Catcalls (was: Fred and George: The Bullies You Do Know)

[pengolodh_sc]

No: HPFGUIDX 43061

--- In HPforGrownups, elfundeb wrote:
[snip]
> Others have pointed out incidents such as the hissing of
> Malcolm Baddock when he was sorted into Slytherin.  I'll add,
> from PS/SS, that they made catcalls when Lavender Brown was
> sorted into Gryffindor.  I checked my dictionary, which
> confirmed my understanding that a catcall is what the
> stereotypical construction worker does when an attractive
> young woman walks by (I do not want to offend any real
> construction workers here.)   I consider it rude in the
> extreme, and it's no way to greet the first new Gryffindor of
> the year, especially an 11-year-old girl.  Like the Malcolm
> Baddock greeting, this one struck a very sour chord with me. 
> I cannot see any reason to include this -- because it's not
> funny to me -- except as a very early signal that the Twins
> do push the envelope too far sometimes.
[snip]

Catcalls are also the type of whistling and hooting the audience does 
after an excellent theatre- or music-performance, when the cast-and-
crew, or the conductor, come onstage to receive their just reward, 
often done in the hopes of a da-capo of the high-point of the 
performance.  For examples, see the traditional New Year's Concert in 
Vienna, Last Night of the Proms in London, or if you've seen it, the 
Royal Albert Hall Anniversary Performance of Les Miserables.  Another 
example is from the musical Cats, where it says in the song of Gus, 
the Theatre Cat:

"For he once was a star of the highest degree - 
He has acted with Irving, he's acted with Tree.
And he likes to relate his success on the halls,
Where the gallery once gave him seven cat-calls."

Best regards
Christian Stubø