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"Tossing dwarfs"

Posted by Bob on January 22, 2000

In Reply to: "Tossing dwarfs" posted by Patty on January 22, 2000

: My husband just mentioned he'd read something where the writer used the expression "tossing dwarfs" or "tossing dwarves"....anyone know what that one means??

: Thanks.... Patty

It was an actual amusement here in Chicago a decade or two back. At a tavern (later several taverns) in the 900 block of W. Grand, teams of semi-sober participants held a blanket by the edges and tossed a dwarf (hence the name....) Whether the object was distance or accuracy I can't remember, but I do remember the indignant city fathers mobilizing for action (the Chicago City Council can sometimes work with remarkable speed, even when not bribed) and passed an ordinance that forbid the practice. (That is, and ordinance that forbid the use of dwarves as ordinance.) I also remember the plaintive objection of one of the tossees, who claimed he was being deprived of his god-given right to be tossed for money. Quite a bit of money in his estimation. Thus chastised, pub crawlers turned to other fads, and we closed that chapter.

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