Where’s Charley?

Cidu Bill on Jun 28th 2010

charley.png

Filed in 9 Chickweed Lane, Bill Bickel, Brooke McEldowney, CIDU, comic strips, comics, humor | 51 responses so far

51 Responses to “Where’s Charley?”

  1. huMI Jun 28th 2010 at 09:12 am 1

    “Charlies” is the author’s personal euphemism for breasts. he’s used it in Pibgorn as well.

  2. Morris Keesan Jun 28th 2010 at 09:21 am 2

    I got that it was breasts. I was wondering whether “charlies” was a slang term that I had missed, but I couldn’t find anything at the Urban Dictionary. Knowing that McEldowney has used this term before helps explain the current usage, a little bit.

    (And because of Bill’s headline, I now have “Once in Love with Amy” going through my head, but I don’t think that will last long.)

  3. Heather D Jun 28th 2010 at 10:03 am 3

    My take on this CIDU is that Bill knows about the Charlies slang, and was asking, quite literally, well, where are they?

    Edda and her female relatives are beautiful, sexy ladies, but you would not call them… overly-endowed by any means.

    Of course, “great” doesn’t necessarily have to mean “huge”, which is something more Hollywood starlets should realize. And, um, men too.

  4. Tom Jun 28th 2010 at 10:19 am 4

    Thank you, Heather D, you took the words from my mouth.

  5. AMC Jun 28th 2010 at 10:26 am 5

    If “Charlies” is slang for a c-cup, I just don’t see it.

  6. Daniel J. Drazen Jun 28th 2010 at 10:28 am 6

    I’m reminded of the M*A*S*H episode where Hawkeye tries to requisition new boots; his stated size is 10-1/2 C, which are called “ten-and-a-half charlies” by another character (Zale, I believe). So she probably takes a C-cup. I think.

  7. James Schend Jun 28th 2010 at 10:55 am 7

    Am I allowed to complain that zero of the things in the 4th panel are genetic traits? Except possibly “temperament.”

  8. chemgal Jun 28th 2010 at 11:18 am 8

    James @ 7 - you have to admit there is a genetic component to intelligence!

  9. AMC Jun 28th 2010 at 11:20 am 9

    James - yes, when Mom is supposed to be a freakin’ college biology professor, you should be able to complain about that kind of stupidity - both from the cartoonist AND the characters.

  10. mitch4 Jun 28th 2010 at 11:26 am 10

    Re Daniel #6 on shoe sizes — I half-recall a movie with somebody like Adrian Brody as a shoe salesman who would say “Benny” for a B width shoe. So a size 10 in that width would be a “Benny Ten” which might even have been the title. I can’t recall other designations, but Charlie would have made sense.

  11. Keera Jun 28th 2010 at 02:00 pm 11

    Oh. I thought Charlie referred to the gams, as in where you get Charlie horses.

  12. ty Jun 28th 2010 at 02:00 pm 12

    I first heard the term in the early 70’s. It was usually preceded by “dynamite set of”. As I recall, it referred to form, not size.

  13. paperboy Jun 28th 2010 at 02:04 pm 13

    I believe I recall a woman described as having “big charlies” in the 1968 movie “Paper Lion”, but never heard the euphemism since, thankfully.

  14. Minor Annoyance Jun 28th 2010 at 02:55 pm 14

    A favorite old New Yorker cartoon: Young man and old man are walking on a beach. Both have outrageously large backsides. Young man is saying: “Thanks for almost everything, Dad.”

  15. Winter Wallaby Jun 28th 2010 at 04:31 pm 15

    James/AMC - How do you know that none of those things are genetic traits? No easy way to know for sure, but I’d guess that those are all heavily influenced by genetics.

  16. DPWally Jun 28th 2010 at 05:56 pm 16

    … and for your humility.

  17. Sal Jun 28th 2010 at 06:56 pm 17

    meat puppets. Fun bags.cha chas.hooters ville oliver !

  18. Tim Jun 28th 2010 at 07:11 pm 18

    “What I Believe.”

    I believe in rainbows and puppy dogs and fairy tales.

    And I believe in the family - Mom and Dad and Grandma.. and Uncle Tom, who waves his penis.

    And I believe 8 of the 10 Commandments.

    And I believe in going to church every Sunday, unless there’s a game on.

    And I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, wholesome and natural things.. that money can buy.

    And I believe it’s derogatory to refer to a woman’s breasts as “boobs”, “jugs”, “winnebagos” or “golden bozos”.. and that you should only refer to them as “hooters”.

    And I believe you should put a woman on a pedestal.. high enough so you can look up her dress.

  19. Ellen Jun 28th 2010 at 08:29 pm 19

    The opening panels that are here, http://comics.com/9_chickweed_lane/2010-06-27/ and in the newspaper version which I read, helps to reinforce what Charlies are.

  20. Bob in Nashville Jun 28th 2010 at 09:49 pm 20

    I don’t think he means C-cup by “Charlies.” At least not after first reading it used in “Pibgorn.”

