The Lone Ranger

[Thadeus]

Not wanting to hijack a thread about multi-processor computers that had already been hijacked into a discussion of nanotech, I figured that this was the best place for this link regarding the debatable origins of the Lone Ranger series phrase, "Kemo Sabe"

Here's a link to what I would consider a reputable source on the topic... Of course this is the internet, and since the source doesn't cite any external references (only mentions they exist), I don't even know if the source is who they claim to be.

Now in that other thread in TT-STC, SantaMufasa offers a completely different explanation:

Although our ears heard "Kemo Sabe" when "Tonto" addressed his fearless mentor, "The Lone Ranger", the author was, in fact, ramming his tongue firmly in his cheek with these endearing nicknames. What the author actually composed was "Qué no sabe", Spanish for "(He) who knows nothing," and "Tonto", of course, is Spanish for "Stupid".

And if the link I posted is accurate, it would appear that the Lone Ranger addressed Tonto in this manner as well in the radio broadcasts...

~Thadeus

 

[flapeyre]

Not so sure:

In the old Lone Ranger series, what did "kemosabe" mean?

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Thadeus's and flapeyre's links both relate the same story about the roots of the phrase. Seems the Spanish-insult story is an urban legend.

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[SantaMufasa]

I'm glad to see (from flapeyre's link) that I am not alone in my assertions. Fran Striker, author of The Lone Ranger, has, unfortunately, gone to the great "Tee-Pee in the Sky", along with Jay Silverheels ("Tonto") and Clayton Moore ("Loney"). So, we cannot access "The Originals" for their interpretations of the terminologies.

Striker's son (who was the source of Thadeus's posting) offered several etymologies for "Loney's" nickname, but even he could not say for sure what his dad's intentions were. And I also believe that Striker, Jr. had a vested interest in preserving the notion that his father's work contained more scholarly references than tongue-in-cheek references.

Certainly, no one has ever asserted that "Tonto" means anything different from "Stupid" (or "Dim-wit"). It would not be a significant stretch of the imagination that Striker, Sr. resorted to turnabout-fair-play references from Tonto back to Loney, notwithstanding the more scholarly attributions that subsequent linguists may have uncovered.

Keep in mind that the origin of "The Lone Ranger" series on broadcast media was virtually a "thrown-together" attempt by radio-station owner George W. Trendle, to rescue WXYZ (Detroit) in 1932 from financial demise. He grabbed the radio-play to boost listenership. The creator of the radio-play did not have time or resources to research the nuances of Ojibwe, Yavapai Apaches, Cree, Southern Paiute, Osage, and Navajo, as have the subsequent etymological researchers looking for a credible, scholarly origin for "kemosabe".

I believe that a more plausible scenario is that Striker, Sr., is rolling in his grave saying, "Geez, folks, can't ya' take a joke?"

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[traingamer]

I had always heard that Kemo Sabe was taken from the name of a summer camp, and it was really the first two letters of 4 names: KEn, MOe, SAm and BEn. (Or maybe it was just another rumor).

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[gbaughma]

traingamer:

That was also covered on The Straight Dope.

;-)



Just my 2¢
"Life gets mighty precious when there's less of it to waste." -Bonnie Raitt "Nick of Time"
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[flapeyre]

Greg:

I had that SD link in my previous post..

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.