Bezark

“Bezark” is 1930s underworld lingo for “woman”, equating with “pansy” when applied to men. Listen carefully and you’ll hear the word – sometimes pronounced “bee-zock” – in films such as The Mayor of Hell (1933), Me and my Gal (1932), and The Torrid Zone (1940). Special thanks to Richard Polt for hammering out “bezark” on several of his antique typewriters.

From top to bottom:

Royal KMM (‘40s)

Underwood 5 (‘20s)

Olivetti Lexikon 80 ('50s)

Voss DeLuxe ('50s)

Everest 90 ('30s)

Smith Corona Silent-Super ('50s)

by Daniel Riccuito