1) One hates to see Sluggo, the two-fisted street kid of the Nancyverse, brought so low 2) “Big hunk of cheese” seems mild-to-affectionate as an insult, but I fear it was a 1940s ethnic or religious slur 3) the toughest neighborhood hooligans back then all had Jay Leno chins - ThreadSky

billcorbett.bsky.social • 95 days ago

1) One hates to see Sluggo, the two-fisted street kid of the Nancyverse, brought so low
2) “Big hunk of cheese” seems mild-to-affectionate as an insult, but I fear it was a 1940s ethnic or religious slur
3) the toughest neighborhood hooligans back then all had Jay Leno chins

Reposted from NANCY COMICS BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER

Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
December 14,1945

Comments

elliosenor.bsky.social•95 days ago

In those days, all the kids looked to be in their mid to late forties at least.

blonicyouth.bsky.social•95 days ago

McBiff is stuck watching his dying mother up there

sirilyan.com•94 days ago

People don’t say “nix” enough anymore.

adamkingxv.bsky.social•95 days ago

Spike McBiff's got a corner office on the top floor. I'm intimidated too!

earational.bsky.social•95 days ago

Truly a defiant, boulderesque American physiognomy, sadly much diminished in these soft days.

yesbiscuit.bsky.social•95 days ago

Thick McRunfast!
Buff Drinklots!
Spike McBiff!

neffnyc.bsky.social•95 days ago

I always thought it meant something like "softie" or "showboat", making it the perfect insult for a bully like Spike --- you look like a big tough, but we all know it's just cheese.

neffnyc.bsky.social•95 days ago

Kind of an "oh yeah, you think you're tough?" trigger.

oldereviltwin.bsky.social•95 days ago

Or, hear me out here, it's a compliment. Like "blessed are the cheesemakers".

nickespo.com•95 days ago

How tough can Sluggo be if he doesn't have an underbite?

warofthebees.bsky.social•95 days ago

Referring to all of my enemies (and they are legion) as "a big hunk of cheese" from now on.

andrewctenor.bsky.social•95 days ago

I’m thinking “big hunk of cheese” is merely a childish “smelly.” People talked about Limburger a lot more back in the day

electrogoth.bsky.social•94 days ago

Every panel a work of art. Taking the final panel of a Nancy comic out of context is one of my favorite things.

granitegeeknh.bsky.social•95 days ago

Spike McBiff is an excellent name

worldswerth.bsky.social•95 days ago

affectionate

worldswerth.bsky.social•95 days ago

uhclem.bsky.social•95 days ago

Unfortunately for Sluggo, Spike can't read.

brotherthursday.bsky.social•95 days ago

If somebody flew a kite to my window to call me a big hunk of cheese, it would make my entire year.

mastersthepen.bsky.social•95 days ago

As I recall, the original Captain Marvel was called the Big Red Cheese, so I hope it’s not a slur!

geenacanblowme.bsky.social•95 days ago

To be fair, only his villains called him than.

chaostorgo.bsky.social•95 days ago

When I was a little kid in the 60s and 70s I'd actually "riff" Nancy comics for my own amusement because they seemed quite weird and cheesy even then. The strip you shared doesn't change that perspective, especially since it actually mentions cheese. 😃

sasquatchparilla.bsky.social•95 days ago

My grandpa would playfully refer to his grandkids as "you big hunk of cheese", something I've never heard in any other context so honestly thought he made it up, but which hopefully reduces the likelihood of it being a slur

cruiseshipdrummer.bsky.social•95 days ago

really bilious anti-swede bigotry there, originally a reference to the lutefisk famine that wiped out 4/5 of sweden’s population, corrupted over time into the cheese based insult we see here