Mullet (haircut)

The mullet is a type of haircut, in which the hair is long at the back of the head (usually at least to the shoulders), but cut shorter on the top, front, and sides of the head. The result looks like long hair from behind, but short hair from the front. In the United States the mullet was trendy in the 1970s, 1980s, and early '90s, but is now associated with the rural and working classes. As a result, it has become the subject of ridicule in some circles. The name "mullet" was first put in print by Mike D of the Beastie Boys, and it has now entered into common parlance.

Synonyms

The mullet goes by various nicknames, including Ape Drape, Camaro Cut, Shlong (Short-Long), Sfelby (Short Front, Long Back), Mississippi Mudflap, Hockey Hair, Femullet (woman's variety), ten-ninety, Tennessee Tophat and Kentucky Waterfall, Neck Warmer, Canadian Passport and Coupe Longueuil (Quebec French term meaning Longueuil-haircut). The popular phrase "Business in the front, party in the back" describes the look of the mullet; Mike D of the Beastie Boys is purported to have coined this word usage. Others credit Olympia, Washington's Jon "Quitty" Quittner and his mid-90's Hessian Obsession zines lampooning and celebrating heavy metal culture.

Related Topics:
Tennessee - Kentucky - Longueuil - Quebec French - Haircut - Mike D - Beastie Boys - Olympia, Washington - Quitty - Hessian Obsession - Heavy metal

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• The Danish term for mullet is Bundesliga-hår, which refers to its alleged popularity among Bundesliga soccer players.
• The German term for mullet is Vokuhila, which stands for "vorne kurz, hinten lang" (short in front, long in the back).
• The French one is Nuque longue which means "long neck".
• The Dutch one is matje, which means "little carpet/mat".
• The Swedish term is hockeyfrilla, which means "ice hockey haircut" in reference to its popularity among some hockey players.

In the United States and Canada, the mullet is particularly associated with working-class rural men, fans of heavy metal music and ice hockey players. In the United Kingdom the mullet is most commonly associated with rural thugs, such as Craig Evans who attacked deputy Prime Minister John Prescott with an egg or Ian Botham. In Britain, the mullet is also popularly associated with Central and Eastern Europeans, particularly professional footballers. In Australia the hair cut is associated with Bogans and Australian rules football players, particarly those from the 1980s. In recent years, however, the mullet has enjoyed resurgent popularity among the hip set, in particular the emo sub-culture, probably due to its association with 1980s retro kitsch.

Related Topics:
United States - Canada - Ice hockey - United Kingdom - Craig Evans - Prime Minister - John Prescott - Ian Botham - Central - Eastern European - Footballers - Australia - Bogan - Australian rules football - Emo - 1980s - Retro - Kitsch

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In the 2000s, a number of web sites sprung up with photographs of people with mullets, often accompanied by mocking comments based on stereotypes of mullet-wearers.

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