Sticks nix hick pix
Encyclopedia
STICKS NIX HICK PIX was a headline printed in Variety
, a newspaper covering Hollywood and the entertainment industry, on July 17, 1935, over an article about the reaction of rural audiences to movies about rural life. It is one of the most famous headline
s ever to appear in an American publication.
Using a form of headlinese
that the newspaper called slanguage, "Sticks Nix Hick Pix" means that people in rural areas ("the sticks") reject ("nix") motion pictures ("pix") about rural life ("hick
s"). The conventional wisdom
of the movie industry was that themes of upper-class life would not be popular in the countryside; according to the article, this assumption was incorrect.
According to Robert Landry of the Variety staff, the headline was written by Lyn Bonner; however, Sime's Site (a site for people associated with Variety, named after the paper's founder) credits it to Abel Green
.
Because it was the lead headline of the paper, it was printed in all capital letters. Standard style for other Variety headlines was initial capital letters on virtually all words.
reporter Hugh Mulligan:
Mulligan got three of the four headlines wrong, including the "Stix" headline: The 1975 New York Daily News
headline was actually "Ford to City: Drop Dead". The April 15, 1983 New York Post
headline was: "Headless Body in Topless Bar".
He is one of many who have misquoted the "Stix" headline over the years. It is often
misquoted with all four words ending in X. That misspelling appeared in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy
, in which George M. Cohan
(played by James Cagney
) explains the headline's meaning to several young people, who use it as the basis of an impromptu swing
song.
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, a newspaper covering Hollywood and the entertainment industry, on July 17, 1935, over an article about the reaction of rural audiences to movies about rural life. It is one of the most famous headline
Headline
The headline is the text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the nature of the article below it.It is sometimes termed a news hed, a deliberate misspelling that dates from production flow during hot type days, to notify the composing room that a written note from an editor concerned a...
s ever to appear in an American publication.
Using a form of headlinese
Headlinese
Headlinese is nonconversational, abbreviated writing style used in newspaper headlines.-Syntax:Because space is limited, headlines are written in a compressed telegraphic style, using special syntactic conventions:...
that the newspaper called slanguage, "Sticks Nix Hick Pix" means that people in rural areas ("the sticks") reject ("nix") motion pictures ("pix") about rural life ("hick
Yokel
Yokel is a derogatory term referring to the stereotype of unsophisticated country people.-Stereotype:In the US, it is used to describe someone living in rural areas...
s"). The conventional wisdom
Conventional wisdom
Conventional wisdom is a term used to describe ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or by experts in a field. Such ideas or explanations, though widely held, are unexamined. Unqualified societal discourse preserves the status quo. It codifies existing social...
of the movie industry was that themes of upper-class life would not be popular in the countryside; according to the article, this assumption was incorrect.
According to Robert Landry of the Variety staff, the headline was written by Lyn Bonner; however, Sime's Site (a site for people associated with Variety, named after the paper's founder) credits it to Abel Green
Abel Green
Abel Green was an American journalist best known as the editor of Variety for forty years. Sime Silverman first hired Green as a reporter in 1918, and Green's byline first appeared on May 30, 1919....
.
Because it was the lead headline of the paper, it was printed in all capital letters. Standard style for other Variety headlines was initial capital letters on virtually all words.
Fame
The headline is one of a handful that have entered the lore of journalism, as described in this essay by longtime Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporter Hugh Mulligan:
Mulligan got three of the four headlines wrong, including the "Stix" headline: The 1975 New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
headline was actually "Ford to City: Drop Dead". The April 15, 1983 New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
headline was: "Headless Body in Topless Bar".
He is one of many who have misquoted the "Stix" headline over the years. It is often
misquoted with all four words ending in X. That misspelling appeared in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
, in which George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
(played by James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
) explains the headline's meaning to several young people, who use it as the basis of an impromptu swing
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
song.
Similar headlines
- In 2000 the New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
used the headline "HICKS NIX KNICKS TIX" on page 1 and "HICKS' KNICKS TIX TRICK on page 5. - The headline was echoed in a New York Times editorial entitled "Hicks Nix BlixHans Blixis a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs . Blix was also the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003, when he was succeeded by Dimitris Perrikos...
Fix" in 2002 by William SafireWilliam SafireWilliam Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
about the Bush administration's rejection of UN-backed inspections to ease nuclear tensions with North Korea.
Parodies
- A 1984 novel by David Burdett was titled Hix Nix Stix Pix.
- In the FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "That's Lobstertainment!That's Lobstertainment!"That's Lobstertainment!" is the eighth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired February 25, 2001.-Plot:After a disastrous attempt at stand-up comedy, Dr. Zoidberg informs the crew that his uncle, Harold Zoid, was a star in the silent hologram era. Zoidberg writes to his uncle,...
", the Daily Variety headline reads "Fox Exex Bax Sex Pix, Flix Lax Crux Bux, Stox Sinx, Ax Prex". - In the Tiny Toon AdventuresTiny Toon AdventuresSteven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
episode, "Thirteensomething" while Plucky reads the newspaper (Varietoon, obviously a parody of VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
) one of the headlines is "Hix Nix Stix Pix". - In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Colonel HomerColonel Homer"Colonel Homer" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 26, 1992. In the episode, Homer embarrasses his wife Marge at a movie theater, leading to a big argument between the two...
", the Springfield Variety headline reads "Hix in Stix Love Chix Lix". - An AnimaniacsAnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
song about Variety magazine has a line that reads "'Hix Makes Pix but the flick needs fix' means someone made a movie that bombed". - Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
had a street sketch in the seventh-season opener in which a Muppet news reporter displays a bunch of "EXTRA!" newspapers with headlines based on the "Stix Nix Hix Pix" headline; "Locals Say Enough Snuff Stuff", "Snuff Stuff Just Fluff", "Snuff Not Puff Says Bird In Huff". - A season 2 episode of the PBS kids' game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is the title of several edutainment computer games in the Carmen Sandiego series that teach geography. The World games, often marketed as the flagship products of the Carmen series, were created by Brøderbund Software from 1985 to 1996 with another version...
, entitled "Crook Nicks Kid Pix", involves Top Grunge (one of Carmen's henchmen) stealing a children's museum. - Jonathan CoeJonathan CoeJonathan Coe is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, What a Carve Up! reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name...
's 1997 novel The House of Sleep features the fictional Variety headline, "Sick pic nixes Brit crit".