Dear John letter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term "Dear John letter" refers to a letter written by a woman to her husband or boyfriend to inform him that their relationship is over, usually due to the woman finding another man. Nowadays, the roles may also be reversed, with a man notifying his wife or girlfriend with a "Dear Jane letter". A Dear John letter generally does not blame the man for the failure of the relationship, states that he is a good person and wishes him well in the future.
A "Dear John" letter has also come to refer to a letter sent to unsuccessful job applicants.
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[edit] Origins
While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been invented by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than wait for their old one to return. As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language, a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" (as opposed to the expected "Dear Johnny", "My dearest John", or simply "Darling", for example) would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose.
There are a number of theories on why the name John is used rather than any other. For starters, John was a common name in America at the time. John is also the name used in many other terms that refer to an anonymous man or men, such as "John Doe" or "John Q. Public". Further, there existed prior to World War II a radio program starring Irene Rich which was presented as a letter written by a gossipy female character to her never-identified romantic interest. It was both titled and opened with the words "Dear John", and may have contributed to the genesis of the term.
[edit] Trivia
One of the nuclear weapons pictured in the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb has "Dear John" painted on its top. The other one reads "Hi there!".
In the Farrelly Brothers film Dumb and Dumber, Harry tells Lloyd that his girlfriend sent him a "John Deere Letter".
In the Star Trek Voyager episode Message in a Bottle (4.14), Captain Janeway says to Chakotay "And I received a Dear John Letter". This was in reference to her ship being out of contact from Starfleet for over 4 years. After finally receiving word from the crew's family and friends, Janeway gets this news from her fiancé back home.
A Saskatchewan Government Insurance commercial warning against impaired driving focuses on this, with the read letter actually stating "Dear John".
The soldiers' name for the man who had 'taken their girl' is, "Jody." A "Jody" would be a man wooing a girl whose partner was serving, especially overseas. One popular marching cadence of the era went, "Never mind going back home again, Jody's got your girl and gone".
[edit] See also
- Love letter
- Dear John, for two sitcoms involving Dear John letters
