The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #151811 Message #3550683
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
19-Aug-13 - 11:14 AM
Thread Name: Folklore: Pickaninny in closet
Subject: RE: Folklore: Pickaninny in closet
"Alexander's Ragtime Band:"
American speech of the period 1900-1920 was full of usages that to a foreigner seem to be dialect. Ragtime speech was popular among all who did the dances of the day and talked the latest slang.
Moreover, the "little woman" was often referred to by almost anything that was "cute" or belittling. Women did not have complete suffrage until passage if the 19th Amendment.
"Honey" remained common through WW2. Often the woman called the man "honey." It was not dialectic in American speech. In many greasy spoons the waitress referred to a male customer as "honey." (The equivalent in London was "love," in cockney speech.)
Your reference to it as a "coon" song brought me to a full stop!