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Robert Sale-Hill’s poem, The True Origin and History of “The Dude” (The New York World, January 14, 1883) introduced the world to the word Dude, and kicked off a full-on Dude craze. A-Dude-a-Day[i] Blog is dedicated to preserving and sharing pics, pieces and poems from the early days of the Dude-craze of 1883. You can read more about the history and origin of the word Dude on my blogpost, "Dudes, Dodos and Fopdoodles" on my other blog, Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog.


Monday, March 9, 2020

Florida Dudes - "Alligator Bait"

In April 1883, a widely-circulated Dude joke that originated in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle explained why useless New York Swells, recently dubbed "Dudes," were so popular in Florida, where many of them spent the winter.

“I suppose you have heard of our dudes, Miss Clarwa?” observed a New York swell to a Jacksonville girl.


“Oh, yes,” she answered, “they are becoming very popular in Florida.  We use them for alligator bait.”

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 15, 1883, page 4.


The Philadelphia Times, April 18, 1883, page 3.
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