Ultra? SPOILER?
Ive seen this movie probably about 15 times, and ive noticed it b4, but Barbs husband to be in the movie says the word "ultra" , it has always stunned me, cuz i thought it was a 2o-30 year old word, not 80...
He actually says "outre", meaning unconventional or unusual, to describe her wedding outfit. It should be pronounced more like "ootra" or "owtra".
"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!
Oh wow, thanks, that makes more sense, i will look for it the next time i watch it, will shall be soon, Merry Cmas !!!
However, "ultra" has been around longer that you seem to think. The "20 - 30 years old" description would have the word being coined in the 1980s or early 90s. That's certainly incorrect. As one example off the top of my head, "ultra" turns up in A Clockwork Orange (in the phrase "ultra violence"), which means that "ultra" was widely understood by 1971.
Also, the prefix "ultra" has been around for about as long as English language scientific terms have been using Greek and Latin roots. For example, the word "ultraviolet" has been used to describe the wavelengths of light shorter than visible violet basically ever since we've known that such things existed. It just hadn't occurred to many people to pull it out for use in more "everyday" contexts.
One online dictionary that I found with a quick google claims that the first known use of "ultra" was in 1818.
It's definitely "ultra", in this context meaning "posh". The closed captions in the movie (done by Warner Brothers) as shown on TCM show "ultra" and the script search (http://www.cswap.com/1945/Christmas_in_Connecticut) confirms it. BTW: Edith Head's design of the dress in question was made in a soft salmon pink, which probably looked great with Stanwyck's copper tresses!
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