With the advent of the
press came a need to report the
news to the mass
populace. However, sometimes there just isn't "news" left to
report.
The "
silly season" was coined in
Britain in the
1800's. It refers to the
August period when there were no
parliamentary debates taking place.
Newspaper editors were at the end of their
wits trying to fill their papers with readable
material; material that, of course, was better
written and more interesting than their
competitors'.
It was during these periods of the year when all kinds of "
crazy" stories and opinions would be ventilated; stories of gigantic
crops, monstrous
births, odd accidents and the like would be plentiful. Columns would be devoted to matters and views that would not at any other time receive consideration. In short,
silliness was at a
premium.
However, this doesn't mean that good writing didn't occur in the newspapers at this time. The "silly season" was also the best season for
satire and witty
social commentary, often with a
bravado not seen during the rest of the publishing
year.
The term is still used by newspaper editors today. In fact,
The Guardian newspaper has a whole page on their website devoted to "The Silly Season".
Source: J. C. Hotten's Slang Dictionary (2nd edition), 1902.