{"id":5918,"date":"2020-11-15T14:36:49","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T14:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/?p=5918"},"modified":"2024-04-20T13:48:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T13:48:32","slug":"dude-an-awesome-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/11\/15\/dude-an-awesome-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Dude! An Awesome History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although this blog post was part of my weekly Fun Facts About English<\/a> in October, the history is so culturally rich, I thought it worth publishing as one of my monthly educational posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fun<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On a sunny summer day in 1965, I was in the front yard with my twin brother, Bobby, playing on our identical red tricycles. I said to him, “Lookit how fast I’m peddlin’, man!” Bobby suddenly dashed into the house like he had to poop. A few moments later, my mother sternly called out to me through the open living-room window, “Donnie! Stop saying “man!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yankee Doodle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Yankee<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The tune of Yankee Doodle<\/em> is far older than the lyrics, is well known across western Europe, and has been used in Holland for centuries as a children\u2019s song. The earliest lyrics we know come from a 15th-century Middle Dutch harvest song. Though some of the words may seem familiar, the English and Dutch mix is largely nonsensical. The cadence, however, is unmistakable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yanker, didel, doodle down, Diddle, dudel, lanther, Yanke viver, voover vown, Botermilk<\/em> und tanther<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word doodle<\/em> is derived from either the Low German dudel<\/em>, meaning “playing music badly,” or d\u00f6del<\/em>, meaning “fool” or “simpleton.” Yankee<\/em> is recorded in the late 17th century as a nickname; perhaps from the Dutch Janke<\/em>, a diminutive of Jan<\/em> (John). Finally, dandy<\/em> is thought to be a shortened form of 17th-century Jack-a-dandy<\/em> for “a conceited fellow” and a pet form of the given name Andrew<\/em>, as in Dandy Andy<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 18th-century Britain, the term “yankee doodle dandy” implied a fashionable man who goes beyond the pale of reasonable dress and speaks in an outlandishly affected and effeminate manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Norman<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The song Yankee Doodle<\/em> was written around 1755 by British Army surgeon Dr. Richard Shuckburgh. It was sung by British troops to mock the disheveled and disorganized colonial “Yankees” with whom they served in the seven-year French and Indian War (1756). In defiance, the American soldiers co-opted the song, added verses to mock the British troops, and by the time of the Revolutionary War (1775), turned the insult into a song of national pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FYI: The multi-award-winning musical film, Yankee Doodle Dandy<\/em>, starring James Cagney (1942), was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Bonus FYI: The state of Connecticut designated Yankee Doodle<\/em> as the official state song in 1978. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doodle to Dude<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recent research of the word dude<\/em> is owed to Barry Popik and Gerald Cohen who have been combing through 19th-century periodicals amassing the world’s largest collection of dude<\/em> citations. Cohen\u2019s journal, Comments on Etymology<\/a>, <\/em>lays out a solidly supported account of the early days of dude<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the vernacular of the American cowboy and popular press of the late 19th century, the diminutive dude<\/em> from dood<\/strong>le<\/em> emerged as a derisive word, like dandy<\/em>, for an extremely well-dressed Eastern city slicker who knew little of the rugged lifestyle of the new American West. The verbed version of the word is still familiar in the cowboy phrase “all duded<\/em> up” for getting dressed in fancy clothes.* Dudedom<\/em>, dudeness<\/em>, dudery<\/em>, and dudism<\/em> are all recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary<\/em> (OED<\/a>) as terms used in the late 1800s to ridicule our foppish friends. In the early 20th century, dude ranches<\/em> sprang up in many western states catering to wealthy urbanites wanting to vacation in the “cowboy lifestyle.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1960s, dude<\/em> began appearing in surfer culture and the Black community with the meaning “fellow” or “guy,” much like bro<\/em> in the 1970s. Dude<\/em> continued its creep into the jargon of young Americans in general throughout the twentieth century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first known references to its contemporary use is the 1969 film, Easy Rider<\/em>. In the clip below, Peter Fonda explains to Jack Nicholson the meaning of dude<\/em>, giving us a marvelous linguistic marker in American pop culture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.kinneybrothers.com\/video_files\/EASY_RIDERx.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From “dandy” to “regular guy” to “cool,” dude<\/em> was further popularized in American films of the 80s and 90s, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em>, Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em>, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure<\/em>, Wayne’s World<\/em>, and Clerks<\/em>. The ultimate dude<\/em>, based on the personality of Viet Nam war activist Jeff Dowd<\/a>, was played by Jeff Bridges in the 1998 cult film, The Big Lebowski<\/em>. Bridges’ character, The Dude, inspired Dudeism<\/a>, a new religion that promotes a rebel-shrug philosophy and the mantra, “Just take it easy, man.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dudeism’s objective is to promote a modern form of Chinese Taoism, blended with concepts from the Ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus, and presented in a style as personified by the character of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2008, the beer company, Bud Light, aired an advertising campaign in which the dialogue consists entirely of different inflections of “Dude!” without ever mentioning the product name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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