My paper had a short review of an old film being repeated on TV today, Black Narcissus(1947). It referred to one of the characters, a nun, getting the "screaming abdabs". Now that's a word I've not heard for a while! In fact, I can't recall ever seeing it in print: if asked, I'd probably spell it "habdabs" or "hab-dabs". "Abdabs" is, apparently, the most common spelling.
Is it known across the pond?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Quite a combination in the film's sub-plot featuring Sabu and Jean Simmons.
I've been unable to find "abdabs" or "habdabs" in any slang dictionaries, especially the Historical Dict. of American Slang so it probably is British. Your link is the only one I've seen. Perhaps a connection to the song "Abadaba Honeymoon"?
Here is the Wikipedia article on the film. I vaguely remember the row caused by its release in the UK. I think it would have been shown in "art houses," as the theaters that specialized in foreign films were called at the time.
Word Detective has a post on it here. Apparently, screaming ab-dabs is roughly equivalent to American's heebie-jeebies or wimwams; I've not heard of the latter.
Word Detective says that Eric Partridge in his "Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English" says that during WWII ab-dabs meant "tall tail" or an attack of "delerium tremens." Partridge dates the screaming ab-dabs to 1950.
I should have checked Partidge but it's on the very top shelf and inconveniently located. He may be inaccurate on the "screaming" date. The movie came out in 1947, based on a 1939 book which it supposedly was faithful to.
I've heard of both the heebie-jeebies and wimwams but definitely not recently.
An interesting bit of info in the Wikipedia review of the movie is that the Indian scenes were filmed in West Sussex, apparently at some wealthy person's estate. Was it Richard?This message has been edited. Last edited by: <Proofreader>,
An interesting bit of info in the Wikipedia review of the movie is that the Indian scenes were filmed in West Sussex, apparently at some wealthy person's estate. Was it Richard?
I didn't know that - but in 1947 I was living in Kent!
Some of the scenes, those supposed to be in the Himalayas, were filmed in Leonardslee Gardens http://www.leonardsleegardens.com/ which is about six miles from where I live and is presently owned by the Loder family. However, the whole estate is presently up for sale - so anyone with a few million to spare, and who's prepared to take on the herd of wallabies - might care to invest.
I certainly have never sen any reference to the film - and I've been to Leonardslee many times. However, as there are many Himalayan plants (Rhododendrons, for example) it's easy to see why it was chosen. Of course, the backdrops must have been painted; they certainly weren't shots of the South Downs (our local mountain range - all of 300 feet high!)
Richard English
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UK
Sorry, I may have given the wrong impression. "Screaming abdabs" wasn't used in the film, or book (so far as I know). The journalist who wrote the TV review used it.
It's highly unlikely that the film used the phrase. Like most British films of the period, everyone (including Sabu) spoke in clipped upper-class accents. A slang phrase like this would never appear.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
