"Sticks Nix Hick Pix" is a famous
[ headline printed in '']Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', 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. ''Variety'' was known for its playful use of Broadway and Hollywood jargon
Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...
to pack as much meaning as possible into a small headline or article; examples include "H'wood" and "biz".
Using a form of headlinese
The headline or heading is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents.
The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th centur ...
that the newspaper called "slanguage",[ "Sticks Nix Hick Pix" means that people in rural areas (" the sticks") reject (" nix") motion pictures ("pix") about rural people (" hicks"). The accompanying article is based on an interview with Joe Kinsky, who operated theaters in the mostly rural Tri-State circuit of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Kinsky claims that "Farmers are not interested in farming pictures", and that two recent pictures set in an upper-class milieu, '']The Barretts of Wimpole Street
''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Kat ...
'' and ''The Scarlet Pimpernel
''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...
'', had been big successes with his demographic.[
According to Spanish writer and journalist Peter Besas (author of the 2000 book ''Inside "Variety": The Story of the Bible of Show Business, 1905-1987''),][ the headline was written by ''Variety'' editor-in-chief ]Abel Green Abel Green (June 3, 1900 – May 10, 1973) 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.
Biography
...
.[
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 almost all words.
]
Mentions and similar headlines
"STICKS NIX HICK PIX" is a frequently-cited headline, although references often get it slightly wrong.
It is used as an example of space constraint-driven "headlinese" in ''Garner's Modern American Usage
''Garner's Modern English Usage'' (''GMEU''), written by Bryan A. Garner and published by Oxford University Press, is a usage dictionary and style guide (or ' prescriptive dictionary') for contemporary Modern English. It was first published in 1 ...
''.Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' ("HIX PIX CLIX", 1988),[ the '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ("Hicks Nix Blix Fix", 2002; "Hicks Nix Climate Fix", 2013),[ and the ''New York Daily News'' ("HICKS NIX KNICKS TIX", 2000).][
As well, references and variations have appeared in various media. David Burdett titled his 1984 novel ''Hix Nix Stix Pix''.][ The 1942 movie '']Yankee Doodle Dandy
''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...
'' features a scene where George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.
Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
(played by James Cagney) explains the headline to some students, leading to an impromptu dance.[
]
Parodies
Parodies of the headline include ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' episode "Colonel Homer
"Colonel Homer" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 26, 1992. In the episode, Homer and Marge quarrel afte ...
", which shows "Hix in Stix Love Chix Lix" as a headline on the ''Springfield Variety'',[; "Crix Pix Crucifix Schticks" as quoted by Monsignor O'Hara in the musical '']Sister Act
''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. I ...
'';[ "Sick Pic Nixes Brit Crit" as a fictional ''Variety'' headline in ]Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) 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 ...
's 1997 novel ''The House of Sleep'';[ and "Nix Pix Shplix Queen" in the film '']The Naked Gun
''The Naked Gun'' media franchise, also known as ''Police Squad!'', consists of several American crime spoof-comedies, based on an original story written by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. The installments include one ...
''.[
]
References
{{Reflist, refs=
[{{cite web , url=https://variety.com/1935/film/news/sticks-nix-hick-pix-1117922332/ , title=Sticks nix hick pix , author= , date=July 17, 1935 , work=Variety , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.stltoday.com/variety-headline-sticks-nix-hick-pix/image_5ee9fc36-0eed-11e1-92a5-0019bb30f31a.html , title=Variety headline: "STICKS NIX HICK PIX" , date=November 14, 2011 , work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite web , url=https://variety.com/static-pages/slanguage-dictionary/ , title=Slanguage Dictionary , work=Variety , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite book , last1=Fisher , first1=James , last2=Londré , first2=Felicia Hardison , title=Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pro7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA753 , accessdate=April 25, 2020 , year=2007 , publisher=Scarecrow Press , isbn=9780810864184 , page=753]
[{{cite web, first=Peter, last=Besas, url=http://www.simesite.net/abel.asp, title=Abel Green obituary, publisher=Simesite, access-date=2009-06-05, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905215551/http://www.simesite.net/abel.asp, archive-date=2008-09-05]
[{{cite web , first=Hugh , last=Mulligan , url=http://www.allworth.com/Samples/J_craft1.pdf, title=Breaking Out from the Herd, publisher=Allworth Press , archive-date=2006-03-13 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313170523/http://www.allworth.com/Samples/J_craft1.pdf]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-06-19-8801080867-story.html , title=HIX PIX CLIX , author=Carrie Rickey , date=June 19, 1988 , work=Chicago Tribune , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite news , first=William , last=Safire , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/24/opinion/hicks-nix-blix-fix.html?searchResultPosition=1 , title=Hicks Nix Blix Fix , work=]The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, date=2002-10-24, accessdate=2009-07-30
[{{cite news , first=Timothy , last=Egan , url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/hicks-nix-climate-fix/?ref=opinion , title=Hicks Nix Climate Fix , work=]The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, date=2013-03-07, accessdate=2013-03-07
[{{cite web , url=https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/hicks-nix-knicks-tix-pacers-freeze-new-york-fans-courtside-seats-indy-article-1.872943 , title=HICKS NIX KNICKS TIX , date=May 31, 2000 , work=New York Daily News , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-llewellyn-burdett/hix-nix-stix-pix/ , title=HIX NIX STIX PIX – Kirkus Review , date=March 28, 1984 , work=Kirkus Reviews , accessdate=April 28, 2017]
[{{cite AV media , people=James Cagney , date=1942 , title=Yankee Doodle Dandy , medium=film , language=en , url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxU8jFey8Ds , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/WxU8jFey8Ds , archive-date=2021-12-21 , url-status=live, access-date=April 25, 2020 , location=United States , publisher=Warner Bros.{{cbignore
]
[{{cite web , url=http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/lists/newspaper , title=Making the Headlines , work=Simpson Crazy , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/naked-gun-files-police-squad-leslie-1822984906 , title=Naked Gin Files of Police Squad Leslie Nielsen & "Queen Elizabeth Prop Magazine , publisher=WorthPoint , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite web , url=https://variety.com/2011/legit/reviews/sister-act-1117945047/ , title=Sister Act , author=Steven Suskin , date=April 20, 2011 , work=Variety , accessdate=April 25, 2020]
[{{cite book , last=Coe , first=Jonathan , title=The House of Sleep , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSw6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT215 , accessdate=April 25, 2020 , year=1997 , publisher=Viking , isbn=978-0670864584 , page=215]
External links
The July 17 1935 cover of Variety at the Internet Archive
The article at Variety.com
1935 exhibitor perspective 'Sticks' in memory
Headlines
Variety (magazine)
1935 in the United States
July 1935 events