As a teen in the ATL (Atlanta, GA) my primary mode of transportation was the bus. A favorite activity was to yell "Back do'! Yo bus driver, open da back do'!" when s/he did not open the rear door fast enough for a rider's exit. Yesterday a guy used it on Minneapolis' #50 bus...well, the Minnesota Nice version anyway: "Back door! Open the back door, please."
Posted by wrjacobs at December 2, 2005 9:51 AMEven today (2009), you still hear "BACK DO'" being hollered out on the busses and streetcars in New Orleans. I remember it as far back as the 1960s and 70s when growing up, and my parents told me that they heard it hollered out on busses and streetcars back in the 1940s and 50s.
One of the more colorful expressions of it I heard was back in the 1980s when some gal who wanted off the bus hollered out "BACK DO'! OPEN DA DAMN BACK DO'!" and then when she was exiting the bus continued under her breath but still very audible, "STUPID A$$ BUS DRIVER!".
Posted by: mark at May 7, 2009 12:21 AM