Tex Avery - Symphony in Slang [1951]

[cateyemarble]

At my age of 64 I don't need any interpretations of the slang in this cartoon. It's today's youth's language that I don't understand! Bad = good; crib = pad = home, etc.

[anxiouscatfilms]

I wish you had uploaded it in the proper aspect ratio, but at least it's available.

[insman1976]

4:25 I love the cat. Haha

[DragonStar404]

HaHa, my name is Avery! 😜

[rnlsg]

I love this one can anyone find the intro bumper to this with the announcer any one know where that is.

[Kwulhu]

Watch this on mute.

[baarbear]

I consider this to be one of Avery's very best. Unfortunately he was the severest and harshest critic of his work-he never thought much of what he did.

[girlishgamer1]

I became a beach comber= a vagrant

Tear ran down my cheek= he cried softly

I sent her a cale she sent me a wire= A telagram

Rushed back on a cattle boat= a boat for livestock

Hotfooted over= ran very fast

A bunch of little ones= small children/babies

Had his hands full= he was very busy

died laughing= Laughed uncontrollably

[girlishgamer1]

Going around with an old flame= Dating someone she used to date

Burned me up= He was angry

Feeding her a line= Telling her what she wanted to hear to take advantage of her

Spent his money like water= Was very generous

Connected with the railroad= Worked with a railroad company

Tried to chisel in= tried to interrupt

Got in my hair= a constant annoyance

raining cats and dogs= raining very hard

I was feeling blue= he was sad

I carried on= still persevered

[girlishgamer1]

Got up on her high horse, I couldn't touch her with a 10 ft pole= She would not listen to him because she felt that she was better than him

Cat had her tongue= she was unusually quiet

Walked out on her and fell to pieces= He left her and was very upset

Bunch of boys hanging around= Visiting just for fun

Guy at the piano played by ear= He didn't need sheet music

Felt a tug at my elbow= guy pulling his arm

Chewed the rag= had a small chat

Heard from the grape vine= He heard a rumor

[girlishgamer1]

I was up against it= He was feeling pressure form the situation

And going to pot= Feeling his physical condition declining

Raised a big stink= He protested

Going through a lot of red tape= Bureaucracy and confusing process

He sprung me= He was let free

Caught a grey hound= rode a bus back

Dropped in= surprise visit

Threw myself at her feet= asked her for mercy

Turned her back on me= Ignored him

[girlishgamer1]

Check bounced= He had no money left

I was in a pickle= He was in trouble

Drew a gun on me= Had a gun pointed at him

Gave him the slip= He Escaped

Hid in the foot hills= Hills close to the mountains

Law was on my heels= The police were close to catching him

The judge tried to pump me= He tried to make him admit his behavior

I put my foot in my mouth= Something else came out of my mouth rather than what I wanted to say

Stretch in the jug= He was in jail

[girlishgamer1]

Hair done up in a bun= pinned up Good looking pins= Good legs She gives me a date= agrees to go out with him I put on my white tie and tails= formal men's clothes Put on the dog= formal clothes Painting the town red= Going out having a good time Stork club= A club name? Box at the opera= Balcony seats Cocktail and a Moscow mule= Types of drinks Let her hair down= she relaxed Ate like a horse= had a big appetite Money was running out on me= Had less money

[girlishgamer1]

I went back to my hole in the wall= Went back to his apartment

I was beside myself with anger= He was upset

I made some dough punching some cattle= He took care of cattle.

There, a beautiful girl stepped into the picture= He met a beautiful girl

Our eyes met= We noticed each other

My breath came in short pants= He was excited and nervous

I had goose pimples= I was feeling cold

I was all thumbs= He was clumsy

Mary's clothes fit her like a glove= her clothes fit her perfectly

[girlishgamer1]

Here's a translation

How's tricks? What's cooking?= How's it going?/What's new?

Born with a silver spoon in my mouth= Born into a rich family.

Seemed to grow up overnight= Childhood went by quickly.

At the crack of dawn I woke up with the chickens= I woke up very early.

I got a job slinging hash= I was a waiter.

Because the proprietor was shorthanded= He needed employees.

But I couldn't cut the mustard= Couldn't handle the job.

So the guy gave me the gate= He was fired.

[rnlsg]

I always loved this one part of my favorite tex avery show episodes the two photographs at beginning with heaven and a medow those are part of the tex avery show stills and bumpers.

