Sticks nix hick pix
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STICKS NIX HICK PIX is one of the most famous headlines ever to appear in an American publication. It was printed in Variety, a newspaper covering Hollywood and the entertainment industry, on July 17, 1935, over an article about the reaction of rural audiences to movies about rural life.
Using a form of headlinese that the newspaper called slanguage, it means that, according to an Iowa theater manager, people in rural areas ("the sticks") reject ("nix") movies ("pics") about rural life ("hicks"). The conventional wisdom of the movie industry was that themes of upper-class life would not be popular in the countryside; according to the article, this assumption was incorrect.
Because it was the lead headline of the paper, it was printed in all capital letters. Standard headline style for other Variety headlines was initial capital letters on virtually all words.
The headline is one of a handful that have entered the lore of journalism, as described in this essay[1] by longtime Associated Press reporter Hugh Mullian:
| “ | Down the years, some of journalism’s most famous headlines have brilliantly suggested what happened and have coaxed the reader to find out more:
|
” |
Mullian is one of many who have misquoted the headline over the years; it is also often[1] misquoted with all four words ending in X.
[edit] Popular culture
The headline appeared in the 1942 movie Yankee Doodle Dandy, with lead character George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney) explaining the meaning to several young people, who promptly use the headline as the basis of an impromptu swing song.
A 1984 novel by David Burdett was titled Hix Nix Stix Pix.[1][2]
In 2000 the New York Daily News used the headline "HICKS NIX KNICKS TIX" on page 1 and "HICKS' KNICKS TIX TRICK on page 5.[2]
In the Futurama episode "That's Lobstertainment!", the Daily Variety headline reads "Fox Exex Bax Sex Pix, Flix Lax Crux Bux, Stox Sinx, Ax Prex".
[edit] References
- ^ a b This newsgroup posting cites Google counts taken in late 2005.
- ^ a b http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words3.html
