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Tits Up, Ladies!
Words can mean different things to different people at different times. I’m taking these words back.
I may be late to the party watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I really love this show. It’s about a woman comic trying to make it in the 1950s male-dominated field of standup. The show has so much for me. I love the fashion; I love the period drama; I love the strong female characters; and I love the slang.
But this is not a review of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Nor is it a detailed rundown of any one aspect of the series that I like, such as the slang. What I do want to talk about is one slang term. The first time I heard it I loved it so much I dove into finding out if it was real or not, hoping it was. So, what was the term?
The main character, Mrs. Maisel, is about to go up on stage. She is nervous and tells her manager, Susie, she has butterflies. Susie says “Tits up.” Mrs. Maisel repeats, “Tits up,” and mounts the stage.
“Tits up!” Without ever hearing the expression before, I knew exactly what it meant. And I absolutely loved it. Off I went to make sure. It turns out that “tits up” is not an uncommon expression. Nor is it confined to women giving each other pep talks.