[Poever]

Is this perhaps a commentary on the proliferation of graphic cartoons, evidenced by the visual style and the angel's contrasted look?

[TheHandsomeRockLee]

How'd that nasty cat get up there? He's a black market tongue-swiper! >:|

[georgpaul49]

Cool stuff,thumbs up

[Crazcompart]

One of my favorite Tex Avery short subject cartoons...

[missgStar05]

I remember this cartoon growing up, it was one of my favorites :)

[MrChickenhauler8502]

loved the part of him actually going up the river. his pointy head sticking up out of the water,lol!

[TheGrungeGamer]

1 person had a cat that got their tongue

[MacdreezieuBeezie]

Ah, I remember this. Still fun. Loved the puns. Great metaphors too. Very creative for it's time. Very amusing. Miss all the old toons...

Classics.

[2POWERFUL]

Born with a silver spoon in my mouth:

Indicating he's rich.

[Ytpistegyro]

My english teacher played this during the class!

[joselph2000]

me gusta esta caricatura quisiera verla en español ; si alguien sabe como se los agradeceria

[ivekohnenkamp]

@joselph2000 En español perdería toda la gracia. Son "expresiones idiomáticas" que literalmente significan una cosa, pero se usan para decir algo diferente. Algunas coinciden un poco en castellano, pero pocas.

[joselph2000]

I like this cartoon would like to see it in Spanish, if anyone knows how they are GRATEFUL

[Roka9786]

i've been searching for this for so long

[HeForeverLives]

These are the cartoons I grew up watching :) thanks for posting! Brings me all the way back

[Nonamearisto]

So, a man was born rich, got rejected from a job at a diner, went to Texas and became a cowboy, moved to Chicago, met a woman, couldn't pay a bill, went to jail (on grounds you probably can't go to jail for), got out of jail, was rejected by said woman, went to a distant place, heard from her, went back to see her, found that she already married and had kids, and killed himself out of grief.

[beasst94]

@Nonamearisto he died laughing, there was no grief involved-

[TonyChase]

Beside my self with ANGER........ANGER LOOKS SERIOUS!!! LOL!

[KillerVulcan]

this is hilarious

[Teufeldolch]

Tex Avery set the limit to how many visual puns you can have in one cartoon.

[Dixcro]

tumbs up for the cat

[Boogyman4050]

View numbers have increased a lot here. Everybody loves this classic, plus the other 2 posts of Symp in Slang were tossed.

[Itchanek]

@Boogyman4050 right, and still growing !

[cavalierfan1995]

when he said they chewed on the rag.shooting the bull would have been funnier

[OceanSummoner13]

Funny forever a classic forever :)

[QucciMaMa]

it nothing about his English he's just talking slang and their talking everything he say literally

[mongolarix]

Tex avery = Genius ,Very funny that cat with the tongue :))

[cradleofdeath123]

had to do a lot of googleing... but i finally got what all the slangs meant..... and they say u dont learn from cartoons..... psshhhhhh

[cradleofdeath123]

what does connected to the rail road mean??

[cavalierfan1995]

@cradleofdeath123 thats how he made his money with the railroad company

[TiffKing]

the cat with the tongue is always my favorite part, we should've shown this in my linguistics class

[bluyankee]

Madvillainy!

[Baronhumbert03]

I should take everything literally now

[celticguardian951]

Haha Mr. Webster! XD

[pg13superstar]

Idk how long Ive been looking for this, Thank you so Much

[74facho]

relly funny

[sideburn260]

genius



[moshomaniac1]

Tex Avery is so cooky.  And funny!

[63x927is58401]

I commented on the short at IMDB..com, My Username, there, is 63x927is58401, also. You can see a big page of 60- 65 of the 80 slang terms in Tex Avery's most humorous short, to me. If you go to IMDb.com & type Symphony in Slang's title, the 1st or opening page has opening credits. Near the bottom, are USER COMMENTS, TRIVIA & there is where you can read of my note & 75% of the slang terms, in the 1951 MGM short! I really wished that it won an award!

[63x927is58401]

Fred "Tex" Avery's Symphony in Slang is my all-time favorite animation short!

While so many others, (if not all) call it too goofy, weird or craziest piece of animation, put together! [The word "together"spelled consecutively words is TO+GET+HER], for humor I like to create. Also: In My Dictionary, 36x24x36 = 31,104. I have memorized that, since 1976, atleast.

PS: There are atleast 80 slang term, in this short's 6:43 time, averaging one for each five seconds!

