Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

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Rob Farr
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Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Rob Farr » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:10 pm

I've been looking unsuccessfully for a Hallroom Boys comic strip to answer a basic question. Is their last name Hallroom? The Kodascope Library catalogue thinks so in their description of Oh Ma, The Rent Taker: "Percy and Ferdie Hallroom, evicted from their boarding house, are knocked down by the car of a millionaire on his way to a boat for Europe." Or is it because their lodgings are located in a tiny room tucked off a boarding house hallway? The Kodascope Library description of Monkeying Around: "The Hallroom Boys room is very small - so small they have to use expedients to use it at all." Here's the page with both descriptions.

And is the proper name Hallroom Boys or Hall Room Boys?
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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Gary Johnson » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:40 pm

The books I've seen on history of comic strips spell Hallroom as two words. It was the film shorts that seem to run it into one word.

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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Richard M Roberts » Fri Jul 17, 2015 6:13 pm

Gad, these are the sort of sad nit-pickings the academics and anal-retentives are down to these days who just have to have an absolute when the obvious answer is most likely that no one gave a shit at the time and either one works just fine.


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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Gary Johnson » Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:54 pm

Except that Rob was asking if the strips genesis of the name was indicative of the characters last name or was it referring to the small hovel they inhabited. My extensive research in genealogy generally indicates that two disparate common words do not qualify as a surname.
"Hello Mr. & Mrs. Hall Room...."

It just doesn't have the same ring as "Hello Mr. & Mrs. Johnson...."
That's a proper sounding name. Not Mr. & Mrs. Hall Room. Nor Mr. & Mrs. Hall Mark. And definitely NOT Mr. & Mrs. Hall O'Ween.

But I do recall one example that blew this entire theory out of the water. He was a composer as I recall. A Mr.Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.

So ignoring that one rare example of a perfectly named name......I still prefer Mr. Johnson as a perfectly proper name.

"And may I have your first name, sir?"

"Yes. It's Too Much...."

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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Richard M Roberts » Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:20 pm

Gary Johnson wrote:Except that Rob was asking if the strips genesis of the name was indicative of the characters last name or was it referring to the small hovel they inhabited. My extensive research in genealogy generally indicates that two disparate common words do not qualify as a surname.
"Hello Mr. & Mrs. Hall Room...."

"



Ahhh, but what if it's hyphenated? The Halls and the Rooms both wanted credit, so they became the Hall-Room Boys, happens in British (Mrs. Worthington-Worthington-Smythe-Johnson-Fotheringgill (pronounced Fanshawe)-Smythe, depending on how many husbands), and hispanic (Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez) families all of the time, along with all those lame yuppie American women who seem to unable to pick a friggin last name (though with sixteen spaces on most computer-info pages for last name, it usually gets picked for them).

So no matter that you're willing to type the whole silly name from the Monty Python gag, it is still a wankers concern.


RICHARD M ROBERTS (and this is the best we can do? Jeez, we could be discussing F. W. Murnau's missing head!)

Rob Farr
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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Rob Farr » Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:52 pm

May I remind you of the rule regarding posts in SCM 101: "Use this forum without fear of taunting from advanced users or the local curmudgeons."
Rob Farr
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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Richard M Roberts » Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:05 pm

Rob Farr wrote:May I remind you of the rule regarding posts in SCM 101: "Use this forum without fear of taunting from advanced users or the local curmudgeons."



Ah, it's just you and Johnson, not the neophytes. You only put the question here because you knew it would get taunted.

Now go or I shall taunt you a second time---ah!

RICHARD M ROBERTS

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Re: Etymology of the Hallroom (or Hall Room) Boys

Postby Jim Roots » Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:54 am

How about Mr. and Mrs. Hal Room?


Jim
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