[Dixielandjazz] In like Flynn

[Bill Gunter]

Hi listmates,

I would certainlly not contradict anything Jerry Gordon says. His 
scholoarship is impeccable, whereas mine is more often simply 'peccable.'

However, he writes (regarding "in like Flynn"):

>. . . in Hendrickson's "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase
>Origins," it says,"Chicago's Boss Flynn's machine never lost an election
>and was always "in office," inspiring the the expression "in like Flynn,"
>meaning to have it made. The popularity of movie actor Errol Flynn and
>his amorous activities helped popularize the phrase in the early 1940s."

Unlike Jerry, who is years younger than I am, I was a strapping youth back 
in the 40s, I was never aware of the phrase "in like Flynn" used as a 
reference to a Chicago political boss.  I would certainly never question the 
reference cited by Jerry but it does seem to me that a popular phrase cannot 
be identified as such until it actually becomes "popular." However, there 
are surely degrees of popularity.

I would contend that the phrase as used from the forties onward referred 
solely and specifically to the amorous adventures of Errol. Further, I 
cannot imagine anyone of my age even being aware of the "boss Flynn" 
reference in the phrase.

The reason for the overwhelming reference to Errol as opposed to a Chicago 
political machine is the fact that while the Chicago reference was 
appropriate it was a political joke as opposed to the Errol reference which 
was a dirty joke, hence all the more salacious and its higher rating on the 
risibility scale.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Gunter
jazzboard@hotmail.com



_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*. 
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail