FARMER'S
DICTIONARY
OF
AMERICANISMS
B 1,000,940
PE
2837
.F23
REEVES & TURNER
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937

:
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PRESENTED TO
THE ENGLISH LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BY
The Class in Spoken English
1896
ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
VERITAS
SCIENTIA
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIBUS UNUM
SI QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM
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PE
2837
.F23

AMERICANISMS-Old Neu

A DICTIONARY OF
& New.
Words, Phrases AND Colloquialisms
PECULIAR TO THE
UNITED STATES, BRITISH AMERICA,
THE WEST INDIES, &c., &c.,
THEIR
DERIVATION, MEANING AND APPLICATION,
TOGETHER WITH
NUMEROUS ANECDOTAL, HISTORICAL, EXPLANATORY, AND
FOLK-LORE NOTES.
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
JOHN S. FARMER,
Author of "Ex Oriente Lux"; "TWIXT TWO WORLDS"; "A NEW
BASIS OF BELIEF IN IMMORTALITY;
&c., &c.
No...
London:
PRIVATELY PRINTED BY THOMAS POULTER & SONS,
6, ARTHUR STREET WEST, E.C.
1889.

THOMAS
PRINTED BY
POULTER AND SONS,
6, ARTHUR street West,
LONDON BRIDGE,
AND
GLOBE WORks, rupert street, E.

AMERICANISMS
Old AND New.

UNIFORM WITH
"AMERICANISMS-OLD & NEW."
Family Mottoes; Their Origin and
Meaning.
[In preparation, and may be ordered forthwith.
Colonialisms; A Dictionary of Modern
Words, Phrases, and Colloquialisms
peculiar to the British Colonies.
[To follow.
Proverbs & Proverbial Sayings;
A Comparative Study of the proverbs of
all Nations.
[To follow.

Americanisms-Old and New
OR,
THE ENGLISH OF THE NEW WORLD.

F all spoken tongues the English language is,
perhaps, alone destined to occupy a predominant
place among the peoples of the earth. Arguing
from the past to the present, and from the present
to the future, it seems certain that, in another
hundred years, no less than one thousand millions of people
will, at the present rate of increase, be speaking the English
language—a number far in excess of any other nationality.
Rich in metaphor, full of vitality and creative vigor-as it has
proved itself with untold possibilities of adaptation to the
needs and genius of the age, it already stands unique in many
respects, and forms a medium of communication to the like of
which no other spoken tongue can show an analogy.
Unquestionably its present strength and future potency lie
in its adaptability and capacity for expansion. To take the
last three hundred years alone, the tendency of our Mother
tongue to reach out, under varying surroundings, to new and
fresh combinations of form has been very marked. One fact
stands out in bold relief, viz., that from the earliest times.
B
vi
The Queen's English and Americanisms.
the English language has been undergoing a kind of fer-
mentation. With new environments the speech of a people
at once begins to change; and new needs, influences, and
surroundings, contribute largely to the enrichment of a
vernacular. Certain words become obsolete, new words are
introduced, and, on the other hand, many words come to be
employed in a different manner. A most striking illustration of
this tendency in language to change its form is the fact that the
ancient Scandinavian or Old Norse, once the common speech of
Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, now exists entire in
none of those countries.
In England, with its tight grip upon the past, this process of
enlargement has not attained the same dimensions as elsewhere.
Yet even in the Mother Country the common speech has
changed to such an extent that, to quote one example only,
the English of Spencer, Shakespeare, and Marlowe, is not the
vernacular of to-day, and in the original these writers require a
glossary to render them intelligible.
Far more strongly marked, however, is the divergence
which exists between the Queen's English and the English of
the New World-variations popularly known and described as
"Americanisms." These, in the main, have long been a bug-
bear to purists, the despair of etymologists, and an unfailing
source of wonder, amusement, and, in many respects, a puzzle to
the general reader. To the student of comparative philology,
however, a large number of these words, phrases, and colloquial-
isms which, at first sight, seem novel, uncouth, and obscure,
are, when closely scrutinised, found to possess a parentage that
cannot be questioned, as far as standard usage and authority
are concerned. Moreover, much of what remains, not so
sanctioned, is discovered to be capable of reduction to some
sort of law and orderly sequence.
Americanisms Defined.
vii
Strictly speaking, an "Americanism" may be defined as a
word or phrase, old or new, employed by general and respect-
able usage in America in a way not sanctioned by the best
standards of the English language. As a matter of fact, how-
ever, the term has come to possess a wider meaning; and it is
now applied not only to words and phrases which can be so
described, but also to the new and legitimately born words.
adapted to the general needs and usages, to the survivals of an
older form of English than that now current in the Mother
Country, and to the racy, pungent vernacular of Western life.
Hitherto, this divergence in speech has been of little.
moment, except to the curiously inclined in matters philological.
Latterly, however, for good or ill, we have been brought face to
face with what has been grandiloquently called "The Great
American Language" oftentimes in its baldest form, and on its
most repulsive side. The works, also, of the popular exponents
of “American humor," itself an article as distinct in type as is
the American character, have made the English people
familiar with transatlantic words, phrases, turns of expression,
and construction, most of which, strange of sound and quaint in
form, are altogether incomprehensible. Their influence is daily
gaining ground-books in shoals, journals by the score, and
allusions without stint, are multiplying on every hand. American
newspapers, too, humorous and otherwise, circulate in England
by hundreds of thousands weekly-all this and a good deal else
is doing its work in popularising American peculiarities of speech
and diction to an extent which, a few years since, would have
been deemed incredible. Even our own newspapers, hitherto
regarded as models of correct literary style, are many of
them following in their wake; and, both in matter and
phraseology, are lending countenance to what at first sight
appears a monstrously crude and almost imbecile jargon; while
viii
Language Progressive in Character.
others, fearful of a direct plunge, modestly introduce the
uncouth bantlings with a saving clause. The phrase, "as the
Americans say," might in some cases be ordered from the type-
foundry as a logotype, so frequently does it do introduction
duty.
Such is the beginning; who can tell what the end will be;
or how far American influence will modify the noble English
language? Not that such modification and enlargement are to
be feared per se. Already history records five periods Early and
Late Anglo-Saxon, and Old, Middle, and Modern English—and
a careful study of the situation seems to indicate that we are
on the threshold of a sixth period; that even our Mother tongue,
like the rest of the social fabric, is again passing through a
period of transition.
Danger, however, does not lie in change, but rather in
inanition. Purists may object, and cry out in alarm concerning
sacrilegious innovation, but, on going to the root of the matter,
this tendency is found to be not altogether void of satisfac-
tion when regarded as indicative of the vitality and creative
vigor still enshrined in our speech. Language, like every-
thing else, is progressive; there is no spoken tongue a
thousand years old. Five times has the external form of the
language been changed; and, not to go very far back, the stately,
rounded, yet pedantic periods of Addison, Steele, and Johnson,
have been exchanged for a more pungent, racy, forcible style-
one more in accord with the genius of the age. The component
parts of the language may, therefore, again be expected to
undergo a similar change and revision.
This tendency to transition is doubtless at the root of the
marvellously vigorous, and increasing growth of slang in our own
midst of late years. Broadly viewing slang as a possible element
of the grammar of the future, and grammar as accepted slang, this
Americanisms Classified.
ix
fact is of itself significant; and the same process, under different
conditions, is going on in the future mighty Commonwealth of
the Southern Seas.
It is, however, when we come to consider the influence which
American speech and literature is likely to have increasingly
upon the English language, that we are brought in contact
with considerations calculated to afford serious food for thought.
At the onset one fact above all others stares us in the face.
It is the almost certain overwhelming preponderance which
Americans, as a nation, will, of necessity, have in the counsels of
the Anglo-Saxon race in the very near future. At the close of
the present century they will, in all probability, number close
upon a hundred millions, as against a possible forty to forty-five
millions of English subjects-at least two to one. What will
be the result? Even under the most adverse circumstances
one cannot doubt that a vast extension of American influence
as a factor in the life and thought of Anglo-Saxon peoples will
ensue. This will probably extend in every direction—to politics,
to social questions, and to all the arts and sciences. How
far, therefore, is our heritage in the English language likely to
be affected thereby? The subject is a large one, and, moreover,
too speculative at the moment to receive a direct answer.
The present work will furnish some data as to how far
American-English already differs from the vernacular of the
Mother Country.
Roughly speaking, Americanisms may be divided into
several broad and distinct classes :-
1. WORDS AND PHRASES OF PURELY AMERICAN DERIVATION.
Embracing words originating in—
a. Indian and Aboriginal Life.
b. Pioneer and Frontier Life.
C.
The Church.
d. Politics.
e. Trade of all kinds.
f.
Travel, Afloat and Ashore.
C
X
Influence of the Aborigines.
2. WORDS BROUGHT BY COLONISTS, including-
a.
The German Element.
d. The Dutch.
b. The French.
C. The Spanish.
e.
The Negro.
f. The Chinese.
3. NAMES OF AMERICAN THINGS, embracing-
a. Natural Products.
4. PERVERTED ENGLISH Words.
b. Manufactured Articles.
5. OBSOLETE ENGLISH WORDS still in general
America.
use
use in
6. ENGLISH WORDS, American by Inflection and Modifi-
cation.
7. ODD AND QUAINT POPULAR PHRASES, PROVERBS, VUL-
GARISMS, AND COLLOQUIALISMS, CANT AND SLANG.
8. INDIVIDUALISMS.
9. DOUBTFUL AND MISCELLANEOUS.
Concerning some of these classes, a few words of explanation
may not be unacceptable to the general reader.
It would have been strange indeed had the Red Man
failed to leave the most distinct impress upon the life and
surroundings of the American nation. This expectation is
fully borne out by facts. Not alone in the names of localities,
of plants and animals indigenous to the soil, and of prepara-
tions of food, but in metaphors and similes drawn from savage
life and customs are found survivals, all replete with memories
of the aborigines. These for the most part are sad and bitter,
because born of the long and relentless struggle which has
gone on between the two races ever since the white man first
set foot on American soil.
Within the memory of many living persons Indian tribes
roamed over the greater part of the North American continent,
virtually its masters. They hunted the buffalo, countless herds
The Vigorous Vernacular of the West.
xi
of which swarmed on the prairies of the West, practically
without restraint. Step by step, however, they and their main
means of subsistence have been driven farther and farther
afield, until now the buffalo is almost as extinct as the dodo;
and the Red Man also seems doomed to as certain an extinction.
Reduced in numbers well-nigh to vanishing point, deprived
of the chase (their chief support), unable in the "reservations"
to which they are relegated to adapt themselves to the new
order of things, the remnants of the aboriginal tribes are, by
contracting the white man's vices, fast hastening the day when
they will only be remembered as a tradition of the past. Still,
traces of their having once possessed the land will remain.
Many of the most notable aboriginal names still hold, and will
doubtless retain a place in the popular speech. Among these
geographical expressions stand first, not a few of the names of
states, rivers, and mountains bearing their ancient Indian
appellations. The designations of plants, animals, and prepara-
tions of food come next; but in all probability the influence of
the Red Man on the vernacular will longest survive in the
colloquialisms of everyday life. Some of these-as, for example,
"burying the hatchet," "going on the warpath," "smoking
the pipe of peace," and similarly expressive imagery-have
established themselves wherever English is spoken.
To the early colonist, however, such colloquialisms as these
were fraught with a meaning the full import of which is little
realised at the present day. Not less suggestively expressive,
too, was and is the everyday speech of the pioneers, trappers,
and plainsmen of the once "Wild" and always "Great West."
These have impressed the stamp of their life in a remarkable
degree, and no less distinctive a manner on what Mark Twain
aptly calls "the vigorous vernacular." Vigorous it undoubtedly
is; often coarse; sometimes cynically brutal too; yet always
xii
Colloquialisms of Purely American Origin.
sententious, full of pith and point-the whole indicative of
the unceasing activity of life in the backwoods and on the
prairies. It is racy withal, and overflowing with wit and
humor-of a kind. In the West, nature is young and fresh;
it is formed on a larger mould than obtains elsewhere. All
things being free, is it surprising that speech should be as
unfettered, or that at times it should even, like nature itself,
burst all ordinary bounds? The life is rough; the work is hard-
a continual struggle with the forces of nature, and the vernacular,
but reflects the life and work. Repulsive and unlovely such
speech may be, nay is; yet all careful students of the subject
must freely concede that it is but a partial aspect of American
life. Indeed, though colloquialisms of the kind not unnaturally,
under the circumstances, constitute what in England are typi-
cally known as Americanisms, the present work will show how, in
reality, they form but a very small proportion of the words and
expressions properly so named. In respect to colloquialisms of
purely American origin, it must be remembered that new needs,
influences, and surroundings have contributed, and are still
contributing largely to the introduction of fresh, oftentimes
quaint, sometimes odd, and always forcible forms of expression.
This tendency has not been confined to any single department
of life and thought; "all sorts and conditions of men," indeed,
have had their share in this enlargement of the spoken speech-
and besides the pioneer in the wilds of the West, the politician
in the Senate, the spiritual pastors of the people, in pulpit and
on platform, and the trader both afloat and ashore, have had
their due share in these additions to "the written word."
Scarcely less marked are the terms and phrases introduced
by the heterogeneous multitudes from every European state,
who have, during the past two hundred years, sought a new
home in the "Land of the West." It is not a little curious
}
Perverted and Obsolete English Words.
xiii
that the Anglo-Saxon race of to-day, itself the mixed progeny
of many different nationalities, should again become, in the
West and in the Southern Hemisphere, subjected to the
incursion, and subsequent amalgamation with themselves, of
motley hordes of people of more than one alien stock. What
the result will be it is difficult to say. Already the American
type is a distinct one; it stands by itself unique in many
respects, and is by no means wanting in the most desirable
racial characteristics of the older types. All these people,
whether of German, French, Spanish, or Dutch descent, have
each and all left their mark on the common speech; and
with these must be included the negro and the Chinaman.
The rare ingenuity and versatility of the American mind,
and the enormous strides witnessed during the last half-
century in the arts, sciences, and manufactures have also
their most natural outlets in modifications of, and additions
to the vernacular.
Another important group-perverted and obsolete English
words-is also largely responsible for such variation as exists.
in the speech of the two countries; indeed, these are by
far the most fruitful source of turns of expression which we
in England usually attribute to transatlantic origin.
As a
matter of fact, many so-called Americanisms are simply good
Old English words which have dropped out of use in the
Mother Country. Many causes have conduced to their
retention across the water. Let only a thought be given to
the subject, and it can hardly be a matter for surprise that
words and expressions once current, but now disused here,
are still in vogue there. Indeed, the marvel is not that the
divergence is so great, but rather that, comparatively, it is
so small. Every factor in the case would seem to have made
for diversity rather than uniformity; and yet, in spite of a
D
xiv
Plan of Present Work.
violent racial parturition, followed by decades of animosity
and hate, a separation one from the other by thousands of
leagues, the incursion of hordes of immigrants of every nation,
and kindred, and tongue, all bringing their quota of new
sounds, idioms, and idiosyncracies into the common language
—yet, in spite of all this, the language of the Older England
of the Seas and the Newer England of the West is essentially
the same. Such a fact is assuredly a marvel.
This volume is the first on the subject ever published on
this side of the Atlantic, and it will be found to contain many
authentic examples not included in any other authority what-
soever. I have taken every care to ensure accuracy, and
have regarded it as essential to completeness to give the
dates of references and quotations. The numerous illustrative
extracts present a bird's eye view of American wit and
humor and the multifarious aspects of transatlantic life, such
as cannot fail, I think, to interest the general reader.
In compiling this Dictionary of Americanisms, I have
followed, as closely as circumstances would permit, the lines of
the scheme given on a previous page. I found, however, that
certain modifications of my original plan were necessary, the
most important of which is that each section of my subject is dealt
with in its proper place in the body of the work. For example,
the reader will find American dialects such as the Chinook
Jargon, the Pennsylvania Dutch, also Peculiarities of Pronun-
ciation, Orthography, Names, Nicknames and Sobriquets,
etc., so treated.
In reference to what is throughout this work classified as
"Cant," it is necessary to explain that by this is meant the
language peculiar to thieves and their associates. A compara-
tive study of American and Old English cant fully exemplifies
Authorities.
XV
the fact of "survival" in this as in the more legitimate paths of
philology.
Finally, I claim no merit for originality. I have made
use of whatever material came to my hands; and, though in
some cases I have been able to acknowledge in the text the
source of my information, frequently no such course was
possible, for, besides personal knowledge, my sources of
information have been manifold. Many examples given as
Americanisms by previous writers I have rejected, upon what
I considered sufficient grounds, as having no legitimate claim
to insertion. I append a list of authorities, and to those
marked with an asterisk I wish specially to acknowledge
my indebtedness.


AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCES
ΤΟ
PERIODICAL LITERATURE.
P.P. PERIODICAL PUBLICATION.
Abilene (Kan.) Gazette. P.P., 1888.
Across the Great Desert.
Acts of Congress. P.P., Washington, passim.
Adventures in the Apache Country.
Age. P.P., 1888.
Aimard's (Gustav) Works, passim.
Akerman's (I.Y.) Glossary of Wiltshire.
London, 1842.
Albany (N.Y.) Journal. P.P., 1888.
Aldridge's (R.) Ranch Notes in Kansas,
London, 1884.
Allen's (Professor) Slave Songs of the United
States.
Allin's Yankee Ballads, Boston, 1851.
All the Year Round. P.P., London, passim.
P.P., London, passim.
America. P.P., 1888.
American, The. P.P., 1888.
Canoeist. P.P., New York, 1888.
Cultivator. P.P., Boston, 1888.
Hoyle, The.
Humorist. P.P., London, 1888.
Journal of Philology. P.P., Baltimore,
1887-8.
Magazine. P.P., New York, 1888.
Naturalist. P.P., Philadelphia, 1888.
Notes and Queries.
Yachtsman. P.P., New York, 1888.
Appleton's Journal. P.P., New York.
Arkansaw (Little Rock, Ark.) Traveler. P.P.,
1888.
Army and Navy Journal. P.P., New York,
1888.
Atlanta Constitution, The.
Atlantic Monthly, The.
London, 1887-8.
P.P., Boston and
Audubon's Ornith. Biography. 5 vols. Edin-
burgh, 1831-39.
Baker's Glossary of Northampton Terms.
London, 1854.
Baltimore American. P.P., Baltimore, 1888.
News. P.P., 1888.
Sun. P.P., 1888.
Banner of Light. P.P., Boston, 1888.
Bartlett's (J. Russell) Dictionary of Ameri-
canisms. Boston, Fourth Edition, 1884.*
Bartram's Travels in Florida, 1791.
Bay State Monthly.
Beadle's (J. R.) Western Wilds. Cincinnati,
1878.
Bernard's Kentuckian.
Besant's and Rice's Golden
London, 1876.
Golden Butterfly.
London,
Beverley's History of Virginia.
1705.
Bierbaum's (F. J.) History of the English
Language. Hiedelberg, 1883.
Biglow Papers. First and Second Series by
James Russell Lowell. London, 1886.*
Billings (M. T.) Gazette. P.P., 1888.
Billings (Josh) Humorous Works, passim.
Blackwood's Magazine. P.P., London,
passim.
Bohn's Classical Library, passim.
Bonaparte's (Louis Lucien) Dialects of
Eleven Southern and South-Western
Counties. London, 1876.
Border Adventures.
Boston (Mass.) Budget. P.P., 1888.
Courier. P.P., 1888.
Globe. P.P., 1888.
Journal. P.P., 1888.
Post. P.P., 1888.
Press. P.P., 1888.
Sturdy Oak. P.P., 1888.
Transcript. P.P., 1888.
Brace's (C. L.) Dangerous Classes of New
York, New York, 1872.
Brainerd (Min.) Tribune. P.P., 1888.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
London, 1868.
British Annual Calendar.
P.P., 1776.
Guiana Almanack and Directory.
P.P., 1888.
Britten's (J.) Old Country and Farming
Words. London, 1880.
Britten and Holland's Plant Names. London,
1856.
Brockett's (J. T.) Glossary of North Country
Words. London, 1846.
Brooklyn Eagle. P.P., 1888.
Broughton's (Rhoda) Good-bye, Sweet-
heart, good-bye! London, 1872.
Authorities and References.
Brown's Canoe and Camp Life in British
Guiana. London, 1876.
Bryant's (William Cullen) Poetical Works.
1807-1888.
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. P.P., 1888.
Courier. P.P., 1888.
Burdette's (Robert J.) Miscellaneous
Sketches in Periodical Press. 1887-8.
Burlington Free Press. P.P., 1888.
Butler's Hudibras. London, 1673-1678.
Cable's (G. W.) Au Large. 1887.
Canada Monthly, The. P.P., 1888.
Canadian American, The. P.P., 1888.
Carleton's (Will) Poetical Works.
York, 1886.
New
Carmina Collegensia, Songs of Williams.
Carr's (W.) Craven Dialect. London, 1828.
Cartwright's (Rev. P.) Autobiography. Lon-
don, 1862.
Carvalho's Adventures in the Far West.
Centre-Pole Bill in Overland Monthly.
Century Magazine.
P.P., New York and
London, 1887-1888.
Charleston (La) Enterprise. P.P., 1888.
News and Courier. P.P., 1888.
Charnock's (R. S.) Glossary of the English
Dialect. (London, 1880.)
Chicago Inter-Ocean. P.P., 1888.
Herald. P.P., 1888.
Ledger. P.P., 1888.
Mail. P.F., 1888.
Rambler. P.P., 1888.
Times. P.P., 1888.
Tribune. P.P., 1888.
Watchman. P.P., 1888.
Christian at Work. P.P., New York, 1888.
Intelligencer. P.P., New York, 1888.
Christy's Songster.
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.
Enquirer. P.P., 1888.
Weekly Gazette. P.P., 1888.
Cleveland Leader. P.P., 1888.
P.P.,
1888.
Coldwater (Michigan) Sun. P.P., 1888.
Colonist (Victoria, B. C.). P.P., 1888.
Concord Monitor. P.P., 1888.
Congressional Records. P.P., passim.
Connecticut (Ohio) Gazette. P.P., 1888.
Cooper's (Fenimore) Novels, passim, 1789-
1851.
Cornhill Magazine. P.P., London, 1888.
Coue's (Elliot) Key to North American Birds.
Boston, 1884.
Courtney's (Miss M. A.) Glossary of Words
in Use in Cornwall. London, 1880.
Crackett's Tour.
Critic. P.P., New York, 1888.
Cunliffe's (Hy.) Glossary of Rochdale Words.
Manchester, 1886.
De Kay's Natural History of New York.
New York, 1842.
Denison News. P.P., 1888.
Denver (Colo.) Republican. P.P., 1888.
Detroit (Mich.) Evening Journal. P.P., 1888.
Free Press. P.P., London, 1888.
De Quincey's Works. 1821-1844,
De Vere's Americanisms, or the English of
the New World. New York, 1872.*
Studies in English. New York, 1867.
xvii
De Witt's Base-Ball Guide. P.P., New York,
passim.
Dickenson's (W.) Glossary of Words and
Phrases in Cumberland. London, 1878.
Supplement to Cumberland Glossary.
London, 1881.
Dinsdale's (F. T.) Glossary of Words Used
in Teesdale. London, 1849.
Dodge's Plains of the Great West. Hart-
ford, Conn., 1882.*
Downing's (Jack) Letters of New York, 1834.
Dow's Patent Sermons. New York, 1841.
Doyle's (J. A.) The English in America.
London, 1882.
Drake's Old Landmarks and Historic Pas-
sages of Boston. Boston, 1873.
Du Ponceau's Les Langues d'Amerique du
Nord.
Dupratz' History of Louisiana.
Eclectic Review, The. P.P.
Eggleston's The Graysons. London, 1888.
Elworthy's (F.F.) Dialect of West Somerset.
London, 1875.
Elwyn's (A. L.) Glossary of Supposed
Americanisms. Philadelphia, 1859.*
Encyclopædia Americana. New York, 1883.
English American. P.P., New York, 1888.
Epoch. P.P., New York, 1888.
Evansville Argus. P.P., 1888.
Fallow's (S.) Handbook of Americanisms.
Chicago, 1883.
Fall River Advance. P.P., 1888.
Farmer's Encyclopædia.
Farmer's (J. S.) New Basis of Belief in
Immortality. 1879.
Farmer's Weekly Museum, The.
Field. P.P., London, 1888.
Field and Farm.
Flint's History and Geography of the
Mississippi Valley. 1827.
Florida Times Union, P.P., Jacksonville,
1888.
Flush Times in Alabama.
Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia.
Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun. P.P.,
New York, 1888.
Fort Smith Tribune. P.P., 1888.
Fostoria Democrat. rг.P., 1888.
Fowler's (W. W.) Twenty Years of Inside
Life in Wall Street. New York, 1880.
Frost's Naval History of the United States.
New York, 1843.
Fullarton's Faiths of the World. London.
Galaxy. P.P.
Galveston (Texas) News. P.P., 1888.
Gentleman's Magazine, The. P.P., London,
passim.
Gibb's Chinook Jargon.
Gladstone's Englishman in Texas.
Glance at New York, A.
Godey's Lady's Book.
Gordon's History of the American Revolu-
tion, 1788.
Grandmother's Story of Bunker's
Battle.
Hill
Grass Valley (California) Tidings. P.P., 1888.
Greenleafs (A. B.) Ten Years in Texas.
Selma Ala. 1881.
xviii
Authorities and References.
Gregory's Animal Magnetism. London,
1884.
Grip, The (Toronto). P.P., 1888.
Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar
Tongue. London, 1878.
Haberdasher, The. P.P., 1888.
Haldeman's (S. S.) Pennsylvania Dutch.
London, 1872.
Hallberger's Illustrated Magazine.
Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Pro-
vincial Words. London, 1850.
Hall's (B. H.) College Words and Customs,
Cambridge, Mass., 1856.
Hammond's Wild Northern Scenes.
Hampshire Gazette.
Hardy's Between Two Oceans.
1884.
London,
Harland's (John) Glossary of Words used in
Swaledale, Yorks. London, 1873.
Harper's Bazaar. P.P., New York, 1888.
Magazine. P.P., New York, 1888.
Weekly. P.P., New York, 1888.
Harte's (Francis Bret) Works.
Hartford Post. P.P., 1888.
1869-1888.
Harvard Register, The. P.P., passim.
Hawthorne's (Nathaniel) House of the Seven
Gables. 1851.
Hay's (Col. John) Song of The Prairie Bell,
Henderson's (P.) Handbook of Plants. New
York, 1881.
Hidden Path, The.
Hill's (Staveley) From Home to Home.
Hill's Yankee Stories.
Hoffmann's Winter in the West.
Holme's (Oliver Wendell) Autocrat of the
Breakfast Table, 1857.
Hotel Gazette, The.
Mail, The. P.P., New York, 1888.
Hours at Home.
Howell's (W. D.) Undiscovered Country.
London, 1880.
Humphrey's (D.) Yankee in England.
Hunter and the Squatter, The.
Hunter's (J.) Hallamshire Glossary. London,
1829.
Hyde Park Journal.
P.P., 1888.
Indianapolis Journal. P.P., 1888.
Sentinel. P.P., 1888.
International Review, The.
Irving's (Washington) Works, 1807-1859.
Irving's Tour on the Prairies.
Irwin's (Russell) Poems.
Jackson's (G. F.) Shropshire Word Book, a
Glossary of Archaic and Provincial Words.
London and Bungay, 1879.
Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the
Scottish Language. 1808.
Jenning's (J. A.) Readings from American
Authors. Dublin, 1884.
Jones's (Major) Courtship.
Jonson's (Ben) Works. 1574-1637.
Journal of Agriculture.
Mo., 1888.
Kercheval's History of the Valley of Vir-
ginia.
Kimball's Was He Successful?
Kingston (Canada) Daily Whig. P.P., 1888.
Kington's New English.
Kip's (Bishop) Life of Thomas Pickering.
Knox's (J. S.) Devil of a Trip. London,
1888.
Kwang Ki Chaore's Dictionary of English
Phrases.
Lafayette Chronicle, The. P.P., 1888.
Lakeside Monthly, The.
P.P.
Lalor's Cyclopædia of Political Science.
Lanman's Summer in the Wilderness.
Laws of the Eastern States.
Legend of the American War.
Leisure Hour, The. P.P., London, 1877.
Leland's (C. G.) Hans Breitmann's Ballads,
1870.
Leslie's (Frank) Budget of Wit and Humor.
P.P.
Illustrated Paper. P.P.
Letters from Alabama.
Letters from the South.
Lewiston Journal, The.
P.P.
Library Journal, The. P.P., New York, 1888.
Lincoln Journal. P.P., 1888.
Lippincott's Magazine. P.P., Philadelphia, .
1888.
Littell's Living Age. P.P., Boston, 1870-1888.
Little Rock (Ark.) Democrat, The. P.P., 1888.
London (Ontario) Adventurer, The, P.P.,
1888.
London Quarterly, The. P.P.
Long Branch News. P.P., 1888.
Longfellow's Poetical Works. Born 1807;
died 1882.
Long's Dictionary of the Isle of Wight,
Newport, I.W., 1886.
Longstreet's (Judge) Georgia Scenes.
Louisiana Press.
P.P.
Louisville Courier Journal, The. P.P.
Lowell's (J. Russell) Works, 1841-1888.
Lynch Law in the Sucker State.
Mackay's (Dr. Chas.) Dictionary of Low-
land Scotch. London, 1888.
New Light on Obscure Phrases in
Shakespeare.
Magazine of American History. P.P., New
York, 1888.
Major Downing's Letters.
Manhattan Athletic Club Chronicle. P.P.,
1888.
Massachusetts' Mercury, The.
Mather's (W.) Literary Style.
Mayo's (W. S.) Kaloolah.
McCarthy's (Justin) History of Our Own
Times. London, 1878-1880.
McClintock's Tales.
McClure's Rocky Mountains.
Medbury's Men and Mysteries of Wall
Street, Boston, 1870.
P.P., St. Louis,
Melville's (Hy.) Whaling Cruise.
1883.
Journal of American Folk-Lorc.
Judge. P.P., New York, 1888.
Kansas City Advertiser. P.P., 1888.
Kendall's Santa Fé Expedition.
Kennedy's (J. P.) Swallow Barn.
Memorial of George Bradburn.
Boston,
Merchant Traveller, The. F.F., Chicago,
1888.
Mill's (Henry) Dimes and Dollars,
Authorities and References.
Minneapolis Tribune. P.P., 1888.
Mississippi Valley Lumberman.
neapolis, 1888.
Missouri Republican. P.P., 1888.
Mobile Register. P.P., 1888.
P.P., Min-
Montreal (Canada) Gazette. P.P., 1888.
Morris's Monuments of Ancient America.
Murray's New English Dictionary. London
(in progress).
Murray's (C. A.) Prairie Rose.
My Opinion and Betsy Bobbett's.
Nantucket Inquirer. P.P., 1888.
Nasby's (Petroleum V.) Works.
Nashville American. P.p., 1888.
Nation. P.P., New York, passim.
National Intelligencer, The.
National Police Gazette. P.P., 1888.
Neal's (J. C.) Charcoal Sketches.
Nebraska State Journal. P.P., 1888.
Negro Ballads.
Negro Melodies.
Nevada City Journal, The. P.P., 1888.
Press, The. P.P., 1888.
Newark Advertiser, The. P.P., 1888.
New Orleans Picayune. P.P., 1888.
Times Democrat. P.P. 1888.
Newport Journal. P.P., 1888.
New Princetown Review.
New York Clipper. P.P., 1888.
Commercial Advertiser.
P.P., 1888.
Courier and Enquirer. P.P., 1888.
Despatch. P.P., 1888.
Evening Post. P.P., 1888.
Evening Press.
P.P., 1888.
Examiner. P.P., 1888.
Herald. P.P., 1888.
Mail and Express. P.P., 1888.
Mercury. P.P., 1888.
Morning Journal. P.P., 1888.
Slang Dictionary.
New York, 1886.*
Spirit of the Times. P.P., 1888.
Sun. P.P., 1888.
Sunday Democrat.
P.P., 1888.
Sunday Times. P.P., 1888.
Telegram. P.P, 1888.
Times. P.P., 1888.
Tribune. P.P., 1888.
Weekly. P.P., 1888.
Weekly Times. P.P., 1888.
World. P.P., 1888.
Nordhoff's California.
Norristown Herald. г.P., 1888.
North American Review. P.P., New York,
1888.
North-Western Chronicle. P.P., St. Paul,
Minn., 1888.
Norton's (Chas.) Political Americanisms
in Magazine of American History. P.P.,
New York.*
Norwich (Connecticut) Bulletin.
Nosdal's (J. H. and Milner) Glossary of the
Lancashire Dialect. London, 1875.
Notes and Queries. P.P., London, from
commencement.*
Nye (Bill) in New York World.
Oddities of Southern Life.
O'Flannagan's Lives of the Lord Chan-
cellors of Ireland.
Olmsted's Texas.
Omaha World. P.P., 1888.
Orange Journal. P.P.
Overland Monthly. P.P., passim.
Owosso (Michigan) Press.
P.P.
xix
Pall Mall Gazette. P.r.,
P.P., London, 1888.
Patterson's (W. H.) Glossary of Words in
Use in Antrim and Down. London, 1880.
Peabody Reporter, The.
P.P.
Peacock's (Ed.) Glossary of Words of the
Wapentakes of Mauley and Corrinham,
Lincolnshire. London, 1877.
Pensacola Commercial. P.P.
Philadelphia Enquirer. P.P., 1888.
Evening Bulletin. P.P., 1888.
Ledger. P.P., 1888.
News. P.P., 1888.
Press. P.P., 1838.
Times. P.P., 1888.
Phillips-Woolley's Trottings of a Tender-
foot.
Pickering's Vocabulary of Words. and
Phrases, Supposed Peculiar to U.S.A.,
Boston, 1816.*
Picket Guard, The. (Song.)
Pickings from the Picayune.
Pierpont's (John) Works.
Pinkerton's Molly Maguires and Detectives.
New York, 1882.
Pittsburg Bulletin. P.P., 1888.
Commercial Advertizer. P.P., 1888.
Despatch. P.P., 1888.
Times. P.P., 1888.
Placer Herald.
Pollard's (E. A.) Southern Scenery,
Poor Richard's Almanac.
Popular Science Monthly. P.P., New York,
1888.
Portland Oregonian, The.
Portland (Maine) Transcript. P.P., 1888.
Proctor's (R. A.) Notes on Americanisms
in Knowledge, P.P., London, 1887-1888.*
Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, The.
P.P., 1888.
Press. P.P., 1888.
Puck. P.P., New York, 1888.
Putnam's Magazine. P.P., passim.
Record of the Rebellion.
Rahway Advocate, The.
Ray's (John) Collection of English Words
not Generally Used; Second Edition,
Augmented. London, 1691.
Reed's (Thurlow) Memoirs.
Reid's (Captain Mayne) Novels. 1849-1877.
Reports of the Pacific Railroad.
Rich Hill Review, The.
Ride with Kit Carson, A.
P.P.
Rive's (Miss) The Quick and the Dead.
Robb's Squatter Life.
Robert's (E.) With the Invaders.
Robinson's (C. Clough) Glossary of Words of
Mid-Shropshire. "London, 1876.
Robinson's (F. K.) Glossary of Whitby.
London, 1876.
Rocky Mountain News. P.P., Denver, 1888.
Roosevelt's Ranch Life and the Hunting
Trail. London, 1888.*
Royal Masonic Cyclopædia. London, 1877.
XX
Rural Register, The.
Authorities and References.
Ruxton's Life in the Far West. London,
1849.
Sala's (G. A.) Gaslight and Daylight.
Sam Slick's (Judge Halliburton) Works,
passim.
San Francisco Chronicle. P.P., 1888.
News Letter. P.P., 1888.
Weekly Bulletin. P.P., 1888.
Weekly Examiner. P.P., 1888.
Santa Ana Blade, The. P.P., 1887.
Santa Fé Democrat, The. P.P., 1807.
Savannah Morning News. P.P., 1888.
Scribner's Magazine. P.P., passim.
Shakespeare's Dramatic Works, 1564-1616.
Silverland.
Simms' (W. C.) Last Wager.
Simpson's (Sir Geo.) Overland Journey.
Slang Dictionary, The, Etymological, Histori-
cal, and Anecdotal. London, 1888.
Solid Muldoon, The (Ouray, Colo.).
1888.
Somerville Journal, The. P.P., 1888.
P.P.,
Songs of the Biennial Jubilee, Yale College.
South Carolina Gazette, The. P.P.
Southern Life.
Southern Literary Messenger. P.P.
Southern Review, The.
P.P.
Southern Sketches.
Springfield Republican. P.P., 1888.
St. Louis Globe Democrat.
P.P., 1888.
Post Despatch. P.P., 1888.
Times Democrat. P.P., 1888.
S. Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer Press.
P.P., 1888.
Stanley's (Henry M.) How I Found Living-
stone.
Stockton (Cal.) Mail. P.P., 1888.
Stowe's (Mrs. Harriet Beecher) Dred.
Stray Yankee in Texas, A.
Sun, The. P.P., New York, 1888.
Superior Inter-Ocean. P.P., 1888.
Talmage's (De Witt) Sermons.
Tenner's (Armin) Deutsch-Amerikanisches.
Boston, 1884.*
Texas Siftings. P.P., London, 1888.
Thorpe's Mysteries of the Backwoods.
Thorp's Big Bear of Arkansas.
Tid Bits. P.P., New York, 1888.
Toledo (Ohio) Blade. P.P., 1888.
Traits of American Humor.
Troy Daily Times. P.P., 1888.
Tussaloosa News.
P.P., 1888.
Twain's (Mark) Humorous Works, passim.*
United States Exploring Expedition. Phila-
delphia.
Virginia (Nevada) City Chronicle.
1888.
Enterprise. P.P., 1888.
Vulgarisms and Other Errors.
P.P.,
Walker's (J. B.) Experiences of Pioneer
Life.
Walt Whitman's Diary.
Ward's (Artemus) Humorous Writings,
passim.
Washington Critic. P.P., 1888.
Daily Post. P.P., 1888.
Patriot. P.P., 1888.
Post. P.P., 1888.
(Pa.) Review. P.P., 1888.
Walterson's (H.) Oddities in Southern Life.
Boston, 1883.
Weaverville Weekly Trinity Journal. P.P.,
1888.
Webster's Universal Pronouncing and De-
fining Dictionary of the English Lan-
guage.
Weekly Trinity Journal. P.P., 1888.
West Point Academy, Official Reports of,
passim.
Western Clearings.
Magazine, The. P.P.
Monthly, The.
Pulpit, The. P.P.
P.P.
Rural. P.P., Chicago, 1888.
Sketches.
Watchman, The. P.P.
White's (Richard Grant) Every Day Eng-
lish.*
Words and Their Uses.*
Whittier's (Jas. Greenleaf) Poetical Works.
1881-88.
Widow Bagley's Husband.
Widow Bedott Papers.
Wilbraham's (R.) Glossary of the Cheshire
Dialect. London, 1820.
Williams (H. T.) Pacific Tourist.
William's View of East Florida.
Winter in Canada, A.
Wood's (O. E.) West Point Scrap Book.
Worcester's Universal and Critical Dic-
tionary of the English Language.
World. P.P., New York, 1888.
Wright's (Tho.) Dictionary of Obsolete and
Provincial English.
Yale Literary Magazine, The.
Yankee in a Planter's House, A.



form A No. 1,
No. 1 AND NO MISTAKE.
-Though 41 is not
strictly an Ameri-
canism, some of its
variants come within
the category; as, for
example, A No. 1,
and its intensified
and no mistake. The
origin of the phrase is well known
-the use of the mark at Lloyd's
to signify that a vessel is ranked in
the first class as regards hull,
fittings, and stores has led to the
expression being employed to denote
excellence in men and things gene-
rally.
The
In due time the answer came back.
broker's standing in his native city was A
NO. I AND NO MISTAKE, and all the horses,
houses, and the rest were tangible, taxable
properties. He proposed-she accepted
him.-Texas Siftings, September 15, 1888.
'You haven't got any first-class A NO. I
good apples, have you?' asked a would-be
customer of his grocer. 'No, I haven't. I
make it a rule never to keep any first-class
A NO. I goods of any kind.' Well, that's
a queer way to do business.' 'It isn't half
so queer a way to do business as it is to tell
a man what he hasn't got and then ask him
all about it.' 'Send over a peck of the
best apples you have.'-Hartford Post.
AARON'S BAND.-A Masonic degree,
fabricated by Joseph Cerneau at
New York, and conferred by an
independent body. It was censured
and suppressed by the Royal Arch
Chapter of New York State in
1825.-See CERNEAN RITE.
ABBREVIATIONS.-Americans, as a rule,
employ abbreviations to an extent
unknown in Europe. Life, they
say, is short and the pace is quick;
brevity, therefore, is not only the
soul of wit, but the essence of
business capacity as well. This
trait of the American character is
discernible in every department of
the national life and thought-even
slang being curtailed at times, as
in B.T.I. (a big thing on ice) and
P.D.Q., an injunction more forcible
than polite, et multis aliis. The
following are the principal abbre-
viations in use in the United States,
other than those common to both
England and America. The list is
given in alphabetical order, and
the figure in parentheses after each
example refer it to one or other of
the following classes.
1. THE GOVERNMENT, ARMY AND
NAVY.
2. STATUTORY AND LEGAL.
3. GEOGRAPHICAL.
4. SCIENTIFIC, LITERARY,
MEDICAL.
AND
5. BUSINESS, WEIGHTS ANd Mea-
SURES.
6. SOCIETIES AND THEIR OFFICERS.
7. RELIGIOUS.
Abb. (2) Abbott's U.S. Circuit and District
Court Reports.-A.B.C.F.M. (7) American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis-
sions.-A.B.H.M.S. (7) American Baptist
Home Missionary Society.-A.B.M.U. (7)
American Baptist Missionary Union.-
A.B.P.S. (7) American Baptist Publication
Society.-A.B.S. (7) American Bible Society.
-A.C.A. (7) American Congregational Asso-
ciation. Acad. Nat. Sci. (4) Academy of
Natural Sciences.-A.C.U. (7) American Con-
gregational Union.-A.F.A.M. (6) Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons.-A.F.B.S. (7)
American and Foreign Bible Society.-
I
Abbreviations
--
Agl.
A.F C.U. (7) American and Foreign
Christian Union.-A.H.M.S. (7) Ameri-
can Home Missionary Society.
Dept. (1) Department of Agriculture.--
Agt. (5) Agent.—Ala. (3) Alabama. Alb.
(3) Albany.-A.M.A. (7) American Mis-
sionary Association.-Amer. Acad. (4) Ameri-
can Academy.-Amer. Ass. Adv. Sci. (4)
American Association for the Advancement
of Science.-Amer. Phil. Soc. (4) American
Philosophical Society.-Ann. (4) Annales,
Annals.-A.P. (7 Associate Presbyterian.-
A.P.A. (6) American Protestant Association.
-Ari. or Ariz. (3) Arizona.-Ark. (3) Arkan-
sas.-A.Q.M. (1) Assistant Quartermaster.-
A.Q.M.G. (1) Assistant Quartermaster-Gene-
ral.—A.R.P. (7) Associate Reformed Presby-
terian. A.S.S.U. (7) American Sunday
School Union.-A.T.S. (7) American Tract
Society. A.V. (7) Authorized Version.—
A.Y.M. (6) Ancient York Masons.-Balt, or
Balto. (3) Baltimore.-Bbl. or bbls. (5) barrel,
barrels.-Bdls. (5) bundles.-Bds. (5) bonds.
-Biss (2) Bissel's Circuit Court Reports.-
Bk.(5)bark-a vessel.-Blatch.(2)Blatchford's
Circuit Court Reports.-Bls. (5) bales.-Bost.
(3) Boston.-Br. (5) brig.-Bus. (5) bushel,
bushels.-Bx., bxs.(5) box, boxes.-C. or Cels.
(4) Celsius' scale for the thermometer.—
C., cts. (5) cent, cents-money.-Cal. (3) Cali-
fornia. Card. (7) Cardinal.-Ches. (3) Chesa-
peake.--Chic. (3) Chicago.-Cin. (3) Cincin-
nati.-C.J. (2) Chief Justice.-Ch. Clk. (1)
Chief Clerk.-Clk. (2) Clerk.-C.M. (7)
Congregatio Missionum (Lazarist Fathers).
Coad. (7) Coadjutor.-C.O.D. (5) Collect (or
Cash) on Delivery.-Colo. (3) Colorado.—
Com. (1) Commodore.-Com. & Nav. (1)
Commerce and Navigation.-Cong. (1) Con-
gress.-Conn. or Ct. (3) Connecticut.-C. P.
or C. Pass. (7) Congregatio Passionis (Pas-
sionist Father).-C.P.S. (7) Congregational
Publishing Society.-Cs. (5) Cases.-C.SS.R.
(7) Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris
(Redemptorist Fathers).-C.T.A.U.(6) Catho-
lic Total Abstinence Union.-Ctl., ctls., (5)
cental, centals, weight of one hundred
pounds, used authoritatively in California
for grain. Cur. (5) currency.-Curt. (2)
Curtis's Supreme Court Reports.-Cush. (2)
Cushing's Massachusetts Reports.-Cwt. (5)
hundredweight. (In the United States
Custom Houses a hundredweight is 112
pounds, in ordinary business transactions,
in the United States, it is 100 pounds.)—
Dak. (3) Dakota.-Dall. (2) Dallas's Penn-
sylvania Reports.-D.C. or. Dist. Col. (3)
District of Columbia.-D.D.S. (4) Doctor of
Dental Surgery.-Del. (3) Delaware.-
D.F.M.S. (7) Domestic and Foreign Mis-
sionary Society (of the P.E. church).-Dill. (2)
Dillon's Reports.-Dio. (7) Diocese.-Dis.
(7) Discipline.-Dist. (1) District.-Div. (1)
Division.-Doc. (1) Document.-E.L. (7)
Evangelical Lutheran.-Eng. Dept. (1)
Department of Engineers.-Ex. Doc. (1)
Executive Document.-F.B. (7) Free
2
Abbreviations
A
(3)
Baptist. Fla. (3) Florida. F.M. (7)
Foreign Missions. F.W.B. (7) Freewill
Baptist. Ga. (3) Georgia. Galv. (3)
Galveston.-G.A.R. (6) Grand Army of
the Republic.-H.M. (7) Home Mission.-
How. (2) Howard's United States Supreme
Court Reports.-H.R. (1) House of Repre-
sentatives.-H.Y.M.A. (7) Hebrew Young
Men's Association.-Ia. (3) Iowa.-Id. (3)
Idaho.-Ill. (3) Illinois.-Ind. (3) Indiana.
Ind. Ter. (3) Indian Territory.-Int. Dept.
(1) Department of the Interior.-Int. Rev.
(1) Internal Revenue.-I.O.O.F. (6) Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows.-I.O.R.M. (6)
Improved Order of Red Men.-J. (2) Justice
or Judge. Kan. or Kans. (3) Kansas.-Kgs.
(5) kegs.-K. of P. (6) Knights of Pythias.-
Ky. (3) Kentucky.-La. (3) Louisiana.-L.I.
(3) Long Island.-Mass. (3) Massachusetts.-
M.C. (1) Member of Congress.-Md. (3)
Maryland.-M.E. (7) Methodist Episcopal.
Me. (3) Maine.-Mex. (3) Mexico.-Mich. (3)
Michigan. Minn. (3) Minnesota.-Miss. (3)
Mississippi.-Mo. (4) Missouri.-Mon. or
Mont. (3) Montana.-M.P. (7) Methodist
Protestant.-N.A. (3) North America.-N.B.
(3) New Brunswick.-N.C. (3) North Caro-
lina.-N.E. (3) New England.-Neb. (3)
Nebraska. Nev. (3) Nevada.-N.H.
New Hampshire.-N.J. (3) New Jersey.-
N.M. or N. Mex. (3) New Mexico.-N.O. (3)
New Orleans.-n.o.p. (4) Not otherwise
provided for.-N.S. (3) Nova Scotia.-n.s.
(5) Not specified.-N.S. (7) New School or
New Side. - N.V. (7) New Version.-
N.W.E.C. (7) North-western Education
Commission.-N.Y. (3) New York.-O. (3)
Ohio.-ol. (4) oleum, oil.-O.P. (7) Ordinis
Prædicatorum (Dominican Friar).-Or. or
Oreg. (3) Oregon.-O.S. (7) Old School or
Old Side.-O.S.B. (7) Ordinis Sancti Bene-
dicti (Benedictine Friar).-O.S.F. (7)Ordinis
Sancti Francisci (Franciscan Friar).-
O.U.A.M. (6) Order of United American
Mechanics.-Pa. or Penn. or Penna. (3)
Pennsylvania.-P.B. (7) Primitive Baptist.-
P.E. (7) Protestant Episcopal.-P.E.I. (3)
Prince Edward Island.-Pet. (2) Peter's
Reports United States Circuit Court.-
Ph. D. (4) Doctor of Philosophy.-Phila. or
Phil. (3) Philadelphia. P.R. (3) Porto Rico.
Pres. (7) Presbyterian.-R.E. (7) Reformed
Episcopal.-Rev. Stat. (2) Revised Statutes.
—R.I. (3) Rhode Island.-R.P. (7) Reformed
Presbyterian.-R.R. (5) Railroad.-S.B.C. (7)
Southern Baptist Convention.-S.C.
South Carolina.-Sen. Doc. (1) Senate
Document.-S.I.M. (7) Society for the In-
crease of the Ministry (P.É. Church).--
S.P.R.L. (7) Society for the Promotion of
Religion and Learning (P.E. Church).-S.S.
(7) Sunday School.-SS. (7) Saints.- S.T.
(6) Sons of Temperance.-S.T.B. (7) Bachelor
of Sacred Theology.-S.T.D. (7) Doctor of
Sacred Theology.-Sum. (2) Sumner's Re-
ports United States Circuit Court.-T.A.B.
(6) Total Abstinence Brotherhood.—Tab. (4)
(3)
Abergoins
(7)
Table, tabular statement.-Tern. (3) Ten-
nessee.-Tex. (3) Texas. -t.f. (5) till forbid;
printer's mark on advertisements -Tp. (3)
township.-U.B. (7) United Brethren.-
U.S.A. (1) United States of America, United
States Army.-U.S.N. (1) United States
Navy.-U.S.S. (1) United States Senate.-
U.S.S. (1) United States Steamship (of war).
-Va. (3) Virginia.-Vt. (3) Vermont.-Wall.
(2) Wallace's Supreme Court Reports.
Wash. (3) Washington. W.B.M.
Women's Board of Missions.-W.B.M.I. (7)
Women's Board of Missions of the Interior.
-W.C.A. (7) Women's Christian Association.
W.C.T.U. (7) Women's Christian Tem-
Union. Wheat. (2) Wheaton's
Supreme Court Reports.-W.H.M.A. (7)
Women's Home Missionary Association.-
Wisc. (3) Wisconsin.-Wood. (2) Woodbury
and Minot's United States Circuit Court
Reports.-W.T. (3) Washington Territory.-
W. Va. (3) West Virginia.-Wy. Ter. (3)
Wyoming Territory.-X. (7) xpioróg Christ.
Y.M.C.U. (7) Young Men's Christian
Union.
perance
ABERGOINS,
ABROGANS. Illiteracies
for "aborigines," sometimes heard
in the Western States. Both forms
are used interchangeably for the
orthodox word. See ABORIGINAL.
any
A BOARD. TO GO or GET ABOARD.
-The manner in which Ameri-
cans everywhere apply purely
nautical phraseology to the inci-
dents of land-travel strikes the
English ear as somewhat curious.
To go aboard a ship or
floating craft is good enough
English, but when railway-guards,
stage-drivers, coachmen, and cab-
men urge passengers ALL ABOARD!
the perversion of language is
apparent. Its use, however, is
universal.
About 9 o'clock last night, a Pacific
steam laundry delivery wagon was damaged
about fifty dollars by coming into forcible
contact with Car No. 18 of the Lindell
Railway Blue line. Several windows in the
car were broken, and one of the sides was
shivered, giving the passengers on BOARD a
fright. Nobody was injured.—The Canadian
American, 1888.
ABOLITIONIST. With this word widely
divergent meanings are associated
3
About East
in different parts of the country.
In the North an Abolitionist is
simply one who favors or favored
the abolition of slavery, and the
name is in itself honorable. In the
South it is a synonym for all that
is contemptible, mean, and dis-
honest; this in addition to its true
derivative signification as under-
stood at the North. Many an
affray has arisen in consequence of
this divergence of meaning and the
subsequent misunderstandings. The
history of abolition is co-extensive
with that of the United States, the
anti-slavery agitation having begun
before the Revolution, while Ver-
mont abolished slavery within her
borders in 1777-- -To ABOLI-
TIONIZE had its rise at the time
of the revolt of the Southern
States, and simply indicates the
process of conversion to the prin-
the
ciples of
Abolitionists.
ABOLITIONDOM was the term by
which the Northern and Anti-
Slavery States were known to, and
spoken of by the Confederates.
Honest Ingun! I will. People would
call me a low down AB'LITIONIST and
despise me for keeping mum-but that don't
make no difference. I ain't agoing to tell.
-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 67.
this
ABORIGINAL. -A perverted meaning
is sometimes attached to
word, as e.g., when used to signify
original."
"
That is an ABORIGINAL idea;
I never heard it before.
-Letters from the South.
It is also employed instead of
"Indian."
Bolling Robertson, equally a descendant
of Pocahontas, had the Indian eye and
the whole cast of his countenance was
ABORIGINAL.-Ibid.
ABOUT EAST.-To the frontiersman
or pioneer, the Eastern or New
England States are typical of
Absquatulate
all that he cherishes most and
loves best. The vicissitudes of his
rough Western life, the toil and
hardships he has undergone while
battling with nature and building
up a new habitation far from the
old homestead, all predispose
him to turn with longing eyes
and undying, though quaintly ex-
aggerated love, to the East-the
home of his fathers. A famous
Yankee character (Major Jack
Downing) makes use of the expres-
sion that he would "Go EAST of
sunrise anyday to see sich a place."
Everybody and everything con-
nected with the East, i.e., his
native land, is commendable. To
his mind they cannot be surpassed
-hence the things he would hold
up to admiration he says are about
East, i.e., "about right.
"about right." Indeed,
it is surprising what a strong hold
this idea has upon the minds of
men. Many a familiar phrase
recalls the old times and the old
folks to memory, which, in this
respect, is evergreen. They talk of
GOING DOWN EAST, that is, to
New England, while the DOWN-
EASTER is neither more nor less
than the pure and veritable Yankee.
In no part of America (Iowa and Minne-
sota) is a purer English spoken. The
native of Indiana finds when settled beside
the Yankee, that he must drop some of his
'Hoosierisms,' while the accent and idiom.
brought from DOWN EAST are insensibly
modified till the children of both com-
promise on the written language. — J. H.
Beadle's Western Wilds, 1878.
ABSQUATULATE, also ABSQUOTILATE.-
To run away; to decamp; with the
more or less forcible idea of
absconding in disgrace. A fac-
titious word of American origin
and jocular use, perhaps from
Latin ab and American squat.
was first used by Mr. Hackett as
Nimrod Wildfire, a Kentucky
character in a play called "The
Kentuckian," by
by
Bernard, pro-
It
4
Accommodate
duced in 1833. It is now less often
heard than formerly, having been
replaced in some degree by the
word SKEDADDLE (q.v.).
ACADEMY.-A term grandiloquently
applied even to the most insignifi-
cant village school. A writer in
Putnam's Magazine sarcastically
remarks that "schools no longer
exist in the towns and villages;
academies and colleges supplant
them."
"
ACADIAN. Sometimes corrupted into
CAJEN," a native or inhabitant
of ACADIA or Nova Scotia. ACADIA
was the old French name for
Nova Scotia, that province being
called after the river Shuben-
acadie; the change of name to Nova
Scotia, literally, New Scotland,
took place in 1621.
The native Louisianian, descendant of
the early French settler, who called him-
self a Creole,' and the ACADIAN, more
universally known, through a corruption of
his name, as the CAJEN. Hallberger's
Illustrated Magazine, 1878, p. 577.
ACCEPTED. The betrothed. Though
generally reckoned an Ameri-
canism this word is of some-
what doubtful classification. At
all events it is as frequently heard
in England as in the States.
To cut the story short the whole matter
was pleasantly settled and Hiram estab-
lished the ACCEPTED of Miss Tenant.-
Kimball's Was he Successful?
ACCOMMODATE, TO.
To. Although the
phrase "Accommodation for man
and beast," is generally current
in England as well as in the States,
the verb to accommodate is used
in America in a way that to
English ears sounds novel; as, for
example, when a traveller inquir-
ing for an hotel is informed that
there are none, but that "so and
SO accommodates."- -ACCOMMODA-
Å
Account
TION TRAIN.—A slow train stopping
at all stations.
It was a midsummer day, and the weather
was delightful. The train was neither an
express nor an ACCOMMODATION, but one
which stopped at the principal stations on
the route.-American Yachtsman, 1888.
ACCOUNT. To speak of men or
things as of no account is not
unusual amongst English writers.
In the Southern and Western
States, however, the expression
is used adjectively in a somewhat
odd and distinctively American
manner; as,
as, for example, when
a farm, a horse, or a journal is
said to be a no account farm, a no
account horse, etc., the meaning
being that they are worthless or of
little value.
What surprises me too, more than ever,
is that my wife would have anything to do
with this fellow Harding. He is a NO ACCOUNT
fellow who scarcely ever is employed, and I
don't believe could earn ten dollars a week.
-Weekly Examiner (San Francisco), March
22, 1888.
ACEQUIA. An irrigating ditch, the
same kind of water canal as may
be seen in the central parts and
elevated plateaus of old Spain.
Brought by Spanish Colonists and
used in Texas and New Mexico.
The spelling of the word is some-
times varied-Azequia, ZeqUIA.
As to the canals and ACEQUIAS, he has
surveyed on this plain 375 miles of them, and
the end is not yet. One of them is seventy-
nine miles long and thirty-eight feet wide
for a long distance from its head. They, as
well as the reservoirs, fire-places (or basins)
and the granaries are all lined with a
greyish-white cement resembling chalk,
both in appearance and in consistency.-
Missouri Republican, April 8, 1888.
ACROSS LOTS.-TO GO ACROSS LOTS is
to proceed by the shortest route;
similarly to do anything in the
most expeditious manner. The
phrase had its rise in the natural
tendency of settlers in thinly popu-
5
Adam and Eve
lated districts to shorten the dis-
tance from point to
ing the road and
vacant lots (q.v.).
point by leav-
striking across
'I didn't see Crosby go by, did you?'
'He'd have had to foot it by the path
'CROSS-LOTS,' replied Ezra, gravely, from
the doorstep.-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
Brigham Young familiarized
its idiomatic use in the now noto-
riously historic saying attributed to
that "
Saint ""We'll send them
(the Gentiles) to hell across lots."
ACKRUFFS.-An old slang expression
for river thieves.
AD.-An abbreviation of "adver-
tisement. " This is another
Americanism by birth which
has been generally adopted on
both sides of the Atlantic. Thus
the country editor's wife—
editor,
reads the ADS with the
Just to find what each has paid.
'But the column AD. of the
jeweller, there,'
So he says, and the harness, and
human hair,
Must be taken out in trade!'
She wears the corsets he gets for
ADS.,
And rattles his sewing machine;
She uses the butter, and cups,
and things,
The country subscriber so faith-
fully brings,
With a cheerfulness
seen.
seldom
ADAM AND EVE (Aplectrum hyemale).-
The putty root; an orchis. Many
plants have been the recipients of
this popular name, and it is applied
to A. hyemale because its two
tuberous roots co-exist although of
different year's growths, the one
nourishing the existing plant, the
other, the succeeding one. Cf. art,
Addition
Adam and Eve in Britten and Hol-
land's English Plant Names.
ADDITION, DIVISION, AND SILENCE!-A
Philadelphia expression, which, for
a time, had a vogue as a catch phrase.
ADDRESSEE. This new word, "ad-
dressee," has been popularised in
the post office department. The
post office clerks have constantly
to refer to persons to whom letters,
papers, etc., are addressed, and
it being altogether too tedious to
keep writing, The person to
whom the letter is addressed,"
"The person to whom the paper is
addressed," and so on, they coined
the word addressee. It is such a
convenient word, that it is coming
into general use, and even Dr.
Murray has recognized it. De Quin-
cey used it as far back as 1858.
ADJECTIVE JERKER. A term of deri-
sion applied, like INK-SLINGER, to
those who write for the press. The
special allusion in the present case
is doubtless to the want of dis-
crimination which young writers,
and reporters on low-class papers,
often exhibit in the use of a plethora
of adjectives to qualify a simple
statement of fact.
Genevieve spent four hours last night in
constructing a three-line letter, which she
sent to an ADJECTIVE JERKER on a society
weekly, and in which she said she would
spend the summer months in the Rocky
Mountains.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, Apríl
29, 1888.
ADMIRATION,
SIGN OF (Masonic).-
Employed in the Most Excellent
Master's degree, the sixth of the
new American Rite. It refers to
the legend of the visit of Balkis,
Queen of Sheba, to Solomon.
ADMIRE, TO. (1) Common in New
England in the sense of to be
affected by wonder or surprise;
and also- (2) as expressive of
6
Advanced Female
keen desire, e.g., "I should admire
to be at the picnic next week." In
the former sense it is used by
Beaumont and Fletcher, Shake-
speare, Milton, Pepys, and other
old writers, but it is now rarely
heard in England.
They were under written contract.
but they did not care anything for that.
They said they would ADMIRE to see a
'Gentile' force a Mormon to fulfil a losing
contract in Utah! Mark Twain's
Roughing It.
—
ADOBIE, ADOBE, 'DOBIE.-Explained by
quotation. Of Mexican - Spanish
origin.
The station buildings were long, low
huts, made of sun-dried, mud-coloured
bricks, laid up without mortar (ADOBES, the
Spaniards call these bricks, and Americans
shorten it to 'DOBIES). Mark Twain's
Roughing It.
ADULTERER.-This word is, in the
States, not solely applied, as in
England, to a violator of the
marriage vows; it is also used,
instead of adulterator, to signify
the person who adulterates or
debases. In this sense it has long
been obsolete in England.
ADVANCE BACKWARD, TO.-A rather
odd way of expressing retrogres-
sion.
The advice given to his company by a
raw Yankee captain TO ADVANCE BACKWARD
seems paralleled in the Chicago Tribune of
the 18th inst.-Chicago Inter-Ocean, Jan. 23
1888.
ADVANCED FEMALE-A sarcastic allu-
sion to the " women's righters," as
they are slangily called. The nick-
name was introduced at the com-
mencement of the agitation in
favour of woman suffrage.
One of the oddest instances of the short-
sightedness of the ADVANCED FEMALE to
the interest of her own cause was given in
the petition recently offered to our State
Legislature.-New York Tribune, 1888.
Adventism
ADVENTISM and ADVENTIST or, more
commonly, MILLERISM and MIL-
LERITE (q.v.).
ADVISEMENT.-TO HAVE UNDER AD-
VISEMENT, i.e., under considera-
tion. Rarely heard in England,
but common in the States.
Chief Justice Waite, on being informed
that the matter wanted time to look up
certain records and precedents, said the
matter would be taken under ADVISEMENT.
-Missouri Republican, Feb. 11, 1883.
Judge Miles Beach has under ADVISE-
MENT a demurrer in a most remarkable
case. Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Feb.
23, 1888.
4
AFEARED.-Obsolete among people of
education in England, its place
having been taken by the modern
form afraid." It is still current in
the Southern States. A.S. fearan,
and Old English "to fear," used
transitively for "to frighten" or
terrify "-hence AFEARED, fright-
ened.
Though with his breath the hinges of the
world
Did crack, we should stand upright and
UNFEARED.
-Shakespeare.
'What wuz you lookin' over the cliff, fer?'
'Zeke Tucker. He's workin' fer me, an'
he's been gone all the mornin' arter my
claybank hoss. I'm AFEARD sumpin's hap-
pened.'-Scribner's Magazine, 1888.
AFFECTION, TO.-To have a liking for.
A very old form, and nearly, if not
quite obsolete in England.
Missus didn't AFFECTION Yankees much;
and Cunnucks she hated like poison, 'cause
they enticed off negroes.-Sam Slick's
Human Nature.
AFFINITY. A cant term in frequent
use amongst the so-called FREE-
LOVERS (q.v.). One's affinity is sup-
posed to be a person of the opposite
sex, for whom an attachment so
strong is felt that even if already
married, as more often than not is
the case, the husband will abandon
7
After Night
his legitimate wife, and vice versa,
in favour of the new attraction,
or affinity as he or she is called.
The argument is generally only
an excuse for unbridled sexual
license; indeed, it is inconceivable
that it could be otherwise, except
in a society of seraphs and arch-
angels.
AFORE.
Modernised to "before."
Afore is still current in the New
England States, but is now obsolete
in England as far as literature (ex-
cepting the Bible and Prayer Book)
and cultivated speech are con-
cerned. So also AFOREHAND.
AFRICANIZE, TO. Introduced by
Southern political writers, in the
sense of placing under negro
control." Since the extension of
the franchise to the blacks, the
colored vote in some of the Southern
States completely dominates the
white poll, and the term has con-
sequently obtained a very wide
AFRI-
and melancholy currency.-
CANIZATION, the act of placing
under negro
negro domination, is of
similar origin.
AFTERCLAP.-(I) Current in Pennsyl-
vania and the Western States to
signify an attempt to unjustly ex-
tort more in a bargain or agreement
than has been agreed upon.
His blamed AFTERCLAPS raised my rile,
and made me rip. I was na' goin' to stan'
that rush anyhow, as I had agreed afore to
pay fifty dollars for the trade. Overland
Monthly, 1880.
-(2) An unexpected after-effect;
Once
the fag-end of anything.
current in England, but very rarely
heard now, if at all.
AFTER
NIGHT. After sunset. A
local expression, says De Vere,
peculiar to Pennsylvania and some
of the Border States. In these
Agaze
localities "night" is very commonly
used for the hours of the afternoon,
and hence" Court will open again
after night," simply means after
sunset, as it is elsewhere ex-
pressed. This is probably a sur-
vival, since it is provincial in some
parts of England.
AGAZE.
Astonished; open - eyed.
Thieves' slang.
AGER.-A Southern corruption of
"ague."
-
He himself had been troubled with a
DUMB AGER since last Conference.-Brct
Haite's Luck of Roaring Camp, p. 166.
In the North "ague" (pronounced
as in plague) is corrupted into
AGUY and AGY, while in the West
the expression is FEVERNAGY (fever
and ague), also SHAKING Ague.
My host was indeed 'stuck up,'
doubled up, too, I should say. FEVERNAGER,
Arkansas swamps, and prairie sloughs had
done their appointed work on him, and he
was that perfect wreck, a 'thoroughly accli-
mated man.' He was, in local phrase,
'yaller behind the gills.'-7. H. Beadle's
Western Wilds.
We had built our cabin on a high divide,
far above the miasma of the swamps, but
the local disease that the natives call
FEVER'N'AGER had moved in when we did.
I, with the usual obstinacy of my sex,
refused to shake, but poor Tom! Every
other day he shook so that the mud 'chinkin'
all fell out from between the logs, and the
loose puncheons of the floor rattled as loudly
as the one pane of glass that formed our
window.-Texas Siftings, June 30, 1888.
AGONY.-TO PILE ON THE AGONY.-
To intensify a statement or relation
by exaggerated or bloodcurdling
details. Newspapers pile on the
agony when "writing up" murder,
divorce, and other sensations.
Common everywhere.
A-GREENING.-Growing, or becoming
green; the prefix A is an Anglo-
Saxon survival.
8
Air Line
The grass will soon be A-GREENING.-
Philadelphia Bulletin, Feb. 27, 1888.
Also used idiomatically, to
impose upon one's credulity.
1
'Haint Tom Grayson h-yer?' says Jake.
'No,' says Byfiel.' Somebody's been
A-GREENIN' on you, Jake; Tom hain't never
been h-yer,' says he.-Century Magazine.
the
AGUADIENTE.-Spanish for brandy,
and now applied to spirit distilled
from the red wine of Mexico. A
corruption of Aqua ardiente
Indian fire-water. The term is
applied to either rum, brandy, or
whiskey.
There are times in human affairs when
AGUADIENTE is of value; and this was one
of them. Under the stimulus Big Jim
revived and looked around with wonder at
the crowd.-Daily Inter-Ocean, 1888.
AGUR-FORTY. - The
medicine.
aquafortis
of
Your honour needn't say another word;
I knock under; this man's whiskey ain't
Red Eye, it ain't Chain Lightnin' either;
its regular AGUR-FORTY, and there isn't a
man living can stand a glass and keep his
senses.-New Orleans Picayune, June, 1888.
AIR-HOLE. A term applied to certain
parts of the St. Lawrence River,
which, even in the hardest winter,
do not freeze.
AIR LINE. TO TAKE THE AIR LINE.
To go direct, and by the
shortest route; idiomatically, to
avoid circumlocution.
The obese style once admired is now
disliked. Many old English authors had
too much rhetoric for our age. Of one thing
we are profoundly convicted, that we have
no time to spare for superfluities. An au-
thor must take the AIR-LINE or we will not
travel.St. Louis Globe Democrat, Jan. 24,
1888.
The origin of this expression is
to be found in the straight lines of
railway, without expensive detours
and grades, which, in the New
Airly
World, are rendered possible by
the vast expanses of unbroken
level. These lines of railway
are called Air Line Roads, or
STRAIGHT SHOOTS (q.v.). De Vere
remarks that since the number of
such roads has increased in the
more thickly settled parts of the
Union, the advantages of direct
lines between two great centres
over others which meander from
town to town have become very
manifest, and for a few years a
tendency to build such Air Lines
has agitated Legislatures, from
whom help is asked, and financial
circles in the States and abroad.
These lines not unfrequently run
for long distances by the side of
older lines.
Ask for tickets via Augusta or Atlanta and
the Piedmont AIR LINE.-Advertisement in the
Florida Times Union, Feb. 11, 1888.
AIRLY. A corruption of "early."
"
ALA. A contraction used in writing
and printing for ALABAMA. The
name of this State is derived
from a tribe of Indians who were
called Alibamons or Aliba-
mous," by the early French
settlers; the popular etymology,
therefore, which interprets it as
meaning Here we rest is erro-
neous.
"
ALABAMA QUESTION.-The
political
incident known as the Alabama
Question has become part of the
history both of this country and
America. The "Alabama was,
during the American War, built at
Birkenhead for the service of
the Confederates, manned with
English seamen, who were paid
with English money, and sailed
under the British flag. While
yet building the American
bassador entered a protest, and,
after long delay, an order was
am-
9
Albany Hemp
issued by the Government to
detain the ship. In the meantime
the "Alabama" had put to sea,
and had commenced a course of
depredation which resulted in the
complete paralysis of the whole
trade of the North. She was
finally run aground near Cher-
bourg by the United States man-
of-war " Kearsage." The United
States Government claimed an
indemnity from the English on the
ground of culpable negligence and
violation of belligerent rights, and
the matter being submitted to
arbitration, a tribunal meeting at
Geneva, England was declared
entirely responsible for the dam-
age inflicted upon Northern trade
by the "Alabama," and partly
responsible on similar grounds for
that caused by two other ships the
Florida and "Shenandoah."
£3,250,000 were awarded as dam-
ages, other cruisers being "excul-
pated."
ALAMEDA (Spanish).-A public road
bordered with trees; a boulevard.
Common in the South and West.
ALAMO (Populus monilifera). — The
name by which the COTTON-WOOD
TREE (q.v.) is known in Texas and
other formerly Spanish States.
ALBANY BEEF.-The popular name of
the flesh of the sturgeon. This, in
colour and taste, has some resem-
blance to beef, especially when cut
in steaks and grilled. Albany is a
town on the Hudson River as high
as which the fish in question is or
was to be caught in large numbers,
and, as a matter of course, conse-
quently formed a not inconsider-
able factor in the food supply of
the inhabitants-hence the term
Albany beef.
ALBANY
HEMP (Urtica canadensis).-
The Canada nettle. The fibre of
2
Albany Regency
the bark of this plant was at one
time largely used in Albany (N.Y.),
the manufacture of hemp-
hence its name.
in
It
ALBANY REGENCY.-So called from the
residence of its members at the
State capital of New York.
was an association of Democratic
politicians organised in 1820, and
including in its early membership
Martin Van Buren, Silas Wright,
John A. Dix, Dean Richmond,
Peter Cagger and many others.
It absolutely, though unofficially,
controlled the action of the Party
until 1854, when, its opponents
having learnt its methods, its
power was broken.
ALCOHOLISM.-Drunkenness, or the
state of being given to the excessive
use of strong drinks. Of American
origin, but included in Murray's
New English Dictionary.
ALCO-
A bartender died Monday afternoon at
the City Hospital from injuries to his head.
The perimit contained the word
HOLISM,' but this must have been an erro-
neous diagnosis.-St. Louis Globe Democrat,
Feb. 28, 1888.
ALDER WOMAN.-The invasion of
municipal and other public offices
by women has naturally resulted in
the fabrication of many new words,
of which alderwoman is one. Oska-
loosa, in Kansas, has recently made
a bold experiment and elected a
Town Council composed entirely
of women, its president being a
Mayoress, in place of the usual
Mayor.
The Oskaloosa (Kan.) City Council.
Chamber now has signs hung upon its walls
prohibiting the use of tobacco in any form.
The new ALDERWOMEN are now figuring on
an appropriation for tidies to cover the
backs of the benches.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
Feb. 14. 1888.
ALEWIFE (. ALEWIVES).-The com-
mon term along the New England
ΙΟ
Alfilaria
coast for two species of Clupeids,
of the genus or sub-genus Mesetta
-the M. vernalis and the M.
oestwalis anadromus fish of the
herring kind, the former being the
most plentiful, though, from various
causes, their number is much less
numerous than formerly. The Ale-
wife is much esteemed as a food
fish, and the United States'
Fisheries' Commission have re-
ported it as preferable for this
and economical purposes to the
herring, to which it is closely allied.
The name Alewife is supposed to be
a corruption of the Indian Aloofe,
though some derive it from the
French Alose-a shad. Also called
OLD-WIVES in Maryland and Vir-
ginia, and ALE WHAP (pl. Ale
whaps) and BUCK-EYES in Connec-
ticut.
On Saturday last the ALEWIVES began
running in the streams at the eastern end of
Great South Bay, and great numbers were
being taken for food in the little brooks
where they go to spawn. Men and boys
were dipping them up on most of the south
side streams. - Forest and Stream, May,
1888.
•
ALFALFA. A Spanish term for a plant
of the clover family naturalised in
the United States. It is otherwise
known as lucerne, or the English
sanfoin.
A. R. Earl, of Douglas City, has been on
Indian Creek lately, plowing up the ground,
and seeding it with ALFALFA, Everybody
in that section has had the ALFALFA FEVER.
As an instance of the great growth
•
·
ALFALFA,
of this species of clover, Mr. Earl told us
that Earl and Steinmuller have an orchard
at Douglas City, which is also planted with
The grass was cut every
five weeks, etc.
(Our ranchmen)
will find it greatly to their advantage to
plant it extensively, and use it as winter-feed
for stock.-Weekly Trinity Journal (Weaver-
ville), April 6, 1872.
ALFILARIA (Erodium cicutarium) Also
known as SrTORKSBILL, PIN-GRASS,
FILAREE, etc. A valuable forage
plant of the dry regions from
Alkali
Colarado and New Mexico to
Southern California, where it
makes its growth during the moist
winter season. It is not sown in
the eastern portion of the United
States, as there are better forage
plants for that part
part of the
country, and as when introduced
there it became a somewhat trou-
blesome weed. For the great
South-west, however, it has much
merit, and there is a large de-
mand for seed upon ranches, where
the grass supply has been di-
minished by stock. Prof. S. M.
Tracy, who has investigated the
forage plants of the arid regions of
the South-west during the past
season in the interest of the De-
partment, reports that Alfilaria is
highly prized wherever he has
been, and that people have made
frequent requests for seed in new
localities.
ALKALI DESERT, ALKALI LAND,
ALKALI
FLATS. Mark Twain, in Rough-
ing It, says the concentrated
hideousness of these tracts of
country common in Wyoming, Ne-
braska, and Montana shames the
diffused and diluted horrors of Sa-
hara. "For sixty-eight miles there
was but one break in it. The alkali
dust cut through our lips, it perse-
cuted our eyes, it eat through the
delicate membranes, and made our
noses bleed, and kept them bleed-
ing." Since that time the Union
Pacific Railroad has crossed these
arid plains, and although the dust.
is still a source of annoyance and
inconvenience to the traveller, yet
the face of the country is gradually
being changed from a howling wil-
derness into a fertile and blooming
garden. A western paper, quoted
by De Vere, says the alkali consists
of gypsum and the chlorate of po-
tassium and soda-a combination
in the highest degree fertilising,
when not in too great excess in the
II
Allapaca
soil. Wherever irrigation is prac-
ticable, the vegetable productions
of this region attain a size and per-
fection utterly unknown in the
Eastern States. The organic ele-
ments, moreover, are not capable of
being exhausted, as they ascend by
evaporation from the underlying
deposits. It is more than probable
that artesian wells may yet convert
a large part of these arid wastes
into fertile fields.
ALL ABOARD I- - With characteristic
smartness the railway
the railway guard or
conductor in the States will warn
passengers by "All aboard!" in place
of the English "Take your seats."
In many respects nautical phrase-
ology (with which Americans
were well acquainted long before
the introduction of railways), has
been transferred and applied to all
locomotion, whether by rail, omni-
bus, or other means. A man even
gets aboard his horse or mule.
'ALL ABOARD!'
It was in this peremptory manner that
the driver roused us in the early morning.
Dressing and breakfasting, in obedience to
the ALL ABOARD summons, we looked for the
caller of these words and found him playing
with a little child.
4
Where are your horses?' we asked.
'Durned if I know,' he smilingly re-
plied.-Portland Transcript, Feb. 15, 1888.
ALL ANY MORE.
"
A piece of jargon
signifying all gone."
Some-
times simply "all. The latter is
probably derived from the German
alle, which is familiarly used in the
sense of gone. Die Suppe ist alle
means
"the soup is (all) gone."
Thus the waiter at an hotel will
say, "The pies are all any more,
Sir," meaning that there are no
more.
ALLAPACA, ALPACA. - The corrupted
name of a well known cloth; com-
mon with traders.
All-a-setting
ALL-A-SETTING.-In good condition-
a term of barnyard origin. West-
ern in usage.
On the first good grass which they (oxen)
strike, they halt a few days, and allow the
teams to graze undisturbed, which makes
them ALL-A-SETTING again. Overland
Monthly.
A
ALL DAY.--Used to signify strength,
steadiness, and capacity for work.
Thus people speak of an all day
nigger," ie., a nigger (rarely found
it must be confessed) who is un-
tiring and vigilant in his work; an
all day horse, mule, or other beast
of burden, meaning a strong and
desirable beast.
"
-Bartlett
ALL-FIRED, ALL-FIRED LY.-
quotes this as a Puritanical corrup-
tion of hell-fired," and, in that
respect, a profane euphemistic
adjective. It carries with it the
meaning of "immense,' "" CXCCS-
sive," or 'inordinate" in general,
but, of course, the primary signifi-
cation of this corruption is perfectly
obvious.
'Did you ever have any other close calls
with grizzlies?' we asked.
You bet, stranger. One morning I
heard an ALL-FIRED Screaming and yelling
down below my hut in a deep hollow, and
so concluded I had caught something in one
of my traps. Slipping along cautiously to
sce what was up, I discovered that a bear
cub had accidently got into one of my traps
and was making a terrible fuss to get loose
again.'-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
ALLIGATOR.-The American crocodile.
From the Spanish El lagarto, which
by a series of corruptions has been
Anglicised in its present form. The
term alligator is applied to all the
saurians found in the New World,
some only of which are true
members of that genus. Now a
dictionary word. See Murray's
New English Dictionary for ex-
haustive etymology. ALLIGA-
TOR GAR.-A large pike-like fish
12
Allow
found in fresh waters. Adapted
by nature for purposes of offence
and defence, being capable of living
out of the water as well as in it.
Sir Charles Lyall describes him as
"a happy fellow who beats all
creation; he can hurt everything
and nothing can hurt him." Its
distinctive name is derived from
a resemblance to the alligator.
ALLIGATOR PEAR or APPLE (Laurus
persea gratissima).—A Negro corrup-
tion of AVOCADO PEAR (q.v.). An
edible pear-shaped product of the
tropics, very much esteemed on
account of its delicately-flavored
buttery or marrow-like pulp, which,
when perfectly ripe, is of the con-
sistency of butter. The taste for
this fruit is, generally speaking, an
acquired one. It is usually eaten
as dessert, with pepper and salt.
Also called the SUBALTERN'S or
the MIDSHIPMAN'S BUTTER.
ALLIGATOR TORTOISE (Chelydra ser-
pentina).-A marsh tortoise found in
Carolinian and other Southern
waters. Another popular name for
it is THE SNAPPING TURTLE.
ALLIGATOR WOOD (Guarca swartzii).
-A West Indian Tree.
ALLOTTEE.-One who receives an allot-
ment. This class of words during
late years has become increasing-
ly numerous, the form of termin-
ation being American in origin.
Many of the words have now
gained a permanent place in the
language, e.g., legatee, referee,
allottee, payee.
ALLOT UPON, TO.-To decide upon; to
have an intention. A New Eng-
land colloquialism.
Senator W. seems to have ALLOTTED UPON
a course that is hardly to be commended.-
Banner of Light (Boston).
ALLOW, TO. (1) To assert, declare, or
`make a statement. So used in the
All sorts of
Southern and Middle States, but
rarely elsewhere. The expression
seems to carry with it a force
hardly attributable to "said," its
nearest equivalent. It is obviously
a corruption of that meaning of to
allow, which is synonymous with
'to admit," "to acknowledge."
Mother is perfectly ridiculous; she
ALLOWED she'd surtch me if I didn't go
home, and she picked up a bit of brush. I
ups with another, and told her to come on.-
Putnam's Magazine, June, 1868.
(2) Used also as the equivalent
of the Eastern " guess" and the
Southern "reckon."
' Mr. Rife 'Lows ye'd better see if ye can't
settle it outside'n the law, day,' his oldest
son had said to him before he brought his
suit; 'he 'Lows that mebbe the comp'ny'll
give ye a place whar ye kin use yer arm
that's soun', an' whar ye won't be in no
danger no mo'.'-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
ALL SORTS OF.-First rate; excellent.
A phrase very common in the
South and West, and used in many
different ways. It carries with it
the idea of smartness and chic, as,
e.g., when applied to a woman, a
horse, or a building.
ALLSPICE (Eugenia pimenta).—The
Jamaica pepper or pimenta. The
dried peppercorn-like berries are
supposed to possess a mixed flavor
of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg-
hence the popular name.-
CARO-
LINA ALLSPICE (Calycanthus floridus).
A flowering shrub abundant in
Carolina, the bark and wood of
which have an aromatic flavor,
from which is derived its distinctive
name.
ALL'S QUIET ON THE POTOMAC.-A
period of undisturbed rest, quiet
enjoyment, or peaceful possession ;
a phrase dating from the Civil War,
when its freqent repetition in the
bulletins of the War Secretary
made it familiar to the public, who
13
Almighty
quickly appropriated it in a meta-
phorical sense. It has since formed
the refrain of many a song.
ALL QUIET ALONG THE POTOMAC, they say,
Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot on his beat as he walks to and fro,
By a rifleman hid in a thicket.
The Picket Guard.
ALL TO PIECES.-(1) Complete failure
or defeat- -(2) utterly; thorough-
ly. He fell all to pieces in his
running," i.e., he failed to do what
was expected of him. An instance
of a vulgarism falling into general
disuse in England, being preserved
as a colloquialism in America, and
gradually making its way again into
popular favor.
ALL TO SMASH.-An English provin-
cialism now more common in the
States than in the Mother Country.
It signifies a state of utter dilapi-
dation or complete discomfiture.
ALL TWO.-Both. A pleonastic negro
corruption.
ALMIGHTY. The use of long, high-
sounding words among the rough,
untutored backwoodsmen and
pioneers of the Great West, in
speaking of and describing the
simplest actions and most common-
place objects of every day life has
been very remarkable. This prac-
tice has gradually made its way
among the uneducated throughout
the States, and it is by no means
an uncommon occurrence to hear
a speculation described as an
almighty big venture or a keen
disappointment characterized as an
eternal shame and so forth. An
intensified meaning is also given to
the word, as e.g., when people talk
of a man playing almighty smash
with his prospects, or his driving
another into almighty shivers,
through ill treatment, or of a thing
Along
lasting till almighty crack, i.e., for
an interminable period.-See EVER-
LASTING.
'This is a rum world,' said the driver,
with a chuckle, as he drove up the street.
'And of all places in it New York is the
rummest. And hack-drivin' is the rummest
business, leadin' one into the rummest
secrets. Another passenger to the "Rookery."
I wonder whether the other boys gits as
many customers to that place as Luke
Hyatt? If they do it must be ALMIGHTY full
sometimes.' - New York Mercury, July 21,
1888.
same sense.
-ALMIGHTY DOLLAR-The wor-
ship of Mammon.
Ben Jonson
speaks of "almighty gold "in the
In its more modern
American use the phrase is trace-
able to Washington Irving. "The
almighty dollar, that great object
of universal devotion throughout
our land, seems to have no genuine
devotee in these peculiar (Creole)
villages."-W. Irving, Wolfert's
Roost, p. 40.
ALONG. TO GET ALONG.-An expres-
sion used in place of the form "to
get on
as more commonly heard
in England.
ALONSENEL (Cowania stansburiana).
A medicinal herb, much esteemed
for its astringent and other pro-
perties, especially in cases of
hæmorrhage. The name is Mexican,
and the plant is largely found in
the neighbourhood of Salt Lake.
"
ALTEMAL (Cant).—(1) All together,
as "Let's anchor altemal," i.e.,
"Let us come to a stop altogether.'
(2) The sum total of a bill or
story. -(3) An injunction to "cut
it short."
ALTER, TO.-To geld. Specially used
as regards animals in the Southern
States.
ALUMNI-SOCIETY OF ALUMNI.-As-
sociations of the graduates of a
14
Ambition
particular college for the promo-
tion of literature and good fellow-
ship, literally ALUMNI-those who
are being educated at a particular
college. The Society of Alumni of
William's College was the first
established (1821), but most of the
American Universities have asso-
ciations formed on the same basis.
ALUM
ROOT (Henchera__americana).
An astringent herb formerly much
used on account of its medicinal
properties. The term alum 10ɔt
scems, however, to be a popular
one and other roots of an astrin-
gent character bear the same name,
as e.g., Geranium maculatum.
AMALGAMATE, TO. - Primarily this
verb is only correctly used in
reference to the union of metals,
other substances and abstract ideas,
but in the States it is universally
used with regard to the admixture
of the black with the white race,
the corresponding noun AMALGA-
MATION being also similarly used.
AMAZONS, ORDER OF (Masonic).— A
system of Androgynous Masonry,
which for a time excited some
interest in South America during
the last century. It was attempted
to be introduced into the United
States in 1740, but did not answer.
AMBIA. A euphemism for the
tobacco juice produced by chewing.
Mainly used in the South and
West. Apparently a corruption of
"amber" (indeed it is more com-
monly spelled and pronounced
ambeer than otherwise)
pre-
sumably from its color being
similar to that of expectorated
saliva.
AMBITION. Ignorantly used in
Virginia and North Carolina for
spite or grudge. Thus one man
Ambitious
would accuse another of having
an ambition against him, i.e., a
grudge or ill-feeling.
AMBITIOUS.- -(1) Used in Georgia and
the West in the sense of full of
anger and rage as regards persons,
or untamed and unmanageable in
the case of animals. Thus an
ambitious man would signify one of
ungovernable temper; an ambitious
mule a beast full of vice and
generally refractory.- (2) In Mas-
sachusetts and Connecticut a much
milder meaning is conveyed by the
word, although still quite different
to its ordinary signification.
these States it is indicative of
energy, industry, and moral worth
as regards human beings, and is
descriptive of good points where
animals are concerned.
In
AMBUSH (Cant).-Fraudulent weights
and measures. A punning allusion
to the accepted meaning of the
word—to lie in wait (lying weight).
AMERACE (Cant). Jargon signifying
near at hand; within call.
AMERICAINE.-A small, light, four-
wheeled carriage for two persons,
with seat for servant. In use in
Germany.
At the door stands the AMERICAINE, SO
called because more unlike an AMERICAINE
than any other conceivable vehicle.-Miss
Rhoda Broughton's Good-bye, Sweetheart.
AMERICAN. The American party
originated in New York in 1844,
its avowed object being to oppose
the usurpation of the City govern-
ment by foreigners. Owing to the
extreme views of its leaders it fell
into disfavor, but came to the front
again in 1853, under the popular
designation of KNOW NOTHINGS
(q.v.)——AMERICANESS.—A woman
of American birth.
15
Amnesty Oath
This lady is like most AMERICANESSES-
she hates walking.-Hallberger's Illustrated
Magazine.
TO AMERICANISE.-The process
of naturalizing people and things
in America.
Those at work are nearly all newcomers
to the country, and are not yet AMERICAN-
IZED.
-AMERICANIZATION.-The state
of having become subject to the
laws and customs of the United
States. AMERICAN KNIGHTS.-
Knights of the Golden Circle (q.v.).
AMERICAN MYSTERIES (Ma-
sonic) See MEXICAN MYSTERIES.
AMERICAN RITE (Masonic).—
The usage or custom of Masonry in
America. This rite, like most
others now in use, is founded on
the York Rite, and is subsequent to
the revival of Masonry in 1717.-
AMERICAN CITIZEN OF AFRICAN
DESCENT. This euphemistic title
for a negro was very common in
certain circles after the Emancipa-
tion proclamation.
AMERICAN
An
TWEEZERS (Cant).
ingenious instrument of American
invention by means of which it is
possible to turn a key in a door
and unlock it from the outside.
AMERIGATE, TO.-To go or proceed to
America. A punning compound of
Mark Lemon's. "Joe wants to
amerigate," that is, go to America.
Probably an individualism.
AMNESTY OATH Also derisively
called the DAMNASTY OATH. At
the close of the Civil War,
Southerners, as an outward sign of
their loyalty to the Union, were
required to subscribe to sundry
oaths. One of these, the Amnesty
Oath, carried with it a pardon on
the terms set forth therein, but
these were deemed so unpalatable,
A mole
odious, and harsh by the conquered
South, that the oath was nicknamed
as aforesaid.
AMOLE (Phalangium pomeridianum).—
The soap plant, a native of the
sandy plains extending from Arkan-
sas to California. Its pulp lathers
well and is used in the same man-
ner as ordinary soap, to the brown
variety of which it is not altogether
dissimilar in smell. The fibre of
the plant was also used by the
Spaniards for saddle cloths.
AMPUTATE, TO-Thieves slang for
decamping; to take flight. Used
in the same way as "to cut," "to
skip," in English slang.
thieves'
AMUSERS (Cant).-A certain class
of
who
accomplices
throw snuff, pepper, and other
noxious substances in the eyes of
the person they intend to rob, a
confederate then, while apparently
coming to the rescue, completing
the operation. In this as in much
of the slang of the criminal classes
there
vein of
cynicism.
runs a
16
Anglo-Saxondom
ANCHOVY PEAR (Grias cauliflora.)—
A large esculent mango-like stone
fruit indigenous to Jamaica. The tree
itself is very ornamental, being tall
and unbranched, with leaves two or
three feet long and large white
flowers. It is widely cultivated on
this account.
ANCIENT DOMINION.-More commonly
called the OLD DOMINION (q.v.).
ANEND. RIGHT ANEND, i.e., con-
tinuously. See ANAN.
"
word
It
ANGELIFEROUS.-A factitious
indicative of super-excellence.
may be remarked, however, that
angelification," "angelify," and
angelified," were in use in the
17th century, but never to any
great extent.
((
ANGLER. (1) A street prowler who,
more often than not, belongs to a
gang of petty thieves, and who is
always on the look out for oppor-
tunities to commit small larcenies,
by means of hooked sticks, fishing
lines, etc.
brutal
(2) Lophius ameri-
canus.—A most curious fish peculiar
to American waters, sometimes
also popularly but wrongfully
named the DEVIL-FISH or SEA-DEVIL.
It derives its name of the angler by
reason of its long feelers. These
projecting from the mud in which
it hides itself, attract the smaller
fish which form its food.
ANAGREETA.-Immature maize, sun-
dried or fire-baked to preserve its
sweetness. Mixed with pease it
is highly esteemed for puddings.
Peculiar to New York and New
Jersey.
ANAN OR ANEND.-How? What do
you say? An interrogatory ejacu-
lation which Bartlett says
says is
common in Pennsylvania, and
which De Vere states is also used
in New Jersey. It is an archaism
defined by Halliwell as used by
the lower class when addressing a
superior when not hearing or com-
prehending what is said to them.
A corruption of "anent."
ANGLOMANIACS.-A club in Boston is
thus self-styled. Its members are
opposed to anything British in
every shape and form.
ANGLO-SAXONDOM.-A comprehensive
term for the English-speaking race
in general, including alike Ameri-
cans, the inhabitants of the Mother
Country, and her various Colonies.
Animal
new
ANIMAL. A name given to
arrivals at the United States
Military Academy at West Point.
TO GO THE WHOLE ANIMAL.
-A variant of "to go the whole
hog." In the West Indies it is
varied by "to go the whole dog."
ANIMULES-This expression is very
generally used in the South-western
territories and in California as a
substitute for "mules." A witty
play upon "animals" and "mules."
'Ten miles to town! Waal, stranger, I
guess I'll stake out here to-night. Them
ANIMULES is too beat to do that. Where's
yer water?' 'It's all around you to-night
but you can turn your mules into the corral.'
-Centre-Pole Bill, in Overland Monthly.
ANNATTO. A well-known West Indian
orange-red dye, and article of
The name is supposed
commerce.
to be of native American origin.
ANNUNCIATOR.-A word used in con-
nection with electrical apparatus.
A warning bell.
When one person wishes to communicate
with another by the telantagraph he pushes
a button, which rings an ANNUNCIATOR in
the exchange, or in the office of the person
with whom he wishes to converse.
American, April 11, 1888.
ANOINTED (Cant).-Flogged. In Eng-
lish cant the same word is used
to signify great rascality.
ANTE, TO. To bet or risk generally.
A technical term at poker where a
bet placed ante signifies one placed
in opposition to the dealer's bet.
What will you ante?" is now as
common an expression as
"what
will you bet? "'
to pay, as well as to wager.
TO ANTE up is
If you cannot be a marksman
And like a champion shoot,
You still can give him polish
By the blacking of his boot.
17
Anti-Negro
If you cannot be a Captain
Óf a famous base ball nine,
You can ANTE up your fifty cents,
And at the players whine.
-New York Mercury, July 21, 1888.
ANTE-HUMOUS.
An antithetical, fac-
titious word to posthumous, and
therefore signifying published be-
fore the death of an author.
ANTI-FEDERALIST. Directly subse-
quent to the War of Independence,
the constitution of the United
States was always described as the
Federal Constitution. Anti-Federal-
ists, therefore, were the political
party who opposed its adoption.-
See FEDERALIST.
in 1826.
ANTI-MASONRY.- A movement pre-
cipitated by the alleged murder of
Morgan by the Free Masons
Wm. H. Seward, Millard
Fillmore, and Thurlow Weed were
among the leaders of the ANTI-
MASONS, and the party wielded
power for several years. So also
its other compounds ANTI-MASON,
ANTI-MASONIC.
ANTI-MONOPOLIST.-One who is op-
posed to the existence of monopo-
lies in the commercial world, on
the ground that their political in-
fluence endangers the liberty of
the people. Legislators are often
classified as MONOPOLISTS and
anti-monopolists. The term has a
more far-reaching significance in
the States than elsewhere.
ANTI-NEGRO.-Opposed to the negro.
This word acquired special signifi-
cance at the period during which
the extension of the suffrage to
the negro was being agitated. The
Anti-Negro party was a large and
powerful one, on account of the
inevitable swamping of the white
by the colored vote in some of the
States which was foreseen in the
event of negro suffrage.
3
Anti-Renters
ANTI-RENTERS.
―
The Anti-Rent
movement bore a conspicuous part
in the politics of New York during
most of the decade prior to 1847.
It resulted from the attempt of the
heirs of General Stephen Van
Rensselaer to collect rents. Laws
had been passed abolishing feudal
tenures in 1779 and 1785; but the
tenants of Van Rensselaer-who
by courtesy was styled the "Pat-
roon" (a title never claimed) to the
end of his long and useful life-
still continued to enjoy the farms
upon which they lived on leases.
for life tenures, or from year to
year. Through the indulgence of
the "Patroon these tenants were
all in debt. When he died they
resisted the steps taken in the
settlement of his estate, to collect
rents, and complained that these
semi-feudal land tenures
totally inconsistent with the spirit
and genius of Republican institu-
tions. When the matter was
pressed, they armed and disguised
themselves as Indians, and offered
such resistance to the civil officers
that military interference became
necessary. The Governor sent
troops to quell the riotous pro-
ceedings, and the disturbances
attracted national attention. The
newspapers were full of the subject,
it was carried into politics, and
then into the courts. In the end
the State constitution of New York,
in 1846, abolished all feudal
tenures. The leases were con-
verted into freehold-that is the
parties who had rented bought
their farms, giving mortgages, and
thus became freeholders instead of
tenants.
were
ANTI-SLAVERY.-Opposed to slavery.
Roughly-speaking, the Anti-slavery
States were the Northern States;
the Slave States being those in the
South.- ANTI-SLAVERYIST.
person opposed to slavery.
A
18
Anxious Bench
ANTI-SOUTHERN.-Opposed to South-
ern interests and principles.
ANTI-UNION.—Opposed to the Union,
as represented by the Constitution
of the United States.
11
ANTONY OVER. A game of ball played
by two parties of boys, on opposite
sides of а school-house, over
which the ball is thrown.
Used in Pennsylvania. "Antony'
is simply a proper name, here
pressed into the
into the service, simi-
larly with Reynard, Robin, etc.,
for the same purpose.
"Over" is
too obvious to need explanation.
ANXIOUS BENCH, MEETING, MOURNER,
AND SEAT. All these are terms con-
nected with "revivals" of religion.
The Anxious Benches are seats set
apart for the inxious Mourners, in
other words those who, under the
magnetic influence of the preaching
or singing, or may be both combined,
profess to be concerned for their
souls' salvation. Similarly, the
Anxious Meeting is a service held
after the ordinary one, at which
spiritual advice and comfort are
administered to those who so de-
clare themselves convinced of sin.
A curious illustration of the use of
these terms as well as of the
strangely grotesque style affected
by some American divines will be
found in the following extract from
a sermon by the Rev. De Witt
Talmage, his subject being "Sects.
in Heaven
At this moment the Methodist bigot broke
in upon the excitement and demanded how
many of those at the table had ever sat upon
an ANXIOUS SEAT, declaring that those who
had not been converted in that way had no
business in Heaven. He brought an ANXIOUS
SEAT with him and sat on it himself very
near the table, and rudely began to eat a
cluster of grapes, throwing the skins into the
face of a Scotch Presbyterian, who turned
out to be John Knox. The bigot had hit the
wrong man, for John Knox, neither in earth
Any
nor in heaven, was of a temperament to take
any impudence, and he gave the bigot very
much such a look as he once did Queen Mary
at Holyrood. The Methodist bigot moved
that all those banqueters who had not come
into the Church militant by the ANXIOUS
SEAT be put out from the feast.
ANY.-This, like SOME (q.v.), is
across the
very curiously used
Atlantic. It is pretty generally
employed in the sense of "at all."
People speak of not being "angry
any or angry some," meaning
they were angry or not, as the case
may be.
It was of a Wednesday in June of that
year, if I remember aright, that I boarded a
steamer at Memphis. I had just enough
money to pay my passage to Natchez, but
the fact did not worry me ANY.-American
Canoeist, 1888.
Wasn't he hurt ANY? A little. He fell
from the top of a barn; a mule kicked out
two of his teeth; the corn-sheller took off a
thumb-nail, and the bees punctured his
anatomy right lively. But it didn't abate
his evil propensity; it scarcely disturbed his
serenity.-Detroit Free Press, Aug. 1888.
ANYHOW. ANYHOW YOU CAN FIX IT.-
A slang expression of acquiescence
as, e.g., "I don't know if you'll
succeed, but anyhow you can fix it."
ANYTHING ELSE. NOT ANYTHING
ELSE. A turgescent affirmation.
In reply to a question as to whether
a person did such and such a thing,
the reply would be, he didn't do any-
thing else; in other words, he did
"just that." These remarks also
apply, mutatis mutandis, to
ANYBODY ELSE's, a similar form of
expression.
NOT
APAREJO. A pack-saddle; of Spanish
extraction, and pronounced ah-
pahr-a-ho. Western.
While the final tightening of the mules'
APAREJOS was being done, our guide rode oft
to see if the luck had turned.-Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
19
Apple
APISHAMORE. (1) All saddles for
riding, as well as for carrying bur-
dens, have an apishamore, or saddle-
blanket, made of buffalo calf skins,
with the object of protecting the
animal's back from chafing. ·(2)
Anything to lie down on. A bed.
APOSTLES.—It is hardly necessary to
remark that at the University of
Cambridge the name is given to
the last twelve on the B.A. list, and
the only reason why the word
should be mentioned here is that
at Columbian College, D.C., the
members of the Faculty are ac-
tually called after the personal
names of the Apostles.
tite.
APPETITICAL-Relating to the appe-
An obsolete English form is
"appetitual."
APPETIZER. Something to stimulate
the appetite. A comparatively
modern word, derived from the
old English provincialism (North)
"to appetize.' Now as frequently
heard in England as in America.
APPLE (West Indian). The early
settlers called all fruits apples.
Thus we have the BEL APPLE,
-
CASHEW - APPLE, CUSTARD - APPLE,
CONCH-APPLE, GROUND-APPLE, MAM-
MA-APPLE, MONKEY-APPLE, PINE-
APPLE, SUGAR-APPLE, WOOD-APPLE,
etc., all of which see. —— API'LE
BRANDY. A Virginian fruit brandy
sometimes flavoured with peach
kernels. In New England it is
known as APPLE-JACK and APPLE-
JOHN, whilst in the South it is called
JERSEY-LIGHTNING, Another name
for it is CIDER-BRANDY. Procter
says that
"when good it is very
good."
APPLE BUG (Conotrachelus
nenuphar). Also known as
the
PLUM-WEEVIL, a black-beetle shaped
insect which plays great havoc with
fruit of all kinds, but more especially
Apple
with plums, peaches, cherries, and
apples. It deposits its eggs by
puncturing the fruit, causing prema-
ture decay. This insect must not
be confounded with the apple-
worm or the larva of the Euro-
pean coddling moth (Carpocapsa po-
monetta) which, however, is quite
as well known in the States as the
apple-bug. -APPLE-BUTTER, as it
is called in Pennsylvania and
Virginia (APPLE SAUCE in the
Yankee States) is a sauce made
by stewing apples in cider, six
gallons of fresh juice being boiled
down into one in the process.
It
is made in bulk and stored for
future use in tubs. The occasion
of its manufacture, generally forms
an excuse for a frolic. Introduced
by the Germans. APPLE-CUT.
-A social gathering for the pur-
pose of peeling apples for dry-
ing.
and
Also called APPLE-PEELING
APPLE-BEE (see BEE). This,
like most gatherings of the kind,
winds up with an innocent jollifi-
cation in which dancing plays a
prominent part.
Betsy Jane were the high stepper o' Sugar
Swamp. She were put together to stay,
Betsy were, an' could take in an APPLE CUT
or huskin' bee six nights outen a week,
dance till sun up an' never miss a set, an
then go hum an' eat salt pork an' 'lasses an'
apple pie fer breakfast, an' turn in an' do
the washin' fer forty men th't worked in the
tan'ry, jest ez easy as most gals nowadays
kin thump a poky or a camp meetin' tune
outen the pianny.-Chicago Herald.
APPLE-JACK.—A popular drink
distilled from fermented apple
juice.
So vast is the apple harvest of North
America in favourable years that there is
enough and to spare of the golden
fruit to make any amount of apple sass,
APPLE JACK, cider, dried apples and biffins,
and also to export millions of barrels
annually to foreign lands.-Missouri Re-
bublican, March 5, 1888.
APPLEJEES, or more correctly
Spek en Apeltjees.-A German dish
20
Appreciate
compounded of minced fat pork
and apples.- APPLE-LEATHER.-
The sun-dried paste of partly-
cooked apples. It is rolled into
cakes, and, when dry, has the
appearance, in thickness and tough-
ness, of tanned leather. Common to
Pennsylvania and Maryland.
APPLE OF PERU.-The Northern
name for the THORN APPLE (Eng.)
(Datura stramonium) or JAMESTOWN
WEED (q.v.). It is also called the
DEVIL'S TRUMPET. A coarse-
growing troublesome weed; the
seeds and stems are powerful nar-
cotic poisons, sparingly used in
medicine, in which the dried root
is sometimes employed as a remedy
for asthma.- -APPLE - PEELING.-
See BEE.APPLE-SLUMP.-A pie
consisting of apples, molasses, and
bread crumbs, baked in a tin pan.
This dish is an old favorite with
New Englanders, to whom it is
also known as PANDOWDY.
APPLE-TODDY.-Whisky or brandy
punch, roasted apples in this case
being substituted for lemon-peel.
How WE APPLES SWIM! i.e.,
"what a good time we are having."
This expression, a very old one, is
synonymous with
pleasureable
experience coupled with brisk
action.
APPLICANT.-Quoted by Pickering as
formerly current in New England ;
one who studies hard-an addi-
tional meaning to the more general
colloquial sense of a person who
asks or applies for a thing.
APPRECIATE, To.-Besides its ordinary
meaning, this word has also that of
an enhancement of value; to rise
in value.
These improvements will APPRECIATE
the farm immensely.-Rural Register.
His Pennsylvania lands have not APPRE-
CIATED as he had hoped, and when he left
the Cabinet he was a poor man.-Baltimore
American, 1888.
used.
Approbate
APPRECIATION is also similarly
APPROBATE, TO.-To approve of any-
thing. This, though claimed by
Dr. Webster as a modern word, is
quoted by Pickering as much in
use in his time. Now a vulgarism
in England but colloquial in the
17th century.
ARBOR DAY.-The observance of Ar-
bor Day is a typical Western inno-
vation, created in response to the
exigencies presented in the treeless
and arid West. The custom of
setting aside a day for the planting
of shade and ornamental trees was
first inaugurated about a decade
ago, in the State of Nebraska,
during the administration of
Governor John B. Thayer. It
proved very popular from the be-
ginning, and was soon imitated by
other States, prominent among
which was Colorado. Under an
act of the Legislature a day was set
aside each spring, to be announced
by the Governor, which was to be
observed as a holiday, and on which
the planting of trees, accompanied
with appropriate ceremonies and
festivities, was to take place.
celebration of Arbor Day since its
origination has annually grown in
popularity, and is now looked for-
ward to with a great deal of delight
by young and old in the Cen-
tennial State. The result of this
wise and beautiful observance,
although in vogue but a few years,
is manifested in innumerable young
groves and millions of
millions of growing
trees scattered over plains that a
few years ago were barren of any
cool and shading vegetation.
The
Governor Oglesby has designated April
13 as ARBOR DAY in Illinois, by official pro-
clamation.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 14,
1888.
21
Aristocratic
ARCH OF ZERUBBABEL, ROYAL (Masonic).
-The seventh degree of the Ameri-
can rite.
ARCTICS.-Warm fur-lined foot gear,
suitable for a rigorous climate.
He
As in tobogganing, the (ice) yachtsman's
costume is appropriate to the sport.
wears a leather coat, or several cardigan
jackets under a heavy pea jacket, or seal-
skin; his trousers are either tied around the
ankles or tucked into the legs of woollen
hose; he wears linen drawers over woollen
ones; ARCTICs are on his feet, and a fur cap
is drawn down over his ears. When snow
flies he wears wire goggles over his eyes
and a wire covering over his mouth. Even
with all these precautions he occasionally
gets frost-bites, often forgetting his extremi-
ties in the excitement of the sport.-Mon-
treal Gazette, 1888.
ARD (Cant).-Hot; a corrupted form
of ardent.
ARGUFY, TO.-A corruption of "to
argue," ie., "to debate," "to dis-
It is regularly conjugated,
and its participles ARGUFIED and
ARGUFYING are also common.
cuss.
ARID BELT.-A tract of country which
stretches from British America
on the north, to Mexico on the
south, through the middle of the
United States. Save in the moun-
tain districts stock raising is almost
the sole industry.
ARISTOCRATIC.
As might have been
expected in a country whose insti-
tutions are Republican, aristocratic
is used in a sense different from
that in vogue in monarchical coun-
tries. In the United States it
merely refers to those who live in
better style than their neighbours;
also to things of a superior quality,
and does not carry with it any
idea of hereditary rank or qualifi-
cations. For example, a steamboat
is sometimes said, when compared
with other vessels, to be aristocratic
Ark
because of its superiority in build,
fittings, etc.
ARK. A flat boat now largely super-
seded by steamers, used for the
transportation of merchandize.
Whole families live on board these
craft. President Lincoln began
life as a flatboatman, and those who
follow this calling are, though
rough in mien, as a rule, sturdy,
sterling, good-natured folk enough.
Roughly built of logs, about 15 ft.
wide and 50 to 100 ft. long, a slight
improvement on the raft, they are
sold as lumber on arrival at their
destination, after discharging the
miscellaneous cargo which forms
their freight.
ARK AND DOVE (Masonic).
An
American illustrative degree, pre-
paratory to the Royal Arch degree,
and, when conferred at all, given
immediately before the ceremony
of exaltation. The name of
Noachite sometimes bestowed upon
it is, however, incorrect, as this
belongs to the 21st degree of the
Ancient and Accepted Rite, and
the 35th of the Rite of Misraira.
It is very probable that it was
derived from an older rite, called
the Royal Ark Mariner.
ARKANSAS TOOTHPICK.-A grimly face-
tious name for a folding bowie
knife of large dimensions.
All these (men) irrespective of age, size,
or condition in life, could be seen with a
Navy six-shooter and an ARKANSAS TOOTH-
PICK suspended to a raw hide-belt tucked
around their waists. Supplement the above
equipment with a sore-backed mustang
pony, an old army saddle-tree and rope
bridle and you have an exact picture and
entire possession of the fifteenth constitu-
tional amendment.-A. B. Greenleaf's Ten
Years in Texas, 1881, p. 27.
It is not good form to use a TOOTHPICK
in ARKANSAS now. A big revolver is the
thing in the best society.-Detroit Free
Press, Aug. 1888.
22
Arrow
ARM-SHOP. A gun-smith's.
'I want to know where I can find an
ARM-SHOP,' replied McCracken, mildly.-
Mark Twain's Screamers.
-
AROUND. The misuse of around for
"near by" or "' about is some-
times very glaring, even amongst
fairly educated persons in England,
but it would be difficult to find
such an outrageous error as the
following:-
Presuming he was born AROUND three
o'clock in the afternoon, he is under Leo and
the Sun.-New York Mercury, 1888.
There was great excitement among the
people who hung AROUND the hall in which
the committee was in session, and the Mis-
sourians were as thick as blackberries on a
bush.—Missouri Republican, February 24,
1888.
ARPENT (Fr.) OR ARPENS.-For ACRE,
is in use among the descendants of
the old French settlers in Louisiana.
ARRASTRA (Spanish) from arrastre,
a mining term. The drag-stone
mill for pulverizing or amalga-
mating ore.
ARRIERO (Spanish).—The driver of a
pack of mules. Texas and the
West generally.
ARROW. The flower of the sugar-
cane, previous to the appearance of
which the sugar cane does not
arrive at the maturity indispen-
sable for grinding purposes.
Planters never cut their canes
until the arrow is well out.
ARROWHEAD (Sagittaria variabilis).
-A well-known handsome aquatic
plant with white flowers. The
name is derived from the shape
of the leaves; it bears the same
popular appellation in some parts
of England. ARROW ROOT
(Zamia integrifolia).-A native of
the West Indies, and the arrow-
-
Arroyo
root of commerce. The tree is
largely cultivated in Florida. The
tubers also contain a deadly virus,
formerly much used by Indian
tribes for poisoning arrow heads.
ARROW-WOOD (Viburnum den-
tatum, pubescens, etc.).-A shrubby
tree peculiar to the American
continent, the long straight stems
of which supplied the Indians with
their arrows.
ARROYO (Spanish).-In general use
in New Mexico and California as
the name for deep, rocky ravines
or dry water-courses. CoULEE, the
French equivalent, has the same
currency, and is met with quite as
frequently in some States.
ARTICHOKE (Cant).-An aged pros-
titute of the lowest type.
ARTICLES (Cant).—A suit of clothes.
ASCOTCH-A New York boy's term
for gunpowder slightly damped and
then worked up into pyramidal
shape the equivalent of the "fiz-
gig" of English youth.
As
" as
AS GOOD AS.-Bartlett speaks of this
as an illiteracy often heard in New
York in place of the colloquial
well," e.g., I'd as good's go to New
York" instead of I might as well
go to New York."
ASH-CAKE.-A Southern name for an
ash-baked corn cake.
ASH-CART.-A scavenger's cart.
ASH-HOPPER.-A lye cask used in
outlying country districts by people
who make their own soap.
ASHLANDERS.—A political club of row-
dies identified with Ashland
23
Assentatious
Square, in Baltimore, which city
has been exceptionally prolific in
names of this character, as
BABES, PLUG-UGLIES, DEAD-RAB-
BITS, BLOOD-TUBS, etc.
AS I CAN.-A rural New
New England
phrase, generally tacked on to the
end of a promise or assertion as a
kind of prudent reservation; it is
akin to the Spanish Quien sabe.
ASININITY. A noun coined from the
adjective "asinine"; a piece of
egregious stupidity.
AS LONG AS.-A grammatical perver-
sion for because," since."
That house is a desirable resi-
dence as long as it is well situated."
ASSAY (Cant). Commence; try it.
Obviously from the verb "to assay,'
and probably introduced by counter-
feit coiners.
ASSEMBLE TO.-Assemble is still used
in the sense-obsolete in England
-of joining one thing to or with
another.
The steel forgings have been made and
turned over to our ordnance officers TO
ASSEMBLE into guns, with great profit to the
Pennsylvania contractors.-The Sun, March
21, 1888.
ASSEMBLYMEN.
Members of the
House of Representatives in New
York, and in some of the New
England States.
ALBANY, Jan 31.- Some ASSEMBLYMEN,
especially Mr. Shea of New York and cer-
tain of his colleagues, seem to be in mortal
dread of sudden death in the discharge of
their duties. - Troy Daily Times, January
31, 1888.
ASSENTATIOUS. A factitious word
meaning ready"; willing
willing to
acquiesce in all that is said and
done.
*
Assign
ASSIGN. To sign. A corruption fre-
quently heard in
heard in the Southern
States, even among educated
people. Used in the sense of "to
sign" a document, cheque, or letter.
ASSISTANT.-Court of ASSISTANTS.-
A judicial tribunal formerly in exist-
ence in New England. In 1848
these courts were merged in the
County Courts. They were pre-
sided over by a Magistrate or
Assistant who ranked next to the
Chief Magistrate, and who was ex
officio a member of the Governor's
Council.
ASSOCIATED PRESS.—A New York
Agency somewhat similar to the
Central News in London. It is com-
posed of a number of newspapers
who have combined for the purpose
of collecting telegraphic and other
intelligence.
ASTERN
OF THE LIGHTER. Failure;
defeat. A phrase of nautical origin.
AT.-A very noticeable divergence
is apparent in Transatlantic usage
as regards this word. It is in effect
a preposition-of-all-work, and is
employed (1) instead of on or in as
in at hill or at wood. In this case
there is ancient sanction for the
form. One of the oldest streets in
the City of London is named St.
Mary-at-Hill, i.e., St. Mary on the
Hill; and proper
like
Attwood are also similarly derived.
(2) Also used for BY as in "I
bought that line of goods at auction"
names
(3) for ABOUT or AFTER
(action). In the South it rounds
off almost every phrase in the
vernacular of all classes except
the most highly educated.- AT
An intensitive phrase
tacked on to the end of an assertion
or some statement already made.
THAT.
He's a slick 'cute rascal, and a
24
A” Tent
pretty demon at that," i.e., he is
a rascal of rascals, an adept at
villainy. It is a purely cant phrase,
and has achieved a degree of popu-
larity quite out of proportion to
its merits-if any. Procter sug-
gests that the expression is an
abbreviation of "added to that."
A miner from Wadesville, was spoken
of as
ancient Mollie-Cooney being
actually what the detective assumed to be,
and a sharp one THAT. Pinkerton's
Mollie Maguires and Detectives.
AT
-
Kelly's the name I've always heard him
called-Dan Kelly, AT THAT-an' sure I
didn't take him for wan of those havin'
occasion to dale in double names an'
deceptions!-Ibid.
Worth a year's subscription, and cheap
AT THAT. Forest and Stream, March 15,
1888.
Who would have supposed that the self-
contained Mr. French, the icily regular
T. Henry French, with a disposition as
undemonstrative as the Alpine edelweiss,
would suffer his temper to go away because
of the loss of a hat-aye, and of an old hat,
AT THAT.-New York Herald, July 22, 1888.
ATAJO (Spanish).—This, with a num-
ber of other words of Mexico-
Spanish origin, is current in the
States bordering on the old
Spanish Dominions. Atajo signifies
a drove of pack-mules.
ATAMASCO LILY (Amaryllis or Zephyr-
anthes atamasco).-A common wild
lily with narrow grass-like leaves
and profuse pink flowers, similar to
a crocus. It flourishes in and is a
native of Virginia and South Caro-
lina, and in the cottage gardens of
those States it is known by
the name of the FAIRY LILY. There
are several varieties of this plant
which is the only representative in
America of the
of the natural
natural order
Amaryllidaceæ.
"A" TENT.-The simplest form of
tent made. Also called WEDGE
TENT (q.v.). Similar in shape to the
tente d'abri as used in the French
A ter
army. Its name accurately dis-
tinguishes it from the bell or wall
tent.
Three wall tents in a line indicated where
the officers and the visitors slept, and twice
as many "A," or "wedge," or common
tents, twenty or thirty yards away, showed
where the men were sheltered.-Century
Magazine, 1888.
ATER, ARTER.-After.
A New Eng-
land vulgarism, not at all uncom-
mon. The pure Yankee curiously
misplaces his "r's" and even omits
them where they ought to be
heard. With him this letter is
subjected to as many indignities as
the letter "h" is among uneducated
people in England.
ATHENS OF AMERICA or ATHENS OF
THE NEW WORLD.-Boston. Also
called THE HUB, the CLASSIC
CITY, etc. Boston, perhaps more
than any other city in the Union,
has been the subject of a variety
of nicknames. Undoubtedly the
centre of modern culture in
America, the name CLASSIC
CITY has been awarded her in
envious derision, although some
sarcastically affirm that the cog-
nomen is self - given, and with
John Randolph assert that it is
"an Athens without Athenians."
Others have styled it the CITY OF
NOTIONS, a reference alike to the
commercial and mental aptitude
of its citizens. Oliver Wendell
Holmes, himself one of the most
gifted of her sons, dubbed the city
THE HUB OF THE UNIVERSE, and
this has become by far the most
popular of her nicknames. His-
torically the oldest appellation is
that which still survives in the
famous Tremont Street and Tre-
mont House, Boston having for-
merly been styled the TRI-MOUN-
TAIN CITY, from the fact of its
being built upon three hills.
25
Aunarugians
ATLANTIC STATES.-The States imme-
diately contiguous to the Atlantic.
ATOLE (Spanish).-Gruel made from
corn-meal; common in those dis-
tricts once under Spanish rule.
ATOMY (Cant). An empty-headed
person; in English cant a deformed
or diminutive individual.
A-TREMBLE. The old Anglo-Saxon
prefix A, meaning AT, TO, IN, ON, is
more generally retained in the
States than in the Mother Country.
The meaning of the word is not
affected.
ATTACKTED.-Merely a colloquial vul-
garism for "attacked," but very
common amongst the illiterate.
ATTITUDINIZE, TO.-This is given in
Worcester as an ordinary dictionary
word, but by no other authority.
An American creation, meaning to
assume a posture, and, metaphori-
cally, a mental state, the idea of
grotesqueness also being under-
stood.
ATTLEBOROUGH.-Sham jewelry; used
in precisely the same manner as
"Brummagem," and as widely
applied to men and things. It has
now passed from the classics of
thiefdom into general use, and
is applied to anything of a sham,
pinchbeck, insincere, or doubtful
character. Attleborough is a town
celebrated for its manufacture of
sham jewelry.
AUGER. A person given to prosiness
is so called; a bore.
AUNARUGIANS.-A local body of stu-
dents at Centre College, Kentucky,
was known by this name. A wild
and boisterous band, who indulged
4
Aunt
in the roughest horseplay, emula-
ting the CALLITHUMPIANS and
CHARIVARI (q.v.) of other localities.
AUNT. A familiar name often given
in the States and West Indies to
negresses advancing in age.
AUNTY EXTENSION.-The
The war origi-
nated a great many new phrases in
the imaginative South-far more if
they were all recorded than in the
North. "Cousin Sal" is pretty
generally lamented throughout the
South as the deceased and only
daughter of our very worthy and
revered Uncle Sam-the
having been begotten by him in
the bonds of lawful wedlock with
Aunty Extension.
same
AU RESERVOIR.-Au revoir. A mere
play upon sounds. Common, and
now often heard in England.
AUTHORESS.-Though first coined in
America, this has now become a
genuine language word; not, how-
ever, without a struggle. The
objections and prejudice to simi-
lar words, such as poetess and
brokeress, are still very numerous
and strong.
AVAIL, TO. To use this verb actively
as now is frequently done instead
of reflectively, borders upon jargon;
thus, people speak of availing of an
offer or opportunity.
AVAILS.—A New Englandism includ-
ing the proceeds of a sale, the rents
received for property, or the profits
of a speculation. Literally, that
which is available for use after
all expenses are defrayed. James
Russell Lowell in one of his prefaces
to the Biglow Papers, affirms that
the word is intimately related with
the vails given to servants.
26
Awful
AVALANCHE.—A corruption of "ambu-
lance," much used in Texas and the
outlying territories. It is said to
have caused no small merriment in
the Confederate camp, when Prince
Polignac was sent to hold an
obscure command in the South-
west, and once showed very great
excitement upon being informed by
a sergeant that the "avalanche
was just coming down the hill as
fast as fury."
AVOCADO PEAR (Laurus persea gratis-
sima). A buttryceous pear-shaped
fruit, the pulp of which is much
esteemed. Vulgarly termed the
ALLIGATOR PEAR (q.v.).
"
AVOIRDUPOIS.-SOLID AVOIRDUPOIS.-
Thus, She sat close by Mrs. Des-
brough, a woman of solid avoir-
dupois," i.e., of gross fleshly tissue;
stout; inclined to embonpoint.
AWFUL. A hard-worked adjective
which, in addition to its ordinary
signification, is almost universally
weighted with such meanings as
If
-(1) Very, and—(2) Ugly, un-
pleasant, and distasteful. Though
inexcusable to ears polite, its use
in this sense is very old, and was in
past times a colloquialism often
heard north of the Tweed.
people could now and then be
placed where (themselves unseen)
they were obliged to listen to
a half-hour's conversation about
nothing at all, and hear these poor
adjectives forced into a conspicuous
position in every sentence and on
every topic of conversation-their
real meaning and legitimate use
being entirely disregarded — it
might result in their own reforma-
tion, and they might feel, like the
poet at Delmonico's, who listened
to the conversation of a charming
little lady and her dapper little
Awful
beau, where every other word was
awful.
"I confess it sorely puzzled me to
think what they could say,
If something really awful were to
happen in their way;
For I'm sure with simple English
they could never be content,
But their thoughts in foreign ex-
pletives would have to find a
vent.
"While musing in this fashion (feel-
ing rather cross and old),
I forgot about my dinner, which
was getting awful cold;
And the adjective kept dropping
from the lips of either child,
Till with awful, awful, awful, I was
driven fairly wild."
27
Axe
Ax, To. To ask or make a request.
This form of the verb has descended
unmutilated from Anglo-Saxon
times, and is still a provincialism
in some parts of England.
AXE. AN AXE TO GRIND.-A much-
used phrase of political origin.
Men are said to have axes to grind
when suspected of selfish or in-
terested motives. From politics
the expression has passed into use
among all classes of society. The
Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean (Feb.
1888) spoke of certain politicians
as men with axes to grind."
What we believe is right is more
often so because it grinds our axe
than otherwise.
"



B
ABE.—(I) A term of
little wit or point
applied to the young-
est member of a class
at the West Point
(United States) Mili-
tary College. In the
English Parliament,
the
is given to the
last elected member of the House,
just as the oldest member is called
the father" of the House.--(2)—
pl. A Baltimore term for a noisy set
of rowdies.
same name
BACH, TO. To live as a bachelor.
'Lonesome? Well, not particularly.' He
had always BACHED it. Next winter his
nephew was coming to live with him.-
Century Magazine, 1888.
BACK, TO. From the Western use
of this verb in the sense of "to
direct," when relating to documents
and letters, is derived the fre-
quently-heard commercial phrase of
to back, in the sense of "to endorse,"
literally, to write on the back of a
letter, bill, or cheque.- -To GO
BACK OF ABACK is a term peculiar
to Demerara. The manager of an
estate or sugar plantation usually
goes aback once every day. This does
not exactly mean that he gets astride
a horse or mule, although that, as
a matter of fact, is ordinarily his
means of locomotion. It refers to
a daily inspection of the cane-
pieces or fields and other appur-
tenances which almost invariably
lie to the rear of his residence, the
houses in British Guiana being
always built as near as possible to
the coast in order to obtain the full
benefit of the sea breezes.—To
BACK DOWN.-To beat a retreat; to
yield. Authorities differ as to
whether the phrase originated in the
stable or was taken from steam-boat
phraseology. Those holding the
latter view maintain that it is
simply the antithesis of
of "going
a-head." Be that as it may, how-
ever, this suggestive expression is
of Western origin. A similar
meaning is given to the word when
used as a noun. A SQUARE BACK
DOWN is, therefore, a severe rebuff,
or, it may be, utter collapse.
Thus, in reference to a large strike
of railway men it is said that—
To-day's developments are looked upon
as a SQUARE BACK DOWN for the men. Chair-
man John L. Lee hurried home from Wash-
ington, while John H. Davis and Hugh
McGarvey, strike leaders, started on a
Western trip. To-day 400 loaded coal cars
left the regions, a larger number than any
other
the strike.— Cleveland
day since
Leader, 1888.
TO BACK OUT is to abandon
one's position, or to retreat from a
difficulty. Sometimes to BACK
DOWN (q.v.). The expression is
also varied with To TAKE THE
BACK TRACK, or TO BACK WATER.
Mr. Barker's BACK-OUT has not much
surprised me, though I doubt not that some
of the readers of the Weekly Herald will be
much surprised indeed.- Boston Weekly
Globe, March 28, 1888.
BACK. DON'T GET YOUR BACK UP!-
There is, of course, little that is
distinctively American in the idea
Back and Forth
of putting one's back up when
inclined to be angry; but as a
street catch phrase, at one time
very popular, it claims a place.
TO BREAK ONE'S BACK.-To
be crushed; defeated; to become
bankrupt. A Californianism which
has spread over the whole Union
and the Mother Country. -BACK!
-A cowboy's equivalent for "gee!"
See CALLS OF ANIMALS.
BACK
AND
FORTH.
Backward and
forward. A New England Puritan
survival.
BACK AND HIDDEN. That which is
secret, or kept back. A common
colloquialism.
Mr. Clark had heard a great deal about
something BACK AND HIDDEN. He didn't
give a fiddler's malediction for Jay
Gould or any other man.-Missouri Republi-
can, Feb. 22, 1888.
common
BACKBONE. TO HAVE BACK-BONE is to
possess weight of character, to be
steady of purpose, and firm in
carrying one's ideas into effect.
The metaphor is now
wherever the English language is
spoken, but in the first instance
it is believed to have been intro-
duced by the Abolitionists in the
stormy days just before the
War."
"
BACK CAP.-TO GIVE A BACK-CAP is
thieves' argot, meaning to expose
one's past life. A pretended con-
verted thief is made to say :—
•
i told him all about my being in prison
and about you, and how i had almost done
giving up looking for work and how the
Lord got me the job when i asked him
and then i felt better than ever
i had done in my life, for i had given Mr.
Brown a fair start with me and now i didn't
fear no one GIVING ME A BACK-CAP and
running me off the job. Mark Twain's
Life on the Mississippi, p. 462.
BACK COUNTRY.
M
Thinly
districts are so called.
populated
The ever
29
Back Salary Grab
advancing tide of emigration from
east to west, has naturally caused
this term to partake of a nomadic
character as far as locality is con-
cerned. The sparsely peopled
back country of one decade, with its
primitive, simple folk and cheap
living, becomes the teeming centre
of a busy, thriving population in
the next. In a few years there will
be no back country left between the
two great oceans, so rapidly is all
the available land being taken up
and settled in the great Republic
of the West.
San Diego has a BACK COUNTRY, a fine,
productive BACK COUNTRY, lying among
rocks, on steep hillsides and in level
valleys.-Detroit Free Press, May, 1888.
BACK-END. Lately; towards the end.
A quaint manner of speech.
Hanover (a horse) did not do very well
the BACK-END, and was twice beaten by
Laggard. Therefore the latter ought to be
required to carry at least seven pounds
more.-Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1888.
BACK HOUSE.-A privy.
BACKING AND FILLING.-A backing and
filling policy is one that is
trifling and irresolute. Thus the
shilly-shally and backing and filling
policy of the third George led to
the War of Independence and the
subsequent separation of the Ameri-
can colonies from the Mother
Country.
BACK-LOG.- A large piece of wood
forming the back-stay of a log fire.
These are only seen in districts
where wood is plentiful and largely
used as fuel.
BACK
the
SALARY GRAB.-During
42nd Congress, 1871-73, a bill was
passed to increase the salaries of
the Executive, and of Senators and
Representatives. The popularly
Back Seat
obnoxious feature of this Act was,
that it gave back-pay for the entire
Session, to the very men who had
the measure under consideration,
and eventually voted
voted upon it.
Such a howl of indignation went
up from the whole country, that
the Act was repealed, save in the
executive clauses, and many of the
offending members paid back into
the treasury the money which they
had drawn.
BACK SEAT.-TO TAKE A BACK SEAT
is, figuratively, to retire into ob-
scurity; it also sometimes implies
a silent confession of failure; an
inability to accomplish what one
has attempted. The colloquialism
has gained a world-wide currency;
it received an immense send off, as
the Americans say, from Andrew
Johnson's famous "back seat in
Reconstruction."
Who will say the Britishers are not a
forbearing and forgiving race, and the in-
habitants of Stratford-on-Avon don't by any
means take a BACK SEAT in that line? Igna-
tius Donnelly actually visited the birthplace
of Shakespeare, and wasn't lynched! Far
from it, he was hospitably received and en-
tertained.-Texas Siftings, 1888.
We of Jeff City are noted for never
knowing anything, or, at any rate, for not
saying anything after we have secured what
we consider our full share of political favors.
Since Clay Ewing stepped out of the race
for the supreme bench, Jefferson City has
taken a BACK SEAT.-Speech of J. W. Bever-
ley, of Jefferson City, in Missouri Republican,
April 1, 1888.
BACK TALK.— No BACK TALK!-A
slang catch phrase indicating
that the matter in question is
closed to discussion; there's
nothing more to be said.
BACK TEETH.-TO HAVE ONE'S BACK
TEETH WELL AFLOAT.-A face-
tiously brutal way of implying that
the subject of such a remark is
well primed with liquor-even to
the verge of drunkenness.
30
Backwoods
When sober on the bench Judge Noonan
is a model of all the virtues. On Friday
night, however, in company with Dr. Mun-
ford, of Kansas City, ex-Speaker Wood, Mr.
Charles Mead and several other gentlemen,
his honor once more drank until, as an on-
looker put it, his BACK TEETH WERE WELL
AFLOAT. Missouri Republican, Jan. 25,
1888.
BACKWARD.-Bashful, retiring, or dif-
fident. The antithesis of what, in
England, is called "forward," when
applied to children.
un-
BACKWOODS.-The unsettled,
cleared portion of a country. The
backwoods of the United States are
rapidly disappearing, even if, prac-
tically, they have not already done
so. Formerly, the whole country
back of the Atlantic littoral was in-
cluded in the term; now, however,
the limit of civilization is no longer
bounded by the sea-board States,
and, in one sense of the word, at
least, the term is now a misnomer.
Used, however, as synonymous
with a backward state of civiliza-
tion, sparse population, and indiffe-
rent means of transit, it still applies
to a certain portion of the country.
This will not long be the case, for
nothing has been more remarkable
than the rapidity with which, during
the past twenty years, State after
State and Territory after Territory
have entered and become part of
the all-absorbing Union. More
especially has this been the case
since the Grand Pacific formed
a connecting link between the At-
lantic and Pacific sea-boards. Many
American writers have dealt with
the life of the old backwoods' days,
but no pictures of backwoodsmen
are more graphically drawn than
those of Mark Twain and Bret
Harte.- BACKWOODS PREACHER.
-One whose clerical functions
were exercised in the wild, unsettled
portions of the country or BACK-
WOODS. His temple was more
often than not "one not made with
Bacon
hands," a church whose roof was
the blue vault of Heaven-its altar
a tree stump, and its aisles the
forest groves.
BACON. TO SAVE ONE'S BACON.
To effect one's escape from
danger.
BAD.-Procter with some show of
reason draws attention to the very
marked divergence which exists in
one respect between English and
American usage as regards the
word "good" in the sense of well
and happy. He is, however, utterly
wrong in putting bad for ill or
badly in the same category.
says "I feel bad is not, in America,
an admission of moral depravity,
but means simply I don't feel well.'
In this sense bad is as common to
England as to America.-Sec GOOD.
He
A BAD CROWD GENERALLY is,
in Western parlance, a set of people
not thought much of-merely what
in England would be regarded as
"no great shakes." BAD MAN.
-A bad man, in the West, is a
somewhat mixed character. The
term is generally understood to
mean a professional fighter or
man-killer, but who, despite this
drawback, is said by Roosevelt in
Ranch Life in the Far West, to
be sometimes, according to his
light, perfectly honest. These are
the men who do most of the killing
in frontier communities; yet it is a
noteworthy fact that the men who
are killed generally deserve their
fate. These men are, of course,
used to brawling, and are not only
sure shots, but, what is equally
important, able to "draw their
weapons with marvellous quick-
ness. They think nothing whatever
of murder, and are the dread and
terror of their associates; yet they
are very chary of taking the life of
a man of good standing, and will
31
Bad Lands
often "weaken" and "backdown
at once if confronted fearlessly.
With many of them, their courage
arises from confidence in their own
powers and knowledge of the fear
in which they are held; and men
of this type often show the white
feather when they get into a "tight
place." Others, however, will face
any odds without flinching, and
when mortally wounded, have been
known to fight with a cool, fero-
cious despair that was terrible.
During the last two or three years,
stockmen have united
to put
down these dangerous characters,
often by the most summary exer-
cise of lynch law; and, as a con-
sequence, many localities
infested by bad men are now per-
fectly law-abiding.
once
BAD EGG.-A Californianism for a
worthless speculation.
BADGER. In the cant language of
the American criminal classes a
badger or PANEL THIEF is one who
robs a man after a woman accom-
plice has enticed the victim into
her den. In old English cant
badgers were river thieves, and in
modern English slang TO BADGER
is to tease; to annoy; in which
sense it is also concurrently used
in the States.
BADGER STATE.-A popular name for
the State of Wisconsin, and so
called because of the BADGERS
which once abounded there.
BAD LANDS.The Mauvaises Terres of
the early French settlers in the
districts west of the Missouri, and
applied by them generically to the
jagged, sterile, alkali hills which
abound in that part of the country.
The phrase is now applicable to
any stretch of specially rough
land. The French name still
Bagasse
answers in the corruption "Movey
Star" of some localities.
BAGASSE, or, as in the West Indies,
MEGASSE; both of French deriva-
tion. The refuse of the sugar
cane, which, after passing through
the mill and the expression of the
juice, goes to the furnace for use as
fuel. Formerly, the bagasse was
either burned in a furnace to get
rid of it, or thrown out on the
LEVEES (q.v.) to help fight off the
river from eating away the bank.
Now every economically managed
mill burns it to make steam, by
the aid of the draught of an
enormous chimney. The best
method is to burn it on grates
under which air is forced by a
blower.
When they have finished grinding the
cane, they form the refuse of the stalks
(which they call BAGASSE) into great piles
and set fire to them, though in other sugar
countries the BAGASSE is used for fuel in the
furnaces of the sugar mills. Now the piles
of damp BAGASSE burn slowly, and smoke
like Satan's own kitchen.-Mark Twain's
Life on the Mississippi.
BAGGAGE.-A railway term equivalent
to the English "luggage." The van
in which impedimenta of this kind
is carried is called a BAGGAGE-CAR in
place of, as in England, a luggage,
goods, or guards van. The attend-
ant in charge is called the BAGGAGE-
MASTER, and by a most perfect sys-
tem of BAGGAGE-CHECKS issued at
the commencement of a journey, the
traveller is relieved of all further
anxiety or trouble concerning his
belongings, whether the journey
lasts six hours or six days. On
arrival at his destination he may
either claim his baggage forthwith,
or, giving instructions to the agent,
the company will deliver it at his
hotel or residence, the counterfoil
of the check being given up on
delivery. Until this is done the
company assume all responsibility.
32
Bail
In this way the Americans manage
very largely to mitigate the incon-
veniences and annoyances of travel,
and the system adopted, though
simple, is thoroughly effective.
An approach to it has been recently
introduced on the London Brighton
and South Coast Railway, the
main difference being that the
checks are of paper instead of
brass labels with straps to attach
them to the trunks and other
packages a plan which, in the
rough handling of trans-con-
tinental travel in America, is
preferable to pasted labels. The
porter employed to handle and
transfer passengers' baggage is
facetiously and commonly called a
BAGGAGE-SMASHER, and it must be
confessed that in many cases he fully
justifies his right to the title by
the reckless and careless manner
in which he performs his duties.
From this special application of
the term it has generally passed
into everyday speech as signifying
a coarse and brutal person.
BAGGED (Cant). A term used to
signify imprisonment and victimi-
zation-probably only an extension
of the idea of capture as derived
from sport, through the slang
"to bag," i.e., to steal.
BAGGING.-Specially applied in the
States to the coarse hempen canvas
of which cotton packages are made.
This material is chiefly manu-
factured in Kentucky.
state of
BAG OF NAILS (Cant).- A
confusion or topsy-turveydom.
BAIL-A pail or bucket handle.
This is given in Forby's Glossary
as a Norfolk provincialism, and
its present use in New England
must, therefore, be considered as a
survival of the old Puritan days.
Baile
BAILE. A Spanish term (corrupted
into "bailee" among cow-boys) for
a ball or dance, but it means also
sheriff bailiff, which is significant.
The connection between balls and
bailiffs in New Mexico is, unfortu-
nately, more intimate and frequent
than would be thought desirable in
Boston or New York.
BAIT.-In New England a bait is the
means by which a leverage is
obtained; a fulcrum.
BAITING.-Amongst haymakers this is
the name given to a snack taken in
the fields between breakfast and
dinner.
BAKE-OVEN. This form for oven is of
Dutch origin, and is mostly used
out West.
BAKER (Cant).-A loafer.
BAKES (Cant).-A schoolboy.
An
BAKE-SHOP.- A baker's shop.
in the foreign
example occurs
intelligence of a Maine paper.
A large number of unemployed working
men engaged in a riot in Rome, Thursday.
BAKE-SHOPS were broken into and pillaged,
and the police, who attempted to arrest the
rioters, were driven away with stones.
Finally the mob was dispersed by troops,
and many of the rioters were arrested.—
Portland Transcript, March 7, 1888.
BALANCE.-In the sense of rest, re-
mainder, or residue, balance, says
R. G. White, is an abomination.
The balance is the difference be-
tween two sides of an account-the
amount of which is necessary to
make the one equal to the other.
It is not the rest or the remainder,
yet we continually hear of the
balance of this or that thing. This
vulgarism is also very common in
England.
33
Bald-faced Shirt
In the trial of Dave Walker, the Bald
Knobber chief, at Ozork, Mo., the State
closed its testimony to-day, after introducing
witnesses to re-affirm that Walker said,
'If I can get some one to take my son out of
the country I will take some of the men and
go back and kill the BALANCE and burn the
house. Dead men tell no tales.' —Daily
Inter-Ocean, April 12, 1888
I recognize the sum of 30,000 dollars to
belong to me individually, that amount
having been received from the estate of my
father and by donation from my mother.
All the BALANCE, movable and immovable,
real and personal, rights and credits, be-
longs to the community existing between
myself and wife.-St. Louis Times Demo-
crat, Feb. 21, 1888.
-
BALD-EAGLE.-De Vere says, "The
oft quoted bald eagle (Haliaetus
leucocephalus) or BALDHEADED EAGLE
and WHITEHEADED EAGLE are only
spurious book-names, and perhaps
on this account the poor bird has
so readily been adopted as the
emblem of the United States. He
does not seem to have always kept
good company, for Richard Frame
spoke already in 1692 of • The
turkey-buzzard and the bald-eagle
high, wild ducks, which in great
companyes do fly'; and Benjamin
Franklin wrote almost plaintively,
For my part, I wish the bald-eagle
had not been chosen as the repre-
sentative of our country.'
BALDFACE.-A villainous compound
which only by courtesy can be
recognised as whiskey. Many
other slang names are given to
bad and common spirit of this
kind; e.g., "red eye," pine top,"
lightning whiskey," or as the
latter is more jocosely named
"forty rod lightning," it being
guaranteed to kill at forty rods.
"
BALD-FACED SHIRT. The name by
which a Western cowboy knows a
white shirt. It is thought to come
from the fact of Hereford cattle
having white faces.
5
Baldheaded
BALDHEADED. TO GO IT BALDHEADED.
-With eager impetuosity or great
haste; doing a thing with all one's
might and main. A suggestion of
action without stopping to cover
one's head, i.e., on the spur of the
moment.
It ain't by princerples nor men
My preudunt course is steadied,-
I scent wich pays the best, an' then
Go into it BALDHEADED.
-The Biglow Papers.
an
The Chicago Republicans, to use
Americanism, have gone BALDHEADED for
protection. If shouting could win a Presi-
dential contest, Blaine and Protection would
be certain.-Pall Mall Gazette, June 22, 1888.
A somewhat different meaning
is conveyed by SNATCHED BALD-
HEADED, used of a person defeated
in a street fight.
BALD-HEADED ROW.-The first row of
stalls at theatres, especially those
which make a feature of ballets.
The term is a cynical allusion to
the fact that these seats
generally occupied by men of
mature age; the inuendo is obvious.
BALDITUDE.A state of baldness.
are
Trouble has done it, Bilgewater, trouble
has done it; trouble has brung these gray
hairs and this premature BALDITUDE.-
The Adventures of
of Huckleberry Finn,
P. 187.
BALD-KNOBBERS.-A lawless band of
ruffians infesting Christian County,
Missouri. They seem to hold
regular meetings and to be well
organized, for in a trial of one of
their number for murder it was
given in evidence that the ceremony
of initiation comprised the admin-
istration of various oaths.
round the neck and a pistol to the
breast of the candidate added
weight to the rubric of the order.
The initiate is informed that there
are but two ways out of the
order; one at the end of a rope and
A rope
34
Ballot-box Stuffing
the other at the muzzle of a shot-
gun. Death is the penalty for
revealing any of the secrets of the
order.
BALDY.-A colloquial vulgarism for a
bald-headed man.
BALK, TO.-Sometimes BAULK. In
England to balk means to frustrate
expectation; to disappoint; and has
no reference to a jibbing horse or
mule, the sense in which it is used
in America. Spencer in his "Faërie
Queen" (the legend of Sir Artegal,
V.10.) uses to balk in a somewhat
similar sense.
Gentleman (to Uncle Rustus, who is
troubled with a BALKY mule)' Uncle Rustus.
do you think kicking that mule in the
stomach will make him go?'
1
Uncle Rustus- Da haint muffin wot'll
make dat mule go when he 'clude not to,
sah. I'm only kickin' him fo' my own
satisfaction.--The Brainerd (Min.) Tribune,
1888.
Hence also the adjective BALKY
with a similar meaning.
BALL FACE.-A contemptuous epithet
applied by negroes to white persons.
Salem, Mass., 1810-1820.
BALLOONING.-Inflating the price of
stocks by fictitious means, such as
newspaper articles, bogus sales, etc.
A Wall Street phrase.
BALLOT-Box STUFFING. Originally
practised in New York, where
boxes were constructed with false
bottoms SO that an unlimited
number of spurious ballots could
be introduced by the party having
control of the polling place. By
mutual consent of parties this is
now almost impossible.
As to the election having been stolen by
BALLOT-BOX STUFFING and bribery in New
York, the allegation shows silly ignorance of
the conduct of elections in New York.
BALLOT-BOX STUFFING is an almost obsolete
Balls
form of knavery in New York under its elec-
tion system.-Fostoria Democrat, March 8,
1888.
BALLS (Cant).-Prison rations; also
a drink.
BALL UP (College).-At Middlebury
College. To fail at recitation or
examination.-Hall's College Words
and Customs.
BALLYHACK.-Go
BALLYHACK.-
Go To
Bartlett quotes this as common in
New England, but confesses his
ignorance as to its meaning and
origin. Of Irish birth it is equiva-
lent to our own "Go to Bath
"Go to Hull" (corrupted into “Go
to Hell")-all of them peremptory
injunctions for "Begone!
BALLYRAG, To.-To scold or accuse in
scurrilous language. In use all
over England. From A.S. bealn
evil, and wregan to
wregan to accuse. A
milder signification is sometimes
given, viz. "to banter in a contemp-
tuous way."
BALM OF GILEAD (Populus caudicans).-
A well-known tree rarely met with
wild, but largely cultivated in the
Eastern States, more especially in
New England.
'Ezra,' says I, 'if you git time, just run
over to the edge o' my pasture and get me a
handful o' BALM O' GILEAD buds. I want to
put 'em in a half a pint o' new rum for Mis'
Crosby, and there ain't a soul to send.'-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
BALSAM FIR (Abies balsamea).— This
tree, which is of slender growth,
delights in cold marshy spots. It
produces the well-known Canada
BALSAM, the resinous matter being
obtained from blisters beneath the
bark.
BALSAM POPLAR (Populus balsamifera).
-A common name derived from
35
Bambsquabbled
the fragrance exhaled by its unfold-
ing leaves and expanding catkins.
It is a native of New England
and extends from Wisconsin north-
wards. Its resinous buds do not,
however, yield in sufficient quan-
tities to render the product com-
mercially valuable.
BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Icterus baltimore).
-Large numbers of these birds are
found near the City of Baltimore,
hence the name. The American
species is deeper and richer in
colour than the European, the pale
yellow of the latter being replaced
by a brilliant orange. A peculiar
hanging nest has also given rise to
its other popular name of the
HANG-BIRD.
BAM.-A jocular imposition; the same
as a humbug. Old Cant, compare
with the following.
BAMBOO, To. - A corruption
of
bamboozle." To cheat; to
victimize. According to Wright
"to bam" with the same meaning
is an English provincialism.
BAMBOO BRIARS otherwise BULL
BRIARS. A farinaceous root which
the Indians of the South-west use
largely for food. In rich alluvial
soil it attains a vigorous growth and
in size and appearance is not un-
like the BAMBOO, hence its name.
BAMBSQUABBLED. This coined word,
which is, however, rarely used
except in humorous writings, first
saw the light in The Legend of
the American War. It signifies
discomfiture and defeat, or stupe-
faction; sometimes written BUM-
SQUABBLED.
The judge said, 'He had got too much
already, cut him off the other two-
thirds, and make him pay all costs.' If he
Banana
didn't look BUMSQUABBLED it's a pity.-
Sam Slick's Clockmaker, Sermon ii., chap. xi.
BANANA (Musa sapientum).-A well-
known tropical fruit, largely grown
in the West Indies, where it and
its kinsman, the plantain (Musa
paradisiaca) are the chief staples of
the food supply. The fruit is
largely exported to the States.
BAND.-A prairie and Californian
term for large numbers of sheep,
cattle, buffaloes, etc.
BANDANNA.-A special kind of red
speckled handkerchief. The word
bandanna comes from the Hindus-
tani, and signifies a mode of dyeing
in which hard knots are tied in the
cloth before it is dipped. When
these are opened the fabric has a
speckled appearance, the dye hav-
ing left the tied parts free from
colour.
BANDED DRUM (Genus Pogonias Cuvier).
-Also popularly called the GRUN-
TER, GRUNTS, and YOUNG SHEEP-
SKIN. A fish found in Atlantic
waters south of New York.
BANDED GARFISH (Belone truncata).-
A slender spear-headed fish of a
genus common to both hemis-
pheres. This species frequents the
coast, and is also popularly known
as the BILL-FISH.
BANDERO (Cant).-Widow's weeds.
BANG. A style adopted by women in
dressing the hair upon the fore-
head, generally curled and frizzed,
the process being thus described.
To make the bang, you must begin
by dividing your front hair at
half-inch distances from ear to
ear combing the rest back. This
is repeated until the whole front
hair has been successfully BANged.
36
Banjo
BANG, Sister, BANG with care;
If your poker's too hot you'll lose your
hair.
-Detroit Free Press, 1888.
BANGER (College).-A club-like cane
or stick; a bludgeon. This word
is one of the Yale vocables.—Hall's
College Words and Customs.
The Freshman reluctantly turned the
key,
Expecting a Sophomore gang to see,
Who, with faces masked and BANGERS
stout,
Had come resolved to smoke him out.
-Yale Lit. Mag., vol. xx., p. 75.
BANGO! A negro expletive, without
any special meaning, except
one of general pleasure. It is fre-
quently heard, and is common to
the black race throughout the
States and the West Indies.
BANG UP.
song.
First-rate. A bang up
The trouble with almost all the ministers
is that they don't hear other ministers preach
often enough to know what a really first-
class, BANG UP sermon is.-Somerville Jour-
nal, 1888.
BANJO. A musical instrument almost
exclusively associated with negro
minstrelsy, and the name is doubt-
less a negro corruption of "ban-
dore," itself descended from the
Greek, Tavdouрa supposed to have
been invented by Pan. Thomas
Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia,
describes the instrument as peculiar
to the Blacks, which they brought
from Africa, and which is the
original of the guitar, its chords
being precisely the four lower
chords of the guitar.
Niggers go to Alabama with their BANJOES
on their knees.—Southern Life, p. 66.
'Twas the finest place for miles around
And ole galls wouldn't all come down.
And they'd so light on every night
To the old BANJO's sweet sound.
Bank-bill
The fiddle there, and den de bones,
And de merry tambourine,
Oh, wish dat I could see again
De ole plantation green.
-Negro Melody.
BANK-BILL. This is the name by
which Bank of England notes are
generally known throughout the
States. Here, by a bank-bill, a
bill of exchange is usually
understood.
BANKER.-A vessel engaged in the
Newfoundland cod-fisheries, hence
its name. Those who man these
boats are capable seamen and
inured to hardship; and the indus-
try is of high value commercially.
Of a very different character are
the bankers of North Carolina,
men dwelling on banks and who
once possessed an unenviable repu-
tation as wreckers. Their descen-
dants, mainly engaged in farming
and fishing, are still open to the
suspicion of similar practices when
opportunity serves.
BANKIT.-A corruption of the French
BANQUETTE (q.v.). A footpath or
sidewalk. Rarely heard.
BANKRUPTED.-A perversion of lan-
guage for BECOME BANKRUPT.
Manitoba has been well-nigh
RUPTED by crooked financiering.
possessions consist of little more than a bad
reputation and an over-stock of cold waves.
-Philadelphia Press, Jan. 29, 1888.
BANK-
Her
BANK SHAVING.-Before banks were
regulated by Act of Congress, a
practice prevailed among the least
reputable of such institutions of
purchasing notes of hand and
similar documents at enormously
usurious rates of discount. Many
were the facilities for sharp prac-
tice of every kind. Such banks
were called shaving banks, and the
unfortunate wretch who thus
37
Barbary Coast
"raised the wind" was said to GET
HIS PAPER SHAVED. The origin
of the phrase may be looked for
in maritime nomenclature, a shaver
from a sailor's point of view
being a man who
who is cute and
unscrupulous-possibly from the
unpleasant operation of shaving on
board ship when crossing the line.
BANK SNEAK.-A bank thief.
Buffalo officers to-day picked out from
a batch of Erie convicts Watt N. Jones, the
notorious BANK SNEAK and burglar so widely
known professionally in every city of the
United States and Canada.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, February 16, 1888.
BANQUETTE.-A side-walk or foot-
path; common in Louisiana and
other parts originally settled by the
French.
BANTER.—In addition to the ordinary
meaning of "raillery" and "friendly
jocularity," this word, in the South
and West, conveys the idea of "to
challenge."
BANTY.-Cant for saucy; impudent.
B'AR.-The popular pronounciation
in the South and West for " bear,"
and commonly written b'ar. In
BARSMEAT, the sign of elision is
omitted.
I went on, larning something every day,
until I was reckened a buster, and allowed
to be the best B'AR-HUNTER in my district.-
Thorpe's Big Bear of Arkansas.
BAR (Cant).-BAR THAT TOSS, i.e.,
stop that game. -To BAR.A
spurious verb, the signification of
which is derived from the drinking-
bar. Thus a tippler is said to bar
too much when given to inordinate
drinking.
BARBARY COAST.-The Chinese quar-
ter of San Francisco.
Barbecue
BARBECUE (Spanish barbacoa, French
barbe-à-queue). To cook a large
animal whole, over an open fire.
The French derivation suggests that
the goat, from head to tail-
barbe-à-queue-was the first victim
of this species of cookery. The
barbecue was formerly a conspicu-
ous feature of political meetings,
and is still common in the South
and West (See BURGOO). Latterly
it has re-appeared in New York
State, a genuine barbecue having been
held in Brooklyn.
There were killed in the corral 2,000 and
1,000 killed in the drive and outside. The
drive was followed by a BARBECUE.-San
Francisco Weekly Examiner, March 22nd,
1888.
་==
BARBER. -A Canadian backwoods
term for a kind of blizzard, the
precise nature of which may be ex-
plained as follows. The cold wind
from the far north comes down
across the track of a warm wind, its
motion fearfully accelerated; the
moisture is instantly condensed
to powdery snow, in some
instances as sharp as fragments
of steel, and in
and in the blinding
cloud the benumbed traveller is
hopelessly lost. When the vapour
is so suddenly condensed as
form sharp spicules, the Canadian
voyageurs call it the barber, as
it cuts the face like a razor.
Unfortunately this is about all
that is known of the blizzard; to
foretell its coming or forecast
its course are alike impossible.
There have not been observations
enough.
to
BARBERIZE, To. To follow the occu-
pation of a barber.
BAREFOOTED
ON THE TOP OF ONE'S
HEAD.-Bald-headed.
The appli-
cation of the simile is obvious.
38
Bark
BARELY TOLERABLE. This phrase,
when used in reference to the
health, signifies indifferent.
BARFOOT. A Western expression. To
take tea or any kind of food barfoot
(barefooted) is to take the former
without sugar or milk, or the latter
without condiments, or as would
be said, "fixin's" of any kind. James
Russell Lowell has observed that
a similar phrase occurs in the old
English Coventry plays.
Avoid sugar as much as conveniently
possible, and drink sparingly. Never touch
coffee unless you like it BAREFOOT, that is,
without sugar or milk.-Chicago Herald,
1888.
BARGE.-The barge of the Mississippi
and other large rivers is a very
different vessel, both as regards
size and equipment, to that which
bears the same name in England.
From 50 to 100 tons burden, it was
as large as an Atlantic schooner,
and was fitted with sails, masts, and
rigging. Few, if any, now remain,
steam having superseded this mode
of transit.
term.
By
BARK. A backwoods'
barking (the phrase now mainly
applies to the past) the settler facili-
tated the process of clearing the
land of the primeval forest. It
consisted in cutting a circular hole
through the bark to the heart of a
tree which then gradually withered
and died. When dry it was set on
fire to save trouble in felling. This
policy was, as subsequent events
have proved, very wasteful and
short-sighted. The woods thus
ruthlessly destroyed years ago
have now in many places to be
restored by young plantations.
The same process is sometimes in
the North-west called GIRDLING,
whilst in the South the term used
is BELTING. THE WORD WITH
THE BARK ON
ON IT, i.e., without
Bark
mincing the matter; without cir-
cumlocution.
If ever another man gives a whistle to a
child of mine and I get my hand on him, I
will hang him higher than Haman! That
is the WORD WITH THE BARK ON IT. -Mark
Twain's Roughing it. Chap. xv.
killed
-TO BARK A SQUIRREL.-Western
huntsmen, from the very nature of
their occupation and long practice,
are exceedingly expert with the
rifle, rarely missing aim. To bark
a squirrel arose from the custom of
marksmen, instead of firing direct,
aiming at a spot immediately
underneath it, the aim being so
true that the concussion
the little animal without injuring
its skin. Hence metaphorically the
expression signifies skill and
acute judgment. TO BARK UP
THE WRONG TREE.-Also of trap-
per and pioneer derivation, and
idiomatically used to signify that a
person is at fault as to his purpose,
or the means by which he is en-
deavouring to attain his object.
The expression arose in this way:
the Western huntsman found that
his prey gradually became more
and more wily and cunning in
eluding pursuit, and frequently he
and his dogs were at fault, sup-
posing they had "treed their
game when in reality, especially in
the case of opossums and squirrels
and such-like animals, it had es-
caped by jumping from the boughs
of one tree to another. The dogs
consequently were left barking up
the wrong tree.
Professor Rose who 'hit this town last
spring is around calling us a fugitive from
justice, and asking why the police don't do
something. Gently, Professor. When we
left Xenia, O., the Sheriff patted us on the
back and lent us half-a-dollar. We are the
only man in this town who doesn't turn pale
when the stage comes in, and the only one
who doesn't break for the sage brush when
it is announced that the United States
Marshal is here. We ain't rich or pretty,
but we are good, and the Professor 1S
39
BARKING UP
Barney
THE WRONG TREE.-Detroit
Free Press, October, 1888.
-BARKING THROUGH THE FENCE.
-A taking advantage of some ob-
stacle or shield for saying or doing
something, which, but for such
protection, would not be said or
done; or which if done or said
might entail unpleasant conse-
quences upon the sayer or doer.
can-
BAR'L (BARREL).-A wealthy
didate for office is said to have
remarked "Let
the boys know
that there's a bar'l o' money ready
for 'em," or words to that effect.
The use of the term in this sense
became general about 1876.
It will be remembered that Mr. Flower
was the nominal candidate of the anti
Cleveland men four years ago, and with the
aid of his BARREL they really did achieve
some show of success.-Florida Times
Union, February 11th, 1888.
BARNBURNER.—A nickname given to
certain progressive New York
Democrats, about 1835, who were
opposed to the Conservative
HUNKERS (q.v.). The name is
derived from the legend of the
Dutchman, who set his barn afire.
in order to kill the rats which
infested it, the inference being that
the Democrats in question would
fain destroy all existing institutions
in order to correct their abuses.
Horace Greeley, and a train of real blue-
light Clayites from your State, have arrived
this morning, and make their head-quarters
at the Franklin. Horace has fastened on his
armor with rivets and hammer, and the
Taylor men will find him a regular BARN-
BURNER-New York Herald.
BARNEY. (1) A hoax; something
pre-arranged; not genuine. This
slang word is current on both sides
of the Atlantic, but it is commonly
supposed to be of American origin.
Mr. Sheedy reiterates his statement that
the fight between Kilrain and Smith was a
Barnumese
BARNEY, and every one in London knows
that it was.-Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 7,
1888.
-(2) At Harvard College,
about the year 1810, this word
was used to designate a bad recita-
tion. To barney was to recite
badly.-Hall's College Words and
Customs.
BARNUMESE. Barnum, the proprie-
tor of "the greatest show upon
earth," has at any rate one claim
to immortal fame in having, like
Boycot, Burke, and Balfour, added
a new word to the English tongue.
The "high falutin," bombastic
style of the great man's announce-
ments are notorious; as much so,
in fact, as is the diction of the
great London newspaper which
claims the largest circulation in
the world." From such circum-
stances we get words like bar-
numese and telegraphese, to signify
exaggeration of style-what in
slang parlance is known as the
#
putting on of side.". TO BAR-
NUMIZE is to talk or assert oneself
in the style popularly attributed to
Barnum.
BARON. It is, to say the least, curi-
ous that in a Republican country
so much value should be attached
to the nomenclature of feudal and
monarchical institutions, unless,
indeed, it be regarded as one of
the many indications constantly
rising to the surface which show
that mankind is, after all is said,
essentially conservative in its
habits and modes of
modes of thought.
This tendency is very noticeable,
and the title hunting of rich
American women has been un-
mercifully satirised; whilst whiskey,
railroad, mining, and innumerable
other kings, and coal, and pork
barons, are as plentiful as black-
berries. Generals, judges, colonels,
40
Barranca
et cetera, are also so numerous
as to lead one to suppose that
the population of the United States
has gathered unto itself the quin-
tessence of the earth as far as
martial valor and legal learning
are concerned.
C
I have observed in all the steam rail
BARON'S' reply to 'fair trade that he
calls upon the iron ore BARONS,' the
'coal and coke BARONS' and the labor
BARONS' to aid him in meeting European
competition in steel rails on a free-trade
basis.-Correspondent of the Chicago Inter-
Ocean.
BARRACK. This word is used some-
what differently to the English
barracks. It is common in both
North and South to indicate a
rough four post structure for the
storage of hay and straw.-Fr.
Baraque.
BARRACLADE.- -A term which has
descended from the old knicker-
bocker days and is now almost
exclusively confined to the regions
settled by the Dutch. Barraclade,
from the Dutch barre kledeeren is a
home-spun blanket destitute of
nap.
BARRACOUDA (Sphyraena barrocuda).—
In the West Indies this is pro-
nounced barracoota; a pike - like
fish, the flesh of which is much
esteemed for food; it abounds in
the Gulf of Florida.
BARRACOON.-Bartlett gives this as
from the Spanish barraca; Haitian,
bajaraque. A slave-house or en-
closure.
BARRANCA.-In the South-western
States applied
applied to deep holes
caused chiefly by torrential rains.
The chasms thus formed, as also
those produced by swollen water-
courses, have steep precipitous
banks,
Barrel-boarder
When pursued the elk takes instinctively
to the very worst ground. He will go easily
in and out of the almost perpendicular
BARRANCAS of the bad lands, where no horse
can possibly follow.-Dodge's Plains of
the Great West.
BARREL-BOARDER.-A loafer in low
drinking-saloons.
BARREL-HOUSE.-A low groggery.
The West-Side police are still arresting
BARREL-HOUSE loafers in the hope of catch-
ing an expert cracksman among them.-
Missouri Republican, Feb. 11, 1888.
BARRENS, BARREN GROUNDS.
Elevated plateaus upon which
dwarfed and stunted brushwood
may be found, but on which there
is not a vestige of timber. The
soil is poor, and it is a matter
of opinion whether its absence is
to be attributed to this cause,
or to the fires which periodically
devastate these waste lands. They
have now, in most parts, been
brought under cultivation. Tech-
nically, the Barren Grounds are a
vast stretch of country in North-east
America.-BARREN GROUND REIN-
DEER (Tarandus arcticus). So called,
from being largely found in the
tract of country known as the
Barren Grounds.
BARRICK.-Pennsylvania Dutch for a
hill. From the German berg.
BARRING OFF.-In cane cultivation
the removal, in the spring, of the
earth from the roots of the cane
with ploughs and hoes, to permit
the light and air to hasten the ger-
minating of the RATOONS (q.v.). By
the middle of April there should
be a good STAND (q.v.) of the young
sprouts. Then the earth is worked
back towards the rows, and there
is constant cultivation with the
plough till about the 1st of July,
when the crop is LAID BY (q.v.).
41
Bartender
No more work is done on it till the
cutting begins in September.
BARS. TO LET DOWN THE BARS.-
To interfere; to put a stop to a
thing. In the following quotation
it refers to the winding-up of the
business of Congress for the Ses-
sion.
The length of the Session will largely
depend upon how much compassion is maní-
fested for those foolish virgins, who, when
the festivities have got well under way, come
up and piteously ask the Legislature to LET
DOWN THE BARS.
BARTENDER. The attendant in charge
of a drinking saloon; and, almost
invariably, a man, barmaids being
a comparatively recent innovation.
The fondness of Americans for
concocted drinks-besides full of
mystery their name is legion-
necessitates the
the bartender being
almost an "artist in this particu-
lar line. It will be remembered
that Mark Twain, in his Innocents
Abroad, complains bitterly of the
cruel deception practised upon the
"
Innocents" by a Parisian hotel-
keeper, who had prominently ad-
vertised "ALL MANNER OF AMERI-
CAN DRINKS ARTISTICALLY PRE-
PARED HERE." Writing of the im-
position, he says:-
We procured the services of a gentleman
experienced in the nomenclature of the
American bar, and moved upon the works
of one of these impostors. A bowing, aproned
Frenchman skipped forward and said:
Que voulez les messieurs?' ('Well, now
what do you want?')
Our General said, 'We will take a
whiskey-straight.'
(A stare from the Frenchman.)
Well, if you don't know what that is,
give us a champagne cock-tail.'
(A stare and a shrug.)
Well, then, give us a sherry-cobbler.'
The Frenchman was checkmated.
'Give us a brandy smash.'
The Frenchman began to back away,
suspicious of the ominous vigour of the
last order-began to back away, shrugging
his shoulders and spreading his hands de-
precatingly.
6
Base
The General followed him up and gained
a complete victory. The uneducated foreigner
could not even furnish a Santa Cruz Punch,
an Eye-Opener, a Stone Fence
Earthquake. It was plain that he was an
impostor.
or an
com-
as
Bartenders or BARKEEPERS as they are
otherwise called are exceedingly
skilful and experienced in
pounding the thousand and one
strange, but always palatable de-
coctions generically known
AMERICAN DRINKS, of which the
writer once heard the forcible if
vulgar criticism that "they made
a fellow wish he had a throat a
mile long, and a palate at every
inch of it." The simile is, per-
haps, the more appropriate inas-
much as these compounds are
generally taken very leisurely by
being sucked through straws
long glass tubes. A good bar-
tender, like a good waiter, is a fortune
to the house he represents, more
especially if he is ingenious enough
to introduce new drinks. Many
or
a large hotel has been "made" in
this way.
'Death has played a dirty trick on this
town,' says an Arizona paper, 'by sneaking
in upon us and bearing off the only BAR-TEN-
DER who knew how to mix Tom and Jerry
to circulate throughout the system.'-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, January, 1888.
BASE. TO CHANGE BASE.-A humor-
ous way of admitting a defeat, or, at
least, the necessity of endeavouring
to accomplish one's purpose in a
new and
and different way.- -This
catch phrase, during the Rebellion
became a byword in the North
as in the South, owing to the fact
that the repulses suffered by almost
every Federal general when at-
tempting to break through the
lines of General Lee before Rich-
mond were disguised as mere
changes of base.
BASE-BALL.-The American national
game, taking with them the position
42
Basket-Meeting
"
that cricket holds with us. Each
team consists of nine players. The
ball is very hard, and about the
size of a cricket-ball. The game
is not unlike our rounders, only
infinitely more dangerous and
rough. The pitcher who feeds the
batsmen is wonderfully skilled, and
by a peculiar twist makes the ball
describe a very decided arc in the
air, although thrown with terrific
force. So distinct is this arc that
a good pitcher will always under-
take to hit an object, although a
large tree may intervene in a direct
line between him and the object
aimed at. The longstop" be-
hind the striker remains at some
distance from the wicket for the
service of the first two balls, but
to receive the third and last ball he
puts on a strong wire mask, not
unlike a single-stick mask, and
stands immediately behind the
striker. It is rare for a man to go
through a season in this place with-
out sustaining some serious injury
to his hands. The remainder of
the field occupy various places
near the three stations or bases
to which the players have to run, or
further afield. The throwing or
catching of good base-ball players
is marvellously accurate, but, as a
game, it is inferior to cricket.
BASE-BURNER.-A stove so construct-
ed that the fire within is fed from
the top.
BASIN.-A SCHOONER OF BEER (q.v.).
BASKET-MEETING.—(1)
A species of
picnic, its distinctive name arising
from the fact of each person bring-
ing his own basket of contribu-
tions to the general larder. When
arranged by any Church, or other
religious organisation, devotional
exercises are sometimes engaged in
at these meetings.—(2) It some-
Bass Wood
times occurs in sparsely populated
districts, that a clergyman's stipend
is largely paid in kind, and the
occasions upon which the obliga-
tion thus incurred is carried out, are
called in the West basket-meetings.
In the East they are DONATION-
PARTIES (q.v.).
BASS WOOD (Tilia americana).—In ap-
pearance this tree is similar to the
Îime or linden of Europe. The
inner bark is stripped for mat
making and kindred purposes-
hence called bass. Another name
for it is WHITE-WOOD. The name
bass-wood is now obsolete in
England.
BASTER.—A New York cant term for
a house thief.
BASTILE. TO BE BASTILLED was the
term which, during the Rebellion,
was applied to the secret imprison-
ment inflicted by the military
authorities upon those whose sym-
pathies were assumed to lie with
the Southern cause. In this sense
its use was a revival of the old and
cruel memories of the famous
French prison.
་
BAT, TO (ie., in washing clothes).-
This process, also well known in
France, consists in cleansing soiled
linen by beating, and not by
rubbing as is usual with English
laundresses.
S'manthy, just now was BATTING clothes
on a block in front of the house, turning a
wet garment over with her left hand from
time to time, and giving it the most vindic-
tive blows with a bat held in her right.—
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
-TO BAT WITH THE EYES (Sou-
thern) means to wink, obviously
from the weak and dazed-like vision
of the animal in question.-Of a
different meaning and derivation,
though equally apparent, is the
43
Batture
"
phrase, TO BAT (i.e., to strike) ON
THE HEAD.Also, a frolic or
batter."
spree; contraction of
--BAT ONE'S EYES.-A South-
western term which is explained
by quotation.
The ox whip has both parts as long as
they can be managed. I have seen a poor
fellow from Ohio, totally unused to this enor-
mous affair, swing it around his head in
many an awkward twist, while the Texans
stood by and laughed to see him knock oft
his hat and BAT HIS EYES at every twitch, to
avoid cutting them out.-Overland Monthly.
Cf. Italian batter d'occhio, twinkling
of an eye.
BATTEAU (French).-A flat-bottomed
punt-like boat. These, once com-
mon on Western water-ways, have
mostly disappeared.
We
Sharp flashes of lightning, the rumbling
of thunder and fierce gusts of wind pro-
claim the advance of a heavy shower.
cover the BATTEAU with a heavy tarpaulin,
fastening it securely at the gunwale; the
canoes are hauled up on the bank and
turned over, to keep the insides dry,' A
trip on the Upper Mississippi' in the Portland
Transcript. March 8, 1888.
BATTERCAKE. An inseparable adjunct
to the early morning meal in the
South. It is made of Indian meal
and cream.
BATTERY.-An odd name, says De
Vere, given in Chesapeake Bay to
a heavy boat not unlike a coffin in
shape (and hence also known as a
COFFIN-BOAT), used in duck-shoot-
ing. Its peculiar build enables the
hunter to float gently down upon
his unsuspecting game, lying below
the surface of the water, while the
heavy calibre of his gun, and the
fact that he shoots from a kind of
miniature embrasure, have, no
doubt, led to the use of the word
battery.
BATTURE.-Land which forms at the
mouth of a river thrown up by the
action of a swift current.
Baulk
BAULK, TO. BAULKY.-Sec BALK.
BAUM (College).-At Hamilton Col-
lege, to fawn upon; to flatter; to
court the favor of anyone.-Hall's
College Words and Customs.
BAY. (1) Prairie land sometimes
strikes deeply into the borders of
the forest and these indentations
are, by analogy derived from simi-
lar arms of the sea opening into
the land, called bays.-
(2) Also
applied in North Carolina (in
Florida they are called BAY-GALLS)
to low swampy districts to which
a stunted scrubby-bush bars all
ingress, and where deer, bear, and
other game find refuge. Probably
named from the large number of
BAY-LAUREL trees generally found
in these marshes.
BAY
BERRY (Myrica cerifera).— Also
popularly known as the wax myrtle,
its leaves being similar, and the
odour of its leaves resembling
the bay-laurel. Candles are made
from the fragrant wax, of a green
color, produced by boiling down
its berries.
BAYOO.-Negro-American for a man
of whom Quashie thinks very
little; a "low down mean cuss.'
1)
BAYOU (French). A water channel;
an outlet from a lake.
I kept the banks of the BAYOU, and deter-
mined to mark the tree with a blaze.-A
Stray Yankee in Texas, p. 63.
44
This vast tract of marsh and fen is full of
life and interest. The river, as though loth
to part from its dear old hills, struggles to
get away from its confining banks, and here
and there little BAYOUS have found passage
through the bottom land. After reaching the
bluffs these BAVOUS flow with sluggish cur-
rent along their base, beneath over-arching
branches of elm and cottonwood, and after
flowing a few miles find their straggling way
to the parent stream.-Portland Transcript,
March 7, 1888.
Bead
*
BAYRES.-An abbreviation adopted by
telegraph companies for Buenos
Ayres.
BAY STATE.Massachusetts.
Previ-
ous to the War of Independence
this State was known as the Colony
of Massachusetts Bay, hence the
popular name.
Democrats of the old BAY STATE, one
charge more, and the work is thoroughly
done. 'Once more to the breach,' and you
will hear the shouts of Democratic victory
and the lamentations of the vanquished.
We must achieve a victory,-the people must
be free,-coonery must fall with all its cor-
ruptions and abominations, never more to
rise. Boston Post.
BAY WINDOW.-A slang phrase applied
to women when pregnant, or to
men who, in English slang, have
corporations."
"
BAZAAR.-A New York thieves' term
for a counter.
BEACH-COMBERS.-The name given
to the long deep swell of ocean
waves rolling on to the shore.
BEACH-PLUM (Prunus maritima).-
Also SAND-PLUM. The fruit of a
tree which flourishes in sandy soil,
generally by the sea-coast.
BEAD. TO DRAW A BEAD ON ONE is to
attack an opponent by speech or
otherwise. The phrase has passed
into colloquial use from backwoods
parlance, where it signifies the
process of taking aim and firing.
The front sight of a gun is in ap-
pearance like a bead.
Well I turned round, fetched her up to her
face, and DRAWIN' A BEAD on the nearest,
pulled the trigger.-The Trapper's Story,
1873.
It was pretty close to the shanty, and I
thought I heard the old nan coming all the
time; but I got her hid; and then I out and
looked around a bunch of willows, and
there was the old man down the path apiece
Beans
just DRAWING A BEAD on a bird with his gun.
-Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 48.
-TO RAISE A BEAD.-To bring
to the point; to ensure success, etc.
BEANS. TO KNOW BEANS, that is, to
be well informed. The phrase is
incorporated into many expressions
in a very strange way.
The pudding was pronounced a success
by each member of the assembled family,
including a dainty Boston girl who, of course,
KNOWS BEANS.-Portland Transcript, March
7, 1888.
One has to KNOW BEANS to be successful
in the latest Washington novelty for enter-
tainment at luncheons.- Chicago Herald,
1888.
BEAN TRAPS.-An American flash
term for a swell mobsman, or
stylish sharper. Beans are five-
dollar gold pieces and the insinu-
ation is obvious. In old English
cant a bean meant a guinea,
from the French biens, property.
BEAR GRASS (Yucca filamentosa).—Also
SILK GRASS.
BEAR MEAT. The flesh of the bear.
BEAR OFF, TO.To single out and
separate from a body or mass. A
cowboy's term. In taking cattle
to market, or at ROUND-UPS (q.v.)
it often happens that herdsmen
are obliged to stop and stray the
herd. While several herdsmen are
stationed around it, to hold it fast,
another rides in, selects a stray
brand, and cuts it out, by chasing
it out with his horse. At other
times they bear off a single animal,
by riding between it and the herd,
when in motion. Sometimes, when
they have made a march through a
dense chaparral, they halt, go
back, and drive it, by riding sys-
tematically through it in search of
stragglers.
45
Beat
BEAR-SIGN. The tracks left by bears.
They reported any amount of BEAR-SIGN
on the slopes leading to the river.-Scrib-
ner's Magazine, 1887.
BEAR STATE (pronounced bar).-
Arkansas. So named because of
the vast numbers of bears which
once abounded within its limits.
BEAR WALLOWS.-Wallows of various
kinds are frequently met with
in the Western prairies,
prairies, and
in the Rockies, and are termed
buffalo, hog, and bear wallows, the
depressions having every appear-
ance of being caused by the action
of the animal life in question.
They are, however, purely natural
phenomena.-See BUFFALO WAL-
LOWS.
BEAST.-A name given to new cadets.
at the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point.
BEAT. This word is used in many
ways, its precise meaning often
depending on its qualifying adjec-
tive. It is used both of men and
things; for example, a live beat is
anybody or anything that surpasses
another, and the sense is not de-
A dead
rogatory in the least.
beat, on the other hand, is the
name given to a man who sponges
on his fellows.
As we pay big money for our special news,
we can't afford to throw it away on account
of a little mistake in the name. So we
shove her in with the single remark that it
is better to have a Carrot for a President
than a DEAD BEAT for a son-in-law. In this
way we again score a LIVE BEAT on the
galoot The Ripsnorter.' Whoopee! Now
is the time to subscribe.-New York Tribune,
1888.
Speaking of the means adopted
by rival journals to obtain news in
advance of one another, the New
York Mercury (1888), writes thus :—
But not only steamboats and locomotives
were used by reporters for BEATS, but one
Beaters
newspaper man named Monroe F. Gale
made a trip across the Atlantic in a pilot-
boat to get some peculiar news in his own
fashion. All things taken into consideration,
there never was a bolder voyage over the
Atlantic than this made by the Romer, all for
the sake of a few points' in news.
-TO GET A BEAT ON is to get the
advantage of. The same idea is
expressed in the phrase TO BEAT
ONE'S WAY THROUGH THE WORLD,
in other words, to push one's in-
terests with vigor and pertinacity.
As used by thieves and their asso-
ciates, TO GET A BEAT ON ONE, be-
sides conveying the idea of obtain-
ing an advantage, also implies that
the point has been scored by under-
hand, secret, or unlawful means.
A DAISY BEAT is the euphonious
name applied to a swindle of the
first water.
Later he heard of her marriage to some
lawyer or artist named Diss Debar. Pre-
vious to this she had been in Montreal and
telegraphed that she was dying. She BEAT
the hotel out of a hundred dollars.-Daily
Inter-Ocian, April 12, 1888.
Two boys, Russell Kinsley and Harry
Kinsley, were each fined twenty-five dollars
and the execution was stayed provided they
would go to their home in Carroll County,
Missouri. They have been BEATING board-
ing houses all over the West Side.-Daily
Inter-Ocean, March 23, 1888.
BEATERS.-A slang term for boots;
BEATER - CASES with the same
meaning is a now almost obsolete
phrase among the lower classes in
England, TROTTER-CASES having
supplanted it.
BEATINEST. The best; surpassing all
others. [Qy.-Is this word irregu-
larly formed from "to beat, "to
surpass, with the superlative suffix,
or is it a corruption of A.S. betest of
which best is a shortened form ?]
Though George warn't the BEATINEST
smart sailor he ever sot eyes on, he had
plenty of fackilty 'n' was stiddy 'n' likely as
any young feller in the hull place.-Portland
Transcript, 1888.
46
Beaver
BEAU.-Universally used for "sweet-
heart," in fact, the latter term rarely
if ever falls from a girl's lips when
speaking of her lover. So general
is this usage that we get the verb
TO BEAU in a corresponding sense,
as also in the less intimate one
of simply "to escort."
BEAUTIFUL. — Often, like "elegant,"
misused in describing what is
pleasing or good. This perversion
of language is not unknown in
England, but such extraordinary
forms, e.g., "beautiful conduct," as
fall from American lips are scarcely
ever heard in England. When
Yankees misuse a word, they do it
thoroughly; generally, however,
American-English, taking the peo-
ple all round, is much purer than
the vernacular of the Mother
Country.
BEAUTY (Cadet).-A term applied, on
the rule of contrary, to the plainest
or ugliest cadet in the class at the
United States Military Academy
at West Point.
BEAVER.-TO WORK LIKE A BEAVER.—
Obviously a simile denoting indus-
try and perseverance.- -BEAVER
DAM. The obstructions which
the industrious beaver is in the
habit of throwing across a stream
are too well-known to need further
description.BEAVER MEADOWS.
-The haunts of the beaver.
Three or four miles more-among old
BEAVER-MEADOWS, where every now and
then we heard, loud almost as a pistol-shot,
the beaver smite the water with his broad
tail, as he went down to his own quiet, clear
pool.—Scribner's Magazine, May, 1887.
-BEAVER TREE (Magnoliaglauca).
-The distinctive name of this tree
is supposed to arise from the fact
that its bark is much sought after
by beavers as an article of food,
while its wood is largely used by
+
Becaise
them in the construction of their
dams. The term is specially West-
ern; in the East the same tree is
called the CASTOR TREE, from
Castor americanus the scientific
cognomen of the American beaver.
"
BECAISE or CAYSE.— -Used in the
South for because." De Vere
points out that becaise, contrary to
expectation, is confined to the
whites; also that, if a mere corrup-
tion, it is one which has been current
since the settlement of Virginia. It
was used by Pepys in his Diary.
Cayse, on the other hand, seems
more like a negro corruption, and
finds a place in many a negro
melody.
Massa make de darkeys love him,
CAYSE he was so kind,
Now, dey sadly weep above him,
Mourning CAYSE he leave dem behind.
I cannot work before to-morrow,
CAYSE de teardrop flow,
I try to drive away iny sorrow,
Pickin' on de old banjo.
-Negro Ballad.
BEDROCK. A miner's term. It often
happens that gold is not found
until bedrock in reached. Meta-
phorically "to reach bedrock" is to
attain a solid basis or foundation;
bedrock facts are the "chiels that
winna ding"-the incontestible
and uncontrovertible truth.
Street cleaning is going on famously-and
a multitude of people will be glad when we
dig down to BEDROCK once more. It is
just the kind of work that cannot be pushed
too rapidly. Discomfort and disease lie all
along dirty thoroughfares.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, April, 1888.
Thomas J. Whiteman of Carrol county is
a Republican candidate for governer of Mis-
souri. You can bet your BEDROCK dollar
that the next governor of Missouri will be
a white inan, although his first name isn't
apt to be Thomas.-Louisiana Press, March
31, 1888.
BED-SPREAD.-A coverlet or counter-
pane; BED-QUILT is the corres-
ponding term in England.
47
Bee
The articles which were offered composed
about as varied an assortment as ever an
auctioneer cried-costumes of all sorts,
kinds and descriptions, mattresses, pillows,
BED-SPREADS, etc., etc.-Missouri Republican,
February 24, 1888.
BEE.-America is essentially the land
of bees-gatherings of friends
and neighbours for some special
object. In the old days, when
population was sparse, a new
settler would, unaided, be totally
unable to perform many neces-
sary operations, such as clear-
ing the land, erecting a log cabin,
etc., within a reasonable time; his
neighbours would, therefore, come
to his assistance, and the many
pairs of hands at a "chopping-
bee," or a 'raising-bee," or
a
building-bee "would accomplish,
in a few hours, what would have
taken one man many weeks to per-
form. The custom was general;
indeed, the rendering of such as-
sistance was regarded as almost a
public duty. The practice was by
no means confined to the rougher
operations of the settler's life; as
time went on, and his family grew
up around him, they would feel a
longing for, and the need of social
intercourse. One great obstacle to
this was the long distances separa-
ting the various homesteads; so
work was combined with pleasure,
and, if one good dame had to beat
the flax, to pare the apples for pre-
serving, or to husk the corn, or
gather in the nuts, a bee was an-
nounced, and the neighbours would
gather from twenty or thirty miles
distance like so many bees and do
the work, after which they would
betake themselves to social inter-
course and merrymaking. So
popular did these festive gather-
ings become, that every excuse was
seized upon as an occasion for such
junketings. The term is now
applied to almost any gathering of
people for a useful, entertaining,
or other purpose; as, for example,
Beech Drop
in the case of
"
"
spelling'
or
"sewing bees," while in the West
"lynching bees" are not infrequent,
and even
'dying bees" are fami-
liar! For further details refer to
special kinds of bees, e.g., QUILTING-
BEE, CHOPPING-BEE, STONE-BEE,
etc.
We sometimes wonder if they still keep
up the old-fashioned PARING-BEE in the
country, or has it passed away with sewing
by hand and the spinning-wheel? In our
day many frolics came with autumn. There
was the HUSKING-BEE gathered in some
barn to husk the farmer's corn by the light
of lanterns swung from the beams, and beain-
ing on rosy-cheeked girls and laughing boys.
Cider and pumpkin pie used to finish out the
entertainment. The PARING-BEES drew best,
however, and young people came for miles
around. The work was performed by hand,
generally, amid a great clatter of tin pans
and knives and tongues. Gathered around
the yawning fire-place of a farmer's ample
kitchen, faces all radiant with fun and fire-
light, the PARING-BEE that we recall was a
scene of mirthful industry that we would
travel many miles to see again. When the
work was over how quickly they could clear
the kitchen for a dance. Many was the life-
match effected at the country PARING-BEE,
the long walk home being specially calcu-
lated for such a conclusion.-Texas Siftings,
Oct. 13, 1888.
BEECH DROP.-A vegetable parasite of
the beech.
BEEF. Used in the South and West
as the singular of oxen; thus,
a beef instead of "ox." -To
BEEF. To kill oxen, and convert
their flesh into beef.- -BEEFING
BEE. -An assembly of people for
the purpose of slaughtering cattle.
-See BEE.
'I'll bet all the 'taters I'll raise this year
th't you mean Phil Byer's BEEFIN' BEE!'
exclaimed the squire. Boys, I mus' tell ye
'bout that. We had heerd th't Phil Byer
were gointer BEEF a steer o' his'n th't had got
a leetle too rantankerous to be handled fer
work. Ez none on us hadn't never heerd o'
setch a thing ez a BEEFIN' BEE we ruther cal-
c'lated ez 'twere 'bout time to get one up.'
-Chicago Herald, 1888.
BEEF CATTLE.-By beef cattle
is understood animals fit for food
48
Bee-Line
in contradistinction to those used
as beasts of burden. -BEEF
DODGER. — A meat biscuit made of
beef and Indian corn. BEEF
STEERS.-See BEEF CATTLE, above.
-
The cattle are fattest and in best condition
during the fall, and it is then that the bulk of
the BEEF STEERS are gathered and shipped-
four-year olds as a rule, though some threes
and some fives go with them.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
BEEGUMS.-A name originally applied
to beehives made of the hollow
trunks of gum trees (Liquidambar
styraiflua), which bees, in a wild
state,
very often select, when
hollow, for building their hives.
These trees are naturally very
liable to rapid internal decay,
leaving only a shell; the trunks are
then made into casks, beehives,
etc. The word beegum is also
applied to any kind of hive made
of wood.
But time we wuz in our saddles crack went
a gun fum behin' the court-house..... The
Perrysburg people wus like a BEEGUM
that's been upsot. The people was now
a-runnin', some one way un some t'other, un
more guns wuz fired off fum some'ers,-we
never stopped to eenquire fum whar, tell
we'd got safe acrost the county line.-Century
Magazine.
BEE-LINE. TO TAKE or MAKE A BEE-
LINE for any spot or place is to
go direct, or
or "as the crow flies";
an allusion to the habit of bees,
who, when fully laden with pollen,
make for the hive in a straight or
bee-line.
The cattle are in great dread of this pest
(the heel-fly), and the instant an animal feels
one it hoists its tail in the air, and takes a
BEE-LINE for the nearest water.-Aldridge's
Ranch Notes, 1884, p. 78.
The field o' Lexin'ton where England
tried
The fastest colors thet she ever dyed,
An' Concord Bridge, thet Davis, when he
came,
Been There
Found was the BEE-LINE track to heaven
an' fame,
Ez all roads be by natur', ef your soul
Don't sneak thur shun-pikes so's to save
the toll.
-Biglow Papers.
One of the American railroads
is called the BEE-LINE ROAD from
the direct route it takes between
its termini. Also AIR-LINE (q.v.).
BEEN THERE.-OH, YES, I'VE BEEN
THERE; I know what I am about.
A popular slang exclamation and
usage. When it is said of a man
that he has been there, shrewdness,
pertinacity, and experience are
implied. A variant may be found
in the equally slang "he got there
all the same."-See GET THERE.
a
The Japanese say: 'A man takes
drink; then the drink takes a drink, and
next the drink takes the man,' Evidently
the Japanese have BEEN THERE.'-Atlanta
Constitution, 1888.
BEER. BEMUSING HIMSELF WITH
BEER, was a phrase which, ori-
ginating with G. A. Sala (in Gas-
light and Daylight), caught the
popular fancy and ran a brief but
riotous course throughout the
Union to signify one who addicted
himself to "soaking" with beer.
BEER-JERKER.A tippler.
BEE TREE. A Western and Southern
phrase. A hollow tree in which
bees have swarmed and made a
hive. The gum-tree (Liquidambar
styræiflua), from the bark of which
is obtained a fragrant gum much
used for chewing purposes, is a
favorite haunt of these useful little
insects; and as the tree, when
wounded in the bark, quickly
decays and becomes hollow, a
bee-tree is in reality often synony-
mous with a gum tree.
49
Begosh
BEFO' THE WAR, i.e., before the Rebel-
lion, 1861-5. Mark Twain, in his
Life on the Mississippi, graphi-
cally describes the purport of this
phrase "Mention of the war will
wake up a dull company and set
their tongues going, when nearly
any other topic would fail. In the
South, the war is what A.D. is
elsewhere; they date from it. All
day long you hear things 'placed
as having happened since the war ;
or du'in' the war; or befo' the war ;
or right aftah the war; or 'bout
two yeahs, or five yeahs, or ten
yeahs befo' the war or aftah the war.
It shows how intimately every
individual was visited, in his own
person, by that tremendous episode.
It gives the inexperienced stranger
a better idea of what a vast and
comprehensive calamity invasion is,
than he can ever get by reading
books at the fireside." Further on
he relates how "everything is
changed since the war, for better or
for worse; but you'll find people
down here born grumblers, who see
no change except the change for
the worse. There was an old
negro woman of this sort. A
young New Yorker said in her
presence, "What a wonderful moon
you have down here!" She sighed
and said, "Ah, bless yo' heart,
honey, you ought to seen dat moon
befo' de war!
BEGGAR TICKS, also BEGGAR LICE and
HARVEST LICE.-In English cant,
CHATS.
BEGOSH! B'GOSH!-An expletive,
probably of negro origin; a half
veiled oath; a corruption of "By
God!"
4
Art dealer (descanting on the virtues of
the picture) You will observe, sir, that the
drawing is free, that'
Agriculturalist 'Well, if the drawin's free
an' you don't tax me too much for the frame
B'GOSH I'll take it.'-The Epoch, May, 1888.
7
Behead
BEHEAD, TO. Used in political circles
when an official's term of office has
come to an end through change of
Government, or supersession in
other ways. Also TO DECAPITATE.
BEHINDMENTS. - Outstanding liabili-
ties; arrears; a deficit.
LI
BEING.-Used as an equivalent for
considering," "because," and, as
such, a vulgarism; e.g., Being as
you are going to town I need not
trouble myself."
BELIKED.-Liked; beloved; formed
on the model of the latter.
BELITTLE. To underrate; to depre-
ciate; or to disparage. A man's
character may be belittled, i.e.,
disparaged, etc. Hence BELITTLING
and BELITTLEMENT. All these
words originated in the United
States, belittle being first used
about 1796. Now colloquial on
both sides of the Atlantic.
BELL. TO RING ONE'S OWN BELL.-
A variation of " to blow one's trum-
pet"; to sound one's praises per-
sonally.
BELL-BOY.-In American hotels the
bell-boy occupies very much the
place of the English boots.
BELLMARE. A political leader. The
term is a slang appropriation from
the terminology of Western life,
where it seems to be used in regard
to mules much in the same way as
bell-wether is employed in England
in reference to sheep. Why the
grey mare, says the author of A
Ride with Kit Carson, should be
the better horse in the estimation
of mules I cannot say, but such is
certainly the fact. Though very
cautious animals when relying
50
Belly-Bumper
solely on their own judgment, they
would appear to have a conscious-
ness of their own inferiority, which
induces them to entertain a great
regard for the sagacity of the horse,
and especially for that of a white
mare. The wily Californians tak-
ing advantage of this amiable
weakness, employ a steady, old,
white mare of known gentleness
and good character, to act as a
kind of mother and guide to each
drove of unruly mules.
BELLOWSES.-
-This term, pure slang.in
England, is colloquial in Pennsyl-
vania and the New England States
for the lungs.
BELLOWS TOP.-An egg flip; the name
bellows top is conferred on it
because of the whitish froth which
rises to the surface when beaten
with a whisk or swizzle stick.
BELLYACHE, TO. A coined word,
meaning "to grumble without good
cause.' Employés bellyache at
being overworked, or when they
fancy themselves underfed.
vulgarism.
A
BELLY-BENDER. A boy's term for
weak and unsafe ice.
BELLY BOUND. This is supposed to
be a corruption of the French
belle et bonne, and is the name in Con-
necticut of a particular sort of
apple.
BELLY-BUMPER OR BELLY-BUSTER.
TO TAKE A BELLY-BUSTER; i.e., to
ride down a hill in a sled lying on
one's stomach, an amusement
confined, it hardly needs saying, to
Young America. The idea of
toboganning was derived from this
boyish pastime, and the oaken
board has been succeeded by the
Belly-Button
fleet-winged toboggan, made of
seasoned maple with handsomely
upholstered seats. With the ad-
vent of the improved ice vehicles
the interest in these sports has
increased, and instead of being
confined to the vulgar boys who
used to ride down hill belly-buster
fashion, men and even the most
fashionable women now partake
of this pleasant and invigorating
pastime. Also BELLY-BUMBO, BELLY-
GUTS or GUTTER, BELLY-FLOUN-
DERS, BELLY-FLUMPS and BELLY-
PLUMPER.
Barney has a sled, on which he hauls the
fish in snowy weather. Barney had his
sled out yesterday, BELLY-BUMPING on a
little patch of ice and snow.-Chicago Inter-
Ocean, 1888.
BELLY-BUTTON.-A vulgar name for
the navel.
BELLY-GUTS. (1) In Pennsylvania,
molasses candy. (2) Equiva-
lent to BELLY-BUMPER (q.v.).
BELLY PLUMPER.-See BELLY-BUMPER.
BELONGINGS.Still current as a sy-
nonym for "property," in which
sense it is a survival of old English
usage. More often, however, it is
employed as a euphemism for
trousers by the prudishly in-
clined.
BELT, TO.-A Southern phrase equiva-
lent to the North-western BARK or
the Western GIRDLE (q.v.). A
process by which land is speedily
cleared of trees by means of a belt
or girdle cut round the bark with
a hatchet, causing the tree gra-
dually to wither and die.
BEND.-ABOVE
or
ONE'S BEND, i.e.,
above one's ability, power
capacity, or out of one's reach.
Probably a corruption of "above
51
Best
one's bent." Shakespeare puts the
expression in the mouth of Hamlet,
"to the top of my bent" (iii. 2.).
In the Southern States its place is
generally taken by ABOVE
HUCKLEBERRY (q.v.). An English
equivalent is above one's hook."
"
MY
It would be ABOVE MY BEND to attempt
telling you all we saw among the red skins.
-J. F. Cooper's The Oak Openings.
BENDER. In Lowland Scotch a hard
and persistent drinker is so called.
In the States, however, the term is
more usually applied to a drinking
bout or a spree, in the course of
which, to use another slang ex-
pression, "the town is painted
red," and the participants decidedly
unbent.
He was a character noted for going on
frequent BENDERS until he came very near
having the jimjams and then sobering up.-
Detroit Free Press, Aug. 4, 1888.
BENS.-A workman's slang term for
his tools.
BERMUDA GRASS (Gnodon dactylon).–
A large leaved grass which has
been acclimatized in the Southern
States.
BERMUDA VINE.-The cultivated Vitis
riparia, grown for the sake of its
highly scented flowers, and called,
when found in a wild state, the
RIVER GRAPE, CHICKEN GRAPE,
FROST GRAPE.
BEST, TO. TO BEST ONE is to obtain
an advantage, generally by mean
and underhand methods. Like its
antithesis to worst" used in the
sense of "to defeat," it is now a
genuine vulgarism, though there is
some reason for the contention that
it formed at one time a legitimate
component of the language.
Bestmost
BESTMOST. The best. Used abso-
lutely and not relatively as is the
colloquial English "bettermost."
Though not a dictionary word
bestmost is regularly formed, and,
except that it is in reality a double
superlative, is equally as respect-
able as "bettermost.'
All her word was, 'Doctor, don' let 'er
suffer!' but w'en she seen doctor war doin'
his BESTMOST, she never said nary nuther
word.-Leslie's Illustrated Paper, June, 1888.
BET. YOU BET! A Californian phrase
tacked on to an assertion to give it
additional emphasis. So popular is
the expression that it has been given
as a name in the form of UBET to
a town in the Canadian North-
west. Oftentimes it is amplified
into "you bet your boots," "life,"
or "bottom dollar," and so on.
The two former were used in New
York and Boston as far back as
1840.
Mr. Boutelle-That is the bravery to
which you refer ? (Applause on the Repub-
lican side.)
Mr. O'Ferrall-Well, sir, it is the right
kind of bravery: you may BET YOUR BOTTOM
DOLLAR on that.-Congressional Report in
Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
TO BET ONE'S EYES is a gam-
bler's term applied to an onlooker
who neither takes part in nor bets
upon the game.
BETTER.-Used colloquially in the
East for "more." Also provincial
in England as a vulgarism, though
dating back to Saxon times.
BETTERMENTS.-A term equivalent to
"improvements (of property).
Colloquial everywhere. Quoted
by Murray.
'And so Mr. Pinkerton is after sending me
to England, as he kindly says, for the BET-
TERMENT of my health,' remarked McParlan,
in his pleasant way, the next afternoon, to
my cashier, as he received the advance of
money for his expenses.-Pinkerton's Mollie
Maguires and Detectives.
52
Big
BETTY.-The straw-bound Florence-
flask of commerce, in which salad
oil is usually shipped.
BETWEENITY. A state of uncertainty;
of trembling in the balance; or, to
use another Americanism, SITTING
UPON THE FENCE (q.v.).
BEVEL. Bartlett quotes this as cur-
rent in Long Island for a slope or
declivity; while Forby, in his
Vocabulary of East Anglia, defines a
bevel as a road which is laid higher
in the middle, hence BEVEL-EDGED.
-At one
time
(4
11
a favorite
'rough
With their
themselves
B'HOYS.-At
appellation for the
element in New York.
G'HALS, they made
conspicuous on high days and
holidays, and, at times, at the
polling booth. They were often
more distinctively called BOWERY
BOYS, from the fact of their con-
gregating mostly in that well-
known thoroughfare.
BIBIBLES.-Food of a liquid kind.
An innovation, formed on the model
of "edibles," which has little to
recommend it save its vulgarity.
BIDDABLE. This savours consider-
ably of the Emerald Isle, and is prob-
ably an importation into Western
life therefrom. Biddable children
or servants are those in whom obe-
dience, compliance, and tractability
are prominent qualities.
BIDDY. An Irish female servant.
Bridget is a favorite name with
the Irish, and Biddy is its familiar
form.
BIG.-Used not only as regards quan-
tity, but quality also. Thus, what
in England would be called fine
old whiskey and brandy would, in
Big-Bone Lick
America, be designated "big whis-
key," etc.
BIG-BONE LICK.-A locality in Ken-
tucky where immense numbers of
animal remains have been found,
more especially those of deer,
buffalo, wild cattle, and even mas-
todons, whole skeletons of the
latter having been unearthed. The
theory is that the spot was a favorite
resort of game in the far away
past. A lick means a place
where rock-salt and saline springs
abound, which, it is well-known,
form an attraction for such animals.
BIG BUGS.-HE'S A BIG BUG IN HIS
WAY, that is, a person of standing
or
consequence either self-esti-
mated or in reality. A disre-
spectful but common mode of
allusion to persons of wealth or
with other claims to distinction.
Variants are BIG-DOG or BIG-TOAD,
and in English slang 'big wig
and "great gun."
"
Don't appear unduly surprised or flus-
trated if, on answering the front door bell,
you find Mr. Gladstone wiping his feet on
the door mat. Invite him to walk in in a
cool, collected tone of voice.
Show
him you have entertained BIG BUGS before.
-Texas Siftings, Sept. 15, 1888.
•
•
BIG DOG OF THE TANYARD.- - A conse-
quential, pompous individual; one
who will neither allow others a
voice in any matter or permit dis-
sent from his own views. The
obvious derivation is from the
customary guarding of tanyards by
ferocious watch-dogs.
BIG DOG WITH THE BRASS COLLAR.
The chief in any undertaking or
enterprise; a a leader. A simile
evidently derived from the stable
or kennel. The phrase is some-
times shortened to big dog.
'Yes,' said Dormer, 'Lawler is the BIG DOG
in these parts now; besides he kapes a good
53
Biggity
tavern, and will see no old-timer, or young
one either, for that matther, sufferin' from
want while he can relieve him!'-Pinkerton's
Mollie Maguires and Detectives.
BIG DRINK. (1) When a Western
plainsman talks of the big drink, he
is always understood to mean the
Mississippi river.- (2) TO TAKE A
BIG OF LONG DRINK is to partake of
liquor from a large glass. It is
very customary when calling for
liquor to state whether a LONG or
SHORT DRINK is required.
BIG FIGURE-TO GO THE BIG FIGURE.
-Merely a variant of "to go the
whole hog," or "to go the whole
animal," and signifies embarking
upon an enterprise of magnitude.
The phrase is mainly current in
the South, and is derived from a
term used in poker.
BIGGEST.-A surperlative often used
in the sense of "the best " or the
finest."
The Pittsburg Times is as breezy a journal
as comes to this office. It is the BIGGEST
little paper we are acquainted with.-Wash-
ington (Pa.) Review, 1888.
BIGGEST TOAD IN THE PUDDLE.-One of
the many bold, if equivocal meta-
phors to which the West has given
rise. The biggest load in the
puddle is the recognised leader or
chief whether in politics, or in
connection with the rougher avo-
cations of pioneer life. Equivalent
to THE BIG DOG WITH THE BRASS
COLLAR (q.v.)-See also BIG bugs.
BIGGITY.-Consequential; giving one-
self airs. A negro term.
These railroads have made havoc with the
steamboat commerce. The clerk of our
boat was a steamboat clerk before these
roads were built. In that day the influx of
population was so great, and the freight
business so heavy, that the boats were not
able to keep up with the demands made upon
their carrying capacity; consequently the
Bighead
captain was very independent and airy-
pretty BIGGITY, as Uncle Remus would say.
-Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi,
P. 511.
BIGHEAD. (1) A disease peculiar to
cattle, so named from the swelling
produced in the head. -(2) To
GET A BIG HEAD, or TO HAVE ONE'S
HEAD SWELLED, is a term applied
in cases where new ideas result in
unbearable conceit, or a twisted
vision.
BIG HORN (Ovis montana).-A species
of sheep peculiar to the Rocky
Mountains, from California north-
wards. Dodge describes it as a
splendid animal, which, among the
horned beasts of the Great West,
ranks next in size to the elk. In
appearance the big horn, or MOUN-
TAIN SHEEP, as it is otherwise
known, is a curious combination.
His body is that of a very large
deer; his head that of a domestic
sheep, except that no domestic
sheep could possibly carry the
enormous horns with which his
mountain cousin is provided.
These horns are often more than
twenty inches in circumference at
the base, and, starting out at the
rear, make more than a complete
circle, the points projecting below
and in front of the eyes.
and horns will often weigh sixty
pounds. He sheds his winter
covering very late, whilst, after
shedding, his coat is thick with
short greyish hair. By fall, this has
changed to a dun, almost the color
of the elk. The outer hair has
become more than an inch long,
rather wiry, and, in winter, he puts
on an additional jacket in the shape
of a coating of exceedingly fine
wool, which, though sometimes
quite three inches long, never
shows outside the other hair, but
lies curled up close to the skin.
From about the middle of August
Head
54
Big Trees
until the first of November, the
flesh of the MOUNTAIN
SHEEP is
the most delicious bonne bouche that
ever tickled the palate of the
gourmand. It is impossible to
describe it; but if one can imagine
a saddle of most delicious "South-
down," flavored with the richest
and most gamey juices of the black-
tail, he will form some idea of the
treat in store for him when he
shall sit down to a feast of MOUN-
TAIN SHEEP in season and properly
cooked. Except when "in season,
the MOUNTAIN SHEEP is thin, tough,
and the poorest food that the
plains furnish to man. His home
"broken
is among crags and
rocks, generally at an elevation
above tide-water of not less than
5,000 feet, but the sportsman may
also, in many portions of the plains,
very surely count on finding big
horn, and if he does find him, and
is cool, he may bag several from
one herd.
BIG MEETING.-The Western term
for the PROTRACTED (religious)
MEETINGS of the new England
States. A preacher of note
generally announces his advent in
thinly populated districts some-
time before his actual arrival.
Once on the spot the devotional
exercises are spread over whole
days and sometimes weeks, hence
the distinctive name. Compare
with CAMP MEETING.
BIG
or
MONEY.-TO MAKE, GIVE,
SPEND BIG MONEY is, as the term
implies, simply, to obtain or expend
a large sum. A speaker advocating
the claims of the Y.M.C.A. said
that to accomplish certain objects.
"big money must be subscribed."
BIG TREES.-The popular name of the
giant pine trees of California
(Sequoia gigantea, washingtonia,
Bilberry
wellingtonia). Only recently there
was felled in Lonoma County,
California, a tree which cut up as
follows. The Petaluma Argus says
that the details can be relied upon.
The standing height of the tree was
347 ft., and its diameter near the
ground was 14 ft. In falling, the
top was broken off nearly 200 ft.
distant from the stump, and up to
the point of breaking the tree was
perfectly sound. From the tree
saw-logs were cut of the following
lengths and diameters:-1. 14 ft.
long, 9 ft. dia. ; 2. 12 ft. long, 8 ft.
dia.; 3. 12 ft. long, 7 ft. 7 in. dia. ;
4. 14 ft. long, 7 ft. 6 in. dia.; 5.
16 ft. long, 7 ft. dia. ; 6. 16 ft. long,
6 ft. 10 in. dia. ; 7. 16 ft. long, 6 ft.
6 in. dia. ; 8. 16 ft. long, 6 ft. 4 in.
dia.; 9. 16 ft. long, 6 ft. 3 in. dia. ;
10. 18 ft. long, 6 ft. dia. ; II. 12 ft.
long, 5 ft. 10 in. dia.; 12. 18 ft.
long, 5 ft. 6 in. dia. It will thus
be seen that 180 ft. of this remark-
able tree were converted into saw-
logs.
BILBERRY (Vaccinium). The wortle-
berry. The same plant was for-
merly known in England as the
BILBERRY WHORTLE; the term, how-
ever, is now obsolete.
BILK. A strongly offensive term used
in the West to signify a person who
habitually sponges upon another,
and who never by any chance makes
a return or even offers to do so.
In English slang it means a down-
right cheat or swindler; it will
therefore be seen that Western
usage has considerably softened its
meaning.
BILL. TO FOOT A BILL.-A phrase
now common in both hemispheres,
signifying to settle an account.
BILL-BOARD.A notice-board.
55
Billy
BILL-FISH (Belone truncata).-A salt-
water fish which, in the summer,
ascends the rivers into fresh waters.
At times it is found at a consider-
able distance inland.
""
BILLIARDIST. A player at billiards.
The form of this word like that of
many of its congeners has little to re-
commend it to purists and other ad-
vocates of orthographical accuracy.
Words terminating in ist (an
'agent") are multiplying on every
hand. One of the earliest intro-
ductions was scientist," about
which a battle-royal was fought;
and now we have "bicyclist," and,
save the gods! even walkist
and runnist." Except in very
rare instances the combination is
intolerable to educated ears, and
little enough can be said in defence
of the usage.
Each competitor has put up fifty dollars
entrance money in BILLIARDIST Daly's
hands, and the money will be divided into
four prize purses for the winners.-St. Louis
Globe Democrat, Jan. 24, 1888.
-
BILL OF SALE (Cant). — Widow's
weeds.
BILLY. A weapon used by despera-
does, and also by the police when
apprehending violence or dangerous
resistance on the part of the former
when pursued. The construction
of a billy varies, but usually it
is composed of a piece of untanned
cowhide, as hard as horn itself,
some six inches in length, twisted
or braided into a sort of handle,
and covered from end to end with
woollen cloth. One extremity is
loaded with three quarters of a
pound of lead; to the other is
firmly attached a loop, large enough
to admit a man's hand, formed of
strong linen cord, and intended to
allow the billy to hang loose from
the wrist and at the same time
Billy-Button
prevent it being lost or wrenched
from the grasp of its owner. At
close quarters, it proves a very
savage and formidable arm of
defence, resembling, but being
much more dangerous than the
ordinary slung-shot in daily use
by policemen and others. Twelve
ounces of solid lead and raw-hide,
dashed against the thickest skull by
a strong armed ruffian, would as
effectually silence a man as an
ounce of the same metal discharged
from the bore of a Springfield rifle.
It may be remarked that billy in
English slang is a policeman's staff,
a very different weapon.
The condition of the man reported as
having been shot twice in the head on
Thursday afternoon, is not at all alarming.
It transpires that his wounds are not of the
gun-shot sort, but were inflicted with a billy
in the hands of a Pinkerton man.-Daily
Inter-Ocean, April 14, 1888.
BILLY-BUTTON.-Mutton is so called
in American slang.
BILLY NODDLE. This
combination
stands in American slang for a
fellow whose self-conceit leads him
to suppose himself specially attrac-
tive to the other sex.
BIMS,
BIMSHIRE.-Nicknames given
in the West Indies to Barbadians
and Barbadoes. This island is
likewise sometimes jeeringly called
LITTLE ENGLAND, and Barbadian is
contracted into 'BADIAN.
BINDERY.-Quoted by Webster as an
Americanism. Many new words
have been introduced into the lan-
guage by a simple extension of the
recognised principles of word for-
mation to new needs and require-
ments. Thus, as a tannery is a
place where hides are tanned, so a
bindery is an establishment for the
binding of books.
56
Bison
Many women of a certain age are fond of
reading doctors' books, which, though not
quite immoral, are none the less unpleasant.
The applicant for an objectionable work is
usually asked to fill out a slip, giving his
age and occupation, together with his name,
reference for character, and reason why he
wants the book. This slip must receive the
endorsement of the librarian before the re-
quest is complied with.
At the BINDERY,
is the ordinary formula employed in such
cases, which, being translated, means that
you cannot have what you want.-New York
World, July 22, 1888.
BIRCH.A canoe.
BIRD'S EYE LIMESTONE.-The popular
name of a peculiar geological for-
mation in the neighbourhood of
New York.
BIRD'S EYE MAPLE.-Wood much es-
teemed for decorative purposes by
cabinet makers. Picture frames
are largely made of it, its distinc-
tive name being derived from its
peculiar markings. The maple,
like the oak, is very abundant in
the United States.
BISCUIT.-What English people call
biscuits are in America called
crackers; the former are very
like the hot breakfast rolls of the
English table.
They drank their breakfast coffee and ate
their warın BISCUIT and butter and fried ham
and eggs with rueful faces.-Century Maga-
zine.
BISHOP.-A bustle-part of feminine
attire.
BISON (Bison americanus). More
usually called the BUFFALO. The
wild ox, a fierce and shaggy animal
with one hump upon its back. At
one time found from the Atlantic
to the Pacific coast, but few now
remain, and it has been ascertained
that of the millions which once
roamed the prairies of the West
scarcely a hundred survive. A
Bit
scheme has been originated (1888)
by Mr. Clinton A. Snowden of the
Chicago Times to save the bisons
still to be found on the plains.
For this purpose an expedition is
being organized to " corrall" those
animals which are now located in
the south-western portion of Texas.
The leading idea is to perpetuate
a species which is thoroughly
typical of American animal life,
care being taken that none may be
killed before or after capture.
The American BISON and the Egyptian
mummy are fading away. The day will
soon come when those who have slaughtered
whole herds of buffalo for their tongues and
fertilized their timothy sod with the dust of
dynasties will go hungry.-Forest and Stream,
May, 1888.
BIT.-An old, cant word for money,
and colloquially the name given to
coins varying in value according to
locality-usually, however, to the
silver piece of the lowest deno-
mination. Fourpenny pieces are
still called bits in some parts of
England, and in Demerara the
term is in general use for the
same coin.
"
BIZ.-A vulgar corruption for busi-
ness. Good biz" is profitable
business.
BLACK ACT (Cant).— Picking locks
-a black act indeed.
BLACKBALLING.-Stealing or pilfering.
A sailor's word. It originated
amongst the employees of the old
Black Ball line of steamers between
New York and Liverpool. The
cruelty and scandalous conduct of
officers to men-and sailors to each
other-became so proverbial, that
the line of vessels in question became
known all over the world for the
cruelty of its officers, and the
thieving propensities of its sailors.
57
Blackfellow
BLACK BASS.-This name is given in
various parts of the Union, to two
different kinds of fish, the Centro-
pristes nigricans or sea bass being
known as black bass on the Jersey
coast. The black bass of the lake
and river districts of the North
and West is a highly esteemed fresh-
water fish.
BLACK BOX (Cant).-A limb of the
law. The criminal classes ap-
parently have no very exalted
idea of the profession, as indeed
might be expected.
BLACK CODE.-De Vere says, "A word
as hideous in sound as of import,
connected with the negro, is the
famous Black Code, a collection of
laws first made by Bienville in
Louisiana, which was ever after
the model for all legislation on the
relations of master and slave."
When the colony was taken pos-
session of by the Crown of Spain
in the year 1769, the provisions of
the Black Code were retained with
such modifications as the Siete Par-
tidas made on the subject of slavery.
This system of laws has ever since
been the "Blackstone" of Spain
and her colonies, and is still the
authority in the parts of America
settled by Spaniards. Its power
continued long in Louisiana, and
largely controlled the rights of
negroes, even after the colony be-
came a State of the Union.
BLACK-EYED SUSAN.-Texan for a
revolver. Among other slang
equivalents for this weapon current
in the Lone Star State may be
mentioned MEAT IN THE POT, BLUE
LIGHTNING, THE PEACE-MAKER,
MR. SPEAKER, A ONE-EYED SCRIBE,
PILL BOX and MY UNCONVERTED
FRIEND.--See MEAT IN THE POT.
BLACKFELLOw.-A Southern name for
a negro.
8
Black-Fish
BLACK-FISH (Labrus americanus)··
The color of its back and sides
gives the special name to this fish
which is caught in shoals off Rhode
Island and its neighbourhood. It is
sometimes called by its Indian name,
the TAUTAUG.
BLACKFRIARS-A thieves' exclama-
tion of warning; look out! beware!
BLACK GRASS.-A fine, short grass
common on the salt, marshy lands
of the New England coast. Rich
and abundant in growth it forms
capital food for stock. The salt
marshes upon which it grows,
like the Irish bog lands, may
often be probed to a depth of
twenty feet or more without touch-
ing bottom, but in spite of this
the hay crop is regularly reaped.
BLACK-GUM.-A well known tree be-
longing to the genus Nyssa which
flourishes in the Middle States.
BLACKHEAD
(Fulix__marila).— The
broad-bill; popularly known on the
Chesapeake Bay as a black-head,
and in Virginia as a RAFT-DUCK.
A
BLACK-JACK. (1) (Quercus nigra).-
Also SCRUB and BARREN OAK.
small stunted species which thrives
on the sea-shore and in other sandy
localities. This species of the
genus Quercus is so abundant in
some parts, as to cover some thou-
sands of acres, notably on both
sides of the Cimmaron River,
Indian Territory. Oaks of all kinds
abundant throughout
are
very
the States in great variety. Walk-
ing sticks are largely manufactured
from the black-jack kind.
William Tartar, of Chestnut Hill, had
been in the habit of beating his wife with a
BLACKJACK for some time. A stop was put
to it this morning by Magistrate Smith hold-
ing him in 600 dols. bail for court.-Philadel-
phia Evening Bulletin, Feb. 23, 1888.
58
Black Nigger
(2) In the New England
States, blackjack is the name given
to rum to which molasses has been
added to sweeten it. -(3) The
name by which miners know ore
of zinc, the sulphuret of zinc of
chemists.- (4) An army nick-
name of the late General John A.
Logan, given him because of his
very dark complexion. He died
early in the current year (1888).
BLACKLEG.-A disease to which cattle
on the Western plains are subject.
It is rapidly fatal, and, on removing
the skin of the animal after death, a
discoloration as from blood stagna-
tion is apparent, generally near the
shoulder.
BLACKLEG.To
BLACKLEG
IT, i.e.,
amongst trades' union men to return
to work before the causes of a
strike have been removed, or settled,
to the satisfaction of the leaders.
Early this morning the mountain paths
leading to the William Penn colliery were
lined with men, dinner in hand, determined
to go to work. Some were non-union miners,
while the remainder were Knights of Labor
who had determined to BLACKLEG IT,
regardless of the jeers and threats of their
companions.
BLACKLIST, To. To post as a defaul-
ter. Blacklists in mercantile par-
lance are registers of bankrupts,
insolvent persons, and others whose
credit has been shaken.
The Charity Organization Society has
been sued for 25,000 dols, damages for libel
by Bertram Hugh Fitzhugh Howell, who
says he was at one time a banker in this
city and failed in business. He charges
that the society BLACKLISTED him.-Chicago
Herald.
BLACK NIGGER.-A term of reproach
addressed by one negro to another.
It is difficult to ascertain to a
nicety the exact shade of mean-
ing, as the speaker is sometimes of
more dusky hue than the person
Black Ointment
addressed. That negroes them-
selves recognise a difference, may
be inferred from the simile which
speaks of "a negro so black, that
charcoal makes a chalk mark on
him."
BLACK OINTMENT.-A slang term for
uncooked meat.
BLACK REPUBLICANS. The epithet
BLACK was applied by Southerners
to the Republican Party, on
account of the antagonism shown
by the latter to the introduction of
slavery into any State where not
already recognised.
BLACK-RIDING (College).—At the Col-
lege of South Carolina, it has
until within a few years been cus-
tomary for the students, disguised
and painted black, to ride across
the College yard at midnight, on
horseback, with vociferations and
the sound of horns. Black-riding
is recognized by the laws of the
College as a very high offence,
punishable with expulsion.-Hall's
College Words and Customs.
BLACKSNAKE, To.-To castigate with
a blacksnake whip.
Now, don't ever let me catch you chewing
tobacco before breakfast again, or I lay I'll
BLACKSNAKE You within an inch of your life!
-Mark Twain's Screamers.
BLACKSNAKE WHIP.-A short-
handled but very long- thonged
whip used by cowboys.
BLACK SPY.-A cant name for the
devil.
BLACK STRAP.-(1) Properly speak-
ing, gin mixed with molasses, but
frequently applied to a compound
of any alcoholic liquor with
molasses. Beverages of this des-
cription were at one time the
59
Blackwood
commonest of drinks among agri-
cultural laborers. In England,
thick, sweet port is known as
blackstrap.
From the great Iron kettle a savory
incense arose: it came from an admixture of
high-wines and common molasses, in about
the proportion of one gallon of the latter
to four of the spirit
The seeth-
ing BLACKSTRAP was pronounced ready
for use. It rapidly disappeared, and,
as it diminished and was imbibed, the fun
and hilarity proportionately increased.-
Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires and Detectives.
(2) Among sugar manufacturers
blackstrap is the technical term for
the residuum of molasses sugar,
itself the product of a second
boiling.
BLACK TAGGERS.-Common rough, un-
wrought iron.
The fact that the article in question may
be commercially known as BLACK TAGGERS
has no bearing on the question of classifi-
cation under the statute, the merchandise
containing in itself unmistakable proof that
it is steel and not iron.-Philadelphia
Bulletin, February 27, 1888.
BLACK TAIL DEER or
BLACKTAILS
(Cervus columbianus).-A species of
deer common to the Pacific littoral.
It is considerably larger than the
red deer
in colour it is
very dark, grey or mouse-colour
its tail, unlike the broad,
white flag of the red deer, is rather
thinly haired, and the end is
tipped for two or three inches with
a thick tuft of short black hair,
which gives the name to the
animal.
Its ears are
rather long and heavy, from which
circumstance it is in some parts of
the country called the
DEER.
MULE
BLACKWOOD.-A comprehensive term
in the Northern States for the
timber of the hemlock, pine, spruce,
and fir.
Bladder-Tree
a
BLADDER-TREE.-Bigelow in his Flora
bostoniensis, describes this as
handsome shrub from six to ten
feet high, remarkable for its large,
inflated capsules.
BLAMED.-An expletive used to em-
phasize a statement. It partakes
slightly of the nature of an oath.
Possibly English, but if so only
slang; in the States it is colloquial.
And so that pourin' dissentions in our
cup;
And so that BLAMED COW-critter was always
coming up.
-Carlton Farm Ballads, p. 18.
'Why do you object to your daughter
marrying?'
Wouldn't object ef she wuster marry the
right sorter man,'
Isn't Tom the right sort of man?'
'Not by a BLAMED sight.'- Portland Tran-
script, 1888.
COAT.
As
HAVE WORN
THE
BLANKET. Το
BLANKET is an imputation which,
when applied to one's immediate
progenitors, signifies that the person
addressed is of Indian descent.
The costume of the red - skin,
whether composed of the typical
blanket alone or of more complex
clothing, is generally referred to
as a blanket, hence the significance
of the expression. BLANKET
red-skins gradually
came in contact with, and under
the influence more or less of civili-
zation, they aped many of the cus-
toms and habits peculiar to white
men. The blankets, therefore, which
at one time largely formed a staple
of trade and exchange, instead of
being worn thrown loosely around
the body, were cut and shaped into
coats, the coloured stripes of the
blankets being so arranged as to
cross the garment in the most
odd and fantastic fashion. Also
worn by trappers and hunters.
The fourth member of our party round the
camp-fire that night was a powerfully-built
trapper, partly French by blood, who wore
бо
Blankety
a gaily-coloured capote, or BLANKET-COAT, a
greasy fur cap, and moccasins.-Century
Magazine, Oct., 1888.
-BLANKET INDIAN.-A Western
term for an Indian who still re-
mains in a savage state. Only
about 250,000 red-skins are, at the
present time, scattered about
throughout the Union, chiefly in
the tracts of country called Indian
reservations. Of this number,
120,000 are reckoned to have been
brought under civilizing influences,
the remainder being counted as
savages. It must, however, be
confessed that rarely, if ever, is the
noble red man of Fenimore
Cooper, Gustav Aimard, and other
writers, to be met with; also that
any attempt at civilization means,
in the generality of cases, nothing
more nor less than the improvement
of the red man off the face of the
earth altogether. This is owing
largely to the facility with which
this savage race, like all others,
imitates the white man's vices
without in any degree acquiring
his virtues. -MACKINAW BLAN-
KET.-A superior kind of blanket
which derived its distinctive name
from the island of Mackinaw,
formerly one of the chief
posts at which Indian tribes re-
ceived their grants from the Go-
vernment. A provision of one of
the Indian Treaties was that part
of the payment made to the red-
skins should be in these superior
blankets, and from that fact the
name Mackinaw blankets, or Mac-
kinaws simply was derived.
BLANKETY. - A euphemistic oath,
the derivation of which is clearly
an outcome of the practice of
representing an oath in printing
by a dash or blank space e.g., d-d.
Blankety is used in many combina-
tions, a person being told to be
blankety blank blanked, or that a thing
is not as good as another by a
blankety blank blank sight.
Blarney
The captain looked anxious, and an irate
fellow-passenger, who had not ceased
swearing since we left Tuxpan, declared by
all that is sacred and profane that he had
known vessels to be hindered thirty days;
yes, even three months, by that BLANKETY
BLANKETY bar!-Troy Daily Times, Feb. 3,
1888.
'Doctor, I'm a dead man!'
Not right now?' said I, as I kicked his
dog out.
'Just as good as dead,' said he, 'or you
wouldn't kick that dog in that way with
safety. Not by a BLANKETY BLANK BLANK
sight.'
Needn't waste so much profanity, Mr.
Starkhill,' said I.-Owosso (Mich.) Press,
April, 1888.
BLARNEY, To (Cant). Besides the
English slang signification of "to
wheedle," it also bears the second-
ary meaning of "to pick locks
amongst the low and criminal
classes of America.
BLATANCY. Noisy self-assertion.
This word, in spite of its orthodox
appearance, has not yet been ad-
mitted to the dictionaries.
(
some
BLATHER, BLATHERSKITE.- Factitious
Western expressions for boastful,
disputatious swagger; in
parts of England a somewhat simi-
Îar phrase, blatheration" is cur-
rent. According to De Vere all
are of Irish origin, and J. R.
O'Flanigan's Lives of the Lord
Chancellors of Ireland is quoted in
support of this contention. Lord
Redesdale was speaking of people
who learned to skate with bladders
under their arms to buoy them up
if they should fall into a hole and
risk being drowned.
Ah, my
Lord," said Toler, "that is what
we'call bladderum skate in Ireland."
This derivation, however, seems too
fanciful a one, and probably the
word "blatant," noisy vaporing, is
the true source from which these
words originate.
Every BLATHERSKITE Republican spouter
is filled to the brim and spouting high pro-
61
Blaze
tection, while the Democrats are not pre-
pared to meet them for want of documents.
-New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
Dr. Brookes, of St. Louis, must be a nice
man to live with. He refers to Dr. R. W.
Dale and Dr. Parker as 'blatant BLATHER-
SKITES,' and evidently regards Professor
Drummond as beyond reformation.-Chicago
Watchman.
BLATT, TO.-To talk with noisy assur-
ance and bluster; doubtless
derivative of "blatant."
a
It is not so easy now to rattle off the
names of disreputable Democratic 'chiefs'
as it was in Bill Tweed's day. But now,
one of these insects of an hour rears up and
BLATTS, every monkey organ in the land
needs put on its BLATTING-STOP and grinds
away in a frenzy.-San Francisco News Let-
ter, February 4, 1888.
BLAUSER (Vipera berus). -— Dutch
blazer. The deaf adder.
BLAZE.-The early settlers in travers-
ing the vast forests which
abounded on the American conti-
nent found it very necessary to mark
their route. This they did by the
simple expedient of blazing the
trees at convenient distances.
Blazing consists merely in chopping
a piece of the bark off each tree
selected in the desired line of
march. The mark itself is called
a blaze. In addition to this,
blazing was also adopted as an
indication that the land within the
limits of the trees thus marked
had been appropriated by a settler
-a rude and informal, but, in
early days, a thoroughly well recog-
nized method of securing a title to
the land. Some writers affect to
derive the word from the old French
blazon the armorial bearing of
the Normans, and quote the use of
blazen," by Shakspeare, in a sense
not altogether dissimilar to the
meaning conveyed by blazing, as
proof to this effect. It is doubtful,
therefore, whether the word is a
genuine Americanism; at all events
"
Blazing Stars
it is in general use in nearly all
English colonies, especially those,
like Australia, where there have
been, or are still, large tracts of
primeval forest land. The white blaze
or spot in the forehead of a horse will
also be familiar. Hence probably
TO BLAZE and TO BLAZE OUT in the
sense of marking out, etc.
The direct ascent of the peak is no small
task. There is very little trail just here.
The trees have been marked or BLAZED, and
that is about all.-New York Herald, July 29,
1888.
Adam was created first, and it does not
seem unlikely that Eve, when she found that
Adam had preceded her in the creation, felt
piqued about it. Possibly, Adam may have
tried to excuse himself by saying it was an
unexplored region, and it was necessary for
him to BLAZE the way. At all events, Eve
and her daughters have headed the family
procession ever since.-Texas Siftings, July
7, 1888.
-BLAZE (in Poker).-A hand
which consists of five court cards,
and which, when played, beats two
pairs.
BLAZING STARS (Aletris farinosa).-
A medicinal plant held in great
esteem by the Indians, and still
in request in the West, for
its medicinal virtues. It is also
known as the DEVIL'S BIT. The
term blazing stars is also popularly
given to a plant belonging to the
genus called colchicum. It may be
remarked that its name of DEVIL'S
BIT is probably derived from the
well-known legend to the effect
that the devil bit off a portion of
the root in order to destroy its
medicinal properties. The same
story is applied to many other
medicinal roots.
BLEAK. In the phraseology of
American thieves, bleak means
handsome.
BLEEDING KANSAS.-During the bor-
der troubles resulting from the
62
Blind
passage of the Kansas Nebraska
Bill (1854), there was fighting of a
more or less organized description,
and many FREE SOIL advocates
were killed. Bleeding Kansas be-
came a popular phrase with the
Northern orators of the day, and
was used scoffingly by those on
the other side. It is believed to
have been originally coined as a
newspaper headline by the New
York Tribune, and representing the
sympathies of large numbers of
people it became a rallying cry,
which has long survived the cir-
cumstances which first gave it
birth.
'BLEEST.-Obliged; forced. "I was
'bleest to come."
BLENKER, TO. To plunder. A cant
phrase which originated during
the Civil War.
BLICKEY. A tin pail. A Dutch sur-
vival from blik, tin (German blech).
New York and New Jersey.
on,
BLIND-(I) (In poker).-The ante de-
posited by the age previous to the
deal. The blind may be doubled
by the player to the left of the
eldest hand, and the next player
to the left may, at his option,
straddle this bet; and so
including the dealer, each player
doubling. The player to the left
of the age alone has the privilege
of the first straddle, and, if he
decline to straddle, it debars any
other player coming after him from
doing so. To make a blind good
costs double the amount of the
ante, and to make a straddle good
costs four times the amount of the
blind. Each succeeding straddle
costs double the preceding one.-
See BLIND POKER. Slang for
object 'intention." "You see
my blind," that is, the drift of
"
•
>
Blind Eel
what I am saying.
A curious
illustration of the custom of some
classes to use phraseology calculated
to mislead all but those initiated
into the mysteries of their jargon.
In English slang blind means a pre-
tence or make-believe, but this
signification by no means follows
on the American usage.
Now you talk! You see my BLIND and
straddle it like a inan.-Mark Twain's The
Innocents at Home, p. 19.
-To GO IT BLIND.-A luminous
figure of speech to convey the idea
of entering upon an undertaking
without thought as to the result,
or inquiry beforehand. This is one
of the many slang expressions
which owe their origin to the
American game
game of poker, the
special form of which known as
the
POKER (q.v.), where
cards are betted upon before being
looked at, is responsible for the
phrase now in question.
BLIND
4
4
'And so you've married a jewel, have you,
Tom? I have, for a fact, Dick.' Lucky
dog! You're a man in a million. Mighty few
GO IT BLIND and fare as well as you've done.'
I didn't Go IT BLIND. I employed a detective,
and he managed to get board in the family.'
-Chicago Ledger, May 12, 1888.
BLIND EEL.-Among fishermen,
"to
catch a blind eel" is to bring to the
surface a piece of seaweed or some
other worthless object in place of
the fish supposed to have been
hooked; and metaphorically the
expression signifies obtaining a re-
sult of little worth compared with
that sought; fruitless endeavour.
BLIND POKER. A form of poker
largely patronised by those whose
gambling propensities are keenly
developed. Poker at its best is
little else than a game of chance,
but in blind poker the hazards are
indefinitely increased by betting on
the cards in one's hand prior to
examination.-See POKER.
63
Blizzard
BLINKERS. BLANK YOUR BLINKERS.—
A euphemistic oath, equivalent to
the more common "D- n your
eyes."
'BLANK YOUR BLINKERS,' angrily retorted
Brudee, 'your business was not to fight, but
show us the enemy.'-American Humorist.
BLIVVY. A command. Used as in
quotation.
If the comp'ny was fer to come 'round an'
say, 'Yer got ter wear plug hats an' kid
gloves er quit workin' on th' road,' why,
that'd be a diff'rent matter altogether-see?
But, as I understand it, they don't make no
such break as that. They don't give them
DO BLIVVY at all, but merely says, ' Here, go
on an' wear white shirts an' collars now an'
be decent.'-The World (New York), May 13,
1888.
BLIZZARD. This word, recently
brought into prominent notice as
the name by which sudden and ex-
ceptionally severe snowstorms are
known in the Western States, is
one the etymology of which is
dubious. Some authorities derive
it from the German blitz-light-
ning, but a correspondent of Notes
and Queries claims it as of English
nationality, asserting that the word
has been known in the Midland
counties in its present form, or
nearly so, for over thirty years;
further stating that " may I be
"
me
blizzered" is a common oath there.
Assuming that the expression is a
variation of the more generally
familiar
May God strike
blind" (that is, presumably by
lightning) there is nothing antago-
nistic between the two theories of
its genesis, and a further light is
perhaps thrown upon the subject,
tending to support its German
origin, by the fact that, in Penn-
sylvania, it has been familiar,
according to a correspondent of
the New York Sun, for more than
half-a-century, its use and meaning
being akin to the instances above
mentioned. It appears that in the
Bloat
central counties of the State in
question, the word was always
used to include the idea of a
"
poser," and even of force, violence,
spitefulness, or vindictiveness.
If
one dealt another a hostile blow he
"
"
gave him a blizzard on the nose,"
"on the jaw," "between the eyes,'
etc. If a magistrate lectured a
litigant severely he "gave him a
blizzard." If in debate one dealt
mercilessly in ridicule he "gave his
opponent a blizzard." If one man
swore at or cursed another he "gave
him a blizzard.” If a man's wife
scolded him she
gave him a bliz-
zard." When it is remembered that
Pennsylvania is the State in which
the Dutch or German element most
largely predominates it does not
seem far fetched to attribute its
origin to a Teutonic source, more
especially as there is nothing in the
English usage to preclude such a
derivation. However this may be,
the word invariably seems to imply
suddenness combined with vio-
lence; and, at any rate, it apparently
disposes of the supposition that
the word is of Western origin or a
coinage of so recent a date as is
frequently supposed. Like most
words of its class, which have
largely struck the popular taste, it
has been generally adopted in an
idiomatic sense to signify a stun-
ning blow; an overwhelming argu-
ment; or a cool reception.
I should like to have seen the Colonel's
face when he got that very cold, BLIZZARDY
letter. I bet that if Minnie had been near
him he would have slapped her real hard,
-San Francisco News Letter, 1888.
BLOAT (Cant).-A drowned body;
also a drunkard. The simile which
groups the two is, perhaps, not far
wrong.
BLOATED EELS.-A Connecticut term
for eels prepared for cooking by
being skinned and drawn.
64
Blooded
BLOCK.-Long usage has now sanc-
tioned the employment of this word
in England in its enlarged American
sense. (1) A set of houses en-
closed between four streets. (2)
A long row or mass of buildings;
or, indeed, a whole portion of a
town. In some parts of the States
SQUARE is used instead of block in
an identical sense. The employ-
ment of block as an adjective is,
however, only just creeping into
use here, but such a combination has
long been current in Wall Street,
as for example, a block loan, a block
advance, a block of shares, etc.
BLOCK HOUSE (Cant).-The house of
detention.
BLOCK ISLAND TURKEY.-Salted cod-
fish. Connecticut and Rhode
Island.
"
BLOOD.-At some of the Western
colleges this word signifies excel-
lent; as,
a blood recitation." A
student who recites well is said
"to make a blood."
BLOOD
AND THUNDER TALES.-Low-
class fiction, the term being gene-
rally applied to works dealing
with the exploits of desperadoes,
cut-throats, and other criminals.
Also called
called PENNY DREADFULS,
GUTTER LITERATURE, SHILLING
SHOCKERS, etc.
Here let me say one word to the Transcript
mothers. Look carefully to your child's
reading matter. Beware of the cheap, trashy
romances, the BLOOD AND THUNDER TALES,
by Tom, Dick and Harry, which fill the
counters of so many of our bookstores.-
Portland Transcript.
BLOODED.-An adjective used when
speaking of thoroughbreds in horses
or choice breeds in cattle. "Blood"
similarly applied is, of course,
quite well-known in England, but
not the form blooded.
Bloodee
BLOODEE. In the Farmer's Weekly
Museum, formerly printed at Wal-
pole, N. H., appeared August 21,
1797, a poetic production, in which
occurred these lines :-
Seniors about to take degrees,
Not by their wits, but by bloodees.
In a note the word bloodee was thus
described: "A kind of cudgel worn,
or rather borne, by the bloods of a
certain college in New England,
two feet five inches in length, and
one inch and seven-eighths in dia-
meter, with a huge piece of lead at
one end, emblematical of its owner;
a pretty prop for clumsy travellers
on Parnassus.'
BLOOD ROOT (Sanguinaria canadensis).—
The PUCCOON of the Indians, the
blood-red juice of the root of which
is largely used as a coloring pig-
ment. The Indian name means
literally, "of the color of blood."
It bears a pure white blossom, and
is one of the earliest of wild
flowers.
BLOOD TUBS.-A cognomen applied to
a band of Baltimore roughs, who,
Bartlett says, were chiefly but-
chers. They got their epithet from
having, on an election day, dipped
an obnoxious German's head in a
tub of warm blood, and then
driven him running through the
town. Baltimore seems to have
given rise to many such names;
among others to PLUG-UGLIES.
