Warren's Humor

The Gentle, Whimsical Sense of Humor of Warren Jaquith

When doing something fancy or doing something well: "Just like downtown"

After calling double etc.: "Deja vu all over again"

After the call Circle up Four—Make me a Line: "Poof—you're a Line!"

When in a tidal wave: "Summer & Smoke" [it's a TITLE, get it?]

At the beginning of a singing call: "Circle left and sing-ga"

After the call ...and Spread: "...honey!"

When you come to see your corner: "Girlfriend! — Allemande Left" [& result puzzled looks]

After calls when Warren gave extra cues: "... he said hintingly"

After getting dancers into "columns": "... he said Ionically"

Warren: "Square through ... how many?"
Dancers: "Four!"
Warren: "Four would be about right."

When pairs of dancers are facing, to stabilize: "Look 'em in the good eye"

At end of a singing call: "That's all she wrote. That's it. That's all" [rhythmically]

After the call Touch a Quarter: "Make sure you use all your quarters!"

After a call with a star, when he directed the star to turn an extra quarter turn: "It's an upgrade" [like a rental car]

When the music ended before the dance: "Put another quarter in"

After a successfully completed learned new call: "... and there's no blood on the floor!"

After the call "... and roll," if it almost didn't work: "It was a hard roll"

After the call "... and roll," if it really didn't work: "It must have been a hard roll"

When calling an inside promenade, various adjectives instead of "boys" or "girls": "All the good-looking ones promenade inside" (followed by, as they reached home) "All the intelligent ones give them a swing" (or something else to toy with the dancers)

When it was probably the caller's fault: "I'll take that — Number 37"

When we didn't quite get it: "Would you like a rematch?"

When it didn't work and it was written that way: [Theatrically crossing off the page and/or tossing it away]

When a square breaks down: "Is it something I said?"

Pretend pick-up lines: "Come here often?" or "Are you from Washington?"

When asked "Are you from Washington?" his response was: "I could be"

When squaring up as Ett McAtee's corner: "You from Bal'mer?"
The response from Ett McAtee, of course, was: "Yeah, hon!"


DC Lambda Squares Newsletter Editor's Note: thanks to everyone for contributing and to Lloyd Anderson for collecting.

Back to Warren Jaquith's memorial page.