Over the years, the word "Whiffenpoof" has become a punch-line. The latest appearance? The Broadway production of Young Frankenstein. The joke, a bit of a throwaway line, comes in the middle of a song called "Together Again," when Igor and Frankenstein first meet. From the script:
FREDERICK
(spoken as MUSIC continues under)
No, stop it! Stop it! You don't understand. I'll only be here for a few days, to settle my grandfather's estate, and then I'm heading straight back to New York. No laboratories, no creatures.
IGOR
Bet you change your mind, master. C'mon, join in a chorus. It's fun!
FREDERICK
My dear Igor, I happen to be the Dean of Anatomy at a world-renowned School of Medicine. Although I do sing a bit. And was, in fact, a Whiffenpoof at Yale.
IGOR
A Wiffenpoof, wow! C'mon, doc, nobody's around.
PS -- A public service announcement: A friend and Whiffenpoof alum tells me that, when referring to a member of that illustrious singing group, they'd prefer one use the nickname "Whiff" rather than "Poof." True story.
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