Topic: "I'll take the Black and Tan"

[jrvass]

All,

In a few of the shorts (Restless Knights is one) our heroes meet 3 or more women. To paraphrase:

"I'll take the Blonde."

"I'll take the Brunette."

"I'll take the Black and Tan." -Curley

WTF is a Black and Tan? 

James

[JazzBill]

All,

In a few of the shorts (Restless Knights is one) our heroes meet 3 or more women. To paraphrase:

"I'll take the Blonde."

"I'll take the Brunette."

"I'll take the Black and Tan." -Curley

WTF is a Black and Tan? 

James

A Taxi Cab Company

[Pilsner Panther]

To me, at least, a black and tan is a drink that's made from half ale (usually Bass) and half stout (usually Guinness). It's also a breed of dog, and a member of the Northern Ireland police, but that last usage might be archaic.

Curly's meaning there is probably the first one, I'd guess.

[JazzBill]

I've heard the drink, and I've heard a taxi company, that used to be in business around the time the short was made. I base the taxi answer on what I heard on a local Stooge program here in Chicago call "Stooge-A-Palooza." It's hosted by a guy named Rich Koz. It is geared for adults, not like that crap Spike TV is dishing out. Between the shorts they point out bloopers and answer trivia questions. This question came up a few weeks ago and they claimed that all though a lot of people think it was making reference to the beer drink, it was in fact a reference to a now defunct taxi company. But who's to say they are right ?

[Pilsner Panther]

I've heard the drink, and I've heard a taxi company, that used to be in business around the time the short was made. I base the taxi answer on what I heard on a local Stooge program here in Chicago call "Stooge-A-Palooza." It's hosted by a guy named Rich Koz. It is geared for adults, not like that crap Spike TV is dishing out. Between the shorts they point out bloopers and answer trivia questions. This question came up a few weeks ago and they claimed that all though a lot of people think it was making reference to the beer drink, it was in fact a reference to a now defunct taxi company. But who's to say they are right ?

Considering how many booze gags there are in the Stooges shorts (I couldn't even start to count them, especially when I've had a wee dram of the Breath O' Heather), the beer reference is probably right. There may have been a Black and Tan Cab Company, but I've never heard of it. It would have failed miserably in Northern Ireland.

And I hold the Calloway Chair of Cab Knowledge at Checker University. Not only that, I have a checkered past... some of it happened in the back seats of cabs.

Throws well-deserved bricks at myself.

 

[Dog Hambone]

A black and tan is a type of coon hound (hunting dog), and yes, that is the color of their markings. I wasn't aware there was a Northern Ireland connection. I associate them with GOBs (good ole boys) in the American South (aka Dixie). I used to live in Virginia, & had a neighbor who owned several coon hounds, & the black & tans were his favorite. Their bark is like a mournful baying sound, & it is very loud (probably so the hunter will be able to hear & locate them easily in the woods). Why anyone would want to hunt & eat coons, I can't say. Since Dan'l Boone wore a coonskin cap, maybe they were hunted for their pelts. So I will go with Pilsner's dog theory.

The lines that followed sort of cemented that idea for me:
What about the other one?
We'll throw her to the dogs. Rrrrufff!

The black & tan gag was used again, I think in Wee Wee Monsieur, after our heroes climbed through the window & ended up in the harem room.   

[Rendition]

The Black and Tans started up in Northern Ireland on the 25 March, 1920 and where ex servicemen where brought in to assist the RIC.

"The British advertised for men willing to "face a rough and dangerous task", helping to boost the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in policing the increasingly hostile Irish population. Black and Tans was the nickname given to this special force used to fight the Sinn Feiners; the name came from a well-known pack of hounds in Limerick. They wore uniforms of khaki with black hats and belts, and were RIC reservists, recruited in England, mainly from ex-servicemen. There were about 8000 of them."

As for the drink, many consider the classic Black & Tan to be Bass Pale Ale and Guinness. There is also the half and half, which is another name for a Black & Tan. However, in many North American Irish pubs, the Bass/Guinness combination is called a Black & Tan, while the Harp(lager)/Guinness combination is called a Half-and-Half. (Harp's is brewed by Guinness at Dundalk)

[jrvass]

I had thought there was an old brand of scotch, with a black and a white scottie dog on the label, called black and tan. But I haven't found any reference for it other than my memory. So I thought it would make a good question here.

James

[Dog Hambone]

Rendition
Thanks for the interesting history lesson. It firms up the dog theory for me, especially since you said they were hounds.

And Curly was always doing his dog imitations in the shorts. Wasn't he a dog lover in his private life, or do I have him confused with someone else?   

[Hassan bin Sober]

It's also a slang term for a bleached blonde.  I think that's probably what Curly originally meant, and the other lines in the dialogue were based on the other meanings.  More corny wordplay from the Stooges!  I love it!

 

Hassan bin Sober

[Dunrobin]

It's also a slang term for a bleached blonde. 

If that's true, that certainly makes the most sense of all the explanations offered.  I've never heard of that particularly slang expression, but I can't keep up with most current slang let alone terms from 70 years ago.   

[locoboymakesgood]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=black%20and%20tan

They even use the Stooges as an example! (although they got the name of the short wrong..)