    Sure, Edda might be a C, but Drusilla’s definitely a D.

  21. Bob in Nashville Jun 28th 2010 at 10:01 pm 21

    As for the “not genetic” nature of her list of things: genetic component of intelligence notwithstanding, most of those things are among the things a mother might pass down to her daughter by nurture, if not by nature.

  22. George P Jun 28th 2010 at 10:44 pm 22

    When I see the spelling “Charley” I think of a poodle.

  23. David N Jun 28th 2010 at 10:58 pm 23

    There’s a restaurant chain called O’Charleys, and next time I’m in one I may not be able to look the waitress in the eye. Wait, that didn’t come out right.

  24. Carl Jun 29th 2010 at 06:21 am 24

    This might not be the place for a biology argument, but in fact there’s excellent evidence that character and personality are almost totally unaffected by upbringing per se, and are interactions between genetics and peer group only. As parents, the only way to affect your children’s adult personalities seems to be horrible abuse.

  25. Dave Jun 29th 2010 at 07:28 am 25

    I thought “legs” at first too, but the extra panels cinch it.

  26. Dave Jun 29th 2010 at 07:39 am 26

    I walked away from that comment, and then wondered… what term would the women here use? Clearly, “Charlies” is a little unclear to most. As a guy, a few non-lascivious terms come to mind, but I doubt what I think of would be what a woman would use in a mom-daughter-grandmother context. Edda is trying to use a term that has a little verve to it, but there has to be something better than “Charlies”.

  27. Morris Keesan Jun 29th 2010 at 08:00 am 27

    Carl #24, while upbringing per se may not affect character and personality, it’s not just genetics and peer group interactions. Frank Sulloway, in his book Born to rebel : birth order, family dynamics, and creative lives, makes a good case for the influence of birth order on personality. I was always rather skeptical of facile pop-psych claims that there were typical “first child”, “second child”, etc., personalities, but Sulloway is rather convincing, for his more limited descriptions, with what sound like well-designed quasi-double-blind studies.

    Dave #26, the word I’ve heard women use with each other is “boobs”; I have no idea whether that one is likely when talking to one’s mother and grandmother, but then 9 Chickweed Lane does not host what one would call a typical family.

  28. The Bad Seed Jun 29th 2010 at 08:57 am 28

    Edda’s def in the A/B range. I def thought of legs, because I’ve never heard any woman smaller than a C talk about her great breasts (usually that’s reserved for D and up). I can’t imagine in what way Edda’s could be so spectacular, but the women’s legs in this family do make me jealous.

  29. Powers Jun 29th 2010 at 10:29 am 29

    Forget the charlies, I want to know how Edna doubled her height. Sure, she used to be a tall leggy blonde but she’s in her late eighties now and as I recall, used to be drawn as significantly shorter than Juliette.

  30. Igelino Jun 29th 2010 at 12:19 pm 30

    Maybe Bill is calling these girls “Charles’ Angelses”.

  31. Igelino Jun 29th 2010 at 12:22 pm 31

    Dave @26: she could have said “beasts” : )

  32. Paul Jun 29th 2010 at 12:46 pm 32

    “Charlies” don’t have to be big to be great.

  33. Igelino Jun 29th 2010 at 12:55 pm 33

    Strange, I was sure “charlies” was a British slang for beasts. But I’ve been searching and can’t find a reference anywhere. Have you ever heard it in real life, Detcord?

  34. Michael Jun 29th 2010 at 01:21 pm 34

    For breasts to be great doesn’t mean they have to be particularly large; I’d say there are several traits that are more important. As for the comic, I just thought a girl was thanking her mom for her nice rack but grandma feels pretty proud of her own assets and wants some credit for her contribution to the gene pool.

  35. paperboy Jun 29th 2010 at 03:18 pm 35

    A lot of plural things, when ascribed to a woman, SEEMS to refer to breasts. “Hey, ya know Linda, that chick who sews? She got some big muu-muus, man!”

    Paul#32- I disagree; that’s like saying “a guy’s abs don’t have to be hard and well-defined to be ‘great’. “

  36. Elyrest Jun 29th 2010 at 04:10 pm 36

    paperboy (35) So a man’s hee-haw has to be big to be great? Not in my book. And I’ve seen plenty of big muu-muus that were downright scary looking and some average size that were spectacular.

  37. paperboy Jun 29th 2010 at 04:39 pm 37

    Elyerest#36- Excellent addition! You can use practically any singular term (”hee-haw”) and when ascribed to a male it SEEMS to be about the pen!$ (by the way “abs” is slang for “abdominal muscles”). And those “scary looking” muu-muus; was it the amount of fabric or what was printed on them that made them scary?

