Entry · catalog no. 2010
frail eel
/ freɪl iːl /FRAYL-eel
noun · Harlem · 1940s
✓ Verified
1.
A woman, especially a good-looking young one.
“A frail eel in a red dress had the whole corner turning its head.”
Origin & Attribution
Harlem slang for a woman — often a good-looking one — recorded in Zora Neale Hurston's glossary to "Story in Harlem Slang" (1942). One of a run of playful period names for women in the Harlemese she set down on the page.
1942
Recorded in Hurston's Harlem slang glossary
1940s
Current in Harlemese
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
Harlem · 1940s
Spoken by
Harlem speakers
$FRAILEThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Faded84 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
38/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1942
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
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Memphis, TN
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Citations & Sources
■
+ Cite a sourceZora Neale Hurston, "Story in Harlem Slang" (glossary), American Mercury — story · 1942
web
See also