When did the word "speedster" become a thing?

[Phoenixx9]

Good man! I thought reading through this I'd have to jump in and point that out. Beautiful machines BTW. Deadly, but beautiful.

Speedsters? Or the cars? Or speedsters in those speedsters?

[Jim Kelly]

I mean, it’s no worse than...THE BIG RED CHEESE!

My recollection is that Thaddeus Bodog Sivana coined the phrase, "Big Red Cheese." And I assume he meant it derisively.

The cheese is an old coinage. If someone was the cheese, that meant they were first rate (because cheese is so good). In 1910, O. Henry used "Big Cheese" in one of his stories to describe someone of great wealth and importance. And that's the meaning that stuck. If you want to talk to the Big Cheese, you want to talk to the guy in charge.

Whether Sivana meant Big Red Cheese as a put-down or not, fans use it affectionately. It's handy when you want to talk about the Big Red Cheese, the Little Red Cheese and the Little Blue Cheese--comic book fans in the know understand exactly which three you mean.

[DrNewGod]

Good man! I thought reading through this I'd have to jump in and point that out. Beautiful machines BTW. Deadly, but beautiful.

There was some discussion of the loss of elegance in auto design on Kirby's car thread. Fuel and manufacturing efficient designs murdered those old beauties.

[Jim Kelly]

They called Batgirl the "Dominoed Daredoll" when she didn't wear a domino mask. Just have to roll with it, I guess.

Honestly, this was always an alliteration that I never understood but just accepted. I didn't know anything about domino masks. And what's a daredoll?

But looking into it now, a domino was a combination hood and cloak worn by priests in the winter. Did they ever use it as an adjective--I doubt it.

Cowl was another one that went over my head. What's a cowl? Well, a cowl is a hood with a robe combination worn by monks. Yet Batman was called the Cowled Crusader. Seems like domino and cowl are closely related in origin as clerical garments.

[SecretWarrior]

I guess on Earth 2 they call Flash the red roadster.

[Digifiend]

Cowl was another one that went over my head. What's a cowl? Well, a cowl is a hood with a robe combination worn by monks. Yet Batman was called the Cowled Crusader. Seems like domino and cowl are closely related in origin as clerical garments.

Uh, what? Batman is the Caped Crusader, not Cowled Crusader.

My recollection is that Thaddeus Bodog Sivana coined the phrase, "Big Red Cheese." And I assume he meant it derisively.

The cheese is an old coinage. If someone was the cheese, that meant they were first rate (because cheese is so good). In 1910, O. Henry used "Big Cheese" in one of his stories to describe someone of great wealth and importance. And that's the meaning that stuck. If you want to talk to the Big Cheese, you want to talk to the guy in charge.

Whether Sivana meant Big Red Cheese as a put-down or not, fans use it affectionately. It's handy when you want to talk about the Big Red Cheese, the Little Red Cheese and the Little Blue Cheese--comic book fans in the know understand exactly which three you mean.

Billy calls HIMSELF the Big Red Cheese now. He said it in Shazam #1 last week, when talking to Miguel Montez (Dial H For Hero) about his secret identity getting outed. He said the students know that he's Shazam, the Captain, the Big Red Cheese.