[TheRocker169]

@63x927is58401

They're actually 86 idioms , averaging one every 8,04 seconds...

[SA14253LI]

A few more:

6. The music was nice, the guy at the piano played by ear. I felt a tug in my …...

7. I heard from the grapes vine that Merry was going around with an old flame. That burned me up, because I know he was just baiting her a lie(??).

8. But I still thought of Merry. And a tear ran down my cheek. So I send ……. , next day she sends me back a wire. I rushed back to the U.S. on a cannon ball and …… Merry’s apart.

9. Why merry, Merry had a bunch of little ones, the ……… too.

[SA14253LI]

Anyone help me with the following sentences? I couldn't make them out.

1. got a job slinging hash, because the … was short-handed.

2. My breath came in short pants, and I got goose bumps(?).

3. painting the town red, going to the … and up above in an apple (?).

4. So I wrote a check, it bounced. Brother, I was …. The …. drew a gun on me

5. So they sent me up in the river,…stretch in the jug. I was up against it, and … . But I raised a big stink.

[towringer]

@SA14253LI 1) proprietor (owner). 2) goosepimples 3) Stork Club (fancy restaurant), and a box at the Opera. 4)..really in a pickle. The proprietor... 5) to do a ..felt myself going to pot. 6) tug at my elbow. 7) he was just feeding her a line (telling her half-truths). 8) sends her a cable....rushed back to the U.S. on a cattle boat (cheap,crowded boat) and hot-footed it over to... 9) groom had his hands full, too.

I hope this helps.

[SA14253LI]

@towringer Hi, thanks very much. Your reply really helps me out!

[SA14253LI]

This one is hilarious, and resonating for a non-native speaker like me. LOL

[Boogyman4050]

I got one for you to post. Droopy - The Three Little Pups. The one with the 3 little droopy's and the Southern Wolf. They had a few before, but now they have been pulled. You might have to mirror it or just do the camera thing. Thanks.

[Itchanek]

@Boogyman4050 : i tried to upload it, but i think there are some copyrights issues... not sure you'll be able to watch it where you are...

[dharmaseed]

@Itchanek Break it up, son. Joke's over, hear?

[Boogyman4050]

@itchanek...One more thing. This is a great example of how the English language can be so confusing to foreigners. We have so many words, that have so many definitions, within the same words, but spoken at different times in history... it will drive you insane! LOL

[legaleagle46]

@Boogyman4050 Very true. Modern English is the most idiomatic language I have ever studied (and it's my native language, to boot!) Wtih the liberal (and constant) use of figurative speech, our rather unpredictable spelling and pronunciation rules, and complete anarchy when it comes to obeying the rules of grammar, it's a wonder that anyone masters the language at all! :D

[Boogyman4050]

Continued... or Family Guy. Tex was a pioneer of adult cartoons.

[Boogyman4050]

@itchanek...If Tex wrote this without the slang/idioms, it wouldn't of been funny at all. Plus, the scenes like, I was up against IT, with him standing in front of the big letters "IT" or But I carried ON! With him carrying the letters ON, on his back. Those are the little things, that make a big difference. You know Tex Avery was an inspiration to many of the top animator guys around today. Without him around writing these classics back in the 50's. We probably wouldn't have the Simpsons or Fa

[Boogyman4050]

No problem buddy...

[Boogyman4050]

Couldn't cut the mustard = Couldn't handle the job. Gave me the gate = He fired him. Painted the town red = Went all over town spending money. Stretch in the jug = time in prison. Chewed the rag awhile = sat and talked. The Cable/wire bit referred to old Western Union ways of communicating. I think that's all ya need from this one.

[Itchanek]

@Boogyman4050 thx a lot for the explanation of the trickiest ones ! I think I got the rest of them ;)

If you want any other Tex cartoon to be uploaded, ask me, I have almost of them.

[Boogyman4050]

What's cooking/How's tricks? = Whatcha doing and how are things going? Silver spoon in mouth = you grew up wealthy. Slinging Hash means a short order cook in a dump. Judge tried to pump me = get you to confess. Red Tape = lots of problems and paperwork. An Old Flame = old rich man. Connected to the railroad = rich executive type that travels.

[Boogyman4050]

This was one of the best by Tex. I love this one a lot. Thanks for posting this.

[Nenito77]

If you have any questions about some of the idioms, you can leave a message and I will gladly explain (per my point of view)

[sweetpotatoism]

Missing a few aswell but thanks matey! =]