1976: girls with cars wore slickers, girls who took the bus

[slicker-lover]

found part of a college statistics project.

17/20 girls with a car had a slicker
but
5/16 girls who arrived by bus had a slicker (although many had regular raincoats)

[Fender]

Cool stuff good to know

[wellyboy]

What is a slicker? pardon my ignorance.

[mason]

What is a slicker? pardon my ignorance.

A slicker (or rain slicker) is another name for raincoat; generally only used in America.

[Bill_P]

What is a slicker? pardon my ignorance.

A slicker (or rain slicker) is another name for raincoat; generally only used in America.

Generally the term applies to a pvc, polyurethane or rubber raincoat, with or without a hood, anywhere from hip length to ankle length. Usually worn for casual or sporting activity but not appropriate for business attire. Sometimes lined with cotton or polyester but in the 70s and 80s there were a lot of unlined slickers floating around. Can be either dull matte finish or glossy. The classic slicker color is yellow, but they've also been made in pretty much every color of the rainbow.

[merv]

would have thought those using the bus would need them more than the car drivers or does the US bus service run more efficiently than the ones round here. Ten minutes late is the norm and the harder its raining or the colder it is the later the bus will be

[Bill_P]

Haven't ridden a bus since I was in college, but yeah, service is hit or miss in the states too I guess. I lived in Chicago most of my life though, and at least there most of the bus stops had shelters for those who were just to cool to dress for the rain...obviously I never had use for them. Why bother wearing rain gear if you're not going to put it to the test? Plus it was just common courtesy to leave the space in the shelter to those who needed it.

[ShaunaHenn]

What is a slicker? pardon my ignorance.

Check out Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, and you'll see.