|
The Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires (FCO) (In English: Buenos Aires Western Railway) was a British-owned railway company in Argentina which operated over [[broad gauge]] (5ft 6in) track west of the city of [[Buenos Aires]], between the zones served by the [[ Gran Ferrocarril Sur]] and the [[Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico]] railways. The company covered the western part of [[Buenos Aires Province]], part of the [[La Pampa Province]] and extended in the direction of the Andes across agricultural and cattle country to the vine and fruit region of [[Mendoza Province]]. It also had an important section serving the suburbs of the city of Buenos Aires.
'''The dozens''' is an [[African American]] [[oral tradition]] in which two acquaintances go head to head in a contest of often good-natured, [[ribald]] "[[trash-talk]]". They take turns [[insult]]ing; "cracking", "ranking", "sparking", "janking", "snapping", "checking", or "riding" — on one another, their adversary's mother, or other family member until one of them has no [[comeback]].
The story began in 1855 with the Ferrocarril Oeste company building Argentina’s first railway line between ''Del Parque'' station in Buenos Aires and ''La Floresta'' station in [[Flores]], a distance of 10 km. The line was opened to the public 29 August 1857 and the first train was hauled by a locomotive, named ''La Porteña'', which was built by the [[Hunslet Engine Company]] of Leeds in England, and was a veteran of the [[Crimean War]]. No fewer than 15,000 passengers were carried in the first fortnight. The line was extended to [[Ramos Mejia]] in 1859, [[Moron]] and in 1860 to [[Moreno]] giving a total length of 39 km. With government help the line arrived at [[Chivilcoy]] in 1866, a distance of 159 km from Buenos Aires, and various branch lines were added.
This is called '''playing the dozens''', '''doin' the dozens''', or sometimes '''dirty dozens'''. The dozens is a contest of personal power—of wit, verbal ability, and mental agility, but especially of mental toughness and self-control. If one lashes out in anger, that person automatically loses the contest. Each putdown, or ''snap'', ups the ante. Defeat can be humiliating, but a skilled contender, win or lose, may gain [[respect]]. The dozens is one of the contributing elements in the [[Roots of hip hop music|development of hip hop]], especially the practice of ''[[freestyle battle|freestyle battling]]''. The opponent is often considered ''being served''.
In 1878 the Buenos Aires terminus was moved to [[Estación Once ]] and in 1886 ''Del Parque'' station was demolished and its place taken by the [[Teatro Colón]] opera house.
==History and practice==
The dozens can be a harmless game of casual, good-natured jibes, an exchange of malicious insults, [[taunts]] or, if tempers flare, a prelude to physical violence. While the competition on its face is usually light-hearted, smiles sometimes mask real tensions. In its purest form, the dozens is part of a custom of verbal sparring, of "[[wolf ticket|woofin']]" and "[[Signifying|signifyin']]" ostensibly intended to defuse conflict nonviolently, descended from oral traditions of indigenous West African cultures.
By the time Ferrocarril Oeste was sold to the British in 1890 it operated its services over 1,014 km of track. Under the new name Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires the railway was extended from the centre of Buenos Aires Province to La Pampa Province and as far as the south of Mendoza Province.
The term ''the dozens'' is believed to refer to the devaluing on the auction block of slaves who were past their prime, deformed, aged, or no longer capable of hard labor after years of back-breaking toil. These slaves often were sold by the dozen. In "Still Laughing to Keep from Crying: [[Black Humor]]", African American author and professor Mona Lisa Saloy writes:
Grain, cattle, wine, and general merchandise formed the bulk of the railway’s goods traffic. Coal suitable for locomotive working was not available locally and therefore a large proportion of locomotives were designed to burn oil.
<blockquote>The dozens has its origins in the slave trade of New Orleans where deformed slaves—generally slaves punished with dismemberment for disobedience—were grouped in lots of a 'cheap dozen' for sale to slave owners. For a Black to be sold as part of the 'dozens' was the lowest blow possible.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mona Lisa Saloy|year=2001|url=http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/still_laugh.html|title=Still Laughing to Keep from Crying: Black Humor|work=Louisiana Folklife Festival booklet|accessdate=2005-11-15}}</ref></blockquote>
In 1933 the administration of the company was combined with that of two other British-owned railway companies [[Gran Ferrocarril Sur]], and [[Ferrocarril Midland de Buenos Aires]].
