The Old Coot rediscovers
the battle-axe.
by Merlin Lessler
I was hanging out with my friend Bishop in our backyard the
other day. She’s married and has a different last name, but she’s still Bishop
to me. That’s how old coots are; they don’t adjust to change. It was a hot,
muggy afternoon and we were wading around in our tiny, shallow, garden pool
like a couple of two-year old’s, shooting the breeze while my wife swept off
the back porch, not quite ready to join us in the water. Then, I heard Bishop
utter a word I hadn’t heard in decades, BATTLE-AXE! It’s funny how a word can
transport you to another era, in this case, back to the 1950’s when battle-axe
was a common term, at least in the Three Stooges, Abbot and Costello, W.C.
Fields and other old rerun movies that I and my 10 year old friends consumed at
the movie theater every Saturday afternoon. It was also in everyday use as
well.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you are not familiar
with the term or exactly sure what it means. It was quite popular back in those
dark ages of my youth. I’m not sure exactly who Bishop was talking about; I was
half listening as usual, but when battle-axe hit my ears, I laughed out loud.
She’s a lot younger than me and I was surprised to hear her say it. Battle-axe,
according to the dictionary, is an aggressive, domineering, antagonistic,
overbearing forceful woman. A female bully in other words.
This is where I step in it, continuing on with a sexist
topic from an era when women who didn’t act “lady like” were labeled with a
whole array of negative terms. Terms that men escaped, even though their
behavior was identical. A double standard of the vocabulary variety. How about:
fish wife, old bat, hag, nag, backseat driver? Quite an array. Men were spared
the critique; they were labeled with more positive terms like, strong willed,
forceful, titan, sharp businessmen and the like.
By the time the 1980’s rolled around, battle-axe fell by
the wayside, but women still didn’t get a break. If they were the least bit assertive,
they were called aggressive, pushy. Pushy men weren’t labeled. My wife and I
have five daughters and seven granddaughters (not counting the boys), but I
don’t advise calling any of them a battle-axe. You just might get a surprise.
Or, a big laugh, like the one I gave Bishop.
Comments? Complaints? Send to – mlessler7@gmail.com
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