BLOODY CHASM. To BRIDGE THE
BLOODY CHASM was a favorite
expression with orators who, during
the years immediately succeeding
the Civil War, sought to obliterate
the memory of the struggle.
antithetical phrase is TO
ΤΟ
THE BLOODY SHIRT (q.v.).
The
WAVE
BLOODY SHIRT.-TO WAVE THE BLOODY
SHIRT. A phrase which is only one
65
Bloody Shirt
of many of a similar character,
variants such as "to wave the
crimson banner, the ensanguined
under garment," etc., being quite as
frequently met with in American
journalism. It is a political phrase
used in the States to signify the
opening anew or keeping alive of
factious strife on party questions.
Primarily it was the symbol of
those who, during the Reconstruc-
tion period at the close of the
rebellion of the Southern or Con-
federate States, would not suffer
the Civil War to sink into oblivion
out of consideration for the feelings
of the vanquished. Perhaps a
more odious term never crept
into politics than the bloody shirt; it
is alike distasteful to the sense,
brutal and vulgar, and capable of
misuse. There are still those who,
in American politics, in the
thousand and one points of differ-
ence which continually and inevit-
ably must arise between institutions
so diverse in origin, tradition, and
practice as those of the North and
South, seek for party purposes to
estrange the one from the other by
keeping alive the exciting memories
of the old bitter struggle. When a
man is said to have waved the bloody
shirt it is known that he has gone
back in spirit and intent to the sor-
rowful days of the Republic when
the blue and the grey, each confident
of battling for the right, were slay-
ing each other in the valleys of the
South. He ignores the peace which
has settled over the old fields of
war, and does not assent to the
hand clasp of Federal with Con-
federate. He tries to open the
strife anew, mocks the spirit of
forgiveness, and rakes the old ashes
over in the hunt for a burning coal.
He scoffs at those who fought
against the Union, and, because
they have come back to it, calls
them insincere. He rebukes the
veteran who forgave them when
9
Bloody Shirt
together they laid down their arms.
This is called waving the bloody
shirt, and to-day when many of
those now in active life cannot
remember the time when the
Rebellion had closed, and the boys
were marching home, there are
legislators and journalists who
devote their efforts to stirring up a
sectional hatred which without
these efforts would be but a tradi-
tion. Many Southerners keenly
resent the spirit which thus tra-
duces the now loyal South, and de-
clare it hypocritical. The BLOODY
SHIRTERS, as they are called, rail at
the decency which forgives and
forgets, and with venomous tongues
revile alike those who fell in the
lost cause, those who lived to re-
pent, and those who would grant
pardon. So long as men lost to
honor will do this the action must
have a name-it will be called wav-
ing the bloody shirt. From this
special meaning it is now passing
into general use to indicate similar
tactics in regard to any cause. It
has recently been introduced into
English journalism in connection
with the Irish struggle, and the so-
called Unionist Party has been
accused of waving the bloody shirt—
with how much truth or the re-
verse there is here no
no concern.
The origin of the expression is to
be sought in a Corsican custom
now nearly, if not quite, obsolete.
In the days of the fierce vendette
-the feuds which divided the Cor-
sicans family from family-blood-
shed was a common occurrence.
Before the burial of a murdered
man the gridata was celebrated.
This word, which literally means a
crying aloud, may be translated
"a wake." The body of the victim
was laid upon a plank; his useless
firearms were placed near his hand,
and his blood-stained shirt was
hung above his head. Around the
rude bier sat a circle of women,
66
Bloody Shirt
wrapped in their black mantles,
who rocked themselves to and fro
with strange wailings. The men,
relatives and friends of the mur-
dered man, fully armed, stood
around the room, mad with thirst
for revenge.
Then one of the
women-the wife or mother or
sister of the dead man-with a
sharp scream would snatch the
bloody shirt, and waving it aloft
begin the vocero-the lamentation.
This rhythmic discourse was made
up of alternate expressions of love
for the dead, and hatred of his
enemies; and its startling images
and tremendous curses were
echoed in the faces and mutter-
ings of the armed mourners. Its
application to American politics
is credited to Mr. Oliver P. Morton,
who, elected United States senator
in 1867, and again in 1873, took a
prominent part as a leader of the
more radical Republicans, favor-
ing a stern policy of coercion in
the reconstruction of the Southern
States. He was one of the Presi-
dential candidates at the Cincin-
nati convention of 1876, his name
standing second on the first ballot.
Happily, however, his opinions
were too pronounced to unite the
factions of his party, and the
ultimate choice fell upon Mr.
Hayes.
The BLOODY SHIRT is gradually fading
away. The white-winged dove of peace
spreads her wings here and there, patriotism
forgets and forgives old differences, section-
alism is gradually giving way to love of
country-the whole country. In fact the ill
feeling between the North and South would
have died out years ago among the
veterans of both sections, had they been
left alone, and the politicians been as
patriotic as they.-Coldwater (Mich.) Sun,
1888.
It is reprehensible to the last degree for the
Bourbons of the South to continue to play
on the colour line-the Southern BLOODY
denounce
SHIRT-and then
Republican
extremists for doing the same thing at the
North. New York Weekly Times, March 21,
1888.
Bloomer
BLOOMER. (1) A special costume
introduced by a lady of the same
name which is too well-known to
need description. Dr. Mary
Walker will be remembered as
having introduced it into this
country. It approaches very nearly
to the costume of Turkish ladies.
term
-(2) In the West Indies,
especially Demerara, the
bloomer is applied to a chemical
largely used to impart a brilliancy
vacuum pan sugar-hence its
to
name.
BLOOTWORSCHT.-The BLUTWURST or
BLOOD-SAUSAGE of the Pennsylvania
Dutch; very similiar to the English
black pudding.
BLOTTER.
A newspaper term for
the charge sheet kept at police
stations.
He had been entered on the BLOTTER as a
vagrant, fifty-four years old, of German
descent, and without a home.
BLOW. A single blossom. Compare
with BLOWTH, provincial English for
blossoming in general. Blow is, how-
ever, rarely heard nowadays.-
TO BLOW.-The unorthodox mean-
ings attached to this word partake
more or less of slang, and most of
them are as familiar in England as in
America; e.g., "blow up," a severe
scolding; a "blow out," a glut-
tonous feast. One variant of
"
blow up," however, "to blow up
sky high," may claim American
birth, and is characteristic of the
thorough energy which Americans
infuse into all their actions. There
are besides other meanings. (1)
To talk boastfully or swaggeringly,
varied in Tennessee by BLOWIN' HIS
BAZOO. One who indulges in such
gasconade and braggadocio is called
a BLOWER. (2) Among thieves,
in the sense of to inform or expose,
a meaning also common to the
67
Blue Bellies
criminal classes of London and
other large cities.
(3) To
blame; to cast a slur upon; or to
stigmatize.
BLOWEN. The mistress of a thief.
BLOWER. (1) This name, applied to
the draught-producing sheet of
iron attached to furnaces, is of
American origin.—(2) A vain-
glorious magniloquent braggart ;
one who indulges in self-glorifica-
tion.
BLOWHARD.-A Western term of revile-
ment, the precise meaning of which
it would be difficult to explain,
since a newcomer may, in one and
the same breath, be called a
BLARSTED BRITISHER, a COYOTE,
and a blowhard. If all these are
synonymous, then indeed the
Englishman in America is in a
bad way.
BLOW OF COTTON.-A Southern phrase
employed when the pods of the
cotton plant burst; from the Old
English "blowth," a blossoming.
BLOWTH.-A blossom.-Wright's Dic-
tionary of Obsolete and Provincial
English. The word is still pre-
served in New England.
BLUEBACKS. The paper money of the
Confederates. A cant name, origi-
nating, as in the case of United
States paper currency GREENBACKS,
in the color of the printing on the
reverse. A more pronounced slang
name, subsequently applied to
bluebacks was SHUCKS, from their
worthlessness after the war.
Shucks" is an old English term for
the refuse of peas and similar
products when shelled.
"
BLUE BELLIES.-A nickname bestowed
by Southerners, during the Civil
Blue Cat
War, upon their opponents of the
North, whose uniform was blue.
They were also called BOYS
IN
BLUE (q.v.), YANKS, etc. The
Southerners, on the other hand,
received such names as THE
SECESH, REBS, and JOHNNY REBS,
the latter being sometimes short-
ened to JOHNNIES. The grey
uniform of the Confederates like-
wise caused them to be styled BOYS
IN GREY.
BLUE CAT.-A fish common in all the
plains'streams, attaining sometimes
a weight of fifteen to twenty-
five pounds. The large fish are
coarse, but the smaller ones are
fine eating.
BLUE CURLS (Trichostema dichotomum).
-Also called BASTARD PENNYROYAL;
its habits and its flowers, deep blue
in color, resemble that plant.
68
BLUE-FISH. (Temnodon saltator).—A
salt-water fish of the mackerel
order, but larger in size. It is one
of the most voracious fishes on the
Atlantic coast. It bites readily at
any object drawn rapidly through
the water; e.g., a bone squid or
metal spoon, a minnow, a white rag,
and, in fact, any conspicuous bait.
On the Jersey coast, these fish are
called HORSE-MACKEREL; and in
Virginia SALT-WATER TAILORS.
Another name is the SKIP-JACK.
On the Jersey coast, the name
blue-fish is applied to the WEAK-
FISH, SQUETEAGUE, or CHICKWIT.
BLUE GRASS (Poa compressa).-A rich
and valuable meadow grass which
flourishes on the limestone lands
of Pennsylvania, Tennessee and
Kentucky, especially the latter,
which thus derives its name of the
BLUE GRASS STATE, its inhabitants
being similarly designated. Blue
grass serves as fodder for cattle
Blue Laws
nearly all the year round, and the
blue grass region is, therefore,
essentially a grazing country with
many famous stock-farms and stud-
stables.
There is plenty of grass-at certain sea-
sons-in America, but except where arti-
fically cultivated, the grass is not of the
right kind. The best grass in America, the
BLUE GRASS of Kentucky and Southern
Indiana, would horrify the ground keepers
at Lord's and Kennington Oval if it grew
in any part of those famous cricket-fields.
They would as soon see pebbles as the
strong blades of Bermuda grass.-Pittsburg
Despatch, July 29, 1888.
THE TEXAS BLUE GRASS (Poa
arachnifera) considerably resembles
Kentucky blue grass, but seems
better adapted to a more Southern
range, where its chief value is for
winter pasture. Like Bermuda
grass it is grown from sets as well
as seeds. It thrives best on heavy
soil.
BLUE HEN'S CHICKENS.-The inhabi-
tants of Delaware. This nick-
name arose thus; Captain Caldwell,
an officer of the first Delaware regi-
ment in the American War of In-
dependence, was noted for his love
of cock-fighting. Being personally
popular, and his regiment becoming
famous for their valor, they were
soon known as " game cocks"; and
as Caldwell maintained that no
cock was truly game unless its
mother was a blue-hen, his regiment,
and subsequently Delawareans
generally, became known as blue
hen's chickens, and Delaware as the
BLUE HEN STATE for the same
reason. A boaster is also often
brought to book by the sarcasm,
"Your mother was a blue hen no
doubt."
BLUE LAWS.-Rigid enactments which
from time to time were put in
force in the United States, the
harsh and unbending import of
which is explained as follows:-
Blue Laws
Among the great questions that have
divided the Union, some, dating from the
time before the late Civil War,
War, have
become known by special names. Already
in the earliest days of the Republic, the
BLUE LAWS of New England excited un-
common interest at home and abroad.
Connecticut is still often mentioned as the
BLUE STATE, unquestionably from its being
the original stronghold of the Presbyterians,
who were once known by the contemptuous
name of BLUE SKINS. Even generations
afterwards, when the inhabitants of the
land of steady
of steady habits
were accused of
having made signals along the coast for
the benefit of the British, during the
war of 1812, the lights on the coast of Con-
necticut were called BLUELIGHTS, adding a
new word to the vocabulary of treason.
The charge, it is said, was utterly unfounded,
but the term has survived to this day, and is
frequently used in political controversies.
The famous laws of New Haven, also,
perhaps the most striking illustration of the
innate tendency of the human heart
towards intolerance, are known as the
BLUE LAWS, thus joining them to the BLUE
LAWS of all the colonies of New England,
among which they were the last to secure a
sad pre-eminence. Their authenticity has
often been denied, and Dr. Peter's well-
known book on the subject has been declared
a libel; as, for instance, by a well-informed
correspondent of Notes and Queries (vol. xi.
P. 321) writing from the State Library at
Hartford, Connecticut. They are, however,
repeatedly quoted by good authorities, as by
Judge Haliburton (English in America, vol. i.,
p. 314), and are confirmed beyond any doubt
by the reprint of the 'Abstract of Laws of
New England,' in Governor Hutchinson's
Collection of Papers, London, 1655, where
the identical provisions may be found.
They fully illustrate the characteristic
words of the melancholy lawgiver of Shaw-
mut, that, he had left England because he
did not like the Lord Bishops, but that he
could not live under the Lord Brethren.
The term BLUE was even more extensively
used in America, than in the Mother
Country, and was more especially employed
to characterize the laws as brutally strict
and bloody. It must, however, not be con-
cluded that BLUE LAWS, in this sense of the
word, were strictly confined to the New
England States. The early settlements in
Virginia, with all their abhorrence of
Puritanism, enacted very similar regulations.
Here also swearing was severely punished:
here also the Church required attendance on
all its services, under heavy penalties, and
here also domestic discipline was enforced
by public laws, only the Church
the established Church of England, and
the fines were all paid in tobacco. What-
ever may be thought of these stern Puritans
as lawgivers, their memory is dear and
sacred to all New Englanders.
was
69
Blue Stocking
BLUE LIGHT.-At the University of
Vermont this term is used to desig-
nate a boy who sneaks about col-
lege, and reports to the Faculty
the short-comings of his fellow-
students.
BLUE LIGHTNING.-One of the grimly
facetious names with which Texans
have christened revolvers. At
times a dispute has literally been
a word, a flash of blue lightning
and-certain death.
BLUE NOSES.-The natives of Nova
Scotia. A nickname given them
by the Yankees in allusion, it
is said, to
that
a potato of
name which Nova Scotians claim
to be the best in the world. Proctor,
however, thinks differently, and
says he would wager that the
Nova Scotians were called blue
noses before the potato which they
rear was so named, and hazards
the suggestion that the nickname
refers to the blueness of nose
resulting from intense cold.
BLUE PENCIL, TO.-To mark with a
pencil.
A studio is located among the dull green
depths of the sombre wood, and there Mrs.
Gilder paints, and the editor of the Century
Magazine BLUE PENCILS magazine articles
by the bushel during the heated term.-New
York Herald, July 29, 1888.
BLUE PERCH.-A fish known also as
the NIBBLER (q.v.).
BLUE PILL.- - A bullet; also called
BLUE PLUM.
BLUE SKINS.—An epithet applied to
Presbyterians because of their
stern and sturdy adherence to
principles believed by them to be
true. See BLUE LAWS.
BLUE STOCKING (Recurvirostra ameri-
cana).-The avocet. One of the
Bluets
feathered tribe very common in
the Northern States.
BLUETS (Olden tandria cærulea).-A
herbaceous plant which, in the
spring, produces a profusion of
pale blue flowers fading to white,
with yellowish eyes. By some
they are also called QUAKERS.
BLUE
WEED (Chicorium).-The wild
endive, or chicory plant, is so called
in New England from its large
dark-blue flowers.
BLUFF.-A variety of the card game
of poker, in which each player has
alternately the option of raising
the stake on his adversaries. These
may either accept the same, show-
ing their hands, or bluff with a yet
higher, or retire at a sacrifice of all
they have contributed. -To
BLUFF. To bluster; to
carry
things with a high hand. "You
don't bluff me," that is, you don't
impose upon my credulity by big
talk. The term thus used is,
without doubt, derived from the
game of bluff, and we also get the
expression, TO BLUFF ON POKER,
that is, to lay odds on a worthless
hand as if it were a good one, thus
deceiving one's opponent. Hence
BLUFFER, a braggart.
The American man-of-war sent to Tangiers
[in connection with a recent diplomatic
imbroglio] has four small guns, and could
be blown out of the water in five minutes
by the guns of the Moors. Is Uncle Sam a
BLUFFER?-Detroit Free Press, May 5, 1888.
They did not know how many [men] he
had, and seeing him so bold in the face of
them, thought he could outnumber them. It
was a BLUFF game and he won.-St. Louis
Globe Democrat, April 29, 1888.
BLUFF CITY.-Hannibal, in Missouri,
from the fact of its being built on
high bluffs or steep banks on the
margin of the river.
70
Bob
BLUFFER. In the patter of New York
thieves, the landlord of an hotel.
BLUMMIE, BLUMMACHEE, BLUMMECHIES.
-A survival in New York State
and on the Hudson River of the
old Dutch days. Both blummie
and its diminutives are frequently
heard when speaking of flowers.
German blumen.
BOARDING HOUSE (Cant). In New
York a nickname given to the
Tombs, but it is equally applicable
to any city prison. Sometimes
called BOARDING SCHOOL.
BOARD ROUND, TO. A term little
heard now, but once very common.
It is to be traced back to the time
when the settlers found it more
convenient to pay in kind than in
currency.
In the rural districts of
New England, a school-teacher,
instead of receiving tuition fees
from the parents of the children
whom he taught, would be boarded
round in rotation among those thus
indebted to him. Needless to say,
the custom has entirely disappeared
in the New England States, and,
indeed, is little known anywhere at
the present time.
BOARD-WALK.-A foot-path con-
structed of planking. The "parade"
of American watering-places.
Perhaps the greatest attraction of Asbury
Park is the BOARD-WALK. It runs along the
beach for over two miles. American
Humorist, Sept. 1, 1888.
I,
-
BOAT. TO BAIL ONE'S OWN BOAT.–
To be self-reliant.
BOAT, TO (Cant).-To join as part-
ner; evidently a corruption of "to
be in the same boat."
BOB (Cant).-A petty shop thief.
BOB or BOB SLED or BOB
Bob Around
an eccentric.
SLEIGH. A sleigh used in the West
for conveying large timber, its special
characteristic being two pairs of bobs
or short runners. A modified form is
in popular use for sleighing parties.
Instead of the seat-board being
supported by straight wooden or
iron standards, as is the case with
the Western sled, the standard has
a double ring joint, which works
similarly to
The
object of the ring joint is to save
the rider from a shock when the
sled strikes any obstacle in the
roadway. Instead of the rider
being jarred or thrown, which is
often the case with the old sled,
the force of the shock is broken
and confined altogether to the
runners. Chair seats are also tak-
ing the place of boards on the large
bob sleds. On each bob six or eight
chairs are securely fastened to the
long board, and the driver, as he
may be called, has a seat imme-
diately over the hindmost bob, where
he guides the course of the coaster
by means of a wheel which com-
municates with two iron rods con-
necting with the foremost bob. A
headlight is placed in front to light
the way for the driver, and also to
warn all coasters coming up the hill
to clear the track for the bob sled.
So popular is sleighing as an
amusement, that each village has
its BOBBING CLUB, to membership
in which, both sexes are admitted.
All the village BOBBING CLUBS will partici-
pate in the carnival at Albany to-morrow
and Thursday nights, when the ice-yacht
contest will be held. The BOB race will be
held in the evening. There are seventy-
eight entries for the BOBBING parade, which
will follow the race.-Troy Daily Times,
Jan. 31, 1888.
BOB AROUND, To.-To go expeditious-
ly from place to place; to make a
round of calls. Although known
in England in the same sense, this
phrase is so favorite an expression
71
Bobtail Car
in America as to deserve special
mention.
"In August last on one fine day,
A BOBBING AROUND AROUND,
When John and I went to make hay,
We went a BOBBING AROUND.
BOBOLINK
-
(Icterus agripennis) or ?
(Dolichonyx oryzivora). - A bird
which, in various parts of the Union,
is called, by different names; indeed
as De Vere remarks, America
more perhaps than any other coun-
try suffers from a general lack of
exact knowledge in natural history.
This leads to profound ignorance of
all that concerns animal, and espe-
cially bird life, except perhaps local
habits. The same bird appears
often under half a dozen various
names in different
parts
of
the Union; and again, distinct
varieties are considered one because
they are all called by the same
name. Thus the bobolink a lively
little creature, so called from its
peculiar notes, besides being known
as BOB OF LINCOLN is called the
REED-BIRD in Delaware, the RICE-
BIRD and RICE-BUNTING farther
south, and the MEADOW BIRD, MAY
BIRD, BUTTER BIRD in the W. Indies.
AMERICAN ORTOLAN and the SKUNK
BLACKBIRD in other parts. Most
American poets have sung the
bobolink; he is a general favorite
alike because he
he comes in the
spring with the first gleams of
sunshine, and for his inimitable
song and busy active flight. It is
also highly esteemed as an article
of food.
Merrily swinging on briar and weed
Near to the nest of his little dame,
Over the mountain side and mead
Robert of Lincoln is telling his name-
BOB-O'-LINK, BOB-O'-LINK,
Spink, spank, spink.
–Wüliam Cullen Bryant.
BOBTAIL CAR.-The popular name for
a small tram-car horsed by a
Bob-Veal
single animal, and on which the
only official is a driver, whose
office it is to collect fares and
generally perform the duties of
conductor in addition to his own.
These vehicles have met with
great opposition in American cities
on account of the great danger to
life and limb resulting from the
driver's inability to attend properly
to his own especial duty.
The ANTI-BOBTAIL CAR war, which has
broken out in New York, has extended to
this city. North-east Washington has held
a meeting, appointed a grievance committee,
and have pledged themselves not to deposit
nor pass forward their own fare nor that of
any other person on or after the 1st of Sep-
tember, 1888, in the one-horse cars of the
Columbia Railway, but to tender it to any
authorized person who shall come to collect
the same. Congress, which utilizes Wash-
ington as an experimental legislative garden,
might try the experiment of abolishing BOB-
TAIL CARS.-The Christian at Work, 1888.
BOB-VEAL.Veal so immature as to
be unfit for food. The law pro-
hibits the sale of prematurely born
calves, and veal under a certain
age.
A prominent butcher, when questioned
yesterday, said: 'It is time this traffic in
shrimp and BOB-VEAL was stopped. If the
public only knew how filthy some of the
veal is that is sold, they would stop using
it altogether.'-San Francisco Weekly Exami
ner, March 22, 1888.
BOBWHITE.-The American
The American ruffled
grouse (Bonasa umbella). A popular
name derived from the drumming
sound produced by the rapid
beating of its wings (though some
suppose it to be vocal). Owing
to
72
the unsatisfactory state of
knowledge concerning bird life in
America, this bird is confused
with the partridge in New England,
and with the quail and the pheasant
in the Middle and Southern States.
BOCKEY.-From
From the
the Dutch bokaal
denotes a vessel made from a
gourd. The use of this term is
Bogue
confined to New York city and its
immediate neighbourhood.
BODETTE.
Of French - Canadian
origin (French beaudette).-The
name of a small cot or crib bed-
stead.
BODEWASH.-The dried dung of cat-
tle, which, on the arid treeless plains
of New Mexico and Texas, is
largely used for fuel. This is the
BUFFALO CHIP (q.v.) of the Western
hunter and trader. In many parts
little or no other fuel is obtainable,
and even when green brushwood is
at hand dried dung is used in pre-
ference, since it is a capital heat
producer and gives forth less smoke.
The word bode wash is a corruption
of the French bois de vache.
BODOK, BOWDARK (Maclura aurantiaca).
-The osage orange. A beautiful
shrub, which flourishes in Missouri
and Arkansas, the bright yellow,
elastic wood of which is largely
used by the Indians for their bows.
In consequence it received the
name bois d'arc from the French
settlers, and gradually got corrupted
into bowdark, and finally into bodok,
by which name it is now generally
known. The plant
plant is easily
dwarfed and rendered bushy by
pruning, and is, therefore, much
used for hedge-rows.
BODY-COVER (Cant).-A coat. One
is almost tempted to ask whether
this is the only garment known to
the criminal classes.
MEAN
BODY-SNATCHER.-A
SNATCHER.-See BLOWHARD.
BODY-
BOGUE.-Making a sudden appearance.
New England. De Vere thinks
this comes from the same root as
bogey, and quotes it as in frequent
use in the sense of coming sud-
denly upon men.
Bogus
was
BOGUS.-Unreal; counterfeit; false.
Various accounts are given as to
the genesis of this word, which
though undoubtedly of American
origin has now passed as completely
into the vernacular as "burke
and "boycott." Bartlett merely
quotes the accounts given by the
Boston Courier in 1857 to the effect
that the word is a vile corruption
of the Italian name Borghese, a
notorious swindler, who, about the
the
year 1837, literally flooded
Western and South-western States
with fictitious cheques, notes and
bills of exchange and similar
securities to an enormous amount.
It is said that the name
gradually corrupted first to borges
and then to bogus, and the man
Borghese being associated in the
popular mind with doubtful money
transactions, his name so corrupted
into bogus became applied to frau-
dulent papers and practices, and
latterly to any spurious or counter-
feit object, as bogus money, hair,
diamonds, accusations, etc. James
Russell Lowell, however, suggests
another very different derivation of
the word. He thinks it has de-
scended in a corrupted form from
the French bagasse, the refuse
of the sugar cane after the juice
has been expressed. This worth-
less product has, it is suggested,
given the name to other worthless
travelled
things, having
from
Louisiana up the Mississippi, and
thence throughout the Union,
finally spreading itself over the
English speaking world. Hence
also BOGUSLY in a similar sense
to the foregoing.
BOHEA TEA.-The Bohea tea of the
States must not by any means be
confounded with the well-known
Chinese brand. The term simply
means a dark tea made of every
other shrub and plant but the
Simon Pure.
73
Boiled Shirt
BOHN.-A translation; a "pony." The
volumes of Bohn's Classical Library
are in such general use among
undergraduates in American Col-
leges, that Bohn has come to be a
common name for a translation.
'Twas plenty of skin with a good deal of
BOHN.-Songs, Biennial Jubilee Yale College,
1855.
BOIES.-According to American - In-
dian mythology, these are priests
Each
of the savages of Florida.
priest has his special idol, which
must be invoked by the fumes of
tobacco.
BOILED SHIRT, otherwise BILED SHIRT.
-In the West biled shirt is the
odd name given to one of white
linen, and it is not difficult to see
the line of reasoning from which
the term derives its significance.
In the active stirring life of the
West little count is taken of the
convenances of civilization, and only
on Sundays and festive occasions
would the woollen undergarment
be discarded for the white linen
article. Indeed, in many cases,
the former would be worn until it
literally dropped to pieces Now
white shirts are facetiously known
as biled shirts all over the States,
and only recently (May, 1888) a
question in dispute between the
employés of the Chicago Tramway
Companies and the managers of the
same was whether the former
should wear, when on duty,
colored or biled shirts.
'Go way, Ab'm, you sho'ly is childish!
Git ter baid, case yer got ter pit on yo' BILED
SHIRT in de mawnin' arly, en git radey fur
chu'ch.'-Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 13, 1888.
Is it possible that the Chicagoans never
heard of white shirts before this spring?
May be the street-railway presidents never
saw a starched shirt (I must deplore the use
of the word BILED as applied to shirts) until
this year.-New York World, May 13, 1888.
ΙΟ
Bois d'Arc
This graceful appellation is
sometimes varied by BILED RAG.
all he
; for
If a man wanted a fight
had to do was to appear in public in a white
shirt and a stove-pipe hat
they had a particular animosity to what they
called a BILED RAG.-Mark Twain's Innocents
at Home, chap. xii.
BOIS D'ARC.-See BODOK.
BOIS DE VACHE.-See BODEWASH.
"
BOKE (Cant). The nose; possibly
only a corruption of beak" used
in English cant with a similar
meaning.
BOLERO. A favorite Spanish dance.
In Spain bolero is applied both to
the dance and to the men who, on the
stage, take part in it.
(4
"
BOLT. Used as a verb to indicate
the right of the independently
minded to revolt against partisan
rule, as He bolted the party nomi-
nations." Also pronominally, as
He has organized a bolt." The
word derived this meaning from
its sporting application to a horse
when he becomes unmanageable
on the race-course. It is rarely
used with its dictionary meaning
in political connections; and, when
so used, is generally misunder-
stood by the average reader. Also
BOLTER, one who exercises the
right of abstention.
What the Register does object to are the
fellows who BOLT the ticket and support the
opposition candidate when they cannot
control nominations.- Daily Inter-Ocean,
Feb. 3, 1888.
BOMBO.-A hedge - hog -like animal
found in North Carolina, and by
some called a BADGER.
BOMBPROOFS. An epithet applied
to a band of men who came from
74
Bone
Cis-Mississippi States and claimed
that each one of their number was
an equal match for ten Yankees.
-See TEN STRIKERS.
BONANZA. The name of a mine in
Nevada, which once, quite unex-
pectedly, turned out to be "a big
thing," and of enormous value;
now applied to any lucky hit or
successful enterprise. The word is
Spanish, meaning prosperity or
success.
The mines along the veins running north
and south, of which North Belle Isle is the
centre, are all stayers, and in the east and
west ledge Grand Prize has entered a body
of ore which may develop into a BONANZA
as big as the one which paid millions in
dividends in years gone by.—San Francisco
News Letter, Feb. 4, 1888.
BONE.-When a traveller, in passing
his luggage through the Custom
House, tips the officer in the ex-
pectation that the latter's exami-
nation of his impedimenta will be
more or less superficial, the fee
thus given is termed a bone. The
practice is, of course, contrary to
all regulations; but, human nature
being human nature all the world
over, it is believed that similar
expedients for evading the law are
not altogether unknown in England.
-BONE PITS.-Indian places of
interment. These bone pits are found
scattered throughout the United
States and Canada, the practice
among Indian tribes being to de-
posit such remains in long trenches
or pits. This ceremony of con-
signing their dead to a final
resting-place is called the "second
burying," and occurs at intervals
varying from eight to ten years.
The custom was known to the early
settlers as "the festival of the
dead."—Bones. Castanet-like
instruments; properties of "negro"
or, as they are better known in
England (from some famous per-
Boneset
formers in this line)--Christy Min-
strels. Generally one of the "end
men" performs with these instru-
ments, and is, in consequence, digni-
fied with the title of Brudder
Bones."TO FEEL A THING IN
ONE'S BONES.-A simile signifying
assurance; conviction.
I ain't a-goin' to mention no names but I
kin FEEL IT IN MY BONES that things ain't on
the square here; there's a nigger on the fence.
-Scribner's Magazine.
Nat M. Shelton of Lancaster said: 'I
am in the race for attorney-general, and I
FEEL IT IN MY BONES that I will get the
nomination.'-Missouri Republican, February
22, 1888.
ONE END IS PRETTY SURE TO BE
BONE.-An old time saying equiva-
lent to an admission that "all is not
gold that glitters "; that the realiza-
tion of one's hopes never comes
up to the ideal formed of them.
People here (in the West) have to get up
and get in order to make both ends meet,
and even then ONE END IS PRETTY SURE TO
BE BONE.-The World, May 13, 1888.
BONESET (Eupatorium perfoliatum).–
In England this is known as the
thorough-wort. A medicinal plant
much esteemed for it sudorific and
tonic qualities. It owes its popu-
lar American name to the fact that
it is generally regarded as a specific
for the so- called BREAK
FEVER (q.v.). It is also reported to
to be one of the chief ingredients
in the well-known Shaker pre-
parations.
BONE
BONESETTER.-In thieves' cant a sur-
geon; it has also the secondary
meaning of a hard riding horse.
The sarcastic, punning reference is
of course to the dire effects
which naturally follow the use of
an animal of such a description.
The odd way in which American
slang is often derived strikes one
at times as very curious. Not only
are words frequently coined which
75
Bony Fish
resemble genuine words, such as
solemncholy" for "melancholy,"
and "it don't much magnify" for
it don't much signify," but the
meaning of such factitious words
is, in many cases, either subtly
reversed or endowed with an
extremely cynical tinge of humor
and sarcasm. The present instance
is a case in point. The BONESHAKER
of the English rough corresponds
exactly to the American bonesetter,
but the latter is certainly far more
brutally cynical in its suggestive-
ness than the former.
BONEYARD. —A cemetery.
When some roughs jumped the Catholic
BONEYARD,
And started to take out town-lots in it.
-Mark Twain's Innocents at Home.
BONING ADJUTANT.-Aping a military
bearing. From "to bone," to
study; to imitate. So also BONING
MUSCLE is to go in largely for
gymnastics. To BONE STANDING,
to study hard. West Point Cadet
slang.
was
BONNY BLUE FLAG.-The BLUE FLAG,
the standard of the Confederates
thus affectionately named.
Round it
it gathered the whole
sentiment and earnestness of the
Southern cause.
BONY FISH (Alosa menhaden).—A fish
largely found in New England
waters and down the coast to
the 35th parallel. It has many
names, amongst which are WHITE-
FISH, HARD-HEAD (Maine), Moss-
BUNKER (New York), PANHAGEN,
MENHADEN (Massachusetts and
Rhode Island), and SKIPPAUGS
(New York). Like the herring,
which it resembles, it is caught
in enormous quantities, and be-
sides being used for food, is also
employed as manure.
Boo-boo
BOO-BOO, TO.The sounds made by
a child when crying, as represented
by boo-boo, have furnished Our
American cousins with a new verb,
possessing a similar meaning, i.c., to
cry aloud; to make a bellowing
noise; and, idiomatically, to be in
a state of whining supplication.
It is said to have been coined by
Judge Halliburton, who, though not
a native, is stated to have been the
originator of several Americanisms.
BOOBY HACK, also BOOBY HUT.- A
kind of sleigh, the body of the
vehicle being framed like an or-
dinary carriage.
A serious coasting accident occurred at
Fairmount late last night. A party of
young girls and boys were coming down
the steep grade at that point on a double
ripper, at a terrific speed, when they col-
lided with Crowley's BOOBY HACK, knocking
the horse down and demolishing the front
of the vehicle.-Boston Daily Globe, 1888.
BOOBY HUTCH (Cant).-A police
station, so called no doubt from
the light in which the criminal
classes regard those who are foolish
enough or unfortunate enough to
get landed in such places.
BOODLE. (1) This curious word seems
to have come into prominent use
in politics during the past five
years, Some elections cannot be
conducted without boodle first
and last. Boodle does not mean
the capital or stock - in - trade,
except the business or trade be
something secret, peculiar
peculiar and
illegal. Boodle always means money,
but money is not always boodle.
Money honestly received and spent,
money that circulates in regular
and honest channels, that appears
in cash-book and ledger and ex-
pense account, is never boodle: but
when a sum-a thousand dollars,
more or less-is given to some one
to use in influencing some third
76
Boodle
party, given perhaps in silence and
certainly without requiring any
writing of acknowledgment or obli-
gation-that is boodle. Boodle is
money used for purposes of bribery
and corruption; and the same word
is used to indicate the money that
comes as spoils, the result of some
secret deal, the profits of which
are silently divided. The term is
also used to cover the ill-gotten
gains of the bank robber, or the
absconding cashier. He carried
away so much boodle." In elections
the primaries have to be "fixed"; a
great many men have to be“ seen
"';
in short, the amount of money
that it seems necessary in some
cases to use to elect a few honest
public servants is a thing to won-
der at. And when these men
are elected it appears that they
often lose the power of distinguish-
ing between "straight money" and
boodle. The word seems destined
to take its permanent place in the
language.
The best man in the world cannot make
an honest living by being a City Councilman.
The office is an unsalaried one, and any
money that is made out of it is BOODLE.
This is the new term for plunder, fraud and
every form of stealing that can be practised
by office-holders, who, in the practice, add
the crime of perjury. It is an easy business
for men of easy virtue.-Philadelphia Bul-
letin, Feb. 24, 1888.
She presented a draft for 2000 dols., drawn
upon a Detroit bank, and received the cash.
Immediately after that she left for the East
with the BOODLE, and there was no uneasy
thought about her until the draft came back
from Detroit dishonoured and pronounced
spurious.-St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat,
1888.
Ike Hill, Esq., who has been so strongly,
and on such high authority, represented as
engaged in the distribution of BOODLE, is an
officer of the National House, and has no
opportunity there to vindicate himself with-
out investigation. Perhaps the Republican
members will be able to accommodate him
in that respect.-Cincinnati Weekly Gazcite,
Feb. 22, 1888,
(2) Its variants are almost
numberless. Amongst the thieving
Boodle
fraternity boodle is used to denote
money that is actually spurious or
counterfeit, and not merely money
used for nefarious purposes, but
which, as specie, is genuine enough.
TO CARRY BOODLE is to utter
base coinage, and BOODLERS and
shovers are the men who issue
it. Swindlers of this type generally
hunt in couples; one carrying the
bulk of the counterfeit money, and
receiving the good change as
obtained by his companion, who
utters the boodle piece by piece.
The game is generally worked
so that, at the slightest alarm,
the BOODLE CARRIER vanishes and
leaves nothing to criminate his
confederate.
American-'As you are a native of Canada
I suppose you think that country is all right,
but for my part I should hate most awfully
to be a subject of a queen.'
Canadian-' The queen is a mere figure-
head; there is no difference at all between
Canada and the United States.'
'Come to think, I believe you do have
elections there.'
'I should say we did. We have elections
and campaigns, and political parties and
bosses, and ringsters, and BOODLERS and
เ BOODLERS?'
Plenty of 'em.'
Well, well! Why, you are freemen just
like us.'-Omaha World.
(3) Another artifice of the
kind very common among mags-
men is the FAKE BOODLE—a roll of
paper over which, after folding,
a dollar bill is pasted, and another
bill being loosely wrapped round
this it looks as if the whole roll
is made up of a large sum of
money in bills. There is yet
another meaning which, by an easy
transition, this word has come to
possess, one identical with the slang
expressions dust; pieces; rhino;
oof; etc., for money. Boodle is of
Dutch origin from boedel pronounced
boodle. In its primary sense it means
household stuff," and refers to
property left by a testator. It is
also curious to note that a BODLE
77
Boom
was a Scotch coin of the value of
one-sixth of a penny.-See also
CABOODLE.
BOOK. TO BOOK.-To engage seats;
obtain tickets, etc., i.c., for travel-
ling by rail or for a public per-
formance or meeting. Originally
an Americanism, but now one of
our most common colloquialisms.
The engagement of seats, of course,
necessitates a record or entry in a
book, and the term booking came
thus to mean the process referred
to. It has besides given rise to
other terms similar in character
such as "booking office," "booking
clerk," etc.- -TO BE BOOKED.
A thief's expression signifying to
be arrested..
LIKE A BOOK.
To talk like a book is to talk pom-
pously, or with a view to effect.
To know a thing like a book," i.e.,
thoroughly.
BOOK CRANKS.-A genus with many
subdivisions. The names describ-
ing some of the idiosyncrasies of
those who have to do with books
can fairly claim American birth.
Thus a bibliopegist is a bibliophile
with a special regard for bookbind-
ings. A bibliotaph is a book
miser. A bibliopole is a bookseller
for bibliophiles. A biblioklept is a
stealer of valuable books. Mr.
Lenox, who would not let Prescott
see his Mexican manuscripts, was
a bibliotaph, and Sam Pepys was
a biblioklept. Bibliolarty is the
worship of books.
BOOKSTORE.-A
-A bookseller's shop.
-See STORE.
BOOM.-Variously used as a noun or
a verb. Derived probably from
the nautical phrase boom-out,'
signifying a vessel running rapidly
before the wind. Within a few
years it has made its appearance
Boom
in a variety of combinations, as,
"the whole State is booming for
Smith," or "the boys have
whooped up the State to boom for
Smith," or the Smith boom is
ahead in this State," etc., etc.
Stocks and money are said to be
booming when active, and any par-
ticular spot within a flourishing
district is regarded as within the
BOOM - BELT. A successful team
or party is said to be a BOOMING
SQUAD, and we even read of BOOM-
LETS to express progress of a lesser
degree. The term originated in
California.
The city of Paris is said to be diminishing
instead of increasing in population. They
don't know how to BOOм a town over there.
-Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean, 1888.
'Jim, they say thar is a big вUм up at
Rome.
'What's that?' said Jim.
'It's a kind of new tradin' business what
swells and shrinks, and the sweller and
shrinker stays down in a celler and works
the machine. They trade in stock.'
'Horses and mules?' said Jim.
'No, hit's all on paper, and nobody can
see what he's buyin'. You put your money
in and wait for a swell. If it comes you
are all right, but if a shrink comes you are
busted, and you feel so ashamed that you
don't say anything about it, and it never
gets into the papers-nothing but the swells
gits into the papers.'-Missouri Republican,
Feb. 16, 1888.
By the sudden breaking of a very large
BOOM of logs in Palouse River, near Colfax,
Washington Territory, yesterday, Moses
Ebert was killed, an unknown man
drowned, and three other men seriously
injured.-New York Evening Post, Feb. 24,
1888.
was
After the Sheridan reception of course
John Sherman must come to Boston. The
Ohio statesman knows where all the real
live BOOMS start. If Mr. Blaine is wise he
also will come to the 'Hub' without delay.
-Boston Daily Globe, 1888.
A BOOM in North Carolina is not the kind
of phenomenon to which we are accustomed
here. Sales of land at from 2 dols. to 10
dols. an acre in a BOOM-BELT are not of
record hereabout.-Picayune, 1888.
Ben Butterworth, of Ohio, one of the
mainstays of John Sherman's BOOMING
SQUAD, has just had the title of boss Repub-
78
Borning Ground
lican tariff debater conferred upon him by
the culture of Boston.-Chicago Herald,
1888.
BOOMA (Sciurus hudsonius).This is
a North Carolina term for the little
red squirrel, which, in the Northern
States, is popularly known as the
CHICKAREE (q.v.). Booma is the
Indian name.
BOONDER. A Dutch term for a brush.
Still commonly used in New York
and New Jersey.
BOOST, TO.-To hoist or raise by
pushing from below or behind. An
Old English word.
BOOT, TO. To kick; derivation ob-
vious.
BOOTEE. A shoe of the blucher
pattern.
BOOT-LICK. A flunkey; hanger-on; or
doer of dirty work.
BOOTS.-At the College of South
Carolina it is customary to present
the most unpopular member of a
class with a pair of handsome red-
topped boots, on which is inscribed
the word beauty. They were for-
merly given to the ugliest person,
whence the inscription.
BORDER RUFFIANS.-This came promi-
nently into use during the Kansas-
Nebraska troubles of 1854-5, and
was originally applied to bands of
voters who crossed the border
from the slave States in order to
carry the elections in the territories.
-See BLEEDING KANSAS.
BORNING GROUND.-The country of
one's birth; the ground upon which
one was born; one's native soil.
Bos
Bos.—At the University of Virginia,
the dessert which the students,
according to the statutes of the
twice per
college, are allowed
week, are respectively called the
senior and junior bos.
BOSAAL.-A halter of particular con-
struction, used in the breaking-in
of horses. From the Spanish
bozal, a muzzle.
BOSHING (Cant).—A flogging.
Boss.-The political boss is the leader
.whose word is law to his hench-
men. Boss Tweed, of New York,
is believed to have been the first to
wear the title in a semi-official way.
The phrase BOSS RULE is said to
have been invented by Mr. Wayne
MacVeagh, and was employed by
him in political speeches in Chicago.
It is now in common use in this
sense. Originally the word (Dutch
baas) was used in New York and
vicinity in a semi-respectful way.
Now in common use on both sides
of the Atlantic-as a noun, a
master; adjective, pleasant; and as
a verb, to lead, to domineer.
Alderman Campbell-I move an amend-
ment to make Hamline the general superin-
tendent and chief Boss of this whole gas
business.
'Didn't I rent you the land for a third of
the crop?' 'Yes, BOSS,' said the man; 'but
you see dere was no third. Dere was only
two bales of cotton and two loads of corn
all mine, and nuffin' for you by the contract.'
And the landlord could not make Cuffee
believe any other way.-American Humorist,
1888.
Take it all together, with scarcity of food
and little sleep, we had a hard but a BOSS
time. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 18, 1888.
When lovely woman hires a servant
And BOSSES her around all day,
What makes the girl pray half so fervent
vent
As her desire to run away.
-Texas Siftings, July, 1888.
The organization of the Republican State
Executive Committee the other evening de-
79
Bostonese
veloped about the highest handed bit of
BOSSISM that has come to the surface for
years.-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
BOSTON.-A card game of American
origin and dating from the War of
Independence. In The Laws of
the Eastern States Occurs the
following note. A game of cards
was invented in Versaul and called
in honor of the town Boston; the
points of the game are allusive—
Great Independence," Little
Independence," "Great Misery,
Little Misery," etc. It was com-
posed partly of whist and partly
of another game partaking most of
the former. A correspondent of
the Magazine of American History,
writing in 1879, reported that it
was then
then hardly known in the
States, but that it might be useful
to card players to know that it was
a most interesting game.
At that
time it was frequently played in
France, and was almost the ex-
clusive game in every "circle" in
the North of Europe from Amster-
dam to St. Petersburg. It has
been suggested that this game was
invented by Dr. Franklin, and
there is a tradition that he was
fond of playing it. The BOSTON
CLUB of New Orleans, one of the
oldest social clubs in that city, was
named after it, and it is curious to
note that there are islands in
Boston Harbour about Salem, and
other places perhaps, bearing the
of Independence, Great
Misery and Little Misery. In this
game Boston means
Boston means "to get
"to get five
tricks."
name
BOSTONESE.-Used in the same man-
ner
as telegraphese, i.e., in a
manner peculiar to the Daily
Telegraph. Bostonese, therefore, is a
method of speech or manners
supposed to be specially affected
by the residents of that city.
The lady was in jolly good spirits, and she
bore the honors of her position with her
Boston Notions
customary tact and savoir faire. There were
a number of people present, principally
BOSTONESE, and they treated the bright little
visitor with great respect and attention.-
New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
BOSTON NOTIONS.-
NOTIONS. This is a well-
known expression and dates back
many years. It was used during
the last century, and even at that
time had become proverbial. In
the preface to an oration on the
"
Beauties of Liberty," delivered at
Boston, December 3, 1773, by "a
British Bostonian (Mr. Allen), it
says that "
that "the Bostonians are very
notional.' Again in the Massa-
chusetts Mercury, May 3, 1793, is an
article headed Boston folks are
full of notions," which speaks of
the fact as a proverbial saying.
"
BOTHERSOME.—Annoying; vexatious.
BOTTOM.
Power of endurance;
stamina. English slang which is
thoroughly and respectably collo-
quial in the States.
A buffalo can run only about two-thirds
as fast as a good horse; but what he lacks in
speed, he makes up in BOTTOM or endurance,
in tenacity of purpose, and in most extra-
ordinary vitality.-Dodge's Plains of the
Great West.
TO KNOCK THE BOTTOM OUT OF
ONE, is to overcome; to defeat, etc.
The declination of Mr. Blaine has knock-
ed the BOTTOM out of Mugwumpery.-
Cleveland Leader, 1888.
BOTTOM DOLLAR. The last
dollar. The phrase "to bet one's
bottom dollar" is frequently heard.
BOTTOM FACTS. The exact
truth about any matter. To" get
to the bottom facts concerning a
subject is to arrive at an unquestion-
able conclusion concerning it, or,
as we should say in England, to
get to the root of the question.
You take a family able to emba'm, and
you've got a soft thing. You can mention
80
Boughten
sixteen different ways to do it-though there
aint only one or two ways when you come
down to the BOTTOM FACTS of it-and
they'll take the highest priced way every
time. It's human nature-human nature in
grief. Iark Twain's Life on the Mississippi,
P. 393.
The phrase is also varied by
BOTTOM ROCK.
Воттом Rock.
Conductor (on California train some years
hence)—' All out for Pitholeville.'
Real Estate Agent (entering car)-'Orange
groves and apple orchards, two for a penny.'
-Omaha World, 1888.
BOTTOM LANDS OR BOTTOM.-Flat land
in the valleys.
Dave Kensett, an industrous old negro
who lives down in the BOTTOMS, is greatly
annoyed by the members of the church.-
American Humorist, 1888.
The bluffs of the Mississippi only follow
the general course of the stream, and as one
goes to the southward they get farther away
from the stream, till the BOTTOM LANDS are
from thirty to sixty miles wide, and below
Baton Rouge, as aforesaid, the whole
country is BOTTOM. Above St. Louis these
wide lowlands are rare; but the noted
American BOTTOM is several miles wide
opposite Hannibal, Mo., and extends the
length of two or three counties on the
Illinois side. This tract contains some
200 square miles of the most fertile land in
the world.-American Humorist, 1888.
BOUGE, TO.-From the old French
bouge, a swelling. To be puffed out;
to bulge; or swell out. An old
provincialism now rarely heard in
England, but still current in the
remote parts of New England.
BOUGHTEN. Past participle of "to
buy," in which the archaic termina-
tion is still preserved; like gotten,
putten, etc. Used adjectively, it
serves to distinguish shop bought
goods from home manufactures
(New England and New York).
The distinction will be readily un-
derstood in connection with baker's
bread as compared with what is
known as home made bread.
Boughten is yet a provincialism
Bounce
in use in the North of England as
regards the former.
BOUNCE, TO.-To expel by force; to
eject with violence.
To-day Mayor Armstrong, with the chief
of police and sixty regular and special
policemen, went to Arsenal Hill, the scene
of the land-jumping, and ordered all the tres-
passers off, warning them that the land was
claimed by the city. The jumpers did not
go, whereupon the Mayor ordered his force
to BOUNCE them and tear down their
shanties, tents and fences, which was
promptly done, and a guard left to prevent
the jumpers' return.-Cincinnati Weekly
Gazette, February 22, 1888.
a
Also to swagger; hence
BOUNCER is a thief who commits
his depredations with bravado and
bullying. The term is also used
to signify one who ejects, in Eng-
lish slang a "chucker out."
He settled in New Orleans, and was first
employed as BOUNCER in a ball-room
and café of old creole days.-American
Humorist, 1888.
-To GET THE GRAND BOUNCE
is equivalent, in political parlance,
to dismissal, especially in reference
to government appointments.
BOUNCING CHEAT (Cant).-A bottle.
BOUNG (Cant).—A purse.
BOUNTY-JUMPER.-The War of the
Rebellion is responsible for this, as
for many other colloquialisms. As
the conflict lengthened out, men
became in great request, and large
bounties were offered by the North
for volunteers. This bounty was
found in many cases to be a direct
incitement with unprincipled men
to bad faith and unfair dealing.
Such would enlist, receive their
bounty, join their regiment, and
then decamp, to reappear in an-
other State to go through the same
performance. Cases were known
where this was done many times
81
Bower
over, and the practice was called
bounty-jumping. See JUMPING.
BOURBON.—(1) A Democrat of the
straitest sect; a FIRE-EATER (q.v.).
Applied for the most part to
Southern Democrats of the old
school. This use of the word
probably ante-dates the Civil War,
but no instance of such use has
been found in print. Bourbon
County, Kentucky, is popularly
associated with this kind of Demo-
crat, but we must look to the old
Bourbon party in France-uncom-
promising adherents of political
tradition-for its true paternity.
-(2) A superior kind of whiskey
originally applied to that manu-
factured in Bourbon, Kentucky.
BOWDARK Or BODOK (q.v).-Also bois
d'arc.
BOWEL.At Harvard, "To have no
bowels" is to be poor, destitute, or
without means. Of scriptural
derivation, the word being used in
a somewhat similar sense in the
Bible.
BOWER (RIGHT AND LEFT).—Terms
at euchre, designating the two
highest cards in the pack, the right
bower being the knave of the suit
turned up as trumps, and the left
bower the corresponding card
in the suit of the same colour, i.e.,
clubs if spades are trumps, or
hearts if diamonds, and, of course,
vice versa. Some philologists, es-
pecially those who favor the
theory that all card games, in
the first instance, were full of polit-
ical allusions and import, regard
euchre as a case in point, and de-
rive bower from the German bauer, a
peasant or yeoman, who thus ap-
propriates kingly place and power.
This may be so, but the idea is
somewhat fanciful, especially as, if it
II
Bow'ry
be true at all that the game is of
German origin, the Teutons of the
period of its birth were certainly
little enough affected with Demo-
cratic ideas, and it would rather
seem that our American cousins in
their loyalty to the Republican
sentiment have, in seeking a deri-
vation for the terms used in one of
their favorite games, allowed the
wish to become father of the
thought. Idiomatically, bower is
now used in the slang sense of
'excellent," "foremost," etc. For
example, a man might describe a
good and true wife as his right
bower; or, as in one of the follow-
ing quotations, the colloquial sense
may be even more extended.
•
·
Sandy Tipton
rose for a moment
superior to the fact that he had an ace and
two BOWERS in his sleeve.- Bret Harte's
Luck of Roaring Camp, p. 76.
'What have you got there? I call,' said
T. quietly.
'TWO BOWERS and an ace' said the stran-
ger, showing two revolvers and a bowie
knife.-Bret Harte's Tennessee's Partner, p.
210.
BOW'RY
(Cant).—A prison.
BOYS AND
GIRLS.
The
'Arry's and 'Arriet's of the New
York of some years ago. The
bowery is a well-known thorough-
fare in the American metropolis
where such congregate. Formerly
spelt bouwerij and derived from
bouw, tillage, or bouwen, to till,
to cultivate, and is equivalent to
the modern Dutch word boerderij,
a farm, or the business of farming.
The bowery was the farm of
Governor Stuyvesant.
BOWIE or BOWIE-KNIFE.-A long, for-
midable weapon, sometimes over
a foot in length and two inches
broad, only worn by hunters and
desperadoes in the wilder and more
unsettled parts of the Union. One
kind
is facetiously called an
82
Box
ARKANSAS TOOTHPICK (q.v.). The
term bowie was derived from a
notorious character, Colonel Jim
Bowie.
A stalwart ruffian
who carried
two revolvers in his belt, and a BOWIE-KNIFE
projecting from his boot.-Mark Twain's
Roughing it, chap. 31.
Also TO BOWIE-KNIFE, i.e., to
stab with that weapon.
•
•
The same Mr. Softroe who would
meet you at the liquor bar of a Mississippi
steamer, inveigle you to play Poker, cheat
you, ay, and quickly BOWIE KNIFE you if
you discovered that it was through cheating
that you had lost your dollars.
·
BOWMAN.-An antiquated Virginian
term among army men for a body-
servant. The name itself dates
back to a period prior to the intro-
duction of powder and shot-
perhaps one of the oldest relics of
pre-colony days now extant in the
New World.
BOWMAN'S BOOT (Gillenia trifoliata).—
A medicinal plant with emetic
qualities, perhaps more generally
known as INDIAN PHYSIC. It is a
species of ipecacuanha.
BOWSPRIT (Cant). The
clearly of nautical origin.-
nose;
-To
HAVE ONE'S BOWSPRIT IN PAREN-
THESIS is to have it pulled.
"To
have one's head in Coventry" will
occur to mind as an English slang
phrase very similar in character.
Box.-(1) Also known as a BATTERY
(q.v.) A kind of flat boat used in
duck shooting.- (2) A technical
term, signifying, in North Carolina,
a large bowl-like incision made in
gum-bearing or resinous trees for
the purpose of collecting the
exuding sap. This operation is
known as boxing a tree," hence
TO BOX in this sense.
Box Car
BOX CAR.-A HOUSE-CAR SO called; a
close car used to convey furniture
and merchandize by rail.
•
When your legs fail you at last, you lie
down on a small BOX CAR
and
are dragged up to daylight.-Mark Twain's
Innocents at Home, chap. vii.
BOX ELDER (Negundium americanum).
-Also known as the ASH-LEAVED
MAPLE.
Bob McCord had stopped in the darkness
under the shade of a BOX ELDER, a little
beyond the forks of the road.-Scribner's
Magazine, 1888.
BOX TURTLE.A tortoise which, when
alarmed, has the power of rolling
itself up, appearing as if enclosed
in a box. The under shell of this
turtle is arranged in two or three
sections (according to species),
each being joined by a ligament-
like skin.
of
BOY.-(I) The general usage, as
regards this and several other
terms of a similar character, con-
stitutes a distinct peculiarity
amongst American authors and
journalists. The offspring
Smith, Jones, or Robinson ap-
pear in print as the Smith boy,
the Jones girl, etc., and if thought
desirable to state age the descrip-
tion would run, the fifteen-year-
old Robinson boy. The custom is
almost indefinitely extended
other directions. Thus we hear
of the widow Whangdoodle, Archi-
tect Gribble, Butcher Thompson,
etc.
in
The practice is to describe
men by their trade and profession
in a manner which, in England, is
now confined to doctors (Doctor
Smith) and occasionally, amongst
the illiterate, to lawyers (Lawyer
Jones) and parsons (Parson Robin-
son).
The city schools lack fourteen weeks of
being out, and the Skipper BOY could com-
83
Brace
ply with the law, with two weeks to spare
The defence set up this plea. The Court
held decision until 10 o'clock to-day, at
which time the prosecution took a non-suit.
If the Skipper BOY is not in school by that
time the prosecution can make a valid case.
-Chicago Daily News, 1888.
(2) A Southern term before
the war for a colored servant, even
when grey haired and infirm.-
(3) This word is also often used
nowadays to designate the polit-
ical hangers-on of a candidate or
party; those who can be counted
upon to cheer and be on hand, in
season and out of season, and who
expect the small change of the
campaign funds in the way of free
drinks, and the minor offices as
their remuneration. HEELERS
(q.v.) has much the same meaning,
but is rather derogatory by impli-
cation. It is safe to call a boy a boy,
but to call him a heeler "might
involve unpleasantness. B'HOY
(q.v.) is a somewhat obsolete cor-
ruption of boy, and has a rowdyish
rather than a political signification.
-BOYS IN BLUE.- -The soldiers of
the North, from their blue uniforms;
also called YANKS and BLUE-
BELLIES. Since the war the term
boys in blue has become the offi-
cial title of sundry half-military
organizations, in many of which
negroes predominate. Blue, it may
be mentioned, was the color of the
uniform worn by the Independent
Company of Pennsylvania, in the
War of Independence.
(The Irish-American soldier) had the
bright humorous countenance of the Celt
with the peculiar litheness and military
swagger of the American BOYS IN BLUE.-
Justin McCarthy.
BRACE, TO (Cant).-To get credit
by swagger. Το BRACE IT
THROUGH.-To succeed by dint of
sheer impudence. -To BRACE UP,
which in English slang signifies to
pledge stolen goods, is equivalent
in America to taking a drink.
Bradished
'This is pretty tough on me,' sighed
Colonel Snort. I don't want to go back on
my party, and, at the same time, I don't
want to advocate taxing the necessaries of
life. Let's go over to the salon and BRACE
UP with a snifter, and maybe I'll see my
way out of this nauseating dilemma.'-Texas
Siftings, August 18, 1888.
BRADISHED.-Hermetically sealed.
After the settling the west entrance was
not safe to work in, but timbers were put
in and it was BRADISHED, or hermetically
sealed. It is dangerous to seal up a portion
of a mine, for gas collects in it and may
force its way out.-Missouri Republican,
March 31, 1888.
BRAINY.-(1) A strange word curiously
derived from its legitimate noun
root. A brainy journal is not, as
might be supposed, par excellence,
a paper characterized by deep
thought or research. Thought of
a kind, it is true, is implied in the
term brainy, but it is rather in the
direction of the " imaginative and
airy nothings" species of society
gossip now so rife in many journals.
I see that the go-aways are packing their
trunks and getting their names into print
already. I am myself booked for a trip to
Europe among the BRAINY paragraphs
thrown off by one society reporter.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, April 29, 1888.
-(2) Also mental restlessness.
84
We are a BRAINY people. BRAINY men
succeed in life. An active intellect with a
weak organism to work through will wear it
out early in life. Hence, in our country,
the large number of those who break down.
-Missouri Republican, Feb. 12, 1888.
