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A few days ago, I heard the Rolling Stones song "Jumping Jack Flash" on the radio, and the lyrics sounded a little odd to me:
I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But its all right now, in fact, its a gas!
But its all right. Im jumpin jack flash,
Its a gas! gas! gas!
I thought that the lyrics were a little odd since I can't remember the last time I heard anyone describe anything as a "gas." (I was thinking "How on Earth would I describe this expression to a non-native English speaker?") When did this expression fall out of general use? Does it have any connection to nitrous oxide or anything like that? I know that it probably doesn't have anything to do with flatulence or gastrointestinal distress, but to me, it almost sounds like it does. Anyone know anything about the origins and/or usage history of this expression?
When I was in high school (late 70s) there was a local gas station chain whose radio ads were:
..."it's a gas." Which was using the word as a pun to mean the literal product and that it's great.
There was also a sort of popular song about that time, or maybe a little earlier, called "Classical Gas"
I don't recall hearing "gas" used to mean something good after that. So my guessitmate to your question about when it fell out of general use would be late-70s, early-80s.
ArteNow
There may be some connection to the Victorian era British myth of Spring Heeled Jack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Heeled_Jack
(And it's tempting think of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, but that's a different time and place.)
greyaenigma said:
There may be some connection to the Victorian era British myth of Spring Heeled Jack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Heeled_Jack
(And it's tempting think of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, but that's a different time and place.)
The "gas" part was really what I was more curious about.
I'm amazed that I've managed to live nearly 30 years without ever hearing of Spring Heeled Jack. He almost sounds like he could be the original Batman.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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