"Yo' momma" is a common, widely recognized retort in slang. It is a cryptic and sometimes comical allusion to the dozens.
When the entire Argentine railway network was nationalised in 1948, during [[Juan Peron]]'s presidency, Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires, with 3096 km of track, became part of the state-owned company [[Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento]].
Children have been known to express contempt or defiance by reciting a short poem that refers to the dozens, but in which the insults are mostly implied:
== References ==
::Yo' momma, yo' daddy, Yo' bald-headed granny
D.S.Purdom, ''British Steam on the Pampas'', Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd, London, 1977.</br>
Colin M. Lewis, ''British Railways in Argentina 1857-1914: A Case Study of Foreign Investment'', Institue of Latin American Studies, Univeristy of London, 1983.
[[Category:Railway companies of Argentina]]
::Yo' momma, Yo' daddy, Yo' sista, too. Go tell them bitches to go back to the zoo.
==The dozens in literature and the performing arts==
[[Kokomo Arnold]], one of the most popular American [[blues]] musicians of the [[1930s]], released a song ''Twelves (Dirty Dozens)'' that includes lyrics such as:
::I like yo' momma - sister, too
::I did like your poppa - but your poppa wouldn't do
::I met your poppa on the corner the other day
::I soon found out he was funny that way.
In [[Zora Neale Hurston]]'s, ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God]]'' (1937), there is reference to "playin' de dozens" in front of Joe's store.
[[George Carlin]] talks about playing the dozens on his [[Grammy]]-winning album ''The Class Clown''.
::"You wanna know the dozens, well the dozens is a game, but the way I fucked your mother, is a goddamn shame"
[[Alternative hip hop]] group [[The Pharcyde]] released a song on their debut album ''Bizarre Ride II: The Pharcyde'' entitled "Ya' Mama", the lyrics of which consist entirely of snaps. A remix of this song is used as the theme of MTV's trash-talk show ''[[Yo Momma]]'' (see below for more information about the show.) In addition, the [[Australian hip-hop]] group [[Butterfingers]] have a song called "Yo Momma" that includes the chorus "Yo Momma's on the top of my things-to-do list."
The book ''Snaps'' (1994), written by James Percelay, is a compendium of over 450 jokes. Its popularity gave rise to sequels ''Double Snaps'' (1995), ''Triple Snaps'' (1996), and ''Snaps 4'' (1998). The books use the epithet "your mother", as opposed to the more common "yo' momma". The book series spawned a television series titled ''Snaps'' which ran briefly on [[HBO]]. The movies ''[[White Men Can't Jump]]'', ''[[Remember the Titans]]'', ''[[8 Mile]]'', and ''[[House Party]]'' include exchanges of snaps.
The [[Wayans Brothers|Keenan Ivory Wayans]] TV show ''[[In Living Color]]'' regularly featured a game show segment titled ''The Dirty Dozens'' and parodies of popular game shows, such as ''[[Wheel of Fortune|Wheel of Dozens]]'' and ''[[Family Feud|Family Dozens]]''. Their brothers, Shawn and Marlon have also been involved in these, so much so that in 2004, they released a mobile phone game based on ''The Dozens''.
The book ''A Portrait of Yo Mama As a Young Man'' (2005), written by Andrew Barlow and Kent Roberts, is a [[postmodernism|postmodern]] take on the dozens which redefines the form through the use of reflexivity, absurdism, and anti-humor. In addition to jokes, the book contains charts, poetry, a résumé, and various other short humor pieces. The title is derived from [[James Joyce|James Joyce's]] ''[[A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man]]''.
The title of the [[Mexico|Mexican]] film ''[[Y tu mamá también]]'' (literally, "And your mother, too") is taken from a scene in the movie wherein the two young male protagonists do their equivalent of the dozens.
In 2006, [[MTV]] premiered a [[game show]] titled ''[[Yo Momma]]'' [[executive producer|executive produced]] and [[game show host|hosted]] by [[Wilmer Valderrama]]. Contestants face off in playing the dozens. The person judged to be the funniest wins a cash prize. The four winners from that week then face off in a final round, where the weekly winner gets another cash prize and additional prizes as well.
