Talk:Square (slang)

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wasn't "hip to be square" by huey lewis and the news? Or did he just do a cover version of an elvis costello song? Paul 18:32, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

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[edit] L7

there should be some note or point made in the article about L7 & its connection to "square." obviously the shape of L7 approximates a square. are there other connections? - when did the term L7 come into usage. How is L7 different that just saying "square"? (Xsxex 13:01, 22 June 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Freemasons

Isn't there a connection to Freemasonry? When a British policeman was said to be a Mason, he was "on the square and level." (This police force is known for a large number of Masons.) One can imagine, in thieves' cant, the term "square" being associated first with cops, and then with ordinary citizens-- finally becoming a bohemian term of exclusion. Rhinoracer 14:14, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

  • Until the 1950s, to be "square" was a good thing. It meant being truthful, honest, upright... like the geometric figure. It was a positive term long after the time period you're mentioning. Those so-called "traditional values" began to be labeled as bad things in the 1950s. Wahkeenah 20:16, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I've always understood that saying somebody was "on the square" was masonic code-speak meaning that the party in question was "OK because he's one of us" (I'm not one of them!). However, there's no mention of this precise phrase on the Freemasonry page, so a reference would be needed. --catslash 17:34, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

It's in the OED (1993) on the square (d) having membership of the Freemasons. --catslash 17:47, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cigarette?

The redirect for squared directs here for square slang for cigarette, what gives? --Cody.Pope 05:39, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

  • That's a mistake on the disambiguation page. It needs to be fixed somehow. I never heard that usage before, so I don't know if there is enough info about it to warrant a standalone page. Wahkeenah 05:46, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
    • Square is definitely slang for cigarette, so I added it. Bobertlo 07:16, 2 August 2007

I didn't believe this, but it's in the OED (1993) too! (n) 14. A cigarette containing tobacco rather than marijuana. US slang, L20. - so it's American and it can only be a shortened form of 'square cigarette' as opposed to 'hippy cigarette' - though unfortunately it doesn't actually say this explicitly. --catslash 17:54, 1 September 2007 (UTC) (UTC)

[edit] Square (American slang)

A "square", in American English, means a person who is not part of a given lifestyle or milieu, which the person referring to said individuals is part of. It has connotations of referring to mainstream society as opposed to subcultures, lifestyles, or movements. The term is believed to have originated in Harlem sometime after World War I, originating amongst jazz musicians to refer to outsiders.

This text was salvaged from the article stated above. I put a prod tag on it, since that info can be covered in this article, and a redirect would be unnecessary. —EdGl 02:03, 26 November 2006 (UTC)