GLOSSARY

BULLBAT HOUR

Bullbat originates in the 19th century as a term for the common nighthawk, found across North America and the Caribbean. It is also Jack's term for "happy hour." I can only assume the arrival of the bird was meant to indicate that the time had arrived for a Manhattan.

PALOOKA

Jack and Winnie are fond of referring to one another as "palooka" or "precious palooka." The most likely reference is Ham Fisher's comic strip about boxer Joe Palooka, who was good-hearted, but large and clumsy. This site suggests that as a result it can be used as a term for anyone who is clumsy and oafish. It's likely that it existed before the comic strip, though, and may have been coined in the 1920s by the then-editor of Variety magazine, or may, unpleasantly, have begun as a slur based on a common Polish surname.

PEPPER POT

Sometimes shortened to 'pep', this is another term of endearment. The Urban dictionary tells us it's a term for an assertive woman, or a spicy soup from Philadelphia, containing meat, tripe and vegetables. Yum.

FILMS MENTIONED

International Lady (1941), The Three Caballeros (1944), Conflict (1945), Here Come the Waves (1944), The Fighting Lady (1944), Meet in St. Louis (1944)

LOCATIONS MENTIONED

Harrisburg, PA