After premiering on Broadway in 1950, Guys and Dolls became an instant hit, winning five 1951 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. With a score by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, the show was adapted for the big screen in 1955 and revived on Broadway three times.
The story takes place in 鈥�40s New York City, with its characters made up of gamblers, showgirls, and missionaries. Though based on two individual stories鈥�"The Idylls of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure"鈥�Guys and Dolls is really more a general homage to the world of the stories鈥� author, Damon Runyon.
Writing mostly in short stories, Runyon was known for his heightened and satirical take on New York City in the 鈥�30s and 鈥�40s. His characters, usually making their living outside of respectable circles, speak in a distinctive style called 鈥淩unyonese,鈥� which among other things includes lots of unique and colorful slang. Loesser, Swerling, and Burrows translated his world to the stage so effectively that Guys and Dolls has become one of Runyon鈥檚 most lasting legacies.
But if you鈥檙e not the most knowledgeable about Runyon鈥檚 phraseology, never fear; we鈥檝e got a Runyonese to English dictionary for you that will make you appreciate the humor and heart in Guys and Dolls better than ever. Want to listen along while you read? Check out the ; the starring Robert Guillaume, Norma Donaldson, and Ken Page; the starring Nathan Lane and Faith Prince, the , or the starring Maurice Hines. The 鈥�92 revival is embedded below from Spotify.
Act 1
鈥淔ollow the Fold鈥�
Follow the fold: The refrain of Sarah Brown鈥檚 Save-a-Soul Mission, 鈥渇ollow the fold鈥� means to join the group, and specifically to live life by their ideology. 鈥淏ring into the fold鈥� and 鈥渨elcome to the fold鈥� are both common phrases in the English lexicon, stemming from a 12th-century definition of 鈥渇old鈥� as a flock of sheep.
鈥淭he Oldest Established鈥�
If you鈥檙e looking for action, his firm is the spot: "Action" here refers to illegal activities that could result in making some cold, hard cash鈥攕pecifically illegal gambling.
There are well-heeled shooters everywhere: 鈥淪hooters鈥� are people who play craps, specifically rolling or throwing dice.
鈥淚鈥檒l Know鈥�
You have wished yourself a Scarsdale Galahad: Scarsdale is an affluent suburb of New York City, and Galahad is a literary knight in King Arthur鈥檚 court. Sky is basically saying Sarah鈥檚 ideal man is boring.
鈥淎delaide鈥檚 Lament鈥�
With psychosomatic symptoms difficult to endure: 鈥淧sychosomatic鈥� describes illnesses that are caused or aggravated by emotional stress, leading Adelaide to discover her persistent cold is due to her terminal engagement to Nathan Detroit.
You can spray her wherever you figure the streptococci lurk: Streptococci are bacteria that can lead to lots of sicknesses, including strep throat.
If she鈥檚 tired of getting the fish-eye from the hotel clerk...: 鈥淔ish-eye鈥� here describes the wide-eyed, unblinking expression of a hotel front desk clerk as they look at Adelaide, either because she鈥檚 been engaged so long or because they know that she and Nathan are unmarried and sleeping together.
You can feed her all day with the Vitamin A and the Bromo Fizz: Bromo-Seltzer was a fizzy antacid in the 1940s, kind of like today鈥檚 Alka-Seltzer.
When they get on a train for Niagara and she can hear church bells chime: Niagara Falls, in northwest New York, was and is a popular wedding destination, known as the Honeymoon Capital of the World.
Then they get off at Saratoga for the 14th time: Saratoga, New York, is famously home to the Saratoga Race Course, one of the oldest horse racing tracks in the country. Dating a professional gambler, Adelaide would have known it well.
A person can develop la grippe: La Grippe is an old-fashioned term for the flu, specifically the Spanish flu.
鈥淕uys and Dolls鈥�
What鈥檚 playing at the Roxy: The Roxy was an opulent New York City movie theatre on 50th Street between 6th and 7th avenues.
When a lazy slob takes a good steady job and he smells from Vitalis and Barbasol: Vitalis and Barbasol were and are brands of hair tonic and after shave.
Act 2
鈥淢ore I Can Not Wish You鈥�
Standing there gazing at you with a sheep's eye and a lickerish tooth: This odd lyric, in which Arvide describes the way Sarah鈥檚 soulmate will look at her, has puzzled Guys and Dolls fans for ages. Writing in a biography of her father, Susan Loesser shares that the composer-lyricist wanted to pair 鈥渟heep鈥檚 eye鈥� (ostensibly meaning wide-eyed and pure) with a word that meant 鈥渃ovetous.鈥� His thesaurus took him to 鈥渓echerous,鈥� but Loesser didn鈥檛 like the sound. He ultimately found that 鈥渓icorice鈥� and 鈥渓ickerish鈥� were archaic spellings of 鈥渓echerous,鈥� and went with the latter. Arvide is describing Sarah鈥檚 soulmate gazing upon her with pure and just desire.
鈥淟uck Be a Lady鈥�
A lady doesn't wander all over the room and blow on some other guy's dice: Blowing into a closed hand with dice inside before rolling said dice is a common good-luck ritual for craps players.
鈥淪ue Me鈥�
Alright, already, I'm just a no-goodnik: No-goodnik is an English-Yiddish hybrid word that means a lowlife or someone who is no good.
Alright, already, it's true. So nu: Often heard as 鈥渘ew,鈥� this lyric is actually the Yiddish word 鈥渘u,鈥� which is a general word of exclamation or agreement. Nathan is basically saying 鈥淵ou鈥檙e right! So?鈥�
鈥淪it Down, You鈥檙e Rockin鈥� the Boat鈥�
And there I stood, and I hollered 鈥榮omeone fade me': "Fading" in non-casino gambling refers to someone putting money up against your bet, necessary when there鈥檚 no casino house to bet against.
鈥淢arry the Man Today鈥�
At Wanamaker's and Saks and Klein's a lesson I鈥檝e been taught鈥�: Saks of course still exists, but Wanamaker鈥檚 and S. Klein on the Square were other department stores of the day.
Reader鈥檚 Digest, Guy Lombardo, Rogers Peet, Golf, Galoshes, Ovaltine: Adelaide and Sarah are brainstorming nicer and more wholesome interests to introduce to Nathan and Sky to reform them. Guy Lombardo was a popular easy listening band leader. Rogers Peet was a men鈥檚 clothing company that existed until the mid-1980s, best known now for inventing tags with fabric information, price tags, and the concept of returns. Ovaltine, a milk-flavoring powder, still exists, though is not nearly as popular as it would have been when Guys and Dolls premiered on Broadway.
