bimbo
Dave Wilton, Saturday, April 08, 2006
This term for a floozie or loose woman, especially one of low intelligence, is from the Italian bambino, or baby. It makes its English appearance in 1918, in Rosano’s Price of Honor in a bit of Italian-accented dialogue:
She flop! An’ il bimbo he break da boni.
The original meaning was a stupid, inconsequential, or contemptible person. By 1920 the floozie sense had developed. From Zeidman’s Burlesque (1920):
This Dix bimbo is a dangerous woman...a sassy girl with...more than a figureāa physique.
(Source: Historical Dictionary of American Slang)
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Copyright 1997-2007, by David Wilton
Copyright 1997-2007, by David Wilton