(3) Brainy, in a more legitimate
sense, indicates the possession of
brain-power; in each case, how-
ever, the usage is distinctively
American.
By May 1 at least 1,500 men will be under
the contract restrictions of professional
clubs, all under the protection of the national
agreement and subject to the ruling of a
BRAINY board of arbitration, - Chicago
Herald, 1888.
Brand
BRANCH.-The fluvial phraseology of
America has preserved in many
cases the terms once current in
the old country. Branch is one of
these words, and is colloquial in
the South in the sense in which it
was used by Sir Walter Raleigh.
Its primary meaning is a brook;
other names for running water
are RIVER and BAYOU.
As they were going directly away from
Globe City, Hop Sing did not hold back,
but followed the child to the fringe of
timber that bordered a small creek or
BRANCH.
BRAND.-A mark of proprietorship
placed upon cattle, in the West
especially, where immense herds
often travel from place to place
over a large tract of country in
search of food and water, or for
shelter. In consequence, the
different herds frequently get mixed
either by accident or design-
hence the stress placed by ranch-
men upon brands and branding.
Indeed, so customary is it for a
cowboy to inspect and note the
brands of every group of cattle
he meets with, that it becomes
quite a second nature to do so.
Very stringent precautions are
taken by cattle-men to prevent
An
any tampering with brands.
attempt of this kind is most
severely punished; but, as a matter
of fact, the chances of malpractice
are few and far between; and, in
addition to the deterrent influence
of punishment if discovered,
all brands are registered, and
BRAND-READERS are appointed as
inspectors. All cattle-marks are
jealously examined on the living
and the dead animals at every
shipping point, and Roosevelt, a
well-known authority, declares it
is wonderful to see how quickly
these men will detect signs of a
brand having been tampered with.
Now there is, in consequence,
Brand
very little of this kind of dishon-
esty; whereas formerly herds
were occasionally stolen almost
bodily. The law once was (and
may yet be) that all cattle which
were allowed to pass the age of
one year unbranded became the
property of him whose brand was
first put upon them. One
Maverick formerly owned such
immense herds that many of his
animals unavoidably escaped his
rouanne in the spring, were taken
up by his neighbors, branded and
called Mavericks. The term even-
tually spread over the whole cattle
country, and is in use now not only
to denote a beast thus acquired, but
unbranded
any young
animal.
No great drove can sweep through
the mighty, unfenced ranch lands
of the great West without draw-
ing a wake of these Mavericks—
these boves per dolum amtas-and
the temptation to let them remain
has ruined the herdsman's char-
acter. The brands and their
descriptive names would fill
all the books of the Nuremberg
Cobbler. Indeed the West
one great tangle of bovine hiero-
graphics which the cowboys read
better than a book. Brands are
placed usually on the hip, shoulder
and side, or on any one of them,
and comprise letters, numbers,
or figures, in every combination,
the outfit being known by its brand.
Some now actually in use are
the Three Sevens, the Thistle, the
Bellows, the OX, the VI., the
Seventy-six Bar (76), and the
Quarter Circle Diamond (<).
The dew-lap and the ears may also
be cut, notched, or slit, or they
may be marked with the vent,
a brand announcing sale; single-
bob, a slit ear dropping down.
Other marks signifying ownership
are over-bit, over-hack, over-half-
crop, over-slope, swallow-fork,
under-bit, under-hack, etc.
is
85
Brandy Smash
BRAND-BOOK.-A register of the mul-
titudinous marks used in branding.
-BRAND-BUNCH.-A small herd
of cattle.
BRANDT GOOSE.-Dodge, in his Plains
of the Great West, says a very
considerable number of birds come
to the plains in the early spring,
rear broods, and return in the fall
Of
to a more congenial clime.
these the brandt goose is the
largest. Along streams secure
from freshets and
prowling
animals the brandt makes a nest
of small sticks, grass, leaves,
and feathers on
some secluded
point only a few inches above
the water. On streams liable to
spring rises and otherwise unpro-
tected, she builds a huge structure
of sticks, some of them apparently
too large for her to carry, in some
convenient fork of a tree twenty,
thirty, or even more feet above the
ground, and not unfrequently a
hundred feet from the water. This
outwardly rough affair is nicely
lined with
with leaves,
and
grass
feathers, making a superb bed for
the eggs.
The eggs are
not quite so large as those of the
DOMESTIC GOOSE, but when fresh
are more delicate and of a richer
flavor.
•
BRANDY SMASH. A well-known
'American drink," of which brandy
is the chief component, crushed ice
being another important addition.
We procured the services of a gentleman
experienced in the nomenclature of the
American bar....A bowing, aproned French-
man stepped forward and said 'Que voules
les messieurs?' Our general said (after naming
several other drinks) 'Give us a BRANDY
SMASH.' The Frenchman began to back
away suspicious of the ominous vigor of
the last order.-Mark Twain's Innocents
A broad.
1
Philological.-Gallic Tourist-'I do not
see how any one ever learns the absurd
English. I read on the menu of drinks
Brash
"Sherree Cobblair," I find in the dictionary
-a mender of shoes of sherry wine; "Santa
Cruz Sour," La Sainte Croix acide; BRANDY
SMASH, Eau de vie écrasé. Bête de langue!'
-New York Evening Post, February 24, 1888.
BRASH.-Several meanings attach to
this word, most of which, if not all,
can be traced back to Old English
usage. Brash is still provincial in
some parts of England for
broken boughs and twigs, such as
are seen scattered about after a
storm, hence (1) brittle, a meaning
which in New England is employed
when speaking of frangible timber
or ice, e.g., BRASH ICE, i.e., ice which
has become brittle and pulverized.
In New York it is applied to vege-
tables when fresh. (2) Harsh.
This also is an old friend with new
surroundings, it once having been
general to describe hastiness of
temper and impetuosity.
'You've
'You foolish boy,' said Barbara.
gone at your work too BRASH. You ought to
be ashamed of yourself. Here, take some
of this pie; and don't you work so hard the
rest of the day.'-Scribner's Magazine.
(3) Used adjectively of a per-
son when indisposed, a meaning
which is still colloquial in the
North of England.
BRASS MONKEY.-COLD ENOUGH TO
FREEZE THE NOSE OFF A BRASS
MONKEY is a simile for intense cold
amongst some people.
BRAVE.-A romantic term for an
Indian warrior. Once common,
but, like the "noble savage him-
self, fast disappearing, and only
to be found in this sense in the
works of writers of the Fenimore
Cooper stamp. Now used collo-
quially for "a man.'
BRAVELY, for well; excellently; finely.
This, with its adjective brave, is
nearly obsolete in England, but
86
Break Back
still current in the United States.
in the sense given.
BREACHY.-Unruly; mainly applied
to cattle. New England. Used
in the same sense in our Own
Southern counties.
BREAD KIND (West Indian).—Sub-
stitutes for bread, as, for example,
the fruit of the plantain and
edible roots.-See BREAD STUFF.
BREAD-ROOT (Psoralea esculenta).
This edible, farinaceous root found
in the Rocky Mountain region,
where it grows profusely, is in
form like the beet but larger in
size, oftentimes attaining a cir-
cumference of twenty inches or
more. Its white pulp is sweet,
very palatable, and highly nutri-
tious. Its popular name is by no
means ill-deserved.
BREADSTUFF.—Wheat, flour, grain and
all products usually made into
bread. One of the most useful
words in the language for which
we have to thank our American
cousins; its introduction goes back
over a hundred years.
BREAK. TO MAKE A BREAK, that is,
to make a rush for, a meaning
which is probably a mere modi-
fication of the same word in
billiard phraseology.
A grizzly, you know, will stay by the dogs
and fight them, whenever they come in reach,
till he can get a sniff of a man. They can
smell a man a long way off, and as soon as
they can do this they make a BREAK for him.
BREAK BACK.-Technically applied
to a roof, the angle of departure
of which on one side varies from
that of the other, the roof itself
also being carried down much
lower.
Breakbone Fever
BREAKBONE Fever. A fever
A fever pecu-
liar to low-lying, swampy localities.
This malady is intermittent, and is
accompanied by very violent pains
in all the bones and joints. Also
called DENGUE, in the South.
The broad, red sun was just dipping ito
the prairie horizon, when a grey haze over-
spread the landscape, creeping up from the
sluggish stream. The old man waved his
hand towards it, with the brief, but expres-
sive phrase, BREAKBONE FEVER, and we
retired to the cabin and evening fire.-
J. H. Beadle's Western Wilds.
BREAKISH.-A colloquialism for frail,
brittle, etc. Also BREAKY.
BREAK-O'DAY DRUM (Cant).-A drink-
ing saloon which keeps its doors
open all night.
BREAKUP.-A slang term for places
where large numbers of people
separate, as e.g., a railway station.
or pier.TO BREAK-UP.-(1) In
England to break new land is com-
mon enough; in America the same
operation is spoken of as breaking up,
De Vere says, because of the much
greater difficulty attending the
process.- (2) To confuse ; in
theatrical parlance "to bring down
the house.'
One of those indefatigable New York
letter-writers has been poking in the ruins
of the Union Square Theatre. He was in-
terrupted in his explorations one morning
by an old actor who remarked: That house
had a glorious history. Think how many
reputations were chiefly made within its
walls.
There Owen Fawcett and
Thorne were always guying and in the 'Two
Orphans' when the Chevalier threatened to
throw Picard out of the window, the latter
interjected the question: What's the matter
with the door? and BROKE UP Thorne and
the audience.-Detroit Free Press, August 4,
1888.
•
·
BREAKY.-See BREAKISH.
BREAM (Pomotis vulgaris).—A fresh
water fish of showy colors, which
87
Brick Mill
bears several names; being known
also as the SUN-FISH, and the
PUMPKIN-SEED.
YOUR
BREATH;
BREATH.-CHANGE
i.e., an injunction to adopt a
different manner or bearing. An
offensive, slang expression which,
originating in California, quickly
ran its course through the Union.
BREEZY.-Noisy and boisterous when
used of persons; probably a sea
term. Compare with "three sheets
in the wind" i.e., drunk.
BRETSELN.-German twisted bread is
thus known.
BREVET HELL.-A nickname for a
battle, which originated during the
Civil War. The meaning is
obvious enough. The carnage and
bloodshed of a battle-field is only
a degree short of the horrors
of the theological "hell." Compare
with BREVET-WIFE, BREVET-RANK.
BREWIS.-A mess composed of crusts
of rye and Indian bread steeped
in milk, and eaten with molasses.
New England. The same word
in the North of England is used
for a mixture of fat broth and
bread.
BRICK IN THE HAT.-A drunken man
is said to have a brick in his hat,
the allusion being to top-heaviness
and inability to preserve a steady
gait.
BRICKLY.-Brittle; frail.-See also
BREAKY and BREAKISH. A Georgian
term from the Dutch brickle.
BRICK MILL.-At the University of
Vermont, the students speak of
the College as the brick mill or
the old brick mill.
Brief
BRIEF.-Common; prevalent; rife.
Thought to be a corruption of
the last-named. This peculiarity
is rife, or as they would put it brief,
in the Southern States, and is also
provincial in England in the same
sense. 'Disease is brief" (preva-
lent). "Cold winds have lately
been very brief" (common).
"
BRIGHT. Often used for zealous;
taking great interest in.
Robert Morris was initiated into the craft
on March 5, 1846. He became at once what
is known as a BRIGHT mason, and his pro-
gress in the order was steady until his
election as grand master of Kentucky in
1858.-American Humorist, September 15,
1888.
BRITISHER.Bartlett disclaims this
form as an Americanism, and says
he never heard an American call an
Englishman a Britisher. Proctor
rather strongly traverses this state-
ment and relates that he had not
been in America ten days before
he heard many Americans speak of
Englishmen as Britishers and
generally as "blarsted Britishers."
De Vere is silent on the matter,
but Mr. Proctor's contention is
supported by the New York Herald
of July 29, 1888, in which head-
lines appeared. "Britishers jubi-
lant.-Racing at Goodwood and
Sandown interests fashion." Brit-
isher was probably introduced by
Macaulay; it has not, however, yet
received orthodox baptism.
BROADBILL (Fulix [Anas] marila).—A
coast wild fowl, frequenting the
Eastern shores in the fall of the
year. Like many other birds this
wild duck is known by different
names elsewhere-as the RAFT-
DUCK in Virginia, while at Chesa-
peake Bay it is termed a BLACK-
HEAD.
88
Broncho
BROADHORN.-A flat river boat of
very old fashioned rig. Now fallen
into disuse.-See FLAT-BOAT.
Well, daddy was a little onsettled; but he
went off at last, and that was the how of my
fresh trip. He went off on a BROADHORN.-
7. H. Beadle's Western Wilds, p. 27.
BROADY (Cant).-In English cant
broady, a corruption of "broad-
cloth," is applied to cloth, but
among American thieves it is the
name given to material of any
kind worth stealing.
BROKERESS.-The admission of wo-
men to trades and professions,
formerly exclusively occupied by
men, has given rise to many new
terms describing the changed con-
ditions. Most, if not all, of these
words first saw the light across
the water, America having been
foremost in the so-called women's
rights agitation. Brokeress is a
term coming within this category,
and is applied to a woman acting
as a broker or dealer in stocks,
shares, and such-like securities,
London at length (July, 1888)
can boast a brokeress; but while
doctoresses are as plentiful as
blackberries in the States, the
whole of England, the metropolis
included, can only schedule about
thirty fair Æsculapians.
""
BRONCHO (Pronounce ch" as in
church). The native horse of
California, a somewhat tricky and
uncertain quadruped. The term
is familiarly applied to horses
that buck and show other
signs of vice. Of gentle deport-
ment and modest mien, there is
really not a safe place about him.
There is nothing mean about the
broncho, though; he is perfectly
reasonable and acts on principle.
All he asks is to be let alone, but
Broncho
one
he does ask this and even insists on
it. He is firm in this matter, and
no kind of argument can shake
his determination. A newspaper
correspondent relates that
day a man roped a broncho and
tried to put a saddle on him. The
beast looked sadly, shook his head,
and begged the fellow as plain as
could be to go away and not try
to interfere with a broncho who
was simply engaged in the pursuit
of his own happiness; but the
man came on with the saddle and
continued to "egress." Then the
broncho reached out with his hind
foot and expostulated with him so
that he died. When thoroughly
aroused the broncho is quite fatal,
and if you can get close enough to
him to examine his cranial structure
you will find a cavity just above
the eye where the bump of remorse
should be. The broncho is what
the cowboys call " high strung.
If you want to know just how high
he is strung, climb up on his apex.
The Spanish signification of the
word is rough and crabbed little
beast, and in truth he deserves this
BRONCHO-BUSTER. A
breaker-in of bronchos; also called
a FLASH-RIDER. These men make a
profession of their business, and
perform really marvellous feats,
riding with ease the most vicious
and unbroken beasts that no ordi-
nary rider would dare tackle. A
favorite feat is to sit out the
antics of a bucking-horse with
silver half-dollars under each
knee or in the stirrups under
each foot. Their method of
breaking-in may be described as
the exercise of main force, it
being a tussle as to which can
hold out the longest, man or broncho.
The calling is a dangerous one and
a first-class broncho-buster can
always command high wages and
constant employment on large
ranches.
name.
89
Brooklyn
A good rider is a good rider all the world
over; but an Eastern or English horse-
breaker and Western BRONCHO-BUSTER have
so little in common with each other as re-
gards style or surroundings, and are so
totally out of place in doing each other's
work, that it is almost impossible to get
either to admit that the other has any merits
at all as a horseman, for neither could sit in
the saddle of the other, or could, without great
difficulty, perform his task.-Century Maga-
zine, 1887.
BRONZE JOHN.-A Texas name for
yellow fever.
BROOKLYN.-It may be a matter of
interest to know that the name of
this favorite suburb of New York,
and itself a city of no mean dimen-
sions, is derived from the village of
Breuckelen, near Amsterdam, in
Holland. The Dutch colonists
were very fond of calling their new
homes after the old familiar names,
and we thus find traces of their
enterprise and colonizing instincts
all over the globe. Some exam-
ples are very curious and are some-
times fantastic. This is especially
the case in the West Indies, par-
ticularly Demerara, as seen in the
appellation of not a few of the old
plantations, e.g., Goedverwagting or
Good expectation of hope";
Haagsbosch, after the park at the
Hague; Huis-t-Dieren, a famous
country-seat near Amsterdam; and
Noigtgedacht, Never thought."
Whether the old Dutch planter
who bestowed this name upon his
patrimony, "never thought
would turn out such a gold mine,
or conversely productive of so much
anxiety, can, at this time of day,
hardly be decided, but in another
case of Zorg, "Care" or "
Care" or "Anxiety,
tradition says that its owner fully
realized the uncertainty attending
sugar cultivation. This, however,
does not seem to have prevented
him acquiring fresh land, upon
which he named his new plantation
Meerzorg, "More care." After this
it
12
Broom-Corn
it must be supposed that things
went fairly well with him, for we
find he added yet more to his pos-
sessions, in Met-en-meerzorg, "With
more and more care," probably an
allusion to the increased careful-
ness with which it would be neces-
sary to manage such large interests.
-See DUTCH NAMES.
BROOM-CORN (Torgnum saccharatum).-
A variety of maize, the dried
heads of which are largely used for
brooms in the United States.
BROOM-SAGE.—A
tall, stiff-jointed
grass, common on the abandoned
fields of Virginia and North Caro-
lina.
BROTHER JONATHAN. This is the
cognomen of a citizen of the
United States of America, in the
same manner as John Bull is the
designation of an Englishman.
Derived from Jonathan Turnbull,
a governor of Connecticut, to whom
General Washington applied so
often for advice and assistance that
his name ultimately passed into a
byeword.
BROTUS ("O" pronounced as in
fraught). The thirteenth loaf in
a baker's dozen; the heaping up
of a measure; what is thrown in
to make sure of good weight.
Used in Charleston, South Caro-
lina, and exactly equivalent to the
Gumbo-French word LAGNIAPPE
(q.v.) of New Orleans.
BROUGHTENS UP.-A humorous cor-
ruption for BRINGING UP; education.
BROWN, TO.-A variant of "to do
brown," i.e., to do to perfection, or
in slang, to get the better of. Not
common; for though of trans-
atlantic origin, it is now far more
90
Brush
colloquial in England than in
America. The simile is obviously
taken from the browning process
which meat undergoes during
roasting. To brown in the sense of
to understand, is also occasionally
heard.
BROWN BREAD. Unlike English
brown or bran-bread, the com-
ponent parts of the American
comestible of this name are two-
thirds maize meal and one-third
rye meal; formerly confined to
New England and now, in conse-
quence, known in other parts of
the Union as BOSTON-BREAD.
BROWN STONE (Cant).-(1) Beer.
(2) A dark variety of red sand-
stone, which, in spite of its inability
to long withstand climatic in-
fluences, is very fashionable for
building purposes in New York
and other large centres.
BROWN THRASHER OR BROWN THRUSH
(Harporhynchus longicauda or Turdus
rufus).- Thrasher" is probably a
mere corruption of "thrush."
Another popular name is the
GROUND or MOUNTAIN MOCKING
BIRD, while farther South in Mary-
land it receives the name of the
FRENCH MOCKING BIRD. It is one
of the best known American song
birds.
BRUISERS.-A generic name in large
cities for a rowdy or bully. Some-
times, however, the term has been
limited in its application to a parti-
cular band of ruffians. This was
the case once in Baltimore.
BRUNG.-A vulgar form of the past
participle of to bring-brought.
BRUSH.- (1) A well-known Cali-
fornian plowing implement. As
Brush
soon as the crop is harvested, the
teams are hitched to a brush-six
horses to a twenty foot brush—
which goes over the field at the
rate of forty acres per day. This
brush scatters the grain which has
been dropped in the fields; and
sometimes a little more seed is
added. When it has been brushed
it is ploughed-two or three inches
deep-to cover the seed; and from
this comes, what is called a "volun-
teer crop," which is often better
than the first, and is certainly
counted on. In the heavier soil
the volunteer crop" is put in
with the harrow instead of the
"
brush.(2) A contraction of
"
brushwood "comprising not only
low bushes and underwood, but
branches of trees.
However, two saplings, duly cut and
trimmed, compelled recognition of the fact
that a still modester architecture would
satisfy the law, and so we concluded to build
a BRUSH house. We devoted the next day
to this work, but we did so much sitting-
around and discussing, that by the middle
of the afternoon we had achieved only a
half-way sort of affair, which one of us had
to watch while the other cut bush, lest if
both turned our backs we might not be able
to find it again, it had such a strong family
resemblance to the surrounding vegetation.
But we were satisfied with it.-Mark Twain's
Roughing it.
-To BRUSH (Cant).-To hum-
bug by flattery. BRUSHING UP
A FLAT.- Using mealy - mouthed
words, or, to employ another slang
equivalent, laying it on thick.
Το BE BRUSHED. - To be
covered with BRUSH (2) (q.v.).
While crossing the pocket of a canon,
liberally wooded or BRUSHED with wild plums
and rose-bushes, a couple of white-tailed
deer jumped up just beyond the clump, from
forty to fifty yards away, and remained in
full view.-Century Magazine.
-BRUSHER (Cant) — A full
glass.
B.T.I.-An abbreviation of A BIG
THING ON ICE (q.v.). These cur-
91
Buck
tailments of slang phrases are not
infrequent in America, and among
others may be mentioned P.D.Q.;
O.K.; N.G. and Q.K.,
etc.
BUBB, TO (Cant).—To drink.
BUBBER. —A nickname for an old
with large pendulous
breasts. Rarely heard.
woman
BUBBLER.-A popular name for an
Ohio river-fish, and derived from
the peculiar bubbling noise made by
it when caught.
BUBBY.-A pet name for a baby.
Compare with BABSY.
When she was ready to go home, she did
so without carriage or baby. Shortly after
BUBBY kicked up high jinks, and the joker
clerk was sent for to take him away.-San
Francisco Weekly Examiner, 1888.
A
BUCCANEER.-A long musket.
term, now obsolete, once applied
to this weapon by the early settlers
in the New World.
BUCCO (Cant).-A dandy. A cor-
ruption of´" buck."
BUCK. (1) A frame into which a saw
is fixed for sawing wood. Also
called in New England SAW-HORSE
and SAW-BUCK. The operation of
cutting-up wood with this instru-
ment is called BUCKING. -(2) A
pleonastic term given to a negro, e.g.,
a BUCK-NIGGER. See also BULL-
NIGGER.
You see my BUCK brethren, that the women
are bound to get the better of us. If they
can't do it in one way, they will in another.
In then you behold the wild-cat, the lamb
and the dove. They first let loose their un-
tamed feline propensities; next they give the
juvenile sheep a trial; and, if that fail, they
rely upon the loving pigeon.-Dow's Sermons.
(3) In the West Indies and
South America, an Indian.—————(4)
Buck
(Cant). The driver of a public
cab; also a flash swell.- -To
BUCK (Western).—(1) This term,
as applied to horses, consists in
plunging forward and throwing the
head to the ground in an effort to
unseat the rider-a motion of which
probably no domesticated beast is
capable, aside from the Texan
miserable and treacherous species
of horse. A raw hand thus relates
his experience:- -"When I was told
how hard he could buck, I only
laughed, my impression being that
no pony standing on four legs
could throw me off. I mounted
my new horse, and waving
my brand new hat about my
head, galloped away in a dignified
style. Suddenly the horse stopped.
His ears went back, and his hind
legs went between his front. The
motion was a curious one. But I
did not fall. Realizing that the
man on his back could ride a little
bit, the pony got right down to
business. My stomach seemed to
fly up into my mouth and millions
of stars floated about my head. I
am not prepared to state what kind
of hold the pony got on me, but I
went sprawling on the ground, my
nose making an irrigating ditch.
It was all done not more than one
hundred yards from where my girl
was standing. I stuck on well,
however, as the saddle, blanket,
gun and bridle came off with me.
The wild yell that greeted my ex-
ploit nearly drove me mad. While
I spit the dirt and curses out of my
mouth, I thought that if I had that
pony back I'd break him in or
break my head. It ran out on the
prairie and joined the Government
herd. When an old-timer tried to
fix things for me in front of my
girl by saying, 'It's no disgrace,
pardner, that horse can buck off a
porous plaster,' I thanked him from
the bottom of my heart."——(2)
An equivalent of BUTT in the sense
92
Buck Ague
-To
of to strike with head or horn.-
BUCK THE TIGER.-To play against
the bank at faro.-See TIGER.
A man may hunt the wildest game
Along the Nile or the Niger,
In woods or ranch;
But he will find the sport most taine
Compared with BUCKING THE TIGER
At dear Long Branch.
-Hotel Mail, 1888.
At Princeton College anything
which is of an intensive degree,
good, excellent, pleasant or agree-
able, is called buck.HEARTY
AS A BUCK.-Synonymous with
strength and endurance, the deer
or buck being largely endowed by
nature with those qualities.-
BUCKSOME. Racy, with life and
vigor and originality. Used by
Milton.
BUCK AGUE or BUCK FEVER. - The
very nature of
of his occupation
renders the hunter or trapper ex-
tremely observant, and rarely in-
deed is it that any fact connected
with his surroundings escapes him.
Readily and naturally enough he
draws the similes used in conver-
sation from the same source, and
the nervous shyness of deer and
game of a similar kind supplies
him with a term to express the
trepidation which at first seizes
young and inexperienced sportsmen.
This agitation or nervousness is
called buck ague. Somewhat to the
same effect writes R. J. Dodge in
his Plains of the Great West "I
have never seen a really ardent
sportsman, however experienced,
who did not become more or less
excited when in the actual pre-
sence of game. This excitement
is the culmination of the pleasure
of the pursuit. With the novice it is
buck fever, and leads to all sorts of
absurd situations.
The
best shot at game I ever saw was
so nervous in its presence, that he
could hardly hold his rifle, but let
•
Buck Beer
him get within range, and a rock
could scarcely get steadier than his
rifle barrel as it blazed out almost
certain death."
BUCK BEER.-The Bock of Bavaria;
a strong, intoxicating German beer.
The lager beer now well known in
this country is one of the weakest
of such decoctions. Bock, the Ger-
man for "goat," is said to have
been adopted for the name of this
beverage in consequence of its
extremely exhilarating qualities-
the animal in question being con-
sidered a type of strength and
friskiness. Compare with "goatish"
(adj.).
BUCK-BOAR D.-The hindmost seat,
back to driver, of a vehicle of the
dog-cart type.
(
The BUCKBOARD's pretty small for three
of us,' Mayne went on half aloud, but then
Bessie is not very big and I can hold her on
my lap.'-New York Mercury, 1888.
BUCKER.-In political parlance one
who refuses to follow the lead of
his party; in other words, a BOL-
TER (q.v.). The significance of the
term will be readily apprehended
on reference to BUCK; the image of
a quadruped which jumps side-
ways, forwards, up and down at
one and the same time is not alto-
gether unlike the moral actions of
a refractory voter.
BUCKET SHOP. A petty stock gam-
bling den carried on in opposition to
regular exchange business. Under
the rigid Wall Street rules every
transaction is an actual purchase
and sale of actual stock. The
broker who sells one hundred
shares of Erie actually delivers to
the purchaser the certificate of
stock issued by the company.
But the bucket-shop transaction is
nothing of the sort. The purchase
93
Bucket Shop
of Erie there means only that the
purchaser bets that Erie will go
up instead of down. He gets no
certificate of actual stock, but
simply a card saying that he has
bought Erie. The actual sale on
the Stock Exchange, however,
governs the bucket-shop transaction,
for the Stock Exchange transaction
makes the price. The same rule
serves in the petty gambling in oil,
grain, and mining shares, which is
It amounts
constantly going on.
mate
only to a bet that the next quota-
tion from the big Exchanges will be
at a higher figure than was the
last one.
The magnitude of the
gambling done in this way cannot
be known. It is carried on in such
a variety of ways, and in a
manner leaving no record of the
transaction, that it would be im-
possible to collect even approxi-
on
statistics
the subject.
The facilities offered
offered by these
establishments act disastrously up-
on legitimate operators, despite
every endeavour to restrict and
even crush these "outside" brokers.
It does not cost a speculator so
much to buy or sell of the latter,
and he may purchase one share of
stock if he has one dollar to put
up as a margin. The big Exchange
will not deal in less than five
shares, and on that number fifty
dollars must be put up. The re-
sult is the crowding of the bucket-
shops by boys and messengers and
clerks, who bet every sum from one
dollar to 1,000 dollars. The
system admits of bigger returns than
from the same amount of money
legitimately invested. With 100
dollars a man can do very little in
a regular Stock Exchange broker's
office. It is margin for ten shares
of stock only, and it would be a
rare run of luck that enabled a
man to double his money. To do
so the market must advance ten
points. In a bucket-shop, however,
Bucket Shop
94
with the same sum of money he
might buy one hundred shares of
stock, which would double the
money at an advance of one point
only, and he might quadruple it
did the price advance four points.
All the elements of gambling enter
into the bucket-shop transaction. It
is a quick trade as a rule, and is
popular for that reason. Thou-
sands of men gamble in them daily
for a living, and hundreds of boys.
and young men form gambling
habits there that unfit them for
real work and honest application
for business. The demoralizing
influences of these concerns can
scarcely be estimated. Indeed, it
is true of Wall Street speculation
in general that the man who once
gets a taste of it is ever afterwards
good for nothing in legitimate busi-
ness. The New York World recently
investigated the whole question and
gave some very interesting details as
to the many tortuous ways of these
crooked corners of the money
world. The conclusion arrived at
was that Wall Street and its vicinity
did not contain a single "square
and honest bucket-shop; all their
dealings were nothing but "a brace
gambling game." By their schemes
the customer had not the ghost of
a chance to win." Their quota-
tions are obtained surreptiously,
and, in handling them, the bucket-
shop keepers in several ways take
unfair advantage of their clients.
One vantage alone is equal to fifty
per cent. in their favor, namely, by
holding prices back. "As an ex-
ample, says the World—and it
quotes it as being "worked in nearly
every shop in the street
customer is 'long' of one hundred
shares of St. Paul. The market
takes a stump' during the day
and St. Paul starts to go against the
customer per cent. at a time.
After it has gone or against him,
and he is trading on 1 per cent.
4
I
11
на
Bucket Shop
margin, he will probably remargin
it if it goes another, or if the
whole market looks weak he will
probably close the trade and save
12.50 dols. or 25 dols. out of 100
dols. But the bucket-shop man
watches this. When the quota-
tions come in for St. Paul he will
hold them back or sing out a false
quotation, making St. Paul look a
little stronger. Finally, if the
market is weak he will hold the
St. Paul prices back until the figure
to which the customer's margin is
limited, comes in. Then he will
call out the prices as if St. Paul
had suddenly 'broke,' or it is a
'running quotation '—thus,
'St.
Paul, 893-11-89,' which just
wipes' the customer's margin. It
is done so that he has no time to
save even an eighth of his money,
and he loses the entire 100 dols.,
without even a chance to remargin
his trade. A novice would say this
could be obviated by trading on 2
per cent. margin. Any old bucket-
shop trader would say this is non-
sense. Holding back quotations is
also practised when the market is
going steadily one way. A cus-
tomer is long of 100 shares of St.
Paul and it shows him I per cent.
profit, barring the per cent.
commission. He holds the stock
for this extra 1, with the result
that the bucket-shop holds the
price on him, and as the market
always reacts after an advance, the
customer will be lucky if he draws
out even. The chances in favor of
bucket-shop operations are higher
than in any known gambling game.
The percentage in faro, leaving
out the question of chance, is the
"
splitters," or a turn that brings
out two cards of like denomination
at once, upon which the dealer
takes half the bet. This does not
amount to a dollar in a hundred
during a deal. Roulette percentage
is the eagle bird and the O's and is
Bucket Shop
very small. The bucket-shop per-
centage is per cent. on the dollar
or 25 dollars in
in a
100 dollars.
This 25 dollars is taken out of
every 100 dollars as soon as the
deal is made. It is deducted
before any action is taken on the
money whatever. But to make the
game stronger for the house this
percentage is taken out of the face
of the contract. Thus, you de-
posit 100 dollars for 100 shares of
St. Paul, which you go "long" of.
The 100 shares are bought at 89,
but, when the contract is handed
out, the purchase price reads 89.
It will be seen, then, that the
stock must rise 1 per cent. before
I per cent. profit is made, while it
must only decline per cent. for
the bucket-shop man to win the
whole sum. There is not a surer
game for the "house in existence
than this. Indeed the chances of
bucket-shop customers winning are
so very small that they amount
to almost nil. As to other un-
fair advantages that the bucket-shops
take, they are
95
Bucket Shop
(1
also made by brokers, who are paid
Another
by the bucket-shop men.
precaution that the bucket-shop men
take to guard against loss is their
refusal to deal. If the market
is of a decidedly bullish ten-
dency and the whole list is going
up, of course the customers make
a stampede to "
Then the
buy.'
bucket-shop man gets in his fine
work. He will sit like a statue and
refuse to take any but a few small
deals, although the traders will
supplicate or hurl anathemas at his
head for not taking their offers.
Or he will get into a heated argu-
ment with some trader and pay
no attention whatever to the horde
of desperate gamblers who are
forcing their way to his counter
with from five dollars to as many
hundreds of dollars in their out-
stretched hands. Finally the flurry
is over and the reaction is about to
take place, when he will accommo-
date the traders and get their
money about the time that the
market begins to sag. The bucket-
watches
shop man
very numerous.
One scheme that is practised in the
case of large traders is to conduct
sales on the Stock Exchange to
wipe out the customers' trades.
This is done as follows: The cus-
tomer buys 1,000 dollars St. Paul
on I per cent. margin at 89. The
large bucket-shops have brokers who
transact business for them on the
Exchange. While the 1,000 dollars
only really covers three-quarters
of the I per cent. in the bucket-shop,
the price at which only one hun-
dred shares is traded in on the
Exchange is sufficient to wipe it
out. Thus, when the 1,000 dollars
deal is made in the bucket-shop the
broker is notified, who conducts a
one hundred share sale on the
Exchange, and goes short one hun-
dred St. Paul at 881, which is
sufficient to wipe out the customer's
1,000 dollars. Wash sales are
"
the market
very closely, and will refuse deals
when the house is almost sure to
lose. The quotations are all se-
cretly received behind the desk,
and often they are changed before
being given out. Another favorite
scheme of these places is to "fail"
when they are hit hard by the
"crowd." This has been worked
almost to death by several bucket-
shop men. Redress, there is none;
but notwithstanding many of these
places do an enormous business.
Their patrons are mostly well-to-
do business men, such as contrac-
tors, grocers and the like, who are
inveigled into speculating by the
bucket-shop steerers, who receive a
percentage on all trade which they
bring to the shops. Brokers' clerks
and boys are also allowed to invest,
and the result is, that they take
their first lessons at stealing from
Buckey
their employers' cash drawers,
which ends in the disgrace of prison.
The term bucket-shop has been in-
troduced into this country, but,
fortunately for the community at
large, no comparison can be drawn
between the establishments known
by that name in England, and those
which flourish in America under the
same title, though in very truth
the proceedings of some of the
former are scandalous enough.
New York, Feb. 11.-(Special.)-Inspector
Byrnes was seized with another spasm of
indignation against the BUCKET-SHOPs this
morning, and, accompanied by detectives
and a squad of officers, he swooped down
upon the lairs of these enemies of the Stock
Exchange that abound on Lower Broadway
and New Street.-Missouri Republican, Feb.
12, 1888.
-(2) A low groggery.
BUCKEY.-The ALEWIFE (q.v.). West-
ern Connecticut.
BUCKEYE : BUCKEYE STATE: BUCK-
EYES.-The State and inhabitants
of Ohio. The terms are derived
from the buckeye tree (Aesculus glabra)
or horse chestnut tree which is
not merely a native of the West,
but peculiar to it, being the only
forest tree which does not grow
elsewhere in the Union. Indeed it
has received from American bota-
nists the specific name of Ohioensis
from its abundance in the beautiful
valleys of the State of Ohio.
The Ohio man has made his mark, and
now the Ohio girl is coming to the fore. A
BUCKEYE damsel, tired of hearing the
farmers in her section growl about wheat-
growing not paying, decided she'd see about
it.-Troy Daily Times, February 8, 1888.
Buckeyes are very proud of the con-
nection with their native State.
BUCKEYES are not easily conquered, and
could not easily be destroyed.—Magazine of
American History, January, 1888.
Buckeye is often used adjectively to
signify excellence of quality.
96
Buckra
BUCK FEVER OF BUCK AGUE (q.v.).
BUCK FLY.-An insect pest, which, at
certain seasons of the year, be-
comes very troublesome to deer,
sometimes being sufficient to drive
them from one feeding ground to
another.
BUCKING. A species of VOUDOOISM
(q.v.), consisting of superstitious
and barbarous rites.
The queerest thing about the poor white
is, that not one was ever known to make any
kind of religious profession. There is, so
far as I know, but one thing in which they
believe, and that is what is termed further
South voudooism, or, as they term it here,
BUCKING.-Troy Daily Times, Feb. 8, 1888.
BUCKING-HORSE.-See To BUCK.
BUCKING-IRON (Mining).—A small flat
iron tool used in bucking or breaking
up ores.-Webster.
BUCKLER (Cant).-A collar.
BUCK NEGRO.-A strong negro.-See
BUCK (section 2).
BUCK PARTY.—An
assembly com-
posed entirely of the male sex;
also STAG PARTY.
"
BUCKRA. A negro title for a white
man. Also used adjectively in the
sense of "superior,"
first-rate,"
"'excellent." The Rev. J. L.
Wilson, familiar with the language
of the Calabar coast, informed
Mr. Bartlett that the natives of
that region understood by the word
buckra a powerful, superior intelli-
gence; hence, probably, its employ-
ment by the negroes of the Ameri-
can continent as a title for white
This seems not unlikely
when it is remembered that the
former are descended from slaves
brought, in the first instance,
men.
Buck Shot War
mainly from the West Coast of
Africa.
BUCKSHOT WAR.
The disturbances
which occurred in Pennsylvania, in
1838, were so designated when,
owing to electoral disputes, the
military had to be called out, orders
being issued that they should be
supplied with cartridges of the
buckshot stamp.
BUCKSKINS.
The pre-revolutionary
cognomen of the American troops.
Opinions differ as to the derivation
of the term. Some think it arose
because of their dressed deer or
buckskin garments; others, that it
was bestowed on account of the
nucleus of Washington's troops
being drawn from Virginia, a State
settled by hunters, who traded in
the skins of the animal in question.
If we are to accept more recent
instances as any criterion, the first-
named derivation seems the most
likely. Compare with BOYS
BOYS IN
BLUE, JOHNNY REBS, BLUE BELLIES,
etc.
BUCKTAILS.-A political faction orig-
inating in New York in 1818, which
was opposed to the administration
of Governor De Witt Clinton. The
members wore bucktails in their
hats, and belonged to the benevo-
lent association known as
TAMMANY SOCIETY (q.v.).
the
BUCKWHEAT-CAKE.-Buckwheat is little
known in England save as food for
birds, but, in the United States, it
enters largely into the popular
food supply, buckwheat-cakes being
especially esteemed as delicacies.
There were no books, no newspapers, no
wife of my own race and blood, no theatres,
no hotels, no restaurants, no East River
oysters, no mince-pies, neither BUCKWHEAT-
CAKES nor anything that was good for a
cultivated palate to love.-Stanley's How I
found Livingstone.
97
Buffalo Berry
BUDGE (Cant).-An accomplice who
gains access to a building dur-
ing the day for the purpose of
being locked in.
When night
comes he is thus easily able to
admit his fellow thieves.
BUD OF PROMISE,-A facetious slang
term for a young, unmarried wo-
man.
The young, unmarried girl, in sport,
Is called a BUD OF PROMISE ;
She blooms each year at some resort,
The weather when it warm is.
And in the Fall a score of men,
Whose hearts till now have harm
missed,
Compare sad notes, and find out then
To each the BUD is promised.
-Charlestown Enterprise, 1858.
BUFE (Cant). In the parlance of
the criminal classes a bufe is a dog.
--Bufe-nappeR.-A dog thief;
also a mean rogue.
BUFF.-TO BUFF IT HOME. To swear
hard and fast to a statement. Prob-
ably a corruption of "to bluff as
used in poker, i.e., to make a bold
stand without a backing upon
which to rely.
BUFFALO (I) (Bison americanus).—The
American BISON (q.v.).-
-(2) Often
used instead of BUFFALO ROBE, the
skin of that animal, it being thus
distinguished from the skins of all
other game. Generally speaking
however, buffalo in this sense means
a dressed skin used as a wrap or
covering. (3) An extraordinarily
shaped fish (Taurichthys) found in
the Mississippi and other Southern
rivers.
BUFFALO BERRY (Shepherdia argentea).
-So called from its being mostly
found on the plains once frequented
by the buffalo, and especially in
the valleys of the Rocky Mountains.
The tree attains no great height,
13
Buffalo Bush
but its scarlet berries form an
article of food with Indian tribes.
BUFFALO BUSH.-A native of the
region round Humboldt River; a
shrub, the fruit of which is called.
the bull-berry.
BUFFALO CHIPS.-The dung of the
BUFFALO which, when dried, is
used for fuel. Also called by the
French bois de vache (q.v).
The next day was spent looking for
the buffalo supposed to be somewhere on
the Ridge, which was followed up to the
head of Chalcedony Creek. A great many
elk were seen, a few sheep and much old
buffalo sign.
A camp was made on the
Ridge by a large green pine, a fire was
built of BUFFALO CHIPS, of which a great
quantity was lying arouud.-Forest and
Stream, March 15, 1888.
BUFFALO CIDER.-A liquid found in
the stomach of the buffalo, which
has sometimes served the hunter
in good stead, when far removed
from water.
BUFFALO CLOVER (Trifolium reflexum
and stolonifernum).-This popular
name is derived from the fact of
the plant abounding in the West,
once the haunt of the buffalo.
BUFFALO GNAT.-A small, black insect
pest, common on the prairies of the
West. Very pertinaceous in habit,
and with a poisonous bite.
BUFFALO GRASS (Sesteria dactyloides).
-A short grass found in great abun-
dance on the prairies of the West,
and which, at one time, formed the
favorite food of the BUFFALO. A pe-
culiarity of this herbage is that, in
winter, the blades wither, but do
not fall or decay, and in the follow-
ng spring they again become ver-
dant a process seemingly akin to
the circulation of the sap in trees,
with one important distinction,
98
Buffalo Wallow
namely, that whereas the tree is
re-invested with leaves each sea-
son, the self - same blades of the
buffalo grass are again and again re-
vivified. See GRAMMA GRASS.
BUFFALO NUT
(Pyrulia oleifera). —
The oil nut of the West.
BUFFALO ROBE.-A rug or covering
made of the buffalo skin. More
commonly called a BUFFALO (q.v.).
A furious storm of wind and snow with
the most intense cold set in, and we, with all
the protection of the thickets, with our
Sibley stoves red hot, were forced to remain
under cover of piles of BUFFALO ROBES all
next day. Dodge's Plains of the Great West.
BUFFALO SOLDIERS. · Colored regi-
ments in the United States Army.
An Indian term applied to the men
on duty at the military posts scat-
tered about the Indian reservations,
probably from their dark color and
woolly heads.
BUFFALO WALLOW.-Curious depres-
sions in the prairies are so called.
These, says Dodge, are formed in
the following manner. A heavy
rainfall deluges the hard and level
country. The water is soon ab-
sorbed by the thirsty soil, or licked
up by the hot sun-rays; a portion
of the soil, a little more moist than
that adjoining, opens in cracks,
such as can be seen in any ordinary
dried-up mud hole. Another hard
rain comes: these cracks are filled
up by earth washed from their
edges, which, packed more tightly,
and retaining moisture longer than
before, cracks again wider in
drying. This process is repeated
again and again, until quite a de-
pression is made in the soil, which
is now so tightly packed as to
retain water for a considerable
time. When the buffalo is shed-
ding his coat in the spring, he is
constantly endeavouring to get rid
Buffalo Wolf
of the superfluous hair, and, in the
absence of trees against which to
rub, he is frequently rolling and
rubbing himself on the ground.
These small water-holes are his
especial delight. The buffalo is in
no way necessary to the formation
of the buffalo wallow, it being found
in parts of the country where there
are no buffalo. The process of for-
mation is exactly similar to that of
the HOG WALLOW (q.v.) of Southern
Texas. Given certain conditions
of soil, position, and rainfall, and
prolific nature does the rest.
BUFFALO WOLF.-A lean, gaunt, and
hungry looking animal, as tall as
an ordinary greyhound. They are
of an exceedingly cowardly disposi-
tion, one alone not possessing
courage to attack even a sheep.
BUFFERS.-One of the names of the
genus rough of American cities.
BUG. (1) The term bug is, in the
United States, not confined merely,
as in England, to the domestic pest.
but is applied to all insects of the
Coleoptera order, which includes
what in this country are generally
called beetles. The English bug
(Cimex lectularius) is, in the South,
known as the CHINCH.
Entomology, or bugology, is now taught to
some extent in our public schools. This is
well, and is of use. The children ought to
learn about the BUGS that are destructive to
useful vegetation. It is better to learn much
about BUGS than so much about how to
solve those arithmetical problems that will
never face anybody in the practical affairs of
life. From the Grass Valley (Cal.) Tidings,
1888.
-
The Insane Asylum Board some time ago
discontinued a bug-killer's employment, and
the doctor avers that the old hospital
building is swarming with cockroaches, and
that these BUGS will soon be large and fat
enough to carry out the inmates and take
their food and clothes.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
March, 1888.
99
Bug-Juice
-
(2) A cockade worn by servants
on their hats when in livery; for
instance, Mark Twain in his
Roughing It, speaks of a turn-out of
grey horses, landau, and "a coach-
man with a bug on his hat."
(3)
·(4)
(Cant) A breast - pin.
Also used idiomatically; as BIG-
BUG (q.v.) A jocose and vulgar
name for a person of wealth or
distinction. Thence also come
CATTLE BUGS, that is, wealthy
stock raisers ;
monied men, etc.
-
-
-
GOLD BUGS,
or
'Would Senator Allison's well-known
views on silver coinage operate materially
against him in New York?'
I think not; I do not think the feeling
against silver is anything like as strong as it
was. Of course, a few GOLD-BUGS might
fight him, but any of the men I have men-
tioned are reasonably certain to carry New
York.'-St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 5,
1888.
-THAT BEATS THE BUGS, i.e.,
that beats cock-fighting.
BUGAROCH (Cant).—Pretty.
are
BUGGING (Cant). Policemen
bugged in criminal class phraseology
when bribed by thieves.
BUGGY.-The American buggy differs
somewhat from its English proto-
type. The latter runs on two
wheels, while the former is a light,
one - horse, four-wheeled vehicle,
usually with one seat and with or
without a hood.
BUGGY (Adj.).—Eaten with worms.
Why, from where every part of the vessel,
except the sappy, BUGGY, dry-rotted wood
she is built with, comes from-England.-
Sam Slick's Clockmaker, sermon iii., chap. vi.
BUG-JUICE. The Schlechter whiskey
of the Pennsylvania Dutch-a very
inferior spirit. Also called BUG-
POISON. These terms are now
applied to bad whiskey of all kinds.
晨
​Bugleweed
It is a singular fact, that nearly every
character introduced by Charles Dickens into
his numerous novels, was addicted to drink-
ing .. each and every individual took
his BUG-POISON with surprising regularity
and eminent satisfaction.-Texas Siftings,
July 7, 1888.
·
BUGLEWEED
(Lycopus virginicus).—A
medicinal plant, also known as the
VIRGINIA WATER HOREHOUnd,
which, taken as a tea, or manu-
factured into a sweet-meat, is a
favorite remedy in affections of the
chest. It is not unknown in
England.
BUG OUT, TO.—To extend or expand;
idiomatically to be filled with
astonishment.
I read considerable to Jim about kings,
and dukes, and earls, and such, and how
gaudy they dressed, and how much style
they put on, and called each other 'your
majesty,' and 'your grace,' and 'your ford-
ship,' and so on, 'stead of mister; and Jim's
eyes BUGGED OUT, and he was interested.
-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 119.
BUILD, TO.-A verb used with much
more latitude in the States than in
England, where las Fenimore
Cooper puts it everything is built.
The priest builds up a flock; the
speculator a fortune; the lawyer a
reputation; the landlord a town;
and even the tailor builds up a suit
of clothes. A fire is built instead
of made, probably from the piling
up of logs one upon another for
that purpose in the backwoods.
The expression is even extended
to individuals, to be built being
used with the meaning of formed.
"I was not built that way";
and hence in a still more idio-
matic sense to express unwillingness
to adopt a specified course or carry
out any inconvenient plan.
We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that
mankind is passing through a great era of
change; even womankind is not BUILT as she
was
a few brief years ago. American
Humorist, May 12, 1882.
ΙΟΟ
Buldose
'Why didn't you roll down?
I wasn't BUILT that way.'
-Missouri Republican, Jan. 25, 1888.
Congress-men have sometimes hired lite-
rary grubs to BUILD Speeches for them.-
Mark Twain's Gilded Age, chap. xlii.
BUILDING BEE. The practice of
neighbors uniting with
a new-
comer, in any settlement, to clear
his land and build him a house. A
joint effort which, in a few hours,
furnishes the settler with what
would otherwise take him weeks to
provide. See BEE.
measures.
BULDOSE, BULDOZE, BULLDOSE, BULL-
DOZE. To intimidate; to bully.
A term of Southern political origin,
originally referring to an associa-
tion of negroes formed to insure,
by violent and unlawful means, the
success of an election. The phrase
has now passed into general use,
political and otherwise, to signify
the adoption and use of coercive
The derivation is
almost literal-a bull dose, a flog-
ging with a strip of hide; the
action itself being represented by
the verb TO BULLDose. Though
indifferently spelt both with single
and double "I" and with "s" and
'z," the correct version is bulldose.
An office-seeker, after several vain
attempts to obtain a definite pro-
mise from a member of the Cabinet,
was informed that his request
would be taken into consideration,
whereupon-
'That's no answer at all!' shouted the
caller. 'I know you! You are not fit for
your place! I'll look after you!' and he
uttered sundry oaths, and hammered the
desk with his fist.
'See here!' said the secretary: 'I'm not
to be BULLDOZED by you! I know my busi-
ness and shall attend to it, and hope you
will attend to yours.'-St. Louis Globe Demo-
crat, March 7, 1888.
The Democrats complain of the amount
of money they had to face, but that was not
such a source of trouble as the BULLDOZING
of voters by the mining bosscs. They were
driven to the polls, and compelled to vote for
Bulge
Seymour.-Detroit Evening Journal, Feb. 20,
1888.
A Democratic paper thus delivers
itself concerning the negro vote.
The Republican party sought to hold the
negroes through their churches and societics.
If it were not for this system of intimidation
and BULLDOZING by their preachers and
leaders, the Republican party would not
have enough colored votes in the South to
furnish pall-bearers at the approaching
funeral of that party in 1888. [Applause
and laughter on the Democratic side.]
an
BULGE. TO GET THE BULGE ON ONE.
(Mining slang). To obtain
advantage over; an equivalent is
TO GET THE DROP ON ONE.
'Pop! are you up there?'
'Yes, my son.'
'I saw he had the BULGE on you and I got
the gun and dropped him!'
Right, my boy. That's what I was
praying for.'-American Humorist, May 12,
1888.
Well, you've rather got the BULGE on me.
Or maybe we've both got the BULGE, Some-
how. - Mark Twain's Innocents at Home,
P. 18.
To Go or BE ON a BULGE. Το
drink to excess.
BULGER. A bulger town, tree, fish-
anything uncommonly large. A
Western phrase, probably from
BULGE to swell. Also known in
England.
BULL (Cant). A locomotive; the
word is sometimes lengthened into
BULLGINE.--At Dartmouth Col-
lege to recite badly; to make a
poor recitation. From the sub-
stantive bull, a blunder or con-
tradiction, or from the use of the
word as a prefix, signifying large,
lubberly, blundering.
BULL-BAT (I) (Caprimulgus americanus).
-The night-hawk. The CHUCK
WILL'S WIDOW; also known as
the WHIP POOR WILL from its
peculiar cry.—(2) BULL-LATS.-
M
ΙΟΙ
Bullhead
A gang of rowdies in Washington
City.
BULL-BOAT. In the remote West the
name of an ox-hide boat, once
commonly enough used for crossing
rivers; similar in shape to the
ancient British coracle.
BULL-BRIAR Or BAMBOO-BRIAR.-This
plant derives its former name from
the size which it attains in the rich
alluvial bottoms of the South-west,
where alone it is to be found. Its
root is of a farinaceous character,
and is much esteemed by the
Indians for bread-making purposes,
Bull" is in America a general
prefix for "
large."
"
BULL-DOG. A pistol.
BULL-DRAG, To.-To go from place
to place hurriedly and without
cessation.
If he will go a BULLDRAGGIN' of me about,
I'll resign and go right off home agin.-
Sam Slick in England, chap. xxxii.
BULL FROG (Rana pipiens).-A large
species of frog with a deep harsh
croak. These reptiles, in the
tropics, literally make night hideous
with their chorus, especially on the
near approach of rain.
BULLHEAD. A popular name, together
with HORNED-POUT, MUD-POUT and
MINISTER for several varieties of
the genus Pimelodus, but which is,
perhaps, more commonly known
as the CAT-FISH, CAT, or CATTY.
This fish has a thick head and long
feelers, is usually dark in color,
prefers the mud, and in the Missis-
sippi attains a considerable size,
sometimes even growing to a length
of three or four feet, besides
possessing great strength. From
one or other of these character-
Bull Lion
istics or habits are derived its
popular names, hence.-BULL-
HEADED in the transatlantic senses
of (1) clumsy; (2) strong.
You see, old Mann used to own and
command a pickaninny, BULL HEADED,
mudturtle-shaped craft of a schooner that
hailed from Perth Amboy.-Mark Twain's
Screamers.
Well, then, let it go, let it go, if you're so
BULL-HEADED [headstrong] about it.
We
can get you some garter-snakes, and you
can tie some buttons on their tails, and let
on they're rattlesnakes, and I reckon they'll
have to do.-The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, p. 391.
"
BULL LION.-A punning play upon
'John Bull," the generic nickname
of an Englishman, the "lion" as
the national emblem of England,
and "bullion" in reference to his
wealth and love of money. A half-
sarcastic, half-jocose name for an
Englishman.
BULLION STATE.- -The State of Mis-
souri. One of its most distinguished
sons, Colonel Thomas H. Benton,
at the time when the question of
paper versus gold and silver cur-
rency was to the front, strongly
urged the adoption of the latter,
and thereby earned for himself the
nickname of Old Bullion," and
for the State from which he came,
that of the Bullion State.
BULL-NIGGER.-A large powerfully-
built negro.
If there was a thing on airth that Ahab
hated like pison, I do believe it was a great
BULL-NIGGER. Sam Slick's Clockmaker,
sermon iii., chap. iv.
BULL NUT.-A large variety of hickory
nut.
BULL'S EYE.-A small, thick turnip-
shaped watch.
With some trouble he dragged up an
ancient looking, thick, silver BULL'S-EYE
102
Bully
watch. He looked at it for a moment-
hesitated - then opened the watch, and
handed me the loose outside case without a
word. O. W. Holmes's Autocrat of the
Breakfast Table, p. 221.
Sometimes called BRITISH BULL'S-
EYE.
BULL-TAILING.-A Mexican term in use
in the Western prairies. Well-
mounted horsemen chase the bulls,
and when a favorable opportunity
offers, seize them by the tails and
turn them somersaults. This
requires considerable skill, and is
done to perfection by Texan cow-
boys.
BULL-TRAPS (Cant).—A name given to
those personating a policeman.
BULLWHACKER.-An ox-team driver.
The derivation is doubtless from
the drastic measures sometimes
required to be put into practice
when driving cattle for long
distances. Many of these men
were also expert buffalo hunters.
To guard against the numerous mishaps of
prairie travel, two or three of these prairie.
schooners usually go together, the brawny
teamsters, known either as BULL-WHACKERS
or as мULE-SKINNERS, stalking beside their
slow-moving teams.-Ranch Life in the Far
West.
The largest contract for shooting buffalo
was made by me with the Government in
1872, I agreeing to kill 5,000 and deliver them
at the Plum Creek station on the Union Pac-
ific in less than three months. Having made
the contract, I hastily made preparations to
carry it out. I employed old-time BULL-
WHACKERS, who had done nothing but scare
about buffaloes all their life, and in a short
time I had eighteen bull-teams and drivers
employed, besides extra men whom we
termed butchers, whose duty it was to dress
the animals and load them. When every-
thing was in readiness, I gave instructions to
the wagon boss, and the long bull-team moved
away. San Francisco Weekly Examiner,
Feb. 23, 1888.
BULLY.-A word used in an entirely
different sense to the primary
colloquial English one of an over-
Bummer
To
bearing rowdy or blusterer.
say that one has had a bully time or
that any person or thing is bully, is
to give the highest mead of praise.
It is synonymous with our own
slang use of the word "crack in
"a crack corps," "a crack shot,'
etc. Opinions vary on which side
of the water bully was revived,
for in reality it is a good old English
term, having been used by Shak-
speare and other writers. As a
term of appreciation, Mark Twain
in one of his sketches says of a
bad boy: He ate that jam, and
said it was bully, in his sinful vulgar
way; and he put in the tar, and said
that was bully also, and laughed,
and observed that the old woman
would get up and snort' when she
found it out; and when she did
find it out he denied knowing any-
thing about it, and she whipped
him severely, and he did the crying
himself."
(
Hope you have a pleasant nap. BULLY
place for a nice quiet snooze-empty stage,
sir.-Bret Harte's Lonely Ride.
Take him all round, pard, there never was
a BULLIER man in the mincs.-Mark Twain's
Innocents at Home, pp., 19, 20.
-(Cant).—A weapon formed by
tying a stone or a piece of lead
in a handkerchief.. This is used
knuckleduster fashion. It has
given rise to many catch phrases
such as- -THAT'S BULLY FOR
YOU, grand or fine; which during
the Civil War had a remarkably
popular run-also BULLY
WITH THE GLASS EYE.-A good
fellow.
BOY
You ought to seen him get started once.
He was a BULLY BOY WITH A GLASS EYE.-
Mark Twain's Innocents at Home, p. 20.
—
BUMMER also BUM. Primarily an
idle, worthless fellow. During the
Civil War, a camp-follower or
straggler, especially as connected
with General Sherman's march
103
Bumsquabbled
from Atlanta to the sea. Now
used in a political as well as a
general sense.
Coy is the chairman of the Democratic
Central Committee in Marion County, and
has wielded great power in politics as the
boss of the BUMMERS.-Philadelphia Press,
Jan. 29, 1888.
He finds that ten per cent. of the men who
patronise these places have a collegiate edu-
cation; forty per cent. are self-supporting,
but prefer this precarious mode of living to
anything more respectable; ten per cent.
earn excellent wages, and twenty per cent.
are chronic BUMS, who beg or steal the price
of their lodgings.-Detroit Free Press, 1888.
No-
Also used as a general term of
reproach in the same way as rascal,
blackleg, etc., are used in England.
Thus San Francisco has been called
the Elysium of bummers.
where can a worthless fellow, too
lazy to work, too cowardly to steal,
get on so well. The climate be-
friends him, for he can sleep out of
doors four-fifths of the year. He
can gorge himself daily for a nomi-
nal sum, and get a dinner that a
king might envy for fifty cents.
Bummer is most probably from the
German bummler. Equivalents are
HEELER, STRIKER, STUFFER, PRAC-
TICAL POLITICIAN. Also BUM-
MERISM to express habits of loafing
and petty stealing.
BUMPER. The buffer on a railway;
perhaps the more appropriate
term of the two.
BUMPOLOGIZE, TO.-A factitious word
used in connection with phrenology.
