A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

Recent entries:
“Welcome to growing older. Where all the foods and drinks you’ve loved for years suddenly seem determined to destroy you” (4/17)
“Date someone who drinks with you instead of complaining that you drink” (4/17)
“Definition of stupid: Knowing the truth, seeing evidence of the truth, but still believing the lie” (4/17)
“Definition of stupid: Knowing the truth, seeing the evidence of the truth, but still believing the lie” (4/17)
“Government creates the crises so it can ‘rescue’ you with the loss of freedom” (4/17)
More new entries...

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z


Entry from March 16, 2017
“Whale oil beef hooked” (How to speak Irish in one easy lesson)

“Whale oil beef hooked” are words that have been printed on many images. Supposedly, it’s a joke of how an Irish persons says, “Well, I’ll be fucked.” The words have been cited in print since at least 1975.
   
“How to speak Irish in one easy lesson: Say very quickly: WHALE OIL BEEF HOOKED” was printed in a London magazine in 1985 and recorded in Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society in 1986.
   
     
Google Books     
The New Review
Volume 2, Issues 13-24
1975
Pg. 45:
‘Chrissy White’s Jug Band’ was scratched on the dashboard, ‘Whale Oil Beef Hooked’, ‘Brillo Pads’, ‘Costello’s Castella’ and other items.
   
Google Books
Béaloideas:
The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society

Volumes 54-57
1986
Pg. 80:
They make an occasional appearance, however, as in the following item from a London rag mag of 1985:
 
How to speak Irish in one easy lesson:
Say very quickly:
WHALE
OIL
BEEF
HOOKED.
 
Google Books
Laughing Matters:
A Serious Look at Humour

By John R. Durant and Jonathan Miller
Essex, Eng.: Longman Scientific & Technical; New York, NY: Wiley
1988
Pg. 58:
How to speak Irish in one easy lesson. Say very quickly:
WHALE
OIL
BEEF
HOOKED’
   
Summer 1992, The New Welsh Review, pg. 56:
Whale Oil Beef Hooked
 
29 October 1994, The Times (London, UK), “Home is where the plaque is” by Oliver Bennett, pg. ?:
This tradition continues: Peter Watson, of Watson Signs in Richmond, North Yorkshire, recently made a Dambreezy for a hilltop homestead, and he has even sold dozens of a sign reading Whale Oil Beef Hooked, which needs to be read out loud for maximum impact.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Manifold
Author: Beat Farmers (Musical group)
Publisher: [Place of publication not identified] : Sector 2, p©1995.
Edition/Format:   Music CD : CD audio : English
Contents:
Whale, oil, beef, hooked—
 
26 February 1996, The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland), “This healthy living business is really a laugh” by William Reville, pg. 2, col. 7:
Here is one I read recently, of American origin—Question: What is a real quick way to learn Irish? Answer: Repeat the following words in quick succession—WHALE, OIL, BEEF, HOOKED.
 
Twitter
Evert Bopp‏
@EvertB
Can you say “whale oil beef hooked” without sounding like a paddy swearing?
6:32 AM - 10 May 2008
 
Twitter
John January‏
@americopywriter
Whale Oil. Beef Hooked. Say it with a pirate accent.
7:09 AM - 7 Jun 2008
 
Twitter
Andrew Lynch‏
@lurch89
Whale Oil Beef Hooked…once again, now with a Scottish accent!
6:49 PM - 10 Sep 2008
 
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Great British Humour
By Michael Powell
London: Constable & Robinson, Ltd
2010
Pg. ?:
Try saying, “Whale oil beef hooked”, without sounding like an Irish man swearing.
Jack Dee
 
Twitter
Cassandra Reed‏
@cassandrareed
Irish 101: Say “whale oil beef hooked” 5 times fast #StPatricksDay
11:49 AM - 17 Mar 2017 from Torrance, CA

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityFood/Drink • Thursday, March 16, 2017 • Permalink


Commenting is not available in this channel entry.