Cross my heart and hope to die!: swearing something is true so much that your life is on the line. But this was used for everything. Wasn’t really that extreme a phrase. More dramatic “I mean it!”
…the power of a girl’s smile. It’s her greatest asset!”: Boy, ain’t that the truth?
Lily throws me a pair of stockings that were laid out by the window to dry out…: Women always wore stockings with dresses. Always. Check out my Pinterest Board for this book to see them. They’d hand-wash them carefully because runs were so easy to get and stockings could be pricey. Panty hose weren’t invented until 1959, so in the 1940’s it was all garter belts to hold your stockings up. Every day! What we wear today for special occasions! We should bring this back. They’re hot. They just are.
“We could have five soda pops with a whole quarter!”: It’s true. I looked it up. FIVE!!!
“Stuff it!” : Fuck off, dude, seriously.
“I would hardly think so,”: was a nice way of disagreeing without full on saying it.
That wouldn’t be the thing to do at all: I wouldn’t recommend that. More often than not this is used when something is frowned on by society.
“Ah shucks,” he mutters. “Give me another three balls…”: Well shit! Fuck! Dammit! They really didn’t swear much back then. Ladies never did. Ah shucks was used often and in front of anyone. I watched a bunch of blooper reels from old movies, too, while researching and the only thing they said was “Damn!” And “Nuts!” — pretty interesting.
My folks are distracted and won’t pay them any mind: Probably where “never mind” originated, too, putting your mind toward something. Thinking about it. One of my girlfriends moved to Ireland where they still say, “Mind yourself,” and it doesn’t mean “Watch yourself, buddy!” It’s actually a nice phrase often said in goodbye that means “Be safe,” or “Take care.” At first she was pissed, but now she says it to me and doesn’t notice. Too fun.
She unfastens her favorite necklace: That’s the necklace and polkadot dress on the cover.
Well, she seems to have it in spades: in abundance.
Mighty thoughtful…: Very, in a nice way. When someone is grateful, “That was mighty thoughtful of you to put a quarter in my meter before I got that ticket.” Mixing the two eras.
That’s a bunch of malarkey.” : bull, lies, bullshit
Everybody is having a gay old time, talking about anything and everything…”: gay used to mean happy and great, and I kind of think that still applies, in a different way, now.
You are my Sunshine, my only sunshine…”: Oh man, when I found out that was popular back then, I couldn’t wait for Hank to sing it!
I give her a wink in return with none the wiser : nobody noticed
“Hot dog!”: Woohoo! Yay! George Bailey says this in It’s a Wonderful Life when he wishes he had a million dollars and the flame lights indicating he will get his wish. And it’s in a bunch of other old films also released in the 1940’s. Let’s bring it back!
Don’t be a ninny: Airhead. Not too bright. Naive.
But there’s a special kind of silence you can’t find outside of a library, and running shoes plus urgent voices don’t suit: Don’t fit. Don’t work.
With fashionable shoulder pads. : These are NOT the huge horrendous ones from the 1980’s. The 40’s had smaller ones that looked nice, actually. Check out my Pinterest Board for this book to see them in the shirtwaist dresses.
“Hi dee ho!”: hello! In a very happy and casual way.
I could use a spot of sherry!: a tiny bit. Usually it ended up being a lot more, except in the case of Mrs. Cocker. She nursed her spot of sherry, indeed.
F.D.R. is dead!: Oh man, when I found out he died right before Mussolini and Hitler died, I was so sad for him. He should have seen the war end. He really did bring the U.S. up through the Great Depression. Truman then took the allied relationship with Russia that F.D.R. had built and that helped bring down Hitler, and turned it into the Cold War.
Thought I might have a tussle on my hands.”: a fight. But probably not an MMA kind.
How does Mother live with that infernal racket?: horrible noise/sound, in his case, that of a monster laughing while eating.
I’ve sullied May’s innocence without her knowing what a fiend I am: evil man, conniving manipulator, really bad dude. And totally not Jerald at all, hence the sarcasm.
…so Ma doesn’t get carsick as she is wont to do during long journeys: as she is likely to do. Pronounced “want” and was a common term that has died out. wont. (postpositive) accustomed (to doing something): he was wont to come early.
…he was good enough to put us up for the night in a couple of his guest rooms with en suite baths!”:attached bathrooms. “En suite” is still used in Europe listings for hotels and such. Shared bathrooms aren’t as common in the states, I’ve found. How about you?
That’s what I’ve got! If you can think of any I should add, let me know at www.AuthorFaleenaHopkins.com where you can also get free bonus scenes!
Hope you had fun. :)
xx, Faleena Hopkins
#livewithlight
Re: History: In Kindle you can click a selection of words to learn about the time in history, like Battle of the Bulge. When I researched, I was shocked to find out it went over for over a month. No wonder it’s still talked about.
NOTE FROM ME
FOR MONTHS I LIVED IN AND RESEARCHED THIS ERA, and I had them to spare after an unexpected lady-surgery left me homebound to heal.1
I like to focus on the positive, so two good things came about from this ridiculously long healing process:
1) It enabled me to bring you the best story I could by fully immersing us both in