Literally to read the "bumps" or
depressions in the conformation of
the human cranium.
T'other hand goes to the head, BUMPOLO-
GIZIN', and I whispers-wit, paintin', judg-
ment, fancy, order.—Sam Slick's Clockmaker,
sermon iii., chap. viii.
BUMSQUABBLED. More generally
written BAMSQUABELED (q.v).
Bumy Juice
BUMY JUICE.-Malt liquor of any kind.
BUN. This corruption of the old
English BUNN (a survival of which
we see in BUNNY) for rabbit is in
America often applied to the
squirrel.
BUN (Cant).-A sponger; one who
cannot be shaken off.
BUNCH. (1) Used in mining to
signify an irregular mass of ore.
There is no doubt that some ore will be
found, as rich BUNCHES exist all through this
ground. That it will amount to much is
another question, but the feature of specula-
tion ought to make the shares active during
the operation.-San Francisco News Letter,
February 4, 1888.
-(2) A group.
The buffaloes which used to roam these
plains in great herds are gone. Occasionally
a solitary animal is found, or perhaps a
little BUNCH of half-a-dozen, lurking in a
ravine among the bad lands.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
BUNCH, TO. To collect, to
bring together.
Two men often BUNCH on the march, i.e.,
unite their herds for convenience in driving.
-Overland Monthly, 1887.
The speaker BUNCHED his thick lips
together like the stem end of a tomato.-
Mark Twain's Gilded Age, chap. i.
With an unbroken line worthy of the
Cent-Gardes, the swift impetus carried the
sweeping crowd half-way from the ridge to
the sleepy elk before the latter gained their
feet, and by the time the dumbfounded brutes
had BUNCHED,-the first act of an affrighted
herd, we were right in among them.-
Century Magazine.
BUNCH-GRASS.-Bunch-grass grows on
the bleak mountain-sides of Nevada,
and neighbouring territories, and
offers excellent feed for stock, even
in the dead of winter, wherever
the snow is blown aside and ex-
poses it; notwithstanding its un-
promising home, bunch-grass is a
better and more nutritious diet for
104
Bunco
cattle and horses than almost any
other hay or grass that is known-
so stockmen say.-Mark Twain.
BUNCO, BUNKо, то.--Тo гob, cheat or
swindle by means allied to what is
called in England the confidence
trick.
Detectives Kirby and Funk last night
spotted J. P. Ramby, the person accused of
having BUNKOED Ex-County Commissioner
Stephens, of Greene County, out of 2,300
dols. in Xenia recently.-Cincinnati Enquirer,
Aug. 20, 1887.
John Brothers, a farmer living near Can-
ton, Ohio, was BUNKOED out of 2,000 dols. to-
day by two sharpers who escaped.-Chicago
Daily Inter-Ocean, April 14, 1888.
From this we get such compounds
as BUNCO-CASE, BUNCO-GAME, etc.,
to signify the action itself.
Robert B. Barnett, a plumber doing busi-
ness in Grant Street, this city, was arrested
in Allegheny to-night, on the charge of being
implicated in the recent BUNCO game in
which William Murdoch, an old and promi-
nent citizen, was robbed of 10,000 dols.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 2, 1888.
The men who thus swindle, are
termed BUNCO-MEN or BUNCO-
STEERERS, and the means they
adopt to win confidence are always
varied and sometimes unique.
Mr. Walter Besant, in his Golden
Butterfly, a novel which treats
largely of some aspects of trans-
atlantic life, pithily describes some
of these practices. He says:-
will
you
"The BUNCO-STEERER .
find you out the morning after
you land in Chicago or St. Louis.
He will accost you-very friendly,
wonderful friendly-when
come out of your hotel, by your
name, and he will remind you-
which is most surprising, considerin'
you never set eyes on his face
before-how you have dined to-
gether in Cincinnati, or it may be
Orleans, or perhaps Francisco,
because he finds out where you
came from last; and he will shake
hands with you; and he will pro-
Buncome
pose a drink; and he will pay for
that drink; and presently he will
take you somewhere else, among
his pals, and he will strip you so
clean, that there won't be left the
price of a four-cent paper to throw
around your face and hide your
blushes. In London
they do
the confidence trick." These
men are extremely wary, and
it is oftentimes with considerable
difficulty that the arm of the
law, long as it is assumed to be,
can lay hold of them. A BUNCO-
STEERER may be well known to the
police as a professional swindler,
and he may be seen talking to his
intended victim, but, unless caught
in an overt act, they cannot be in-
terfered with. People whom BUN-
CO-STEERERS lay their snares for,
are generally men who stand high
in their communities; consequently
it is almost impossible to get
victims to become complainants,
as they do not care to figure in the
police courts, and the thieves get
practically a free field for their
operations.
-
Andrew Carnegie fell into the hands of a
BUNCO STEERER in Pittsburg, Saturday
night, but was rescued by a detective before
he lost anything.-Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb.
14, 1888.
BUNCOME, BUNCOMBE, BUNKUM, etc.-
Talking merely for talk's sake.
The original employment of the
word in this sense is ascribed to a
Member of Congress, Felix Walker,
from Buncombe County, North
Carolina, who explained that he
was merely talking for buncombe,
when his fellow members could
not understand why he
making a speech. Now universal
on both sides of the water, and,
indeed, wherever English is spoken.
So much is this the case that the
expression may now fairly claim a
permanent place in the language.
The primary meaning has been
was
105
Bungfunger
"That's all
somewhat enlarged.
buncombe" is equivalent to
That's
all nonsense, or an absurdity."
This thing of trying to rule a husband is
all BUNCOMBE; it can't be done. You can
coax most men, bribe some, and govern a
very few, but that vulgar rubbing of the fur
the right way wins every time.-Daily Inter-
Occan, March 3, 1888.
You have no idea of the enthusiasm which
has been aroused in our district by the intro-
duction of Americanism into our schools.
There is no spread-eagleism or BUNCOMBE
about it either, but the natural response to
touching a chord which is found in every
man's, woman's, and child's heart. At least
50 per cent. of the scholars in our public
schools have foreign-born parents, and are
brought up in the midst of ideas alien to the
American idea.-Chicago Mail, 1888.
BUNDLE, TO.A custom now obsolete,
but formerly in vogue where bed
accommodation was scarce, of men
and women sleeping on the same
bed together without having re-
moved their clothes. The practice
is mentioned by Wright as having
been customary in Wales, and it
will be remembered that Washing-
ton Irving alludes to it in his
Knickerbocker History of New York.
Whatever may have been the case
in former times, it does not appear
to be a habit either in the Mother
Country or the New World at the
present time, even in the districts.
most remote from civilization. No
question of immodesty seems to
have attached to the custom; in-
deed, attempts were made to prove
that BUNDLING was very right and
proper. On this point, however,
opinions will vary considerably.
BUNG (Cant).-A purse or pocket.
BUNGAY.-GO TO BUNGAY! A euphe-
mistic objurgation equivalent to
consignment to a region the climate
of which is tropical in character.
BUNGFUNGER, TO.-To startle; to
confuse. Compare with BAMB-
SQUABBLED.
14
Bungo
Well, father, I thought he'd a fainted too,
he was so struck up all of a heap, he was
completely BUNGFUNGERED. - Sam Slick's
Clockmaker, chap. xx.
for a
BUNGO.-A Southern name
species of small boat; from the
Spanish bongo.
"
BUNGTOWN COPPERS. Spurious cop-
per coinage. Bungtown is from the
slang term 'to bung," meaning
"to lie " or "deceive." A great
many counterfeit English halfpence
known as Birmingham coppers
were in circulation in New York
State in 1785-6. They were made
in Birmingham by order of a New
York merchant, and imported in
casks under the name of hardware
or wrought copper. This was the
special origin of the word, but the
same name was afterwards given to
all spurious copper coins.
BUNK.-A Contrivance used on lum-
bermen's sleds, by which heavy
timber is supported.. TO BUNK.
-(1) To retire to rest from
bunk," a berth or bed on board
ship.- (2) A lumberman's term
for a deceitful practice which
consists in so arranging lumber for
inspection that a false impression
is conveyed as to the cubic con-
tents of any given pile or stack.
BUNKER (Alosa menhaden).—See BONY
FISH.
BUNTY. A tailless fowl. Pennsylvania.
BUREAUS.-There are no offices in
America; bureaus have taken their
place. The language of officialdom,
it may be remarked, is mainly pure
French, or of French derivation.
BURGALL (Ctenolabras caerulens).—This
fish, like many other popular
species, boasts of several names-
106
Burnt District
THE
BLUE PERCH, CONNER, and
NIBBLER (in New England waters);
it goes by the name of burgall in New
York. It is small in size and very
plentiful as a food fish, being found
as far south as Delaware Bay.
the
BURGALOO.-A corruption of
French virgalieu, a much esteemed
species of pear.-New York.
BURGLARIZE, TO.-TO COMMIT A BURG-
LARY.
'What have you been doing for a living
lately?' asked a very tough looking citizen
of a man who looked as if he might be a boon
companion. BURGLARIZING. Merchant
Traveler, 1888.
A somewhat shorter form is TO
BURGLE, with its past participle
BURGLED.
BURGOO.-A Southern and South-
western term akin to BARBECUE
(q.v.). The feast, however, was
furnished by hunters and fishermen
--everything, fish, flesh, and fowl
being compounded into a vast stew.
After this was disposed of, speeches
were made, if the meeting was of
a political character.
BURIAL PERMITS.-Certificates autho-
rising the burial of the dead.
YESTERDAY'S BURIAL PERMITS. Franz
Mueller, 60 years, 3532, North Broadway—
suicide.
Clay Vorbeck, 3 months, 3228, Chouteau
Avenue-bronchitis.-St. Louis Globe Demo-
crat, 1888.
BURLINGTON.-At Middlebury College,
a water-closet; a privy. So called
on account of the good natured
rivalry between that institution
and the University of Vermont at
Burlington.
BURNT DISTRICT.-So frequent and
devastating have been large fires
in many of the cities of the Union
Burrites
that the term burnt
burnt district to
signify the part destroyed by fire
has become quite familiar.
I think one would be able to tell the
BURNT DISTRICT by the radical improve-
ment in its architecture over the old forms.
One can do this in Boston and Chicago.-
Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, p. 379.
BURRITES.-An independent political
party organized and led by Aaron
Burr in 1797. Its existence was
short-lived, terminating with Burr's
overwhelming defeat at the polls
the same year.
BURRO.-The Mexican jackass. These
animals are mainly used as pack-
wood carriers. Also called CUDDY.
Burro means primitively stupid,
an idea which has been enshrined
in the well-known Spanish proverb
"
es un burro en el tratago "-he
drudges like an ass. The origin of
cuddy" is on the other hand
obscure.
Travellers use BURROS to climb mountains
with. I have discovered that it is as easy to
climb alone as to climb up with a BURRO
between your legs and push him along_in
front. The BURRO is a condensed jackass. He
is little all over except his ears and voice.
He has long hair all over his body, four legs,
two ears and one tail, As a vocalist the
BURRO Stands without a rival.-American
Humorist.
BURR OAK (Quercus macrocarpa).—Also
OVER-CUP and WHITE OAK. One of
the most useful and ornamental of
the genus which abounds in the
Middle and Western States. It
grows to almost sixty feet in height,
and is well clothed with dark green
foliage. The wood is tough, close-
grained, and durable.
BURROWING OWL (Pholcoptynx cunicu-
laria).-A bird of abnormal habits,
on account of which it is also
called the DAY OWL. It frequents
the forsaken burrows of the
villages" of the PRAIRIE DOG.
107
Bush
BURST, BURSTER. - See BUST and
BUSTER.
BURT.-At Union College, a privy
is called the burt, from a person
of that name, who many years ago
was employed as the architect and
builder of the latrine of that
institution.
BURY.
Go BURY
A
YOURSELF!
Californianism which has more of
the fortiter than the suaviter in its
composition. Equivalent to "Go!
hide your diminished head."
BUSH (Dutch, bosch; German, busch).
-This word which in England
generally refers to a single shrub
or thicket, is in America and all the
English colonies applied to uncul-
tivated land covered with trees and
undergrowth-i.e., to the primeval
or virgin forest land. The use of
the word in this extended sense is
thought to have originated among
the New York German or Dutch
element, and thence, having se-
cured a foothold in America, to
have travelled to Canada, Australia,
and other countries as they were
The
opened up to emigration.
word is convenient, and has now
passed permanently into the
language. THAT TAKES THE
RAG OFF THE BUSH.-To out-do; to
surpass. A term of Western origin,
the allusion being to the skill dis-
played by hunters in handling
their rifles. In friendly shooting
matches any mark, a rag on a bush
a chance squirrel, bird, or, even
a moth on the wing would serve
as a target, and the man who did
not fail in the first named feat was
said to have taken the rag off the bush.
-BUSH BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris.)
-An old favorite amongst vege-
tables, being the English kidney or
French bean. Other American
popular names are STRING BEANS
Bush
(from the stringy or fibrous parings);
SNAP BEANS; or simply SNAPS.-
BUSH MEETING. A gathering in the
woods for the purpose of open-air
preaching, and other religious exer-
cises. These, like camp meetings, are
very popular during the hot weather;
but, while the latter partake largely
of a permanent character, lasting
sometimes for weeks and even
months at a stretch, the former
term is more usually applied to a
gathering of a day's duration. A
few seats are roughly placed, little
other preparation being made; the
meetings, however, as a rule last
from early morning till late at
night, the occasion serving (especi-
ally among the negroes where the
custom still most largely survives)
as an excuse for a frolic also.-
BUSH-WHACKER.-In politics, as in
war, simply a free-lance." Dur-
ing the Rebellion deserters from
the ranks of both armies infested
"
the country, bands of these
marauders making raids upon de-
fenceless houses and even going the
length of sacking whole towns.
Originally the term was harmless.
enough in meaning. At a time when
water-communication was the chief
means of locomotion and the
rivers, streams, and creeks of
densely wooded regions were alive
with the advance guards of civiliza-
tion, bush-whacking was the name
given to the means by which
lumbermen propelled their craft
up and down stream. This was
accomplished by pulling the bushes
growing by the water side; or, on
land, by the cutting away of a
thicket in order to obtain a passage.
The man who did this, and the
instrument a kind of scythe or
cutlass with which, in the latter
case, he thus forced his way-were
alike called a bush-whacker. The
word has gone through yet another
transition. Since the war it has
also come to mean a
to mean a "country
108
Bust
bumpkin" a clod-pole" or any
other person of
of a "' verdant
character.
}}
BUSIEST FOUR CORNERS ON EARTH.———
The corners of Broadway and
Fulton Street, in New York City.
BUSNAPPER (Cant).-A policeman.
BUSS.-Besides being more frequently
used in the States in the old
English provincial sense of a rough
kiss (Gaelic bus, a mouth) it also
has in the West the meaning of "to
punch," a popular threat being
"I'll buss your head." Used both
as a noun and verb.
BUST (n. and v.).—More than one
meaning attaches to this word.
Amongst the vulgar it is synony-
mous with a spree; the wind-up of
a frolic, and is generally accom-
panied by boisterous drunkenness.
În familiar usage, the same term is
applied to a failure or breakdown;
the man who has busted, being
one who has come to grief in his
commercial affairs, or failed in his
undertakings. The noun is some-
times varied with BUSTER, which,
generally, is taken to mean either
anything large in size, a man of
great strength, or a drinking bout,
accompanied by free and easy
practices of all kinds-dancing,
gambling and prostitution, either
singly or combined.- -TO BE ON
A BUST. To indulge in the afore-
said practices; also "to come" or
"
go a buster." Now common in
England, but of Californian origin.
The word itself is, of course,
only a corrupt pronunciation of
burst," the figure of specch being
the idea of excess. Those who
seek the derivation of buster in
bustard (an archaic form of buz-
zard) do not seem to possess much
ground for their contention.
Bust-Head
He tackled some of them regular BUSTERS,
[in this case crackjaw words. or tongue
twisters] and they throwed him.-Mark
Twain's Literature in the Dry Diggings.
St. Louis is on top to-night. The San
Francisco boom is BUSTED, and the fight is
now narrowed to Chicago and St. Louis.-
Missouri Republican, Feb. 22, 1888.
BUST-HEAD.- A Western term for
common whiskey. It is curious to
note how rich and varied is the
West in terms for neat liquor,
which, to judge from the similes
used, must more often than not be
execrably bad in quality. In not a
few cases the idea enshrined in
these epithets seems to point to the
rapidity with which they send a
man to the end of life's journey.
The vernacular of the West, how-
ever, is always brutal in its plain
outspoken cynicism, as may be
seen by comparing bust-head with
STONE-FENCE, RAILROAD, FORTY-
ROD - LIGHTNING, STAGGER - JUICE,
TANGLE-FOOT, TURPENTINE, BALD-
FACE, etc., all of which are syno-
nyms for whiskey.
BUSY, TO (University).—To attend to
a corruption of "to busy one-
self about."
The poor crook was almost annihilated by
this summons, and clinging to the bed-
clothes in all the agony of despair, over-
looked TO BUSY his midnight visitor.-Har-
vard Register.
BUTCHER BIRD (Lanius septentrionalis).
-A bird of the shrike kind (Collyris),
about nine inches long and thirteen
inches broad from tip to tip of
wing, and, in general appearance, of
a dull slate color. Despite the fact
of its mean appearance and song-
lessness, this bird is in Canada and
some of the Northern States con-
founded with the true mocking-
bird (Mimus polyglottus). An in-
teresting piece of folk-lore is con-
nected with its popular name of THE
NINE-KILLER, the superstition being
109
Butteker
that the butcher bird actually and
exactly kills and impales nine
grasshoppers a day as his store of
food, a notion which is quoted by
Dr. de Kay in his Natural History
of New York.
BUTT.-Common in the West as a
contracted form of "buttock." The
same abbreviation is in use in
the West of England for a buttock
of beef only.—TO BUTT,
-To BUTT, in the
South-west, to oppose.
BUTTE (French, butte).-No word in
English exactly conveying the
precise meaning of this French
word, has led to its naturalization
and incorporation into the common
speech of Californian, and subse-
quently, American life generally,
the nearest approach being knob.
A butte is a hill or ridge detached
and rising abruptly from the level,
but which, though not lofty enough
to be designated a mountain, is yet
too imposing to be called a mere
hill. The buttes of the Rocky
Mountains and Oregon are extreme-
ly picturesque as landmarks, a
notably conspicuous one being that
known as the Butte au chien in the
vicinity of the Red River, which,
says Sir George Simpson, in his
Overland Journey, towers "with a
height of about 400 feet over a
boundless prairie as level and
smooth as a pond."
The two BUTTES
is a single
hill of about 500 feet above the plain, the top
of which is broken away in the middle,
leaving two almost conical flat-topped peaks,
more than 300 feet apart at the summits, and
each rising probably 200 feet above their
common base. It is a very prominent and
well-known landmark, and can be seen,
under favorable conditions, for more than
sixty miles. The country is an alternation
of nearly level plain and very broken ground,
and would be easy to get lost in, but for these
BUTTES. Richard Irvine Dodge's Plains of
the Great West.
-
BUTTEKER (Cant).—A shop.
Butterbird
BUTTERBIRD (West Indies). The
BOBOLINK (q.v.).
BUTTER-BUSH.—A corruption of BUT-
TON-BUSH (q.v.).
BUTTERED (Cant).—Whipped; also, as
in English slang usage,
flattered."
BUTTER FISH (Muranoides).—A common
slimy fish; hence its popular name,
the idea conveyed in which is akin
to that in "butter fingers," i.e.,
it is difficult to handle.
BUTTERFLIES OF THE STAGE.- Ballet
dancers. The name is derived
from the always light and airy, and
sometimes gorgeous dress worn by
such in pursuit of their calling.
'Go to the corner at say eleven o'clock at
night,' he continued, 'and see what a lot of
stage struck dudes gather there. The stage
entrance to the Bijou is just above the cor-
ner, and the mashers gather there to meet
BUTTERFLIES OF THE STAGE, and then ad-
journ to the neighbouring restaurants to
blow in the wealth they have succeeded
in coaxing from a fond mother or an over-
indulgent father in supper and wine or
oysters and beer, according to the liberality
of the parents aforesaid.-New York Herald,
March 25, 1888.
BUTTERFLY.This word in the States
is rather a misnomer when con-
trasted with English usage. Night
flying moths are popularly, but
erroneously, called butterflies, the
former being confined to the
domestic pest. A similar confusion
exists between "' beetles " and
bugs."
BUTTERINE. Of American origin, but
now equally applied in England, as
in the States, to a spurious kind of
butter, composed of fatty sub-
stances other than cream; also
called OLEO-MARGARINE, MARGARINE,
etc.
The sale of these substitutes
for butter is now prohibited by
ΙΙΟ
Buy
law in England, except distinctly
sold under their true names and
character, while in America even
restaurant keepers are required to
make public announcement if they
use the article in their business.
BUTTERNUTS.-Equivalent in the North
to COPPERHEADS (q.v.). It is derived
from the popular name of a coarse
brown homespun cloth commonly
worn by Confederate soldiers dur-
the Civil War.
BUTTON-BUSH (Cephalanthus occidentalis
and canadensis).-A shrub which
abounds on the American continent,
growing in low-lying swampy dis-
tricts, and the globular flowers of
which resembling buttons, supply
its distinctive name.
BUTTONING-UP.-A Wall Street phrase
referring to the action of brokers
who, having speculated in stock,
find it cast upon their hands at a
loss, and who for any reason keep
the fact of such speculation secret.
BUTTON-WORD (Platanus occidentalis).-
A New England term for the
Sycamore; also called BUTTON-
BALL TREE. In winter these trees
are covered with suspended ball-
shaped seed vessels-hence the
popular name.
BUTTY. Explained by quotation.
The place of BUTTY, or helper, even, was
not so very easy of acquirement.-Pinkerton's
Mollie Maguires and Detectives.
BUY.-TO BUY INTO.-To acquire a
share of anything-an idiom which
Mark Twain is fond of using.
•
went
Why three years ago if a man
over to Washoe and BOUGHT INTO a good
silver mine, etc.-Mark Twain's Enquiry
about Insurances.
Buzzard
BUZZARD. A name applied to a
vulture instead of to a hawk.
BUZZER.-A pickpocket.
slang "buz-bloke."
English
BUZZING (Cant). (1) Searching or
looking for; as What are you
buzzing?". -(2) Confidential talk.
Buzz-Saw. A circular saw.
Paul Haster was given employment in the
Shipman keg factory and had been at work
but a few minutes when his left hand got
caught by a BUZZ-SAW, mangling the thumb
and two fingers of his hand. - Missouri
Republican, Feb. 16, 1888.
BY
AND AGAIN.-NOW and then.
A Southern adverbial phrase.
BY AND LARGE.-To take it by and large
is a slang phrase, equivalent to
"taking it all round," or "after
due thought," or "all in all.”
Taking it BY AND LARGE, as the sailors say,
we had a pleasant ten days' run from New
York to the Azores.-Mark Twain's Innocents
Abroad.
You'll search one while [i.c., a long time]
afore you'll find a man that, take him
BY AND LARGE, is equal to one of your free
and enlightened citizens.-Sam Slick's
Clockmaker, chap. xvi.
BY-BIDDER.-An auctioneer's decoy
who, by spurious bidding, runs up
prices.
III
By
BY CRACKY! A meaningless exclama-
tion.
Say, haint Tubbs a Methodist? BY
CRACKY, here's where it is, and in we
walked. Superior Inter-Ocean.
BY GOLLEY! or BY GOLLY!-A negro
oath.
BY GUM!
BY GUMMY!-Both these
expletives are extracts from the
great American Dictionary of Oaths
and Cuss Words compiled by des-
cendants of the Puritan Fathers.-
See DADBINGED.
BY GORRAM!-An oath. Bartlett says
it is " euphemistic," in which case
what in the world would caco-
phonous blasphemy be like?
BY JINGS!—A corruption of "by
jingo," a phrase which, as used by
most people, possesses no signi-
ficance beyond that of a vulgar
expletive.
So we come home. And BY JINGS, I am
getting up one of them wheels that will
knock Pauly Bros. higher than Gilroy's kite.
-Superior Inter-Ocean.
BY SUN.-Before sunset. Georgia.
BY.-For "of," e.g., "a person by the
name of." A vulgarism.



ABALLADA.—A caravan,
or company of horses
or mules carrying
merchandize. The
word, which is pure
Spanish, is, in
Texas, contracted
into CABALLARD
(pronounced cavayard).
CABBAGE, TO.-To appropriate surrep-
titiously. In England, to cabbage is
confined to tailor's slang, and
means the appropriation of por-
tions of the cloth confided to work-
men for the purpose of making
garments. Among American
thieves, however, the word is used
in a much more extended sense,
and is applied to theft of any kind.
CABBAGE - TREE or CABBAGE-
PALM (Palma altissima). A well-
known tree of the palm species,
found in Florida and throughout
the West Indies. The young shoots
are edible, and are used either
pickled or as a vegetable. The name
is given to more than one variety of
palm, but only to those that bear
an esculent shoot. From the pith
of the Palma altissima, sago is manu-
factured, and the long straight
stems of this variety are used as
water-pipes.
CABEROS or CABRESTO. A kind of
lasso made of hair. Like the
LARIAT (which is made of raw
hide) and the lasso, the caberos is
formed with a running noose, and
is used on ranches and Western
plains for catching horses and cattle.
The plainsmen and cowboys show
marvellous dexterity in its manipu-
lation. While riding full speed an
animal in a herd will be singled out,
and the caberos thrown with such
precision that the neck, legs, or
other portions of the body will be
entangled in the noose and the
animal captured. From the Spanish
cabestro, a halter. Caberos are also
employed for fastening the animals,
when caught, to stakes or pegs in
the ground.
CABLE. (1) A message by Atlantic
or other sea cables; TO CABLE is
the act of sending such messages.
Of comparatively modern Ameri-
can coinage, to cable like "to wire"
is, in spite of purist opposition,
rapidly passing into general com-
mercial use, and seems likely to
obtain a permanent footing in the
language. Though not yet admitted
to a place in the dictionaries, it is
frequently used by even the best
journalistic authorities. The mes-
sage itself is also called a CABLE-
GRAM.
Used both as a noun and
verb. (2) A popular abbrevia-
tion for cable-tramway; thus, in an
advertisement appearing in the St.
Louis Globe Democrat, it is stated
that one of the attractions of cer-
tain apartments to let was that
"convenient to both
they were
cables."
CABOODLE. THE WHOLE CABOODLE.-
-A pleonastic expression for "the
Caboose
whole." Thought to be an en-
larged form of BOODLE which is
sometimes used in the same sense,
and which is derived from the old
English "bottel " a bundle (Fr.
botel, boteau, Ger. beutel). Caboodle
is general throughout the States,
and has now almost completely
supplanted BOODLE (q.v.), which is
more usually applied in a totally
different sense.
Ye've got ter have faith in Goddle-mighty
then, sure, a-swingin' up an' down them
mount'n-sides, dark nights or bright, when a
rock on the track f'om a landslide 'u'd fling
the whole CABOODLE down the mount'n an
inter kingdom came afo' you'd know it.—
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
CABOOSE OF CABOOSE-CAR.-On Ameri-
can railways the caboose-car is equiv-
alent to the guards' van attached to
goods trains in England. This, like
much of the American terminology
connected with various modes of
land travel, has been borrowed
from sea life; in this instance from
a ship's caboose or galley. Some-
times spelt "camboose
kombuis). Also cab.
}}
(Dutch
A CABOOSE drawn by two engines jumped
the track at Great Barrington, Vt., and fifteen
were injured.-Chicago Inter-Ocean,
men
1888.
A north-bound freight train on the Phila-
delphia and Reading Railway while moving
slowly near here this morning was
taken by another freight, the engine of
which plowed through the CABOOSE and two
cars of the first train.-New York Weekly
Times, 1888.
-
CABREE (Antilocapre americana).—A
French Canadian name for the
PRONG HORN (q.v.), the latter name
from a prong which juts out from
each horn. Its flesh is highly
esteemed as food.
CACAO (Theobroma cacao).-The cocoa
of commerce.
113
Cachunk
CACHE (French).—Sometimes corrup-
ted into CASH. Used both as a noun
and verb. A cache, among traders and
hunters, is a cavity hollowed in the
ground for the purpose of receiving
provisions, stores, etc., required for
future use, or which it is desirable to
conceal. -TO CACHE describes the
action of secreting in this manner;
but in many cases a much wider
meaning is given to the word, which
then is synonymous with hiding,
irrespective of the manner in which
it is done. It is derived from the
French cacher, to hide, and was the
name given by the early French
settlers to their secret depositories.
The latter, however, were in use.
long prior to the advent of white
men.
In a CACHE among the rocks we found the
provisions and the cooking utensils, and
then, all fatigued as I was, I sat down on a
boulder and superintended, while Johnny
gathered wood and cooked supper.-Mark
Twain's Roughing It.
He stopped in some alarm, and his thoughts
first naturally reverted to the whiskey, which
he had prudently CACHED.
Whether
Mr. Oakhurst had CACHED his cards with the
whiskey I cannot say.-Bret Harte's Outcasts
of Poker Flat, p. 26.
CACHUNK ! KERCHUNK ! CASHUNK !
This word belongs to a class of
exclamations which are intended
to convey an imitation of the sound
of a body falling heavily, that is,
with a noise or thump. No special
meaning attaches to them, and
they seem to be equally uncertain
as regards orthography, being met
with in various guises, such as
KESHONK, and KESHWASH in New
England, and KERCHUG, KEWOSH
and CASHWASH in the West.
Cashunk extends over the entire
Union, but the whole class of these
fanciful onomatopoetic words are
much affected in the South and
West; they are mainly of recent
origin, though two of the class
KESWOLLOP and KEWHOLLUX, which
15
Cacique
are rare in the States, are not
unfamiliar to English ears.
West
CACIQUE.-A
Indian term,
which, through the Spanish, is de-
rived from the cazie of Hayti.
The title of a chief or head man
among the aboriginal Indians of
the West India Islands. Now
very indiscriminately applied;
genuine Indian chiefs, and even the
head councilman of third and
fourth rate towns, as well as any
conceited and officious Jack-in-
office, is dubbed with this once
honorable title.
CACK.-In Massachusetts, the name
of a child's shoe.
CACOMITE. The bulbous root of a
flour-producing species of Tigridia,
common in Mexico.
CAD.-A railway guard or conductor.
In English slang, omnibus con-
ductors are generically called cads,
but its application to railway
officials is peculiarly American.
Authorities differ concerning the
origin and application of this
word, some regarding it as a con-
traction of cadger"; whilst
others profess to trace it to the
Scotch "cadie," an errand boy; or
to the slang University sense of
the word - a non-member (Latin
cadaver, a dead body).
CADE.—A calf, a pet.
CADY (Cant).-A hat.
CÆSARISM. Those are accused of
Cæsarism, i.e., Imperialism, who, in
American politics, favor the re-
election, to the presidency for a
third term, of one who has already
held the office twice.
114
Ça Ira
CAHOOT (French cohorte).-Though of
foreign extraction this phrase has
a more immediate origin in the old
English word “ cahoot" which, in
a slang sense, is used in the South
and West for companionship or
"keeping company," whether legiti-
mately or otherwise. As is usual
with this class of words, the primary
meaning is modified among various
classes of the community. Men
who live in the same house, those
in partnership, or who act in con-
cert, are said to be in cahoots; just
as, politically, the same term is
sometimes
synonymous with a
species of jobbery-in other words
"in cahoots then signifies an un-
holy alliance.
No-
Seibert and Noland are in CAHOOTS.
land is now deputy state treasurer, and is
a candidate for the chief place. From pre-
sent appearances his ambition will be grati-
fied. He is worthy of promotion, entirely
competent to discharge the duties of trea-
surer, and has his fences built to corral his
anticipations. Scibert's friends will support
Noland, and Noland's friends will support
Seibert. But they are not leaning on each
other. Seibert has his backbone against
that of some candidate for every State office.
This is politics.- Washington Daily Post,
1888.
Also TO CAHOOT.
7
CAIN. TO RAISE CAIN.-To proceed
to extreme measures; to be dan-
gerously quarrelsome; to make a
disturbance. Of Western origin.
this expression was primarily
applied to men who, drunk and
quarrelsome, or who simply heated
with passion, would have shown no
hesitation in shooting or stabbing
those who chanced to oppose them.
While still retaining this meaning,
its more general signification
that of being merely disputatious
or quarrelsome without any special
homicidal mania. A variant is
TO RAISE HATE.
1S
ÇA IRA! This famous refrain from
Le Carillon National of the French
Cajen
Revolution of 1790, was adopted
as a rallying cry by the Fede-
ralists. It was likewise a favorite
saying of Dr. Franklin in con-
nection with the American War of
Independence. It means, "it will
speed," or "it will do."
CAJEN.-A
-A corruption of ACADIAN
(q.v.), a native of Nova Scotia.
CAKE. TO TAKE THE
CAKE. TO
rank the highest; to be the best of
a kind. The origin of the phrase
is said to be as follows :—
In certain sections of the country, CAKE
WALKS are in vogue among the colored
people. It is a walking contest, not in the
matter of speed, but in style and elegance.
The young bucks get themselves up in the
most elaborate clothing, correct to a stitch,
and walk from one end of the hall to the
other, under the admiring gaze of dusky
beauties, and the critical eye of the judges.
The marking is done on a scale of numbers,
and when the low down contestants have
quitted the field, the ties are walked off.
Then comes the real walking, elaborate and
finished in every detail. The prize is a
CAKE and the successful competitor TAKES
it.
Between you 'n me, red stockings ain't
becomin' to all-ahen-limbs, 'n for cool
cheek 'n dash, I back some o' em against any
saleslady 't makes a livin' by it, the way 't
some o' those girls 'd pin on a boutonniere
TOOK THE CAKE.-San Francisco News
Letter.
CAKES.-HURRY UP THE CAKES!
Look sharp! be quick! Buck-
wheat and other hot cakes form a
staple dish at many American
tables, and the phrase is one often
heard in this connection. It has
now become pure slang-an in-
junction to expeditious movement.
CAL.-An abbreviation for California,
used in writing and printing.
115
CALABASH.(1) A drinking utensil;
the shell of the fruit of the Cucur-
bita lagenaria, a vine of the gourd
species, is generally used for this
Calf-Kill
purpose. From the Spanish cale-
baza, a gourd. —(2) The head;
only employed jeeringly to an
empty-headed, weak-minded indi-
vidual.
CALABOOSE.-The common gaol or
prison. This word comes into
popular use from the Spanish
calabozo through the French cala-
bouse.- TO CALABOOSE.-To im-
prison.
Charley Read struck an old tramp in the
CALABOOSE the other day who looked dis-
gusted at his headquarters and remarked,
"Well I've been in every jail from Portland
to Santa Ana, but this is d-n snide of a
CALABOOSE I ever struck yet.-Santa Ana
Blade, 1888.
CALASH.-I. An open chaise with a
hood. Canada. -2. A covered
wire hood used by ladies to protect
their head-dress.
CALCULATE, To.-To think; expect;
believe; intend; indeed, almost any
sense save the legitimate meaning
of the word. It belongs to the
same class of colloquialisms as
GUESS and RECKON; yet, although
often heard to fall from the lips of
all grades of society in America,
the guessin', reckonin', 'spectin', and
calculatin' American of the English
stage is as much a myth as the man
in the moon. Still, the more
frequent use of these words by our
cousins across the water, gives
them the stamp of Americanisms.
Calculate is sometimes, especially in
New England, corrupted into
cal'late.
The Sarjunt he thout Hosea hedn't gut
his i teeth cut cos he looked a kindo's though
he'd jest come down, so he CAL'LATED to
hook him in, but Hosy woodn't take none o'
his sarse.-Biglow Papers,
CALF-KILL (Kalmia augustiflora). — A
beautiful flowering shrub of the
laurel species, the popular name of
Calfskin Fiddle
which is founded on the erroneous
supposition that its leaves, if eaten
by cattle, prove fatal. The same
plant is, in the South, called Ivy;
it is not, however, a member of
that family.
CALFSKIN FIDDLE (Cant).-A drum.
CALIBOGUS.-A very old name for a
mixture of rum and spruce beer,
being quoted by Grose in 1792 as
"an American beverage." The
last two syllables of the word are
thought to be derived from the
French bagasse, the refuse of the
sugar cane. This view would seem
to be supported by the fact that rum
is itself a product of the sugar
cane.
CALICO. There is a slight variation in
English and American usage as
regards the application of this term
to cotton goods. As is well known,
the term was originally used to
distinguish cotton goods from India
(from Calicut on the Malabar
coast), but, in England, all white
and unprinted cotton goods are
now called calicoes.
calicoes. In the States,
on the contrary, printed cotton
goods alone would be understood
by the term. A familiar illustra-
tion of this will be called to mind
in the popular CALICO-BALLS, now
as well known here as across the
water, whence they were introduced
in the first instance. The term
calico, so applied, bears the more
extended meaning peculiar to the
States, the dresses, though all of
cotton materials, being mainly of
the printed and fancy kinds.
Fresh CALICO dresses, in which the domi-
nant tint was either a bright pink or a posi-
tive blue, were flaunted with more pride
than a princess feels in her lace and pearls.
-Century Magazine, 1888.
CALIFORNIA WIDOW.-A married woman
whose husband is away from her
116
Call
for any extended period; a "grass
widow" in the least offensive sense
of that term. The expression
dates from the period of the Cali-
fornian gold fever, when so many
men went West, leaving their wives
and families behind them.
CALL. An invitation; a requisition;
also fitness for a vocation. In the
phraseology of Dissenters a call to
any given office or pastorate is often
looked upon as equivalent to a
divine command, the allusion being
to such calls as those of Abraham,
Samuel, etc. However unquestion-
able may be the sincerity of belief
in many cases, in others it cannot
be denied that the acuteness of the
sense of hearing on the occasion of
such calls is more regulated by the
worldly inducements offered than
by other considerations. In such
cases the cant formula would be a
providential call." The word has
now passed from church phrase-
ology into general use. Also To
"
CALL.
It is quite likely that the First Baptist
Church in Pierrepont Street will CALL a
pastor within the next two months. Several
names are just now under consideration.-
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1888.
The morning papers will publish a CALL,
signed by a number of the leading citizens,
for a mass meeting of the citizens and
business men to consider matters relating to
the present railroad freight troubles.-Denver
Republican, 1888.
Perhaps no one has any right to expect to
make a success of authorship unless he has
a CALL-by which, I infer, those who use the
word mean a capacity to produce work that,
if not immortal, is imbued with the essence
of a fresh-voiced and interesting personality.
-The Critic, April 14, 1888.
-CALLS FOR DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
-These, in America, differ con-
siderably from those used in Eng-
land. Among the more important
variations may be mentioned the
following:- gee directs the
animals away from the driver, hence
to the right; but in England the
Callithump
In
same term has the opposite effect,
because the driver walks on the
right-hand side of his team.
Virginia, mule drivers "gee" the
hey-yee-
animals with the cry
"
ee-a."
To direct animals to the
left, another series of terms is used.
In calling cattle in the field, the
following cries are used in the
localities given :— boss, boss,"
"sake, sake" (Connecticut); coo,
COO (Virginia); "sook, sook,
also "sookey" (Maryland);
11
}}
"
"
"
SOO-
kow (Alabama); and for calling
horses, kope, kope" (Maryland
and Alabama); for calling sheep,
"konanny" (Maryland); for calling
hogs, "chee-oo-oo.”
"
-
CALLITHUMP, To.-To caterwaul; to
produce discordant "musical"
sounds by means of instruments,
either incongruous in themselves or
in conjunction-such as tin kettles,
bells, rattles, etc. A factitious
word, founded upon Calliope,"
one of the nine muses, and "to
thump."- CALLITHUMPIANS.— A
name assumed at various times by
bands of rowdies, especially in
Baltimore. In days gone by the
callithumpians, or the callithum-
pian band were part and parcel
of a noisy festival on New
Year's Eve, when parties of men
and women perambulated the
streets, making the night hideous
with discordant sounds. A
callithumpian band is also frequently
improvised on the occasion of an
unpopular wedding, much in the
same fashion as, in England, a
kettle or tin-pot band is formed to
mark popular disapproval. Thus the
Cincinnati Weekly Gazette, in
"An-
swers to Correspondents," jokingly
states that the probable meaning
of parties being quietly married
nowadays is that the marriage
festivities are not celebrated by a
callithumpian band.
117
Camp
CALLOUSED.-Hardened; a state of
callosity. The skin is calloused by
constant pressure.
•
Many a young man, with hands CALLOUSED
by ax-helve and plow-handle, rode to-day in
his Sunday best with a blooming girl by his
side, or behind him, and with the gay heart
of a troubadour in his breast.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
CALUMET. TO SMOKE THE CALUMET
OF PEACE.-Among the aboriginal
Indians, the pipe, or calumet, played
an important part in the councils
of the nation or tribe. These
calumets were of two kinds-one
being produced and used when
treaties were made, or strangers
received in friendly confabulation;
the other, of different shape, when
war was to be declared. The sym-
bol took the popular fancy and has
passed into general use; there-
fore, to smoke the calumet or pipe of
peace is equivalent to a profession
of friendship. The reverse of the
symbol-the pipe of war-is rarely
heard. The word itself was intro-
duced by the old French-Canadian
colonists.
CAMAS PRAIRIE. CAMAS
KAMAS ROOT.
ROOT.-Sce
CAMFIRE. A Corruption, both as re-
gards writing and pronunciation,
of "camphor."
CAMP.-In Western life, whenever a
halt on a journey is called, a camp
is formed; the same term is applied
even though the traveller is alone.
The cowmen along the Little
Missouri have united in establishing a row
of CAMPS to the east of the river, along the
line where the broken ground meets the
prairie. The CAMPS are usually for two men
each, and some fifteen or twenty miles
apart; then, in the morning, its two men
start out in opposite ways, each riding till he
meets his neighbor of the next CAMP nearest
on that side, when he returns. The CAMP
itself is sometimes merely a tent pitched in
Camp
a sheltered coulée, but ought to be either
made of logs or else a dug-out in the ground.
-Ranch Life in the Far West.
-A HALF-FACED CAMP is the
CORRAL (q.v.) of the South-west-
a camp so formed that one side is open
for the free passage of the beasts
of burden comprised in the train.
You catch your trout within sight of the
CAMP, and they are brought to your table
baked in cream, broiled, fried in meal or in
a chowder, till you once for all and at last
have fairly had your fill of the most tooth-
some and best of fish.-New York Herald,
July 29, 1888.
To CAMP DOWN.-To form a
camp.
They travelled all night, and when day
broke took to the bush, CAMPED DOWN a
smart piece off the trail, stayed till about
noon, catched up their fresh horses, took a
bee-line through the timber, and, when night
came, pushed for the trail again.-N. Y.
Spirit of the Times, Frontier Tale.
CAMP-MEETING.-A gathering
which partakes largely of the
character of a protracted picnic,
religious exercises being quaintly
mixed up with fun and frolic of all
kinds. In the early days the
practice of holding camp-meetings
was mainly confined to the
Methodists, but nowadays other
denominations and associations
also have their
camp-meetings.
Among the Mormons they are
called woOD-MEETINGS. As the
name implies, those frequenting
these gatherings, which often last
for weeks together, camp out in
tents, booths, and other improvised
and temporary habitations. There
are well-known holiday resorts in
the States which are very popular
for camp-meeting purposes, and some
of these gatherings are largely
attended, occasionally by thou-
sands of people, the railway com-
panies offering special transit
inducements. In many respects
they are neither more nor less than
monster picnics; two, three, or
118
Campaign
more public meetings are held
during the day, the rest of the
time being devoted to rambling,
bathing, excursions, games, and
other outdoor amusements. Tem-
porary wooden huts are sometimes
erected by the proprietors of the
grounds, and these are let out by
the day or week as occasion needs.
Nor are the usual conveniences of
civilization wanting; so perfectly
organised are these meetings that
telegraph and post offices
established on the spot, and, at
times, even a daily newspaper is
published in which is detailed the
reports of the meetings, and the
doings of the campers. When the
assembly breaks up, huts, tents,
offices, platforms, newspaper, etc.,
disappear, and the grove, wood, or
lake resumes its normal appear-
ance.
are
In the early days of August there came a
time of comparative leisure. The summer
harvests were over, and the fields of tall
corn had been laid by after the last plow-
ing. Then Illinois had a breathing spell
and in this time of relaxation came
the season of Baptist Associations and
Methodist CAMP-MEETINGS and two-days'
basket meetings-jolly religious picnics,
where you could attend to your salvation
and eat 'roas'in' ears' with old friends in
the thronged recesses of the forests, among
a people who were perhaps as gregarious as
any the world has ever produced. Children
looked forward to this gypsying with eager-
ness, and adults gave themselves over to it
with the abandon of children. What night-
scenes there were! Within the oval of tents
at a CAMP-MEETING two great platforms were
raised on posts six or eight feet high and
covered with earth; on these were built
great blazing bonfires, illuminating all the
space inclosed by the tents and occupied by
the enthusiastic assembly, which, as one
great chorus, made the wide forest vocal
with a tide of joyous or pathetic song.-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
CAMPAIGN.-A word of somewhat
grandiloquent political import
being employed to signify a period
of electoral contest, and applied
alike to a presidential election or
to the canvass of the merest petty
Campbellite
official-a usage described by
Grant White in
James Grant
Words
and their Meanings, as "' bloated
army-bumming bombast." To
CAMPAIGN.—To proceed upon a
campaign; to exploit.
The new owner sold the steed for 800
dollars to James Gray of Wellesly, the well-
known real estate dealer, who, after
CAMPAIGNING him on the track for a couple
of years, with good success, sold him to
Bonner for 16,000 dollars.-Boston Weekly
Globe, March 28, 1888.
CAMPBELLITE.-A member of the sect
founded by a Dr. Alexander
Campbell, in the South.
CAMPHENE.-A well-known oil used
for lighting purposes. It is the
pure oil of turpentine, and its
component parts are eight of
hydrogen and ten of carbon.
CAN (Cant).-A dollar piece.
CAN, TO, CANNED, CANNING.
The pro-
cess of preserving fresh fruit, vege-
tables, fish, and other food products
in air-tight tin vessels is called
canning. The industry has, since
its introduction, increased year by
year until it has now assumed enor-
mous dimensions. Canned goods,
as they are called, are familiar to,
and very popular with the English
public, amongst whom they are
more generally known as "tinned "
goods. It is said that upwards of
50,000 tons of lobster alone are
put into tins annually for export.
A CANNING factory has been in operation
at Lexington about five years. Those who
put out ten acres of corn and tomatoes make
from 800 dollars to 1,000 dollars a year.
Small farmers there consider that there is
more money in raising vegetables for the
CANNING factory than in any other crop, at
less expense.-Rich Hill Review, 1888.
-CAN-OPENER.-A bladed instru-
ment adapted for opening tinned
goods. CANNERY.An estab-
lishment where canning or packing
in tin vessels is carried on.
119
Canada Balsam
A petition has been circulated and freely
signed to-day requesting the Board of Edu-
cation to extend the vacation from July 30th
to August 26th, to allow the school children
to assist in the CANNERY at the most impor-
tant time. Otherwise large quantities of
peaches and pears must go to waste, with
great loss to fruit raisers and the CANNERY.-
San Francisco Weekly Chronicle, July 26, 1888.
CANACK, CANUCK, KANUCK, K'NUCK.
-Familiar and colloquial slang
appellations for a native of Canada,
the most frequently used being
K'nuck. The origin of the term is
a little obscure, and, moreover, it
seems to be limited in its appli-
cation within the Canadian frontier.
There a Canuck is understood to be
a Canadian of French descent, just
as, within the limits of the Union,
only New Englanders are termed
Yankees, whereas elsewhere that
appellation is given indiscriminately
to natives of all the States. It is
supposed that Canuck is a corruption
of Connaught, the name given by
If
French-Canadians to the Irish.
this be so, and in view of the large
influx of natives of the Emerald
Isle to Canada, the suggestion is by
no means improbable; it would
follow that, by a process of inversion,
a nickname given by one section of
a nation to another has, in course of
time, been applied to the nation as
a whole.
A
CANADA (pronounced Canyada).— A
Spanish diminutive of CAÑON.
small cañon; that is, a narrow
passage or gorge through moun-
tains.
CANADA BALSAM (Abies balsamea).—A
fir producing the well-known
balsam of commerce, which is
extracted from blisters under the
bark. The tree is of a spindly
habit, and delights in the cold
damp woods and swamps of New
England, Pennsylvania, and other
Canada Nettle
States further north. Also called
BALSAM FIR (q.v.).
CANADA NETTLE (Urtica canadensis).—
Also called ALBANY HEMP (q.v.).
CANADA RICE (Zizania aquatica).-Also
WILD RICE and WATER OATS. This
plant abounds in the Northern
States and Canada, and flourishes
in deep pools and sluggish streams.
CANADA THISTLE (Cirsium [carduus]
arvense).-Introduced into Canada
from France, where it is very com-
mon, as also in England; this weed
has spread itself over the whole of
North America.
Some portions of the earth are worth their
weight in gold, while others are not fit to
raise CANADA THISTLES ON."—Texas Siftings,
June 30, 1888.
CANARY GRASS (Phalaris intermedia).-
Also known as RED CANARY GRASS,
STEWART's CANARY GRASS, GIL-
BERT'S RELIEF GRASS, and CALI-
FORNIAN TIMOTHY. It is a native of
the Southern and some of the
Western States, and is highly re-
commended as a winter and spring
grass for the South, wherever a
fair degree of moisture exists.
CANCER ROOT.-One of the Orobanche
of Linnæus. A yellowish plant
which supplies a pretended remedy
for cancer, prepared in the form of
a powder-hence the popular name.
The plant is common throughout
the States.
CANDIDATE, TO.-To seek or be pro-
posed for office, etc. A verb formed
much in the same way as "to rail,"
i.e., to travel by railway.
When one considers the many different
tastes and preferences to be found in a large
modern congregation, and remembers that
these tastes have reference so much more
largely than in former years to external and
non-essential matters, it will be readily
120
Can-Hook
apprehended by those outside the ministry
that the business of CANDIDATING is admir-
ably adapted to strike terror to the heart of a
minister of ordinarily sensitive nerves.-
Century Magazine, October, 1888.
CANDIDACY.-A vulgarism for
candidature.
CANDLE LIGHTING.-An old time phrase
which still lingers in New England,
and by which is meant the time of
the evening when artificial light is
necessary. The expression sounds
quaint enough nowadays; but, of
course, at one time it was literally
correct. Sometimes varied by
early candle lighting.
They were late, for the meeting was alus
appointed for EARLY CANDLE LIGHTING.-
American Humorist, August, 1888.
CANDY.-A name given to sweetmeats
of all kinds.
CANEBRAKE. The name given in
Louisiana and South Carolina to
fields of sugar cane.
They set out for an extensive CANEBRAKE
about half a mile distant, where they re-
mained concealed while Seth returned on
foot to reconnoitre.-New York Mercury, 1838.
In Carolina such thickets are also
called CANE MEADOWS, while in the
West Indies the distinctive name
is CANE PIECES.- CANE TRASH.-
The leaves of the sugar-cane when
cut and stripped for grinding. The
trash is left on the field and serves
as manure for the soil.-CANEY.
-Pertaining to the sugar-cane.
A word of Western fabrication,
where it is applied, for example, to
land upon which canes have grown
or are growing.
CAN-HOOK, CANT-HOOK.-The hook of a
lever with which timber, merchan-
dize, and heavy casks are moved or
raised. Obviously from "to cant,"
to move, or to incline to one side.
This invention is American in
name and design.
Cank
CANK (Cant). HE IS CANK, i.e., dumb.
CANKER RASH.-A familiar term for
scarlatina.
CANOE. The native boat of the
Indian, made of bark, skins, or of
the trunk of a tree which has been
hollowed out. In the last named
case they are called DUG-OUTS (9.V.),
but the manner of building varies
according to the exigencies of
locality and material. Sometimes,
instead of the canoe being thus
hollowed out or constructed of
skins or bark pieced together, and
fastened to a framework, the bark
itself is stripped bodily from the
trunk in one piece, being then
moulded into shape; these are the
BARK CANOES or WOOD-SKINS (q.v.)
of the South as well as of the North
American Indians. Among the
former the tree most used for this
purpose is the purple-heart (Copai-
fera publiflora), and the locust tree
or simiri (Hymenea courbaril). The
CANOE OF PAPER BIRCH (Betula papy-
racea) mainly serves the redskin of
the Northern portion of the conti-
nent, and these bark canoes are con-
sequently sometimes called BIRCHES
by hunters. The bark of the paper
birch, which is thick, glossy, and
pliant, also serves the Indians in
the manufacture of bead and straw-
trimmed baskets, boxes, and other
small curios. The word canoe is
of Indian origin, canaoa being the
Carib word for a small boat of this
description, which, in its present
form, canoe, has come down through
the French canot.- -To PADDLE
ONE'S OWN CANOE.-In the sense
of to exhibit skill and energy; to
succeed unaided; a slang phrase
now universal. Extremely careful
and clever manipulation is required
in the management of canoes,
especially in shooting rapids; other-
wise the surging body of water
I2I
Cantankerate
might swamp the boat, or sunken
rocks strike and seriously damage
it. Hence the adoption of such an
expression to signify skill, close
attention, and energy.
CANON (pronounced Canyon) CANYON,
CANON. A narrow precipitous
channel between mountains, some-
times with, and sometimes without
In
a river running through it.
Colorado there is a river of the
same name which, with its tribu-
taries, has cut for itself passages
One of
through the mountains.
these cañons is upwards of 217
miles long; the sides are in many
places vertical, and from 2,000 to
3,500 feet high. Spanish, a tunnel.
Echo CANYON is twenty miles long. It was
like a long, smooth, narrow street, with a
gradual descending grade, and shut in by
enormous perpendicular walls of coarse
conglomerate, four hundred feet high in
many places, and turreted like medieval
castles. Mark Twain's Roughing It.
CANT, TO. This verb occupies a col-
loquial position in the States denied
to it in England, taking very much
the place of "to turn over."
For
example, a person restless in bed
cants over when shifting the posi-
tion of the body; a log of wood
instead of being rolled over is
canted over these and similar
examples will serve to show how
thoroughly and familiarly colloquial
is this word, far beyond the general
custom in England, where the sense
is rather that of unequal balancing,
or a leaning to one side.
CANTANKERATE, TO.-To make or be-
come cross-grained, ill-humored;
to produce strife. Obviously from
"cantankerous which, curiously
enough, was once regarded as
purely American, but which now
has been traced back to the Anglo-
Norman contek.
16
Cantaloupe
You may [by contentious writing] happify
your inimies, [and] CANTANKERATE your
opponents.-Sam Slick's Clockmaker.
-CANTANKERSOME.-From can-
tankerous.
Plato Frisk, a jumpin' Quaker, a terrible
cross-grained CANTANKERSOME Critter.-Sam
Slick's Clockmaker.
CANTALOUPE (French).-Known else-
where as the MUSK-MELON.
In selecting CANTALOPES do not aim to
secure large ones for family use. The best
flavoured and sweetest varieties are the
small kinds, and they are also the earliest.
Water-melons, however, should be large, as
the larger the melon the less waste, while
they are also fully equal in quality to the
smaller kinds.—Missouri Republican, March 2,
1888.
The flour-barrel has almost as many ages
as man. First there is the flour age, bright,
new, clean and sweet; second, there is the
potato age, a little grimy and dingy; then
mayhaps, the apple, CANTALOUPE or horse-
feed age, and then the last and saddest of
all-the seventh age-is the ash-barrel or
garbage period.-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
CANT-HOOK.-See CAN-HOOK.
CANTICO,
CANTICA, CANTICOY. A
merry-making or social gathering;
the term was derived by the early
settlers from the Algonkin Indians,
amongst whom it signified an act
of worship in which dancing played
a prominent part.
CANUCK.-See CANACK.
CANVAS BACK.-A wild duck which
Procter thinks is somewhat over-
praised in America.
CANVASS, TO. To canvass in England,
when used politically, differs in its
meaning from that current in
America, where it is used to signify
the official counting of votes after
an election; whereas in the Mother
122
Cap Sheaf
Country it simply refers to the
solicitation or beating up of voters
prior to that event.
CAP, TO. (Cant).-To stand by a
friend; to take part in any under-
taking; to lend a hand.
CAPE COD TURKEY.-The cod fish. A
slang term which is used inter-
changeably with MARBLE-HEAD
TURKEY. Massachusetts.
CAPE MAY GOODY.-The Lafayette fish.
A popular name on the Jersey
coast where Cape May is situated.
CAPER-JUICE. A slang
slang term
whiskey.
for
Say, fellers, let's take a leetle mo' uv the
CAPER JUICE. [They drink again. Sam
and the girl exchange affectionate glances.]
-Portland Transcript, February 29, 1888.
CAPERS.-To CUT CAPERS.-To in-
dulge in frolicsome mirth.-See CUT.
CAPPER (Cant).-A confederate; at
cards one who, in order to en-
courage a genuine player, makes
false bids with the object
object of
deceiving. (2) (Trade). In
auctioneer's slang, a capper is a
man or woman who acts as a
dummy bidder, the object being
either to start the bidding upon,
or to enhance the price of articles
put up for sale. Some of the less
reputable firms regularly employ
men and women for these purposes.
CAP SHEAF.-THAT'S THE CAP SHEAF.
-An idiom (drawn from the well-
known capping sheaf of straw
which used to decorate the top of
a stack) signifying pre-eminence
and superiority. Its figurative use
is mainly confined to the States;
where, however, it is one of the
most familiar figures of speech to
denote quantity or quality by
comparison with a similar object.
Captain
CAPTAIN. The conductor or guard of
a train. This official, on whom
devolves the chief responsibility for
the safety and general management
of a train, is, in America, often
addressed as captain-an analogy
being drawn from the phraseology
of rail and water traffic.
America the terminology of the
latter has been almost universally
adopted to describe many phases
of the former.
In
CAPTAIN'S BEAT.-A Southern mili-
tary expression, denoting the resi-
dential limits of a company.
The
same boundaries are used for voting
purposes.
CAPTION.
"}
- An American journalist
heading,"
"
or
rarely gives a
"title"
to his literary efforts; he
prefers to place them on a quasi-
legal footing, and, therefore, pre-
faces them with a caption instead.
The term is applied indifferently
to the heading of a chapter, section,
or page, even the cross-titles with
which transatlantic editors are so
fond of breaking up their articles
being thus designated.
The projected edifice I am about to speak
of is, therefore, properly named in my
CAPTION as a new Beecher Church.—Mark
Twain's Sketches II., 25.
The captions of most American
newspapers are marvels of imagi-
native effort. The following are a
few taken hap-hazard from a single
issue of the New York Mail and
Express, of May 4, 1887-" Pretty
Lillian Talks Pertly: She appears
Before a Referee and Unblushingly
Tells Him that Her Diamonds are
all Paste"
"Jersey News Nug-
gets"; Round about town
Saved by a woman with a sun-
bonnet 'Found on Staten Is-
·
•
(
land"; "News in small packages
Delicacies in Market "
"
"In a
hurry to bury his wife":"The
123
Caravan
woman who died in the car"
He would get drunk, so he died.'
CAR.
·
A railway coach. These ve-
hicles are almost universally built
upon the Pullman system, and the
long through trains, on which it is
possible in going from East to
West to spend a week or more,
comprise really palatial dining,
smoking, sleeping, and drawing-
room, besides mail, baggage and
other specially denominated cars;
in short these trains are more like
first-class hotels running on wheels
than anything else. A similar
difference of phraseology is notice-
able in the manner in which an
Englishman and an American
speak of their intention to adopt this
method of travelling. The former
goes by train" or "travels by
rail"; the latter "
goes by" or
"takes the cars." It is singular,
however, that although a divergence
exists in this respect, the practice
as regards tramway cars is identical
in both countries.
"
It is questionable whether there is a better
road in the world than the Burlington,
Quincy, and Missouri Railroad with its
dining CARS, Smoking CARS, and conversation
CARS.-New York Herald, 1888.
CAR-BRAKE. The ordinary
brake used to diminish speed.-
CAR-HOUSE.-A covered shed for
protecting railway carriages from
the weather when not in use.
CARAMEL, TO.-In sugar manufacture
in Louisiana, to "burn" the cane
juice by a careless application of
heat.
He seeks to keep the temperature down to
130°. If it is too high some of the sucrose
will 'invert' or CARAMEL into glucose,
and the proportion of sugar will be lessened.
-Century Magazine, 1887.
CARAVAN.-The caravans of the New
World differed little in point of
composition from those of the Old.
Carbonado
Those about to take a journey in
the same direction placed them-
selves for mutual safety under the
direction of an experienced guide,
who also undertook the general
management of affairs whilst the
association continued. In the early
days it was only by means of
caravans that communication was
maintained between the old settle-
ments and the new colonies which
were continually being planted
farther and farther afield. Now,
however, the iron horse has sup-
planted the pack mule and the
PRAIRIE SCHOONER (q.v.), and it is
only in the South-west and some
portions of the Rockies that this
institution now survives. In New
Mexico it is also called by its Spanish
name CONDUCTA (q.v.). Caravan has
come down from the Persian karwan,
through the French caravane, hav-
ing in its peregrinations nearly
made the circuit of the globe.
CARBONADO, To.-A Southern term,
of Spanish descent, signifying to
boil or to cook over a coal fire.
CARCAJOU (Meles labradorica.)- The
American badger. Its scientific
name is a misnomer since it is not
found in Labrador.
CARDINAL (Cant).-A lobster; from
its color when cooked. CARDI-
NAL HASH.A lobster salad.
CARDS. TO GIVE ONE CARDS.-A slang
expression borrowed from the gam-
ing table, signifying to give an
advantage. The English equiva-
lent "to give points" is derived
from the billiard saloon.
You know that Artie is more or less of a
masher, and can turn off a hundred yards
in pretty quick time, but he found a China-
man out in 'Frisco who could give him
CARDS and spades and beat him out.-Grip
(Toronto), May, 1888.
124
Carolina Allspice
THAT'S A SURE CARD sounds
uncommonly like modern slang,
but as Lowell has pointed out it is
to be found in the old interlude of
Thursytes (1537). The ex-
pression signifies a certainty.
(
}}
CARE. I DON'T CARE IF I DO.—A slang
street phrase meaning nothing in
particular, but which, like yoU BET,
HOW IS THAT FOR HIGH, was, for a
time, tacked on to almost every
assertion in a most reckless fashion.
Volapuk will never be popular in Ken-
tucky. It contains no sentence to take the
place of that classic phrase, I DON'T CARE
IF I DO.-New York Tribune, 1888.
CAREER. TO MAKE A CAREER.To
become famous.
Minnie Palmer has made the CAREER
rapidly. She is now both rich and famous,
and not a line of her early beauty has been
obliterated.-Detroit Free Press, 1888.
11
CARF.-A "blaze or mark made on
a tree destined to be felled.
CARIBOU
(Rangifer_caribou).
caribou).-The
American reindeer, of which there
are supposed to be two varieties,
the barren ground and the wood-
land caribou, though some authori-
ties regard them as the same
animal.
"
CARLICUES, CURLYCUES.-A fancifully-
formed word, from curley" and
'queue," and used to designate
boyish tricks and capers, and fan-
tastic ornamentation, whether of a
person or thing. To cUT CUR-
LYCUES. To cut capers.
CAROLINA ALLSPICE.-Sce ALLSPICE.
CAROLINA PINK (Spigelia mari-
landica).-The PINK ROOT of Mary-
land which, further South, is popu-
larly known as the Carolina pink.
This plant is much esteemed,
Carom
medicinally as a purgative and
vermifuge. It also bears beauti-
ful flowers.- CAROLINA POTATO
(Convolvulus batata). The sweet
potato of the tropical portions of
America.
CAROM. The "cannon" of billiards,
the latter being a mere corruption.
Hoyle describes it as the act of
hitting two balls at once with the
ball struck by the cue.
The balls had a fashion of always stopping
under the cushions, and we accomplished
very little in the way of CAROMS.-Mark
Twain's Innocents Abroad.
Cushion CAROMS is the only game that they
could come near us on, and the proposition is
that we play 1,000 points, 500 a night.—
Missouri Republican, February 16, 1888.
CARPET-BAGGER.-After
the Civil
War, numbers of Northerners went
South, some with honest intent,
others with the hope of profit from
irregular means. They were for
the most part looked upon with
suspicion by Southerners, and as
they were generally Republican
in politics and affiliated with the
freedmen at the polls, a carpet
bagger came to have,
to have, and still
retains a political significance.
It
a
was unjustly applied in an
opprobrious sense to many well-
meaning men, but at the same
time it admirably fitted the great
horde of corrupt adventurers
who at that time infested the
South. Originally, however,
carpet - bagger was a "wild - cat
banker" in the West. A banker,
that is, who had no local abiding
place, and could not be found when
wanted, his worldly possessions
being literally comprised within a
carpet bag.
The head of the ticket is one of the most
vulnerable men who figured in Southern
politics in the CARPET-BAG era. No man of
that period left a blacker record.—Chicago
Inter-Ocean, 1888.
125
Carry
-CARPET SWEEPER.-An Ameri-
can invention for sweeping carpets.
It is a kind of revolving brush and
is enclosed in a case, thus prevent-
ing the flying about of the dust.
CARPET WEED (Mollugo).—A quick
growing and compact weed which
rapidly covers the ground as with
a carpet.
CARRY. An equivalent of the French
portage the space over which, to
avoid rapids, canoes are carried.
The term is well understood through-
out the States, and is applied cor-
rectly to any strip of land between
two navigable rivers or their head
waters; in fact, any break in a
chain of water navigation over
which canoes and stores have to be
carried on men's backs.. To
CARRY.-In Virginia and the South,
cattle are carried instead of led to
the water. A curious inversion
of this usage is quoted by Sir
Richard Phillips as provincial in
England. For example, in Shef-
field they lead hay, corn, coals,
and almost everything which
elsewhere is carried or carted.
CARRY ALL.-A family coach run-
ning on four wheels. So applied
in the Northern States, but, in
Canada, where the term is sup-
posed to have had its origin, a
sledge is also thus named.
Thought to be a corruption of the
French carriole.--CARRY LOG.-
A rough contrivance on wheels
used in timber transport.
CARRY ME BACK!-A catch-phrase
borrowed from an old negro song.
"Oh carry me back to ole Virginny,
To ole Virginny's shore.'
It is used idiomatically
request to be excused from
accepting as true any marvel-
lous or incredulous statement.
TO CARRY
STOCK. To hold
stock for a client's account. A
Wall Street phrase.
as
a
Cartman
CARTMAN.-A carter; the driver of a
cart. A New York term; the " t
is not sounded.
CASA.-A Country house; its
use
in this sense is general. The
Spaniards, from whom it was bor-
rowed, thus distinctively employed
the word, which originally signified
a house of any kind.
un-
CASH.-EQUAL TO CASH.-Of
doubted merit. An idiom, no
doubt allusive to the fact that
paper currency is largely the
medium of exchange.
Though I say it, that shouldn't say it, they
[the U. S. Americans] fairly take the shine
off creation-they are actilly EQUAL TO CASH.
-Sam Slick's Clockmaker.
CASHAW.-The Algonkin Indian name
for a pumpkin. In the West it
takes the form of KERSHAW.
CASSAREEP.-A sauce made from the
poisonous juice of the cassava
root boiled down to the consistence
of treacle. The process of boiling
deprives it of its noxious qualities,
and it then forms a very highly-
flavored but
relish.
pleasant
Cassareep is the foundation of
most manufactured sauces, and
for this purpose is largely exported
to England.
The Indian woman who heads a house-
hold has charge of the earthenware pepper-
pot, the contents of which consist of red
peppers boiled with CASSAREEP and water
into a sort of fiery soup. Into this they
dip their cassava bread before eating it,
and thus obtain a highly-flavored relish.—
Brown's Canoe and Camp Life.
CASSAVA (Fathropha manihot).-The
root of this plant serves a variety of
purposes. From it the tapioca and
mandioca of commerce are ob-
tained; whilst CASSAREEP (q.v.) is a
product of the poisonous juices of
the root. It is, however, mainly
126
Castle Garden
used for making cassava bread, one
of the chief food-staples of tropical
America. The process of manu-
facture is, according to Brown, a
recent traveller in British Guiana,
rather a slow one.
The roots, after being peeled, are grated
on boards into which small sharp angular
pieces of stone have been inserted. The
grated mass is then placed in a long cylin-
drical basket-work tube by which all the
poisonous juice of the CASSAVA is got rid of,
leaving a white coarse meal behind. This
meal is sifted through a basket-work sieve,
then spread upon a large flat stone or iron.
pan placed over a fire, and baked. Only
half-a-minute is taken to bake a cake two
feet in diameter and a quarter of an inch
thick-the usual size of CASSAVA bread of
Indian manufacture. The heat has the
power of making each grain adhere to those
around it, thus forming a firm and exceed-
ingly nutritious cake. Eaten just after it is
cooked-when still warm-it is palatable,
but if kept to the following day, it becomes
tough and almost tasteless. On the contrary,
if dried for a few hours in the sun, upon the
same day that it is cooked, it becomes hard
and crisp, and has a sweet nutty flavor, and
will keep for months.
CASTAÑAS (pronounced Castanyas).—
This, the Spanish name for chest-
nuts, is applied, alike in Texas and
the South-west, to the JACK-FRUIT
(Artocarpus integrifolia) and to the
edible fruit of the SCREW PINE
(Pandanus).
CASTEN.-An old form for "cast."
The old English past participle
termination en has survived in
many words until quite recently
in the New England States, and
such forms as "gotten," 'bough-
ten," putten," etc., are even now
not infrequently heard.
"
CASTLE GARDEN. The well-known
depôt at New York, through which
all emigrants, landing at that city,
pass before being distributed to
various parts of the country.
Castle Garden, New York, was originally
laid out as a rough fortification, at the most
southern part of Manhattan Island, in 1616.
Castoria
It was subsequently known as Fort Nassau;
then, under the Dutch, as Fort William. It
was surrendered by the Dutch to the Eng-
lish, and then christened Fort James. It
took the name of Castle Garden soon after
the breaking out of the Revolution. It was
built for and used as a fortification. In 1847
it was opened as a place of amusement, and
for a number of years was occupied as such.
Jenny Lind made her first appearance in
America there, under the management of
P. T. Barnum, Sept. 11, 1850. The cele-
brated Julien concerts were also given there.
During the summers of 1851, 1852, and 1853
several noted operatic artists appeared there
under the management of Max Maretzek. It
has been occupied as an emigrant landing
depot since August, 1855.-The Colonist
(Victoria B.C.), 1888.
CASTORIA. A preparation of castor
oil, inoffensive to the taste and
smell.
CASTOR TREE (Magnolia glauca).—Also
called, in the West, the BEAVER
TREE, its alternative appellation
being derived from the scientific
name of the beaver (Castor ameri-
canus), which feeds upon the bark,
and uses the wood of this tree in
constructing its dams.
CASWASH.-See CACHUNK.
CAT OF CATFISH (Pimelodus).-Perhaps
the most common fish in the States,
and certainly the one which enjoys
the greatest number of aliases. The
negroes, especially in the South,
call it the catty, but its most popu-
lar name is simply cat. Amongst
other names may be mentioned
BULL-HEAD and HORNED POUT,
from its thick head
head and long
antennæ ; MUD POUT, from its
being found in the mud; and
MINISTER, from its black color. In
the large rivers they grow to an
immense size.
About the first thing we done was to bait
one of the big hooks with a skinned rabbit,
and set it and catch a CAT-FISH that was as
big as a man, being six foot two inches long,
and weighed over two hundred pounds.-
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 84.
127
Catalpa
[Dodge says that] In the purer streams of
the plains is found a beautiful species of
CAT-FISH, called in some parts the lady
cat, and in others the channel cat. Its
maximum weight is about three pounds.
The spines on the pectoral fins are un-
usually developed and inflict a most
painful wound. The body is long and taper-
ing, covered at irregular intervals with
small black spots, like trout; its head is
narrow, and mouth very small for a CAT-
FISH; it has few bones and is most delicate
and delicious food. The best bait is a small
piece of the white fish.
Unlike
other CATS, it is very dilatory in its biting,
nibbling a long time before taking a good
hold. It is very strong and active, and,
when hooked, makes almost as good a fight
as a bass or trout of equal weight. It is the
trout of CAT-FISH.
4
To CAT.-To fish for CATFISH.
CATFISH WITH LEGS. The
siredon, a species of lizard. A
plainsman's term.- AS SICK AS A
CAT. The usual English simile as
SICK AS A DOG, for excessive
vomiting or qualmishness is not
often heard across the Atlantic;
as sick as a cat replaces it. -CAT-
O'-NINE-TAILS.-A kind of bullrush.
It swayed back and forwards like a stalk
of rye or a CAT-O'-NINE-TAILS with a
bobolink on it.-Oliver Wendell Holmes'
Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.
CAT'S FOOT!-A New England
ejaculation equivalent to the
English colloquial "stuff and
nonsense!" CAT-NAP.-This is
given by Lowell as a short doze.
CAT-STICK.-A small stick; or
in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Maryland, and further South the
term is applied to firewood.
CATALPA (The Bignonia catalpa of
Linnæus).—Catalpa is the Indian
name of an extremely ornamental
tree possessing broad, large leaves
and gorgeous clusters of flowers,
white and red in colour. It attains
no great age, and its timber is of
little account. A native of the
Middle and Southern States, it was
discovered in South Carolina in
1726 by Catesby.
Catamount
CATAMOUNT (Felis concolor). The
popular name of animals of the
feline species, as, for example the
cougar, the puma, and the panther.
Authorities differ as to whether
catamount is derived
derived from the
Spanish gato, a cat, and monte, a
mountain; or whether its true
origin is to be found in the "cat-a-
mountain " of Beaumont and
Fletcher, Pope, and Arbuthnot; in
which latter case catamount is
simply a contraction. The animal
itself, under whatever name it is
known, has a range from the sub-
tropical States to Cape Horn.
At that, the boys took arter them full
chisel, and the galls run off as if a CATAMOUNT
had been arter them.-Downing's May Day in
New York, p. 46.
CATAWAMPTIOUSLY.
With avidity;
fierce eagerness.
A negro deriva-
tive from CATAMOUNT, and founded
on the ferocity exhibited by animals
of that species in attacking their
prey.
In the South-west the
simile like a catamount attack-
ing a coon is part of the popular
speech, and from this is obtained
TO BE CALAWAMPTIOUSLY CHAWED
UP, an idiom signifying complete
annihilation.
It
128
Catercornered
fact, into the language of slang of
the Latin word "apprehend -a
rendering which shows a keen
appreciation in off-hand fashion of
the real gist of the idea thus con-
veyed. The idiom, vulgar though
it be, is very popularly colloquial,
and occurs in many different con-
nections.
'Sah?' responded the woolly-headed dar-
key, rubbing his heavy eyes.
I'm going through to Denver with Bill to-
morrow.' (Bill was one of the drivers on the
stage line; the other was Si-abbreviated
from Silas.) The postmaster continued:
'You an' Francis Murphy keep awake part
o' the time, an' sorter watch things while
I'm gone. Do yer KETCH on '?
'Yes, in course, sah.'-Portland Transcript,
March 14, 1888.
'That was an awful blizzard you had
there' (in Dakota).
'It was that.'
'Were you in it?
}
'I started to go out, but went back, and a
little ring of us played billiards nearly all the
time for three days. It was awful, sir-just
awful. I hope never to see another while I
live.'
'I-I don't exactly CATCH ON,' stammered
the clerk.
'Why, three extra days was twelve dollars,
wasn't it, saying nothing of cigars, drinks
and billiards? No, sir. The reports have
not been exaggerated in the slightest. It was
simply awful-awful. Give me a second
floor front, please.-Western Rural, 1888.
Like most slang expressions, the
original meaning is frequently en-
larged. To catch on has likewise
come to signify a capacity to
quickly grasp an opportunity and
turn it to advantage.
No one will deny that the managers of The
Boston Globe are enterprising; they have a
faculty of CATCHING ON, as the boys say, and
when there is no opportunity open to them
they make an opportunity.-Peabody Reporter,
CATAWBA GRAPE (Vitis labrusca).-The
indigenous grape of North America,
its name being derived from the
Indians in whose haunts this
variety was first discovered.
has since been hybridized with
European varieties. No grape is
so luscious when well ripened and
free from rot.
1888.
It ripens somewhat
too late, unless it is placed in a
southern exposure, and when in
perfection it leads in prices.
CATCH.-TO CATCH ON to a thing is
to understand it; to grasp its
meaning. A literal translation, in
TO CATCH UP.-In prairie par-
lance to prepare for a start. "Lave!"
(Fr., levez-vous) is also employed
with the same meaning.
CATERCORNERED. De Vere quotes
this as a very common term in Vir-
Cattle
ginia and the South, evidently
derived from the French quatre, as
in cater, the four of dice, etc.; and
in cater-cousin. The word occurs
in Carr's Craven Glossary, and
Grose has a similar word, cater-cross.
You must go cater-cross the field,
Kent." (Sub voce.)
CATTLE.-In America the term cattle
is never, as is sometimes the case
in England, applied to horses or
animals other than those of the
bovine species.-CATTLE MARK.
—A proprietor's brand placed upon
cattle.-See BRANDS and ROUND up.
-Cattle pen, or simply PEN,
is the name given, in Jamaica,
to land used for grazing purposes,
being the counterpart of the
Western ranch and the Kentucky
cattle range.
CATTLE RAISER.—
A grazier on a large scale; also
called, when very rich, a CATTLE
KING.
Of the sixty beeves slaughtered daily in
Matamoras, three-fourths are stolen from
Texas. It costs the Texas CATTLE-RAISERS
339,500 dols. per annum to feed that one
Mexican Town.-San Francisco Weekly
Bulletin, 1888.
Anything more foolish than the demagogic
outcry against CATTLE KINGS it would be
difficult to imagine. Indeed, there are very
few businesses so absolutely legitimate as
stock-raising, and so beneficial to the nation
at large. Ranch Life in the Far West.
-CATTLE RANGE.-Parks, even
those attached to country resi-
dences, are so called in Kentucky ;
this State is famous for its pasture
and grazing lands.
CATTY. The CAT (q.v.).
CAUCUS.-A
A meeting of partisans,
congressional or otherwise, to de-
cide upon the action to be taken
by the party. The word is said to
have been used as early as 1724
(Gordon's History of American Re-
volution), and Dr. Trumbull, of
129
Caution
Hartford, derives it from the
Indian cau-cau-as-ic, one who advises.
This in view of its undoubted trans-
atlantic origin seems a far more
likely derivation than that given by
both Bartlett and De Vere (and Dr.
Brewer in Phrase and Fable has
followed them) to the effect that
its derivation may be sought in the
meetings held by ship caulkers to
discuss grievances and suggest
remedies when on strike. It cer-
tainly appears very unlikely that
such trade combinations were
known at that time, especially in a
new country like America.
word has now become part and
parcel of political cant wherever
English is spoken. In England it
is generally associated with
private assembly of politicians, but
in America this is not necessarily
the case, but, says Procter, as it is
generally to perpetrate some ras-
cality the term has an unpleasant
sound in American ears. Hence
ANTI-CAUCUS to signify those op-
posed to the control of elections by
these private committees.
The
a
. be-
Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay.
came candidates for president in defiance
of the CAUCUS. Mr. Calhoun finally with-
drew, and received the votes of nearly all
the ANTI-CAUCUS men for vice-president.-
New York Times, 1888.
CAUSALTY.
"casualty."
A corruption of
CAUTION.-A CAUTION TO SNAKES, i.e.,
a warning. The expression is
purely slang, and anything that
causes surprise, wonder, fear, or
indeed any unusual sensation, or
anything out of the common,
seems, in the vulgar tongue, to be
a caution" to this, that, and the
other. To be a caution to snakes,
however, bears the palm. Major
Downing, in Mayday in New York,
says: "There is a plaguy sight of
folks in America, and the way they
17
Cavalieress
swallow down the cheap books is' a
caution to old rags and paper-makers.'
Another writer (Thorpe's Mysteries
of the Backwoods), describing the
piano, winds up with the assertion
that the way some dear creatures
could pull music out of it was "a
caution to hoarse owls"; and in yet
another place we read that the
way the old bear caved around
and roared was "a caution to snakes."
CAUTIONARY. Phenomenal.
From the slang expression, "a
caution."
P
Well, the way the cow cut dirt was
CAUTIONARY; she cleared stumps, ditches,
windfalls, and everything.-Sam Slick in
England.
CAVALIERESS.-A horsewoman. Prob-
ably one of Mark Twain's in-
dividualisms. In the Innocents
at Home, he speaks of the white
folks at Honolulu having "to stay
in doors, for every street was....
packed with charging cavaliers
and CAVALIERESSES. (From
Latin caballus).
CAVALLARD Otherwise CABALLADA(q.v.).
―
CAVE. TO CAVE IN. This term,
derived from a practice of navvies
in digging earthworks, when the
lower part is undermined until it
can no longer sustain the over-
hanging mass, has become, in
America, a phrase to indicate
giving way, when opposition can no
longer be maintained; to break
down; to give up. A bank caves in
when it stops payment; fortunes
cave in when riches take wings; and
when a man threatens to cave in his
opponent's head, he simply means.
that he will break it. These and other
playfully idiomatic shades of
meaning have gathered round the
primary signification.
I kin CAVE IN enny man's head that, etc.—
Artemus Ward, His Book.
130
Cayman
In the meantime the tropical sun was
beating down and threatening to CAVE the
top of my head in.-Mark Twain's Innocents
at Home.
CAVENDISH.A well-known brand of
tobacco; also called NEGRO-HEAD.
CAVERN LIME-STONE.-A carboniferous
deposit of lime-stone in Kentucky,
popularly so called from the large
number of caves and holes with
which it abounds.
CAVESON.-Of French extraction
(caveçon); this is the name given,
in New England, to the muzzle of
a horse.
CAVORT, TO.-To prance; to move
about quickly. Probably derived
from the Lingua Franca cavolta, a
prancing about on horseback. Some,
however, derive it from "curvet-
ting," a capering about to show off;
but whichever derivation is the
true one, or whether it comes from
the Spanish cavar, the proud paw-
ing of a spirited horse; or from
the French courbetter-in any case
it has come to mean colloquially a
running or riding around in a heed-
less, purposeless manner.
He lunged and plunged, and wheezed and
squeezed, and snorted and CAVORTED-till
he was wedged, jammed in so tightly, that to
move an inch backward or forward was
simply impossible.—American Humorist, May
26, 1888.
A sailor named Jones jumped over after him,
and after CAVORTING around about an hour
or so succeeded in getting the miserable
little scion of a worthless sire on board
again.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
CAWHALUX!-Supposed to be an imi-
tation of the sound produced in
boxing the ears.
CAYMAN.-The Indian name of the
American alligator.
Cayote
CAYOTE OF COYOTE (Canis lactrans).-
The prairie wolf, which, in Mexico,
is called by its Aztek name coyotl.
This animal is of the size of a
pointer; like the wolf they hunt
in packs and are much less
fearless; and like the fox they
live in burrows. Mark Twain
describes this animal somewhat
humorously.
The CAYOTE is a long, slim, sick- and
sorry-looking skeleton, with a gray wolf-skin
stretched over it, a tolerably bushy tail that
for ever sags down with a despairing ex-
pression of forsakeness and misery, a
furtive and evil eye, and a long, sharp face,
with slightly lifted lip and exposed teeth.
He has a general slinking expression all
over. The CAYOTE is a living, breathing
allegory of want. He is always hungry.
He is always poor, out of luck, and friendless.
[Dodge, in his Plains of the Great West (p.
209), says]:-The COYOTE proper I have
never seen except in Texas and Mexico. It
is a miserable little cur of an animal,
scarcely larger than a fox,
To
CAYOTE Or COYOTE.
From the habit of the coyote living
in burrows has been derived the
verb to coyote, used in California
in the sense of to sink a shaft;
these shafts are sometimes called
coyote diggings.
CAYUSE.-A Common Indian pony;
called also THE
YACHT OF THE
PRAIRIE on the same principle as
the camel is the ship of the de-
sert. These horses, thought to be
the degenerate of English, as the
mustang is of Spanish horses, are
largely used by Indians. Their
powers of endurance are remark-
able, as also are some of their other
qualities.
'How far will he carry me in a day, I ask?'
'As far as you can ride him,' answers the
Owner.
'Does he buck?' 'Every CAYUSE bucks!'
'Does he bite?' 'Of course he bites!'
'Kick?' 'Kicks!' I had learned enough
to start on.-A Cruise on a Cayuse, in Over-
land Monthly, 1886.
Cayuse has now come to be used in
131
Cent
a depreciative sense, being applied
to any poor, broken-down jade.
'CAZE.-The same as BECAISE (q.v.).
the
CEDAR. This name is erroneously
given to trees other than
genuine species, and more particu-
larly, under the name of WHITE
CEDAR, to a cypress (Cypressus
thyoides). The RED CEDAR is a
juniper (Juniperus virginiana).
The CEDAR SWAMPS of the South,
unlike the mere swampy marshes
of the North, are low-lying grounds
mainly under water; these are
also called CEDAR BRAKES.
CELESTIAL.—A Chinaman, or, when
used adjectively, pertaining to the
Celestial-i.c., Chinese Empire.
CENT. A small copper coin worth
the hundredth part of a dollar, and
almost equivalent in value to a
halfpenny. In some parts, notably
the West of New England, this
coin is called
a penny;
but
whether this practice is a survival,
or a mere vulgarism, is not quite
clear; in
case
any
it is
inaccuracy. CENT SHOP. A
small shop, in which articles may
be bought to the value of a cent.
Hawthorne, in The House of the
Seven Gables, speaks of the mistress
of the Pyncheon house being "re-
duced now in that very house to
be the hucksteress of a cent shop."
an
-
-NOT TO CARE A CENT, or NOT
WORTH A CENT; to care very little
or not at all, to be worth little or
nothing.
Boarder 'I don't know what's the matter
with me, but I haven't been able to eat
WORTH A CENT since I came to this house.'
Landlady-Were you a museum freak
before you lost your appetite? '—Nebraska
State Journal, May, 1883.
'Don't fire,' sez Joe, 'it ain't no use,
Thet's Deacon Peleg's tame wil'-goose:
Seys Isrel, I DON'T CARE A CENT,
I've sighted an' I'll let her went.'
-Biglow Papers.
Centralization
The Providence liquor-dealers sent an
emissary to this city to see if they could
not work up some enthusiasm for Barnaby;
but the dealers here would not enthuse
WORTH A CENT.-Providence Journal.
CENTRALIZATION--The political creed
which favors large powers for the
general government, as opposed to
the limitation of State rights.
CENTRE-BOARD.
This invention
claims an American birth; it consists
of an arrangement by which the keel
of a small craft can be let up and
down, thereby affecting the speed,
and permitting a vessel to ply in
waters otherwise too shallow. The
device is now largely adopted by
English shipwrights.
CENTRICAL.- -A
synonym of
cen-
tral," which, in some districts, es-
pecially Virginia, is preferred to
the more common expression.
Scott seems to have used it largely,
but otherwise the word is in little
vogue in England; its use, collo-
quially, savoring somewhat of
pedantry.
CERNEAU MASONRY.-From Joseph
Cerneau, who, born at Villeblerin,
in France, in 1763, emigrated to
America, and, in 1812, established
a body called the "Sovereign Grand
Consistory of the United States of
America." For this Cerneau was
expelled by the Supreme Grand
Council, Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite, sitting at Charles-
town, South Carolina, in 1813.
There are still many Cerneau
masons, in Ohio, where, quite
recently (1888), there has been
considerable agitation on the ques-
tion of the legitimacy of the
so-called Cerneau Scottish Rite,
the result being that the Grand
Commandery and the Grand Lodge
have issued their edicts that mem-
bers who affiliate with the Cerneau
132
Chance
Scottish Rite Masons shall not be
allowed to hold office.
CERTIFIED. Certain.-In Sam Slick's
Clockmaker occurs the phrase, “I
ain't quite certified we shan't have
a tower [tour] in Europe yet."
CHAINED LIGHTNING.--(1) Whiskey of
the vilest description-a spirit that,
with a horrible cynicism, a Western
man says is warranted to kill at
forty rods. Hence a synonym
FORTY ROD LIGHTNING. The brutal
irony enshrined in the slang names
of the wretchedly bad and fiery
spirit which, in the West, does duty
for whiskey, is very suggestive.
Amongst others may be named
STONE-FENCE, RAILROAD and ROT-
(2) The Western man
never speaks of "forked" lightning;
he calls it chained lightning.
GUT.
CHAIRWOMAN.-A title similar in for-
mation to ALDER-WOMAN, CLERGY-
WOMAN, etc. (q.v.)—all products of
an advanced civilization.
CHALK TALK.—A new name for a
variation of an old amusement.
This consists in illustrating a sub-
ject by means of a black-board and
chalk. A skilful artist will produce
his drawings with extraordinary
rapidity lightning sketches,"
usually of an amusing, comic,
or satirical character. So also
CHALK-TALKER.
Rolo Byron, the celebrated CHALK-TALKER,
entertained a fair-sized audience this even-
ing on prohibition.-St. Paul and Minneapolis
Pioneer Press, July 22, 1888.
"
CHANCE, TO. (1) A shade of mean-
ing other than the legitimate ones
of
to happen or come unex-
pectedly has been applied, first
in the States, and then in England,
to this word, in the sense of to
risk, e.g., "I'll chance that." Now
Change
-(2)
very commonly colloquial.
A chance in the South signifies a
quantity; a supply; or portion.
CHANGE. TO MEET WITH A CHANGE,
i.c., in the cant of certain sections
of religionists, to be "convicted of
sin";
'struck under conviction ";
"to get religion "-all phrases in-
tended to signify a new state of
mind, and a change as regards the
motive power regulating one's life
conduct.
CHAPARAJOS or CHAPARRO.-Trousers
made of stout leather, and stitched
with leather cording. Worn by
cowboys, and other plainsmen.
The term is often curtailed to
CHAPS.
On a board placed on two chairs, lay all
that was mortal of Brooklyn Jim. Clad in
the woollen shirt and blue overalls over
which were the leather CHAPERAJOs of the
cowpuncher, the long fringe hung down on
each side of the board like fringe on a bier.
-Detroit Free Press, July 21, 1888.
CHAPARRAL. A compound word,
from the Spanish chaparra, a
dwarf evergreen oak, and al, a ter-
mination equivalent to "a place
of "; thus, chaparral means
primarily a tract of land covered
with oak thickets or bushes.
Introduced into general use from
Texas and New Mexico, and
applied to any thick tangle of
bramble bushes or thorny shrubs.
in clumps.
He talked about delishis froots, but then it
wuz a wopper all,
The holl on 't's mud an' prickly pears, with
here an' there a CHAPPARAL.
-Biglow Papers.
CHAPS. See CHAPARAJOS.
CHARIVARI.-See CHIRAVARI.
CHARLEY (Cant).-This word, which
in old English slang stood for a
133
Char
watchman, or beadle, and latterly
for a policeman, does duty among
American thieves for a gold watch.
"
CHARM (Cant). A pick lock.
CHARMS.-A slang term for money;
not much used now, but like "John
Davis," Ready John" [or simply
'John" or "Ready"] "Spondu-
lics," "Dooteroomus" [or "doot"]
tow," "wad," hard stuff" [or
hard"] "dirt," "shin-plasters
[or "plasters"] "wherewith,"
"shadscales" [or "scales"] dye
stuffs," "stamps " etc., has had a
vogue.
[
"
((
CHARTER-OAK CITY.-Hartford, Con-
necticut. This singular cognomen
is supposed to have been derived
from a large oak, in the cavity of
which the Charter of the colony of
Connecticut was concealed by the
Legislature when King James II., in
1698, sent Sir Edmund Andros to
demand its restitution, when that
king determined to withdraw the
privileges conferred by such a
document.
CHATES (Cant).-The gallows.
CHATTY FEEDER (Cant).-A spoon.
CHAW, TO.-An old English word,
still in popular use, for "to chew,"
in many parts of the States;
except as a provincialism, or as
slang, chaw has, in England, been
supplanted by its more modern
form. Tobacco is chawed by the
quid, or mouthful. TO CHAW
UP has a slang sense in America-
"to demolish"; or "discomfit."
-To CHAW UP ONE'S WORDS.-
To retract an assertion; or, as
English people would put it, "to eat
one's words." CHAWING GUM.-
Gum prepared for mastication.
You ought never to take your little brother's
CHAWING GUM away from him by main force;
Cheat
it is better to rope him in with a promise.-
Mark Twain's Sketches.
CHEAT. The popular name of the
Bromus scalinus or CHESS (q.v.).
CHEBACCO BOAT.-A craft used in the
cod-fisheries of Newfoundland,
which derives its specific name
from the fact that this class of
vessel was, at one time, largely
built and fitted out at Chebacco,
Ipswich, Mass. The
sometimes corrupted into TOBACCO-
BOAT, a transition readily under-
stood. Also called PINK-STERN.
name is
CHECK. (1) A Pennsylvanian term
for an inpromptu cold meal.
(2) A ticket.
The priest was engaged in disposing of
admission CHECKS to a church fair, to tran-
spire the following Saturday, and hoping the
sooner to get rid of him, and despite the
utter impossibility that he would be present
at the diversion, McKenna purchased a
ticket. Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires and
Detectives.
"
TO CHECK, equivalent to the
English to book,' e.g., Mark
Twain in his Curious Pleasure Excur-
sion, speaks of baggage being
checked through to any part of the
route. Also to give tallies or other
receipts for personal impedimenta
when left
left in cloak - rooms and
similar offices.
One of the excursionists from Northern
New York, turning to the man who CHECKS
umbrellas and canes, said:
'What is that great stone affair?'-Ameri-
can Humorist, July 21, 1888.
CHECK CLERK.-The clerk in
charge of a cloak-room, or one em-
ployed in the office at hotels, to
allot rooms to visitors, and to book
their names in the hotel register.
CHECKS.-Money; cash. A
term derived from poker where
counters or checks bought, as one
enters, at certain fixed rates, are
equivalent to current coin. To
134
Checkerberry
PASS IN or CASH ONE'S CHECKS is
a phrase also derived from the
same source and signifies death.
This euphemistic simile is drawn
from the analogy between settling
one's earthly accounts, and the
paying in to the banker of the dues
at the end of the game. De Vere
makes a sad mistake in defining
the meaning of this expression.
Well I owned the mule for several years
after that, and when he finally PASSED IN HIS
CHECKS I gave him as decent a burial as any
pioneer ever got.-New York Sun, 1888.
Do you and each of you solemnly sw'ar
that you will marry each other in the pres-
ence o' this court; that you will do the squar'
thing by each other; that you will give
everybody else the go-by, an' cling to each
other through life till death calls upon you
to cash in your earthly CHECKS, an' that you
will be to each other husban' an' wife, ac-
cordin' to the law an' the prophets, an' the
rules an' regulations o' this honor'ble court,
in sich cases made an' pervided, so help ye
God?-American Humorist, August 11, 1888.
I have heard many stories of hair-breadth
'scapes from buffalo; I have seen railroad
and wagon trains stopped to wait his
pleasure; and as close a shave as I ever
inade to PASSING IN MY CHECKS was from a
buffalo stampede.-Richard Irvine Dodge's
Plains of the Great West.
-CHECK GUERILLA.-A gam-
bling house sponger, who loafs
about for the sake of such small
coins or checks as the frequenters of
such places may think fit to bestow
upon him.— -To PUT A CHECK-
STRAP ON ONE is a phrase drawn
from the training of horses; the
check strap, in cow-boy parlance,
controls the bit in the horse's
mouth. Hence to put a check strap
on an opponent is to adopt such
measures as will enforce the doing
of what is desired.
CHECKERBERRY, or CHEQUERBERRY,
also CHICKBERRY (Gaultheria pro-
cumbens). A night, red-colored
aromatic berry. Chickberry is the
New England name for it. Also
called PARTRIDGE-BERRY (q.v.) and
TWINBERRY,
Cheek
The sea air was mingled with the
fragrance of pines, wild flowers, and the
spicy CHECKERBERRY.-Portland Transcript,
1888.
CHEEK. A door-post. Little heard
now, but for a long period this
English provincialism survived in
the States. It is used in the same
sense in the Craven dialect.
CHEESE. THAT'S THE CHEESE.-An
expression signifying "excellent
performance"-"quite the thing."
"
CHEESE IT!-An exclamatory
injunction to stop. The phrase
Now cheese it!" is often heard.
It is doubtful whether this can
be classed as an Americanism.
Authorities, however, differ as to
its birthplace. In the Nation (1876),
it was recorded as a recently intro-
duced Americanism.
CHEESE BOX.-A nickname applied by
Confederates to gunboats of the
MONITOR TYPE (q.v.).
CHEESEPARING.-Tomfoolery.
CHEMILOON.-A feminine article of
underwear, usually known in
England as "combinations," i.e., the
chemise and drawers united in one
garment.
CHERRY (Cant).-A young girl; a
full grown woman is similiarly
called a CHERRY RIPE.
CHESS (Bromus scalinus).—A weed,
similar to oats in appearance.
Growing up amongst wheat and
other grain crops, it proves very
troublesome to the farmer. Vul-
garly but erroneously supposed to
be degenerate wheat. It is nar-
cotic in its effects. Also called
CHEAT,
135
Chestnut
CHEST. CHUCK OUT YOUR CHEST, i.e.,
pull yourself together; stand firm;
keep a stiff upper lip.
CHESTNUT.-An old story; something
that has been frequently said or
done before. As to the variants of
this phrase their name is legion.
The old songs are chestnut songs; he
who would foist a stale joke upon a
company is implored to "
spare the
chestnut tree," "not to rustle the
chestnut leaves," or "set the chestnut
bell a-ringing. Similarly, any-
thing old or out of date is said to
have a chestnutty flavor. According
to the Philadelphia Press, the intro-
duction of the word in its slang
sense is to be attributed to Mr.
William Warren, a veteran Boston
comedian.
It seems that in a melodrama, but little.
known to the present generation, written
by William Dillon, and called 'The Broken
Sword,' there were two characters, one
a Capt. Xavier, and the other the comedy
part of Pablo. The captain is a sort of
Baron Munchausen, and in telling of his
exploits says: 'I entered the woods of
Colloway, when suddenly from the thick
boughs of a cork tree '-Pablo interrupts him
with the words: 'A CHESTNUT, captain, a
CHESTNUT." 'Bah!' replies the captain,
4
Booby, I say a cork tree.' 'A CHESTNUT,
reiterates Pablo, 'I should know as well as
you, having heard you tell the tale these
twenty-seven times.' William Warren, who
had often played the part of Pablo, was at a
stag dinner, when one of the gentlemen
present told a story of doubtful age and
originality. A CHESTNUT,' murmured Mr.
Warren, quoting from the play, 'I have
heard you tell the tale these twenty-seven
times.' The application of the lines pleased
the rest of the table, and when the party
broke up each helped to spread the story
and Mr. Warren's commentary.
"
May I venture to tell the old, old story,
Miss Maud,' he said, tremulously; the old,
old, yet ever new, story of-'
(
C
Pardon me, Mr. Sampson, if I cause you
pain,' interrupted the girl, gently, but to me
the story you wish to tell is a CHESTNUT.'
'A CHESTNUT?
Yes, Mr. Sampson, I'm already engaged;
but I will be a sister'
It isn't as wormy as that one,' murmured
Mr. Sampson, feeling for his hat.-New York
Sum, 1888.
Chetowaik
The large audience, which filled the church
to its utmost capacity, evidently greeted
the question 'Who will take care of the
baby when women vote?' as an old joke, for
they all smiled, some blandly, except one
young gentleman, who looked around in-
quiringly and said in a whisper loud enough
to be overheard: 'Who rings that CHEST-
NUT bell to-night?' But Mrs. Harbert,
with undisturbed gravity, replied: 'Why,
friends, that question was ask and answered
forty years ago.-Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1888.
His favorite song, which he tries to sing
frequently, is 'Sweet Violets,' and the boys
all yell CHESTNUTS when he begins that tune.
-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
CHETOWAIK.-An Indian name for the
plover. The term is used by
Longfellow in his introduction to
Hiawatha.
CHEWALLOP !-Objects falling heavily
to the ground are said to fall che-
Sam Slick used the ex-
wallop.
pression.
I felt .. only one step more [and I]
was over head and ears CHEWALLOP in the
water.-Sam Slick's Clockmaker.
CHEWING GUM. See GUM.
CHEWINK (Pipilo erythrophthalmus).
The ground robin or towhe-bunting
described by P. H. Gosse as a
prettily marked bird, black above,
with white bands on the wings;
the sides are chestnut red, and the
under parts white. Its note is
supposed to resemble the word
towhee," but its name chewink is
also supposed to be derived from
this peculiarity. On Long Island it is
called the TOWHEE GOLDFINCH, and
in Louisiana the GRASSET from its
plump appearance.
CHICHA. A fermented concoction, of
which the ingredients are maize,
pine-apple, banana, and other fruits.
It is sweet to the taste, and is a
favorite drink of West Indian
negroes.
CHICKADEE (Parus atricapillus).—The
blackcap tit. Like many another
136
Chicken-Grape
of its feathered companions it
derives its popular name from its
Elsewhere
peculiar note or cry.
it is known as the HOARY TIT-
MOUSE.
Far distant sounds the hidden CHICADEE,
Close at my side; far distant sound the
leaves.
•
-7. R. Lowell's Indian Summer Reverie.
CHICKAREE (Sciurus hudsonius).—The
red squirrel, its cry having sug-
gested the popular name. The
little animal is common in all the
Northern States.
CHICKASAW PLUM (Prunus chicasa).-
The bush bearing this plum abounds
in the neighbourhood of Red River,
Arkansas, a favorite hunting-ground
of the Chickasaw Indians-hence
its name. The fruit itself is large,
pleasant to the taste, and of a color
varying from a palish pink to dark
crimson.
CHICK-BERRY.-See CHECKER-BERRY.
CHICKEN-FIXINGS.-Formerly a hash,
stew, or fricassee of chicken, but
the term is now applied to any fare
out of the common, and also to
show of any kind. Compare with
COMMON DOINGS.
An extraordinary sight were the countless
waiters, held up to the car-windows at Gor-
donsville by turbaned negro-woinen, filled
with coffee-cups, eggs, and the inevitable
CHICKEN-FIXINGS, which it was henceforth
our fate to meet at every railroad depot, till
we reached New Orleans.-A Trip to the
South.
These preachers dress like big bugs, and
go ridin' about on hundred-dollar horses, a-
spungin' poor priest-ridden folks, and a-eaten
FIXENS so powerful fast that
chickens has got scarce in these diggins.-
Carlton's New Purchase, vol. ii., p. 140.
CHICKEN
-
CHICKEN-GRAPE (Vitis riparia).–
Otherwise called the BERMUDA
VINE, RIVER GRAPE and FROST GRAPE.
Chicken grape is its Southern name.
Chicken-Gumbo
It bears no fruit, but is much
esteemed for its sweet scented
blossoms.
CHICKEN-GUMBO.-A kind of chicken
soup, in which the GUMBO or GOMBO
(q.v.) enters as a component part.
•
a
We
felt staggered rather at
menu at the Windsor Hotel, including such
hitherto unheard of luxuries as CHICKEN-
GUMBO, sheep's-head (a fish), string beans, and
mush; gazed in terror at the pretty jewelled
fingers and white teeth opposite making
short work of a very buttery corn-cob.-
Phillips-Wolley's Trottings of a Tenderfoot,
P. 5.
CHICKWIT.-The BLUE-FISH of Con-
necticut (q.v.).
CHIGOE (Pulex penetrans).
A small
flea that burrows under the toe-
nails, where it forms an egg-bag
almost the size of a small pea. This
has to be extracted with a needle,
for if neglected painful sores are
engendered. It is found in the
West Indies and along the Mexican
coast. The name chigoe has many
variants
JIGGER, NIGUA, CHEGO,
CHIGO, CHIGRE, TUNGUA, PIQUE.
The seed-tick of Kentucky is sup-
posed by some to be the same in-
sect, but this is doubtful, as it does
not cause the same torment by the
growth of the eggs under the skin.
Gosse states of the seed-tick that
they are so numerous and per-
petually present in the South as to
be dignified by a changing nomen-
clature according to age; the first
season they are called seed-ticks,
the next year they become yearling-
ticks, and the third, old-ticks."
Only in the tropics, however, can
the full inconvenience of these
pests be experienced.
CHILD.
THIS CHILD, i.e., one's self;
a mock modest façon de parler.
THIS CHILD has felt like going West for
many a month, being half froze for buffalo
137
China Wedding
meat and mountain doin's.—Ruxton's Far
West.
CHILI, CHILLI.-The American red
pepper. In the plural it refers to
the pods or fruit of the capsicum.
In parts of the country, formerly
under Spanish rule, it is known as
the CHILI COLORADO.
CHILLS and FEVER.-Fever and ague.
CHIMISAL.-A local name in Cali-
fornia, Texas, and Mexico, for the
grease-wood. From the Spanish,
in which chamiza signifies a kind of
wild reed or cane. Bret Harte
describes a man, in an inundation,
rowing on the vast expanse of water
and saying:
With my hands
dipped listlessly over the thwarts I
detected the tops of chimisal, which
showed the tide to have somewhat
fallen."—Luck of Roaring Camp,
p. 229.
"
CHIN (Cant).-A child.——TO CHIN.
-To talk or act impudently or
with brazen effrontery.
Also
CHIN MUSIC.
get CHIN WAG.
In English slang we
Whereupon a young sprig.
•
began
to sass [sauce] the conductor with his CHIN-
MUSIC.—Mark Twain's Gilded Age
And at last, when I stood before the Re-
publican office and looked up at its tall
unsympathetic front, it seemed hardly me
that could have CHINNED its towers ten
minutes before, and was now so shrunk up
and pitiful.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
CHINATOWN.-The Chinese quarter of
San Francisco; the term is now
applied to such localities all over
the Union.
CHINA WEDDING.-The twentieth anni-
versary of a wedding is so called.
-See WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES.
18
Chincapin
The occasion was the twentieth anniver-
sary, or CHINA WEDDING of Mr. and Mrs.
Pope.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 30,
1888.
CHINCAPIN,
CHINQUAPIN. A Pow-
hattan Indian name for the Castanea
pumila.
De Vere quotes a story told of Mr.
Jefferson by his detractors, that in his
desire to import valuable trees and plants
into his native State, he ordered” from
abroad, among other shrubs, a number of
dwarf chestnuts, quoted as Castanea pumila
in botanical catalogues. They came, they
grew, and turned out to be the CHINQUAPIN
of Virginia, a native tree, than which few
are more common in the South.
CHINCE. A marble.
CHINCHE or CHINCH-BUG.- A name
applied not only to the common
domestic nuisance (Cimex lectularius)
but also to an insect, equally offen-
sive, which creates great havoc
among grain crops. The name it-
self is of Spanish derivation. An
Arkansas paper details, among other
inducements to emigrants to settle
in that State, that:
The grasshopper is unknown; likewise
the CHINCHI-BUG. From pests that devour
our crops, from the cold that destroys in
winter and the heat that kills in summer, we
are exempt.-Little Rock Democrat, 1888.
CHINESE. THE CHINESE MUST GO.—
An expression which has recently
acquired new significance in that
the prejudice against the Chinese
has come to a head, and has re-
sulted in the passing of a law to
prevent further immigration into
the States on the part of Celestials.
CHINESE SUGAR CANE. The Sorg-
hum.
CHINK, CHINCE, CHINSE, TO.-To fill
up the long narrow openings or
interstices between the roughly
hewn timber of log cabins. The
material used for this purpose is
138
Chinook
chiefly mud or clay formed into a
kind of plaster or cement. Daub-
ing sometimes follows the last-
named operation, consisting in
making a smooth surface over the
whole by means of the same
material; the complete process is
what is known in the North of
England as filling and daubing.
CHINKERS (Cant).-When handcuffs
are united by a chain they are
called chinkers. The derivation
is obvious.
CHINOOK or CHINOOK JARGON. - A
trade language of Oregon and the
North-west coast-a kind of con-
ventional language like the Lingua
Franca of the Mediterranean, and
the Pidgin English of the East. An
exhaustive report concerning this
philological phenomenon was issued
by the United States Exploring
Expedition during the years 1838-
42. A well-known philologist, Dr.
Horatio Hale, accompanied the
survey, and the following par-
ticulars are obtained from that
source, vol. iii., p. 635, which
indeed is authoritative and com-
plete. The circumstances to which
Chinook owes its origin are probably
as follows:-When the British and
American trading ships first ap-
peared on the coast, about 1760,
they found there many tribes
speaking distinct languages. Had
it chanced that any one of these
had been of easy acquisition, and
very generally diffused, it would no
doubt have been adopted as the
medium of communication between
the whites and the natives. Un-
fortunately all were alike harsh in
pronunciation, complex in structure,
and spoken over a very limited
space. The foreigners, therefore,
took no pains to become acquainted
with any of them. But the exi-
gencies of trade, the headquarters
Chinook
of which were at Nootka, neces-
sarily involved some dialect words
becoming known to the traders;
and, vice versa, some English words
being adopted by the Indians.
These, with signs, sufficed for the
time. Trade soon extended to
the Columbia river, and the traders
attempted to hold communication
with the Chinooks by means of
the Nootka words. The former,
quick to catch sounds, soon
acquired these words, and in 1804
the Jargon was in pretty general
use in the region specified. The
next development occurred when
the whites established themselves
in Oregon and the store of words
was found quite inadequate for
the more general and constant
intercourse. An enlargement of
the language took place by incor-
porating from the native Tshinuk
or Chinook such words as were
requisite, the chief additions being
the numerals, the pronouns, and
about twenty adverbs and prepo-
sitions. The Jargon, or trade
language, then began to assume a
regular shape, and as time went
on received additions from several
other sources. Chief among these
were the Canadian voyageurs, or free
traders of French stock. These
people, more than any others, lived
on terms of the closest familiarity
with the Indians, and, in conse-
quence, they have left a permanent
mark on the slender stock of Jargon
words. What grammarians call
onomatopoeia, or the formation of
words in imitation of sounds, is
also responsible for a few additions
to this strange speech, as e.g., liplip
is intended to express the sound
of boiling water, and means to
boil; tiktik is for a watch; tumtum
stands for heart
for heart and is sup-
posed to represent its beating and
so on. In the phonology of the
language one point is peculiarly
interesting as illustrating the usual
139
Chinook
result of the fusion of two or
more languages-as the Jargon was
spoken by Indians, English and
French, we find no sound not easy
and common to all. The grammati-
cal rules are simple, and of inflec-
tions there are none, but on the other
hand compounds are frequent, as for
example: ship-man, a sailor; stik-
stone, petrified wood, and so on.
A full vocabulary, entitled A Dic-
tionary of the Chinook Jargon, was pub-
lished by George Gibbs, in 1863,
on behalf of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. He estimated the total num-
ber of words at that time at about
500, of which about 160 are French
and English, eighteen of unknown
derivation, and all the others be-
longing to the Chinook and kindred
dialects. These elements have been
slightly modified in the Fargon: the
Indian gutturals are softened or
dropped, and the ƒ and of the
English and French, unpronounce-
able to the Indians, are modified
into and . Grammatical forms
are reduced to their simplest ex-
pression, and variations in mood
and tense are only conveyed by
adverbs or by the context.
Chief Joseph understood a little English
and O'Hara a little CHINOOK. CHINOOK is
the name given to a species of Volapuk that
all Indian tribes in the North-west under-
stand. The CHINOOK language is composed
of 158 (sic) words, and by using it the Hudson
Bay Company could converse with any
Indian tribe from Lake Superior to the Pacific
coast.—Missouri Republican, April 8, 1888.
CHINOOK WIND.-The Chinook
wind is so called by the Indians
of the Columbia River, because it
comes to them from the direction.
of the country of the Chinooks.
An interesting bit of tradition and
information concerning this wind
has been supplied in a report of
Governor Temple, of Washington
Territory, to the Secretary of the
Interior.
[In this report it is described as] A balmy
wind, coming from the Kuro Siwo, or great
Chip In
Japanese current, of the Pacific Ocean. In
the summer it is a cool wind, and tempers
the heat; in the winter it is warm and moist,
and is sometimes slightly odoriferous. Snow
and ice disappear before it with rapidity, and
it seems to blow for long distances between
walls of colder air without parting with its
heat. Sometimes it constitutes an upper
current, in which case the remarkable spec-
tacle is witnessed of snow melting from the
mountain tops while the thermometers in the
valleys register below the freezing point. At
other times it is a surface current, and fol-
lows the valleys and gorges as a flood might
follow them. It seems to bear healing upon
its wings, like Sandalphon, the angel of
prayer, and it is not difficult to conceive why
the Indians have personified it in order to
fix upon it their devotions. This wind
sometimes penetrates as far as the upper
stretches of the Missouri, and even tempers
the air on the plains of Dakota beyond
the Rocky Mountains. Wherever it goes the
chains of winter are unloosed and the ice-
bound rivers are set free. The CHINOOK is the
natural enemy of the odious east wind, and
while, ordinarily, it yields its influence as
gently as the zephyrs that waft the thistle
downs in autumn, still there are times when
the two winds engage in giant conflicts and
fight for supremacy, now in the upper, then
in the lower strata, on the mountains and
in the valleys, alternately driving each other
back and forth. But the combat is never
long, and the victory is always with the
CHINOOK. The inhabitants east of the Cas-
cade mountains, when winter has seized
them and the east wind dashes snow in
their faces, pray for the CHINOOK to come.
Such is the CHINOOK WIND, called by the
natives the blessed wind of the far North-
west.-Report of Governor Temple.
Since writing the last notes from the
Yellowstone National Park the weather here
has been unusually warm and pleasant, with
occasional light snowfalls, but not enough to
add to the depth. The frequent CHINOOKS
have settled the snow faster than it fell,
clearing all the streams of ice and uncover-
ing a great amount of country where the
snow was thin.-Correspondent of Forest
and Stream, March 15, 1888.
CHIP IN, TO. To contribute money
or kind; to join in an undertaking.
He was always for peace, and he would
have peace he could not stand disturbances.
Pard, he was a great loss to this town. It
would please the boys if you could CHIP IN
something like that, and do him justice.-
Mark Twain's The Innocents at Home, p. 22.
A man who won't CHIP IN to charity is
always an object of suspicion.-American
Magazine, September, 1888.
140
Chirk
CHIPMUNK, CHIPMUNCK, CHIPMONK,
CHITMUNK (Sciurus striatus).—The
striped squirrel. The name is
thought to be of Indian derivation,
but philologists do not lose sight
of the fact that the popular name
may have a much less foreign
origin. This little animal is ex-
ceedingly lively, and а great
chatterer; on this account some
authorities think the
think the colloquial
appellation may come from chip,
an old English provincialism, very
common in Âmerica, meaning
merry, lively, etc.
CHIPPER.-Active; merry; cheerful;
brisk; lively. "To chirp," to be
merry, is an old provincialism in
England.
Over the hill to the poor-house I'm trudgin'
my weary way—
I, a woman of seventy, and only a trifle gray--
I, who am smart an' CHIPPER, for all the years
I've told,
As many another woman that's only half as
old.
-Will Carleton's Farm Ballads.
CHIP-YARD.—A wood-cutting yard.
CHIRAVARI.-A noisy serenade, to
which the victims of popular dislike
are subjected; a custom univer-
sally known, but bearing different
names according to locality. Dis-
cordant sound-producing instru-
ments, such as tin-pots, kettles,
drums, etc., are employed. The
custom is known under the name
of chivarce (pronounced chevaree)
in all parts of Canada and the
States originally colonized by the
French.
CHIRIMOYA
(Annona chirimoya).-A
well-known fruit, otherwise called
the CUSTARD APPLE.
CHIRK, TO.-To put in good spirits;
to become lively, cheerful. It now
survives only in New England but
Chirpy
there chirk is still used both as a
verb and adjective.
'Cajer,' sez she, 'I'm that burnt that I'm
blind, and can't see the sunshine n'r the
flowers, n'r the children no more.' An' then
she bust out cryin' like she'd die. After that
it seemed like she 'uz sort o' stupid, an'
nothin' Cajer n'r any o' the neighbors could
do 'ud make her CHIRK up. She jes sot there
quiet, an' never said nothin' hardly.—
American Humorist, 1888.
CHIRPY.-Cheerful, contented.
Straightway his horror softens down to a
sort of CHIRPY contentment with the con-
dition of things.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
CHISEL, TO.-To cheat; defraud;
swindle. Said to be a Western
phrase. To Go FULL CHISEL.—
An expression variously used ac-
cording to context, in the sense of
with earnestness, force, high-speed,
great éclat, etc. It is difficult to
connect either the verb to chisel or
the phrase to go full chisel with the
explanations ordinarily given; for
example, with a supposed analogy
to the quick glancing-off motion
resulting from an ill - delivered
chisel stroke. It certainly seems
that the true derivation must be
sought elsewhere.
CHITLINS. ALL TO CHITLINS, i.e., all
to pieces, as when Sam Slick, in his
Human Nature, says, "They did all
they could to tear my reputation to
chitlins.
CHITTER, TO.-To call in question
one's right to a thing; as
If any
man in these hills considers to chitter
him, etc.," i.e., stops to question
his right.
It
CHIVALRY.-THE SOUTHERN CHIVALRY
was a common phrase before
and during the Civil War.
was claimed as a proud title by
Southerners and their friends, but
has always been heard and used
at the North with a shade of con-
141
Chogset
tempt. In California the word is
shortened into CHIV, to signify a
Southerner.
CHOCK, TO. To crowd to overflowing,
in which sense it is used by a writer
in Putnam's Magazine, 1888.
What made the trunk so awful heavy, I
couldn't see; but I found afterward she had
all her clothes and mine, and then she'd
CHOCKED in all 'round with maple-sugar, and
that's as heavy as the ten commandments to
a horse-thief.
The word is still largely colloquial.
-Hence CHOCK-UP, to fit closely;
the
also used in
sense of to
collapse; or to "go to pieces."
Only four ran in the mile and a half-
Belvidere, Rupert, Aretino and Ten Booker.
The owner declared to win with Rupert, but
that duffer CHOCKED UP after going six fur-
longs, and Belvidere was compelled to go on
and win.-St. Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer
Press, July 22, 1888.
Also the more frequently heard
CHOCK-FULL, about which, however,
there is considerable divergence of
opinion. Some think it comes from
the old English "chekkefulle," quite
full; others derive it from the verb
to choke, while there are yet those
who incline to the view that it is
an onomatopoetic expression con-
sequent upon the " shock," with
which scales would be sent down
when overweighted. In any case
chock-full can hardly be called an
Americanism, but these theories as
to the origin of the word bear
somewhat on the popular usage of
chock.
CHOGSET (Ctenolabrus ceruleus).—The
Indian name of a fish which, under
a variety of designations, is com-
mon along the coasts of New
England and other sea-board States.
In New York it is known as the
BURGALL OF BLUE FISH (q.v.), also
as the SALT WATER PERCH.
Choke
CHOKE. A New World term for the
alluvial deposit which silts up at
the mouths of rivers and other
spots