  38. paperboy Jun 29th 2010 at 04:56 pm 38

    Please don’t use “muu-muus” as slang for breasts, even in jest; I won’t be responsible for that. (hmm… well, maybe “moo-moos”…)

  39. Elyrest Jun 29th 2010 at 05:21 pm 39

    paperboy - Moo-moos ?! Well, that would almost be appropriate, but the enormously large ones that I have seen aren’t for milking (I don’t think). As a female I have seen a variety of jing-a-lings in locker/changing rooms. The stretched fabric is always a little scary to me, but the stretched flesh is even scarier. Plus I know that it is incredibly painful to carry around a big set so, all in all, I just don’t get the whole big beast thing.

  40. paperboy Jun 29th 2010 at 05:59 pm 40

    Elyrest#39- Right you are; “great” in relation to “charlies” WOULD mean a non-excessive size. But the ones portrayed in this strip seem average, and can average be called “great”?

  41. Detcord Jun 29th 2010 at 06:08 pm 41

    Igelino (33)

    Nope. I tested the term with my British born wife too. It’s not a term she’s familiar with - other than as a boy’s (some would say a Prince’s) name. I do agree with Heather D (3)’s last line though.

  42. mitch4 Jun 29th 2010 at 06:36 pm 42

    Paperboy #37 says: “You can use practically any singular term (”hee-haw”) and when ascribed to a male it SEEMS to be about the pen!$” Okay, but there is also the tradition of three being symbolic of the male genitalia — particularly when construable as 3 = 2 + 1 as in “Meat and two veg”.

    On the same track, paperboy #35 says “A lot of plural things, when ascribed to a woman, SEEMS to refer to breasts.”. A couple years ago, Elisabeth Röhm was appearing regularly on the TV program “Law and Order”, and I used to challenge fans of the show to identify what made her almost unique among American actresses. As a hint, I would say it’s not just some one thing, it’s a pair! And that always made it sound like some sort of breast remark. [For what it actually was, note that another American actress with this feature is Mädchen Amick. It wouldn’t be quite as obvious if you were just hearing me say these names, not seeing them written out. And for the record, it turns out Elisabeth Röhm was born in Germany, and if we counted her as German this feature would be far from rare. But IMDB saith “She was born in Germany, but her parents moved back to New York before she turned 1 year old” so I will count her American.]

    I really don’t care for the term “boobs”, but it does help with an old political joke / riddle. There was actually a newspaper picture of Dolly Parton standing between President Reagan and Vice President Bush. You would show somebody that picture [or just describe it as i have done] and ask what that is a picture of. The answer, with a misleading termination contour and a pause, was: “That’s a picture of two really big boobs. …. And a country singer!”

  43. Mark in Boston Jun 29th 2010 at 07:02 pm 43

    I’ve got a loverly pair of coconuts …

  44. Sal Jun 29th 2010 at 07:32 pm 44

    Carl # 24, you’re right this is no place for a biology quiz

  45. mitch4 Jun 29th 2010 at 08:05 pm 45

    K K Skipper, artist of comic “Pink Parts”, tweeted http://www.holytaco.com/users-guide-boob-terminology

  46. ty Jun 29th 2010 at 09:04 pm 46

    Now that Two and a Half Men has brought the locker room into the living room, non-sensical singular nouns can apply to lady parts as well, specifically the hoo-ha.

  47. chuckers Jun 30th 2010 at 05:45 am 47

    @43, “Are you bragging or complaining?”

    @33 I think the word you are thinking of is “Bristols”

  48. Morris Keesan Jun 30th 2010 at 07:27 am 48

    paperboy #40, “can average be called “great”?”. It’s not [just] size that matters. Average-sized charlies can be called great if they have great shape, firmness, pertness, etc.
    It’s sort of like saying, “That’s not chocolate. Can vanilla be called ‘great’?”, and the answer is of course yes, for people who prefer vanilla and don’t like chocolate.

  49. David L. Jun 30th 2010 at 02:03 pm 49

    Powers #29

    Not only is Gran shown as being significantly taller than she is shown in the weekday story arcs, in this strip at least, she is shown as being a significantly better-looking eighty-something than in the weekday panels.

    Remember the comment on one of the weekday panels wondering how the young hottie Edie/Eva/Edna became “the scary gnome Gran”? There was also a comment to the effect to those who look good at 25-30 may well look good for their age to the day they die.

    I’m going to go out on a limb - which Mr. McEldowney could saw off behind me any day - and suggest that when the current weekday story arc finally drops back into the present, there will be a reunion at some point, for which Gran’s appearance is being modified.

  50. Lorraine Jul 2nd 2010 at 09:36 am 50

    @ Morris Keesan #48–no. No, vanilla can NEVER be called “great”.

  51. Todd Jul 2nd 2010 at 04:56 pm 51

    I work in a job where most my co-workers are women, and I can imagine many using almost any slang term for “charlies”, but I don’t know if they would use those words with their mother.

    And as a male with a very healthy appreciation for the female form, I have no problem saying that b-cups cannot be just great, but, on a fit woman, are unsurpassed.

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