Learn English – Did “courage to work” used to mean “must be willing to stay sober during working hours”

slang

I found this picture of a casting call from the 1960s, for the TV show and musical legend that eventually became known as "the Monkees":

enter image description here

The phrase I'm asking about is "Courage to work". A friend of mine says that was 1960s American English Jargon that meant "You have to be willing to lay off the drink and the drugs during working hours". They were looking for kids who hang out at a late-nite diner called Ben Franks known as a hang-out for druggies and drunkards.

I've done a bit of google-searching and can't find any reference to the term "Courage to work". Has anyone seen this in any literature on 1960s era American slang or terminology? Got any references to this term, used in this sense, in fiction or non-fiction?

Best Answer

From this article by Nathaniel Rich at nybooks.com (2011):

Embedded in these lines were code phrases designed to appeal to young men with certain countercultural tendencies. “Insane boys,” for instance, meant “boys who like doing drugs.” “Ben Frank’s” was an all-night diner on the Sunset Strip where musicians would hang out after the clubs had closed and wait for the drugs to wear off. “Have courage to work” meant “Have courage to abstain from drugs while we film the series.” Finally, “Must come down for interview” was not instructing applicants to appear in person; it meant “When you come for the interview, try not to be on drugs.”

Related Topic