From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:
Just about 48-hours ago, Tweeter-in-Chief Donald Trump bemoaned all of his negative press covfefe, and he set off a covfefe kerfuffle!
What, asked millions of tweeters, is a covfefe?
The origins of the word covfefe -- a term from the 1800s that means “attention and exposure” -- can be traced back to a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson that begins "We Covfefe – your Tweets." We wrote about it HERE.
It turns out, though, that the word is an eponym, derived from the name of Babette Covfefe, a reference librarian at the Washerst Central Library in Washerst, PA (the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson).
Covfefe was an early feminist who refused to let politicians and celebrities grab her anywhere they desired. "Gal-sneakers* think that just because they're stars, they can grab you up every which way," she said. "They come at you with their giggle-mugs and think you'll stay quiet? Well, I'm a whooperup. I'll not stay quiet."
*A term from the 1880s used to describe a lecherous man who sneaks up on women.
Just about 48-hours ago, Tweeter-in-Chief Donald Trump bemoaned all of his negative press covfefe, and he set off a covfefe kerfuffle!
What, asked millions of tweeters, is a covfefe?
The origins of the word covfefe -- a term from the 1800s that means “attention and exposure” -- can be traced back to a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson that begins "We Covfefe – your Tweets." We wrote about it HERE.
It turns out, though, that the word is an eponym, derived from the name of Babette Covfefe, a reference librarian at the Washerst Central Library in Washerst, PA (the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson).
Covfefe was an early feminist who refused to let politicians and celebrities grab her anywhere they desired. "Gal-sneakers* think that just because they're stars, they can grab you up every which way," she said. "They come at you with their giggle-mugs and think you'll stay quiet? Well, I'm a whooperup. I'll not stay quiet."
*A term from the 1880s used to describe a lecherous man who sneaks up on women.
| Pictured at the right: Babette Covfefe, a reference librarian at the Washerst Central Library Over time, the name "Covfefe" became the slang term "covfefe" which referred to a woman who would not put up with a man's indiscretions (similar to a "shipoopi," a girl who's hard to get). The great Meredith Willson wrote about a "covfefe" in his hit musical "The Music Man," but due to some rather racy lyrics, he changed the focus of the song to a shipoopi and toned the lyrics down a bit. The lyrics of the song that ended up in the musical start as follows: |  |
Marcellus:
Well a woman who'll kiss on the very first date
Is usually a hussy.
And a woman who'll kiss on the second time out
Is anything but fussy.
But a woman who waits 'til the third time around,
Head in the clouds, feet on the ground!
She's the girl he's glad he's found--she's his
Shi-Poo-Pi! Shi-Poo-Pi! Shi-Poo-Pi! Shi-Poo-Pi!
Boys:
The girl who's hard to get!
Marcellus:
Shi-Poo-Pi, Shi-Poo-Pi, Shi-Poo-Pi
Girls:
But you can win her yet.
Well a woman who'll kiss on the very first date
Is usually a hussy.
And a woman who'll kiss on the second time out
Is anything but fussy.
But a woman who waits 'til the third time around,
Head in the clouds, feet on the ground!
She's the girl he's glad he's found--she's his
Shi-Poo-Pi! Shi-Poo-Pi! Shi-Poo-Pi! Shi-Poo-Pi!
Boys:
The girl who's hard to get!
Marcellus:
Shi-Poo-Pi, Shi-Poo-Pi, Shi-Poo-Pi
Girls:
But you can win her yet.
The original song "Covfefe" included some lewd lyrics about a woman who was grabbed in some unmentionable places and then ended as follows:
Marcellus:
Cov-fefe, Cov-fefe, Cov-fefe, Cov-fefe
Boys:
The girl you'd like to grab!
Marcellus:
Cov-fefe, Cov-fefe, Cov-fefe, Cov-fefe
Girls:
Just hope she doesn't blab!
By the turn of the century, the word "covfefe" changed to mean justified negative attention and exposure -- stemming from the fact that Babette Covfefe refused to remain quiet.
"I don't care if they call me a church-bell," said Babette Covfefe. "I refuse to get poked up. If a lech tries to grab me, I'll expose him."
Pictured below left: Babette Covfefe with her mother Albina, her daughter Migdalia, and her grand-daughter Belle.
Pictured below right: Babette Covfefe with a man thought to be Emmett Lee Dickinson and Colette Shipoopi.
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