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the dozens

CTL-W-0229 · Work · 1970s

STRONG EVIDENCE evidence grade — master store (canonical CSV)

Combined Graph record U-00630 · provenance: canonical master store (CSV), record CTL-W-0229. Master record source: CTL seed 2026-10-16 — UNVERIFIED, verify before public citation.

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History entry (Stancil 1996, via Encyclopedia.com, fetched in full): 'The dozens—also referred to as playing the dozens, sounding, joning, or woofing—is a verbal game of insult and boasting involving at least two participants and an audience' — directly matches stored gloss 'ritual trading of insults' and the documented Black verbal tradition framing (Abrahams 1962, Dollard 1939 cited).

Answer summary · this record in brief, from its own record text

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History entry (Stancil 1996, via Encyclopedia.com, fetched in full): 'The dozens—also referred to as playing the dozens, sounding, joning, or woofing—is a verbal game of insult and boasting involving at least two participants and an audience' — directly matches stored gloss 'ritual trading of insults' and the documented Black verbal tradition framing (Abrahams 1962, Dollard 1939 cited).

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Evidence note (master store)

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History entry (Stancil 1996, via Encyclopedia.com, fetched in full): 'The dozens—also referred to as playing the dozens, sounding, joning, or woofing—is a verbal game of insult and boasting involving at least two participants and an audience' — directly matches stored gloss 'ritual trading of insults' and the documented Black verbal tradition framing (Abrahams 1962, Dollard 1939 cited).

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Record CTL-W-0229 · Combined Graph record U-00630 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 1 source.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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Apartment houses and funeral parlor in Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLens
Apartment houses and funeral parlor in Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLensPhoto: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLens
Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLensPhoto: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLens
Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLensPhoto: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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