Recurring Features in Mad (magazine) - Running Gags and Recurring Images

Running Gags and Recurring Images

Mad has made frequent use of esoteric words, including potrzebie, furshlugginer, veeblefetzer, Moxie, ganef, halavah, and axolotl. Many, but not all of these words are of Yiddish or Jewish origin. Favored humorous names included Melvin, Bitsko, Kaputnik, Cowznofski, and Fonebone. Mad used the word "ecch" or its cousins "blecch" and "Yeech" as an all-purpose expression of disgust so often that even The Simpsons later made passing references to the practice, showing Mad covers with the unseen parodies "Beauty and the Blecch" and "NYPD Blecch".

The word "hoohah" was an early running gag, often exclaimed by excited characters in the comic book issues written by Harvey Kurtzman; the first story in the first issue of Mad was titled "Hoohah!". Its Eastern European feel was a perfect fit for the New York Jewish style of the publication. The precise origin of "hoohah" is unknown, although it may have sprung from the Hungarian word for "wow", which is hűha . Kristin Chenoweth has been known to use the word to refer to her vagina, as in "I sing from my hoohah!".

"It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide" was a non sequitur-ish phrase that found its way into Mad on several occasions in the 1950s; this was dated British slang meaning "it is foolhardy to bribe a policeman with counterfeit money." (The phrase originated in Margery Allingham's mid-thirties detective novel, The Fashion in Shrouds).

Some of the magazine's visual elements are whimsical, frequently appearing in the artwork without context or explanation. Among these are a potted avocado plant named Arthur (reportedly based on art director John Putnam's personal marijuana plant); a domed trashcan wearing an overcoat; a pointing six-fingered hand; the Mad Zeppelin (which more closely resembles an American football shaped hot air balloon); and an emaciated long-beaked creature who went unidentified for decades before being dubbed "Flip the Bird".

In late 1964, Mad was tricked into purchasing the "rights" to an optical illusion already in the public domain, featuring a sort of three-pronged tuning fork whose appearance defies physical possibility. The magazine dubbed it the "Mad poiuyt" after the six rightmost letter keys on a QWERTY keyboard in reverse order, not realizing that the existing image was already known to engineers and usually called a blivet.

Mad cartoonists have regularly drawn themselves, fellow contributors and editors, and family members into the articles, most famously Dave Berg's self-caricature "Roger Kaputnik". Al Jaffee sometimes incorporates a self-caricature into his signature. The magazine's photo spreads have typically featured Mad's own staff. Originally, the magazine tried hiring models for its photo shoots, but found that many were unwilling to make the exaggerated faces the magazine wanted. While trying to prompt the reluctant outsiders with demonstrations, the magazine staff soon decided that they were better suited for foolish posing than the professionals, and more cost-effective.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the magazine has made periodic references to "the monkey juice", generally in the context of over-imbibing with same. Many letter column responses are punctuated with the breezy interjection "Fa fa fa!". The mysterious name "Max Korn" has popped up for years; reader requests to clarify Korn's true identity have been greeted with increasingly outlandish explanations.

Regardless of the amount, the changing cover price of Mad has long been followed by the word "CHEAP!". Variants have occasionally appeared; following an increase from 25 to 30 cents, the successive issues claimed to be "CHEAP" (but X'd out), "CHEAP?", and "KINDA CHEAP". A rise to 40 cents sparked almost a year's worth of variations: "OUCH!", "OUTRAGEOUS!", "NO LAUGHING MATTER", "RELATIVELY CHEAP", "CHEAP (CONSIDERING)", and again, "CHEAP?". Other price increases were billed as "ALMOST CHEAP", "INFLATED!", and for a cover featuring Bonnie and Clyde, "HIGHWAY ROBBERY".