Chifforobe

A chifforobe

A chifforobe is a closet-like piece of furniture that combines a long space for hanging clothes (that is, a wardrobe or armoire) with a chest of drawers.^[1] Typically the wardrobe section runs down one side of the piece, while the drawers occupy the other side.^[2] It may have two enclosing doors or have the drawer fronts exposed and a separate door for the hanging space.^[3][2]

Chifforobes were first advertised in the 1908 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue, which described them as "a modern invention, having been in use only a short time."^{[citation needed]} The term itself is a portmanteau of the words chiffonier and wardrobe.^[4]

The word is used in the United States, primarily in the southern portion of the country,^[5] in Puerto Rico,^[6] and in Cuba. Its use has been attested as far apart as Georgia and Vermont.^[3] In those references, it was used as a water closet or potty.^[3] The word has been used in Texas, but is not as common as its synonyms such as bureau or dresser.^[2]

The word is usually pronounced shif-uh-rohb or shif-rohb. Alternative spellings include: chiffarobe, chifforobe, chifferobe, chiffrobe, chifrobe, and shifferobe.

In popular culture

• "Chifforobe" appears frequently in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. For instance, Tom Robinson "busts up a chiffarobe" for Mayella Ewell, supposedly for her father to use as kindling.^[7]

• It also appears repeatedly in Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison.^[8]

• Another author, Judth Ortiz Cofer, recalled a "monstrous chifforobe" from her youth in Puerto Rico,^[6]

• There are also many references to "chifforobe" in 'Kathryn Stockett's The Help.

• In the Venture Bros. season one finale, "Return to Spider-Skull Island", Dr. Thaddeus Venture is splitting his inheritance with his long-lost brother, and offers to give him "the old busted-up chiffarobe".

• The chifforobe is an important element of the fil Pride of the Yankees. Lou Gehrig's mother purchases a chifforobe as a wedding present for newlywed Lou and his bride Eleanor. The fact that Eleanor is not pleased with it has ramifications for her relationship with her mother-in-law.

• In the Season 2 Airwolf episode "Severence Pay," the use of the word "chifforobe" gives away the identity of the Firm's traitor/mole, Barnes.

• In a Family Guy episode, when Brian is returning the keys to the 50 year old lady he was dating.

References

Notes

1. ^ Dictionary.com website. n.d.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Elmer Bagby Atwood, The regional vocabulary of Texas, p. 44 (University of Texas Press, 1962) ISBN 9780292770089. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Walter J. Brown, J.J. Brown and Thomas E. Watson: Georgia politics, 1912-1928, p. 24 (Mercer University Press, 1989) ISBN 9780865543225. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.
4. ^ Catherine O'Reilly, Did Thomas Crapper Really Invent the Toilet?: The Inventions That Changed Our Homes and Our Lives, p. 30 (Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2008) ISBN 9781602393479. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.
5. ^ Frederic Gomes Cassidy, Joan Houston Hall, Dictionary of American regional English, Volume 4 (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002) ISBN 9780674008847. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.
6. ^ ^{a b} Judith Ortiz Cofer, Silent dancing: a partial remembrance of a Puerto Rican childhood, p. 24 (Edition 2, Arte Publico Press, 1990) ISBN 9781558850156. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.
7. ^ Horton Foote, To kill a mockingbird ; Tender mercies ; and, The trip to Bountiful: three screenplays, p. 59 (Grove Press, 1989) ISBN 9780802131256. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.
8. ^ Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina, (Penguin, 1993) ISBN 9780452269576. Found at Google Books. Accessed July 7, 2011.