise until 1971.
The chorus of the George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer song "Mary's a Grand Old Name" concludes with these lines:
- And there is something there / That sounds so square / It's a grand old name.
L7
L7 is also a derivative term for square. This derives from a gesture in which the square shape is made by putting together an "L" made with the left thumb and index finger and a "7" made with the right thumb and index finger.
Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs included this line in their biggest hit "Wooly Bully":
- Let’s not be L7, come and learn to dance.
Wings Wings were a rock group formed in 1971 by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. To date, Wings remains the only "permanent" group that any of the former members of The Beatles belonged to after the band's breakup in 1970 included this line in the song "C Moon "C Moon" is a 1972 faux ska tune by the band Wings and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. It is complete with a missed-cue intro that was kept in the released version. With the ban of its A-side, "Hi Hi Hi" in the UK, "C Moon" gained top play from radio disc jockeys. Paul explained during his "Back in the US tour"":
- It will be L7 and I'd never get to heaven
The Sandlot The Sandlot is a 1993 American comedy-drama sports film about young baseball players. The film was directed by David Mickey Evans and was released with the title The Sandlot Kids in Australia and the United Kingdom's Squints used this line to describe Smalls: Come on, Benny. Man. The kid is a... L7 weenie!
See also
- Hip (slang) Hip is a slang term meaning fashionably current and in the now. Hip is the opposite of square or prude
- The Man "The Man" is a slang phrase that refers to the government, leaders of large corporations, and other authority figures in general, rather than a specific person. "The Man" is colloquially defined as the figurative person who controls the world. The phrase is also often used as a symbol of racial oppression, as well as the boss
- The Establishment The Establishment is a term used to refer to the traditional ruling class elite and the structures of society that they control. The term can be used to describe specific entrenched elite structures in specific institutions, but is usually informal in application. For example, candidates for political office are often said to have to impress the &
- L7
Categories: Jazz culture | Slang Categories: Sociolinguistics | Language varieties and styles | Words | Dialects | 1940s slang | 1950s slang | 1960s slang | 1970s slang | American slang
Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:15:53 GMT+00:00
The NarcoSphere I like making small square bales because I have a say in the price I receive. I'm milking three cows every morning now and Leah's making cheese as fast as ...
