Unusual catch phrases catch my ear, not my phrase. I ponder what they mean and how they came about and who first said them. Upon such things ponder I.
Today’s word of the day is “hunky dory.” You may very well ask the question, who is Dory? What makes her so hunky? And why is this now the way that one says things are going okay?
I do not have THE answer. But I do have AN answer. TWO answers actually.
First of all, forty two. Because I bought a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on a recent excursion to Ollie’s and because I just read that particular chapter today. Chapter 27 of course.
The second answer requires a narrative. One that you most certainly have not heard before because it is one that I am currently making up on the spot.
Once upon a time, on the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets lived a young lass by the name of Dorothy. Those close to her (which was pretty much everyone on the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets) called her Dory.
On the left side of her head she wore half of her hair in a blue ponytail holder that was in line with the top of her left ear. Her hair stuck out approximately 15/16ths of an inch away from the ponytail before it began to slope gracefully down towards her left shoulder, ending with a ponytail with a length of 7 inches exactly. In her left ear, Dory wore one silver hoop that was one inch in diameter. Along the edge of the silver hoop was a series of hearts and swirls engraved into its shininess. Closest to the pupil of Dory’s left eye was a beautiful shade of green as if it had come directly from a magical sea of green fantasy. Farther away from the pupil of her left eye, the green faded into a perfect hazel color…the kind of perfection in hazel that can not be described, only dreamt about in the most subliminally sublime of dreams.
Such a description of the left side of her face can only leave a person in wonder at what the right side of her face looked like. Was it maimed? Blemished? Terribly unbecoming? You must realize that she is Dory. Therefore…..
On the right side of her head she wore the other half of her hair in a blue ponytail holder that was in line with the top of her right ear. Her hair stuck out approximately 15/16ths of an inch away from the ponytail before it began to slope gracefully down towards her right shoulder, ending with a ponytail with a length of 7 inches exactly. In her right ear, Dory wore one silver hoop that was one inch in diameter. Along the edge of the silver hoop was a series of hearts and swirls engraved into its shininess. Closest to the pupil of Dory’s right eye was a beautiful shade of green as if it had come directly from a magical sea of green fantasy. Farther away from the pupil of her right eye, the green faded into a perfect hazel color…the kind of perfection in hazel that can not be described, only dreamt about in the most subliminally sublime of dreams.
She was hunky. That is to say, everything about her was satisfactory, well, right, and even.
This explains who Dory is and what about her makes her so hunky. But how did this become a catch phrase? No, do not google it or consult a word origins book. I, Amanda, shall tell thee what thou dost ask.
Anita was also a lass who lived on the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets. She awoke on the morning of the dim and dismal Monday and was painfully aware that her life was not like that of hunky Dory’s. No, her life was unsatisfactory, unwell, wrong, and uneven. Whenever she was asked about the well-goings of her day, her reply was inevitably, “Harumph, it’s not like hunky Dory’s.” And all those who lived on the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets knew what she meant and agreed.
The dawning of the dim and dismal Monday was also the dawning of a new day for Anita. Her first stop that morning was the jewelry shop on the corner of Fourth and Ernie Streets. A purchase of a pair of earrings was in order. After a short time, Anita spotted and purchased the ones she wanted. They were silver hoops that were one inch in diameter; along the edge of the silver hoop was a series of hearts and swirls engraved into its shininess.
When Anita arrived at her home at the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets, she discovered a package in her name. Inside was a wig with a two ponytails. Each ponytail was formed in such a way that the hair stood 15/16th of an inch away from the blue ponytail holder. Then the ponytails themselves draped gracefully down to where Anita’s hand held the wig and each was the perfect length of 7 inches.
Anita dashed all they way to her bedroom which was about two feet away from her front door since living quarters are so small on the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets. In the back of the bottom drawer of her mauve vanity set lay a carefully-stashed pair of contacts. They were tinted. When Anita completed her eyelid-prying maneuvers successfully, she had changed the color of her blue eyes. Closest to the pupil of Anita’s eyes was a beautiful shade of green as if it had come directly from a magical sea of green fantasy. Farther away from the pupil of her eyes, the green faded into a perfect hazel color…the kind of perfection in hazel that can not be described, only dreamt about in the most subliminally sublime of dreams.
With the wig atop her head, the contacts veiling her eyes, and the earrings adorning her ear lobes, Anita left her house for the second time that day. Fred, another resident of the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets, asked Anita how her day was going. And her reply was surprisingly, “It is perfect. I’m just like hunky Dory!”
A passerby, who did not live on the very populated corner of Fourth and Elmo Streets, overheard her remark. Later that day when said-passerby’s friend asked said-passerby how his day was going, his reply was, “Oh, it’s just hunky dory!” And since said-passerby was such a trend-setter, said-passerby’s friend followed the trend. Thus, hunky dory became less of a person and more of a state of being, all unbeknownst to hunky Dory.
And now you know.
