A postcard addressed on the other side to "Iva Appleyard, Guilford, Me.," and postmarked, "Guilford, Me., Aug. 5, 1907."
"Skidoo 23 is NOW 37. Turn around the card and I hand you a--."
"I hand you a"—what?
Based on a fad that became popular around 1906 or 1907, "skidoo 23"—or more commonly "23 skidoo"—was a shorthand way of telling someone to "scram," "beat it," or "get lost," usually with a humorous or joking connotation.
If you "turn around the card" or rotate it so that the text is upside down (see below), you'll discover that the letters and numbers of "NOW 37" have turned into the word "LEMON" (this trick is known as an ambigram).
The sender of the card is telling its recipient that "skidoo 23" is "NOW 37." But "NOW 37" turns out to be a "LEMON" when the card is rotated. So the real message is, "I hand you a—LEMON" = "NOW 37" = "Skidoo 23."
In an amusingly convoluted way, then, this postcard illustrated that being handed a lemon was the equivalent of telling someone "23 skidoo."
Perhaps it was due to postcards like this one that "handing someone a lemon" became a way to say scram or get lost without an explicit reference to 23 skidoo. For an example of this, see With My Compliments.
In any case, if a lemon is handed to you, you now know what to do!
For an amazing compilation of information regarding the skidoo 23 fad, see the 23 Skidoo Postcards Web site, or go directly to the site's Lemons (Also NOW37) page.
Originally posted on Ipernity: Skidoo 23 Is Now 37.
Tags: ephemera postcards paper printed lemons fruits leaves hand you a lemon 23 skidoo 23 skiddoo 23 skiddo skidoo 23 skiddoo 23 skiddo 23 twenty-three skidoo skiddoo skiddo now 37 37 thirty-seven catchphrases fads scram beat it sarcasm humor humorous funny comic amusing word play puzzles ambigram ambigrams upside down illustrations borders yellow green 1907 1900s antique old vintage typefaces type typography fonts
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For more information about this postcard, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37.
Originally posted on Ipernity: Turn the Card Around and I Hand You a Lemon.
Tags: ephemera postcards paper printed lemons fruits leaves hand you a lemon 23 skidoo 23 skiddoo 23 skiddo skidoo 23 skiddoo 23 skiddo 23 twenty-three skidoo skiddoo skiddo now 37 37 thirty-seven catchphrases fads scram beat it sarcasm humor humorous funny comic amusing word play puzzles ambigram ambigrams upside down illustrations borders yellow green 1907 1900s antique old vintage typefaces type typography fonts
© All Rights Reserved
"Skiddo! A noise like a snake signifying motion in opposite direction without delay. Intimates that your absence is preferable to your company. It conveys the admonition that in case you are slow in making your exit, you will be assisted on your journey. Fills a long felt want. Like the sign $ indicates dollars so skiddo is always known by the numerals 23."
Tags: ephemera postcards 23 skidoo 23 skiddo 23 twenty-three skidoo skiddo skiddoo catchphrases definitions men shoes hats kicking kicks leaving exit exiting eject oust humor humorous funny yellow blue red green antique old vintage borders illustrations type typefaces typography fonts
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What means this shoe so very new?
Why, "23" skidoo, skidoo!
But if you'll be my Valentine,
This shoe, my love, will not fit you.
--------
Postmarked: Newark, N.J., Feb. 13, 1909.
Sent to: Mr. Miles Tarbell, Groton, Tompkins County, New York.
Message: Yours sincerely, Belle D.
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings cards valentines paper printed Valentine's Day Saint Valentine's Day February 14 holidays women men shoes shoe hats feathers umbrellas 23 skidoo 23 twenty-three skidoo skiddo skiddoo catchphrases love running humor humorous funny red antique old vintage borders Tuck Raphael Tuck Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard publishers Love Tribunes postcard series 1909 1900s strange comic brown black gold illustrations rhymes poems poetry
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To My Valentine
'Tis a lemon that I hand you
And bid you now "skidoo,"
Because I love another--
There is no chance for you!
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings cards valentines paper printed Valentine's Day Saint Valentine's Day February 14 holidays women men hats lemons fruits hand you a lemon 23 skidoo 23 skiddoo 23 skiddo skidoo 23 skiddoo 23 skiddo 23 twenty-three skidoo skiddoo skiddo catchphrases fads rejections surprises love humor humorous funny yellow red antique old vintage borders Tuck Raphael Tuck Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard publishers Love Tribunes postcard series blue pink comic poems poetry rhymes strange unusual
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