Fictional artist [[MC Hawking]] (a gangsta rapping parody of theoretical physicist [[Stephen Hawking]]) has a song called "''The Dozens''" on his CD ''A Brief History of Rhyme: MC Hawking's Greatest Hits'', where he raps "yo momma" jokes like "Yo momma's such a slut, the other night I had to park my dick on her ass and wait an hour to get in."
==Related practices outside the African American community==
There are phenomena similar to the dozens outside the African American community. In Britain, for instance, the [[American and British English differences|analogous usage]] is "your mum" or "your mam" or "yer maw". Derogatory barbs focus almost exclusively on impugning the sexual integrity of the target's mother.
Historically, similar verbal competitions were practiced in other cultures. Ancient Germanic cultures, including the Norse and Anglo-Saxons, practiced a ritual exchange of insults known as [[flyting]], which is similar in function to the dozens. In sixteenth-century [[Scotland]], the term flyting was used to describe an exchange of abusive poems by poets. [[Arab]] poets exchanged creative insults in ''naqa'id'', a practice continued in the ''zajal'' verbal jousting of present-day [[Lebanon]]. American [[cowboy]]s in the late nineteenth century participated in '''cussing contests''', the winners of which were sometimes rewarded with new saddles.
Some use ''your mom'' jokes as a riposte and often a counter-riposte to any insulting statement made.
In recent years, ''your mom'' jokes have also become used for statements that have no hostile or pejorative intent: "I love to eat ice cream." "Your mom loves to eat ice cream!" The phrase can also be used to skew another person's words: "[[Ramen]] noodles are cheap and easy." "Your mom is cheap and easy!"; "[[Primates]] occupy an interesting ecological niche." "I pri-mated with your mom's ecological niche!"
Quips like "That's what your mom said (last night)" or "[[That's what ''she'' said]]" (wherein "she" does not necessarily refer to somebody's mother, but instead an unnamed, hypothetical woman) are also sometimes used to reply humorously to anything vaguely suggestive.
== Examples of snaps ==
What follow are a few sanitized, less colorful examples of snaps in the dozens.
=== "Yo' Momma's so fat..." ===
* "...she fell in love and broke it."
* "...she's on both sides of the [[family tree]]."
* "...when she sits around the house, she sits ''AROUND'' the house."
* "...that she sweats butter."
* "...that she uses diet soap."
* "...she went out in high heels and came back in sandals."
* "...that when she takes off her shoes, they smile."
* "...that [[McDonald's]] buys oil from her."
* "...that when she jumps for joy, she gets stuck."
* "...that when she goes out in a yellow raincoat, people yell 'Taxi! Taxi!'."
* "...that when she goes out in a red blouse, people yell '[[kool aid|Kool-Aid]],[[kool aid|Kool-Aid]]!'."
* "...she's the reason the [[Underground Railroad]] was underground."
* "...when she goes out camping, the bears have to hide their food."
* "...the last time she saw [[Beverly Hills 90210|90210]], she was on a scale."
* "...she's on the seafood diet; she sees food and eats it."
* "...that when she got lost, her picture was on all four sides of the [[milk carton]]."
* "...when I saw her weight, I mistook it for her [[phone number]]."
* "...when she broke her leg gravy poured out."
* "...she plays pool with the planets"
* "...she covers three hemispheres."
* "...she shows up on radar."
* "...she eats Wheat Thicks."
* "...when she sits down in a [[movie theater]], she sits next to EVERYONE."
* "...the [[sun]] orbits around HER!"
* "...everytime she walks in high heels, she strikes oil."
* "...she sat on a rainbow and skittles came out."
* "...she sat on a dollar and four quarters came out."
* "...when she wears a Malcolm X jacket, helicopters land on her back."
* "...her blood type is '[[Ragu|Ragu]]'."
* "...she uses a matress as a tampon."
* "...she walked in front of the TV and I missed 35 episodes of my favorite show."
* "...when she walked in front of the [[T.V.]], I missed all the [[Star Wars]] movies."
* "...she has her own zip code."
* "...that when God said, "Let there be light," He had to ask her to move out of the way."
=== "Yo' Momma's so stupid..." ===
* "...she thought a [[quarterback]] was a refund."
* "...she stole free bread."
* "...she got locked out of a [[motorcycle]]."
* "...that when the weather man said it was chilly outside, she grabbed her bowl and spoon."
* "...she thought a McCoy smoothie was a passage to Ashanth's eyeball."
* "...she got locked in [[Asda]]'s and starved."
* "...she thought [[Boyz II Men]] was a daycare center."
* "...she got run over by a parked car."
* "...she tripped over a [[cordless phone]]"
* "...she thinks [[Tupac Shakur]] is a [[Jewish holiday]]."
* "...she failed a [[pregnancy test]]."
* "...she bought a [[solar-powered]] [[flashlight]]."
* "...she saw a sign that said wet floor...so she did."
* "...she asked for the toy section in [[Toys "R" Us]]."
* "...she invented the motorcycle with air conditioning."
* "...she took a [[ruler]] to bed to see how long she slept."
* "...she sits on the [[T.V.]] and watches the [[couch]]."
* "...she told me to meet her at the corner of "Walk" and "Don't Walk."
* "...I asked for a color TV and she came back and asked me what color?
* "...she tried to commit suicide by jumping off the sidewalk
* "...she jumped over a chain-link fence to see what was on the other side."
* "...she got told to swim across the English channel, got halfway across, decided she was tired and swam back
* "...looked at a paper which said ''PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAPER'' and she wrote ''ok.''
* "...she's even considered stupid."
* "...she thought [[Johnny Cash]] was a pay [[toilet]].
* "...she thinks this joke is funny."
=== "Yo' Momma's so old..." ===
* "...she babysat [[Adam]]."
* "...when I slapped her back, her boobs fell off."
* "...[[Jesus Christ]] still owes her a few dollars."
* "...her breast milk is powdered."
* "...when [[God]] said 'Let there be light,' she flipped the switch."
* "...She got gang-banged by [[the Flintstones]]."
* "...Her [[birth certificate]] says 'expired'."
* "...I told her to act her age and she dropped dead."
=== "Yo' Momma's such a slut..." ===
* "...she has more [[Penis|Wangs]] in her than a [[Chinese]] [[Telephone directory|Phone Book]]."
* "...she walks around with a mattress on her back."
* "...she gives [[STD]]s through the phone."
* "...the other night I had to park my dick on her ass and wait an hour to get in."
* "...shes a slut."
=== "Yo' Momma's so ugly..." ===
* "...she could make a [[vibrator]] go limp."
* "...when she looks in the mirror, her reflection ducks."
* "...she can stick her face in dough and make gorilla cookies."
* "...people dress up as her for Halloween."
* "...she makes [[Godzilla]] run away."
* "...she makes you look good."
* "...when she's at a strip club, people pay her to keep her clothes ON."
* "...whenever she goes out, she has to wears a sign saying 'Warning: May Cause Irritation'."
=== "Yo' Momma's so poor..." ===
* "...she has to go to [[Kentucky Fried Chicken|KFC]] to lick peoples' fingers."
* "...when she goes to McDonald's she gets food on [[layaway]]."
* "...I saw her kicking a can down the street. I asked her what she was doin' and she said 'Moving'"
* "...when I came to her house I walked through the front door and came out the back porch."
* "...I saw her walking down the street with only one shoe on. I asked her if she had lost a shoe but she said 'no I just found one!'"
* "...she strips at [[Chuck E. Cheese's]] for tokens!"
* "...I stepped on a cigarette, and she said "Who turned the light off?"
* "...I asked to go to the bathroom, and she told me to pick a corner.
* "...she can't even afford a free car wash."
* "...when I asked her why she was banging on the dumpster, she said, 'My kids locked me out.'"
==See also==
* [[Call and response]]
* [[Extempo]]
* [[Folklore]]
* [[Taunts]]
* [[Wolf ticket]]
* [[Roast (comedy)]]
* [[Wiktionary:Your mom]]
* [[mother-in-law languages]]
==References==
<references />
==External links==
*[http://www.pimpdaddy.com/yomama-default.shtml Pimpdaddy's Yo Mama Snaps]
*[http://members.lycos.co.uk/yomommajokes/ Yo' Momma Jokes]
*[http://www.yourmom.com/ Your Mom Joke Directory]
*[http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19960903 Definition]
*[http://www.funnyandjokes.com/jokes/yo-mama-jokes/ Yo Mama Jokes]
*[http://www.zodanet.com/lollerpedia/index.php/Jokebook:Yo_Mama Lollerpedia Yo Mama jokes] ''GFDL wiki''
[[Category:Humor]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:African American culture]]
[[fr:Ta mère]]
[[es:Tu madre]]
| 