GR translation: manly crepe of an overseas cap

[Joe Allonby]

The use of the hat as a slashing weapon would definitely be known to
someone in the service during the Vietnam era. The style was used in
the Navy as well. By the time GR came out, it would be known to at
least part of the reading public.


On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 8:21 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Wonderful detail...thanks.....
> and i just love P's "knifing" resonances---very likely(?) the razor-carrying use
> was known even earlier?
>
>
>
>
> Wasn't called an overseas cap because it was originally issued to
> troops deployed to foreign combat units. Though the style was
> eventually ubiquitous and worn by WACS,  WAVES, and even Boy Scouts;
> the style identifies the wearer as someone who has seen combat. and
> thus manly. The construction of the sentence is a bit odd for this,
> but that wouldn't be a first for Pynchon.
>
> Digression and aside: US servicemen in Vietnam would wear this hat off
> duty. Single-edge razor blades could be sewn into the top with the
> edge barely protruding. It could then be quickly used as a slashing
> weapon to the face of a mugger or other attacker in areas where the
> soldier or sailor was not supposed to go about armed. See also:
> Filipino backscratcher.
>
> On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 12:32 AM, Mike Jing
> <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I thought he was describing members of the audience.
>>
>> I think I had it figured out.  If the overseas cap is indeed made of
>> crepe, which is a kind of fabric, then the word "manly" is simply
>> describing the shape of the overseas cap, not the fabric per se.
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 12:16 AM, Bekah <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>> I too was kind of wondering about if that's what the reference meant.   But the hat (not the guy) in the photo looks manly enough to me and what I noticed is that it has a "knifing forward" look to it.   The hat is on a guy in the film,  right?
>>>
>>> Bekah
>>>
>>>
>>> On Oct 27, 2011, at 8:29 PM, Mike Jing wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yes, but is that what it meant in this sentence?  Are overseas caps
>>>> really made of this kind of fabric?  And is this fabric "manly"?
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Bekah <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>>> Crepe means really thin paper or fabric -
>>>>>
>>>>> Here's a white crepe paper overseas cap (read the Details section):
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.webstaurantstore.com/white-paper-overseas-cap-100-box/561RPOS1W.html
>>>>>
>>>>> Bekah
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Oct 27, 2011, at 12:35 PM, Mike Jing wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> P152.29-30  ..., the manly crepe of an overseas cap knifing forward
>>>>>> into the darkened cinema, ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does the "crepe" refer to the fabric the overseas cap was made of or
>>>>>> is it something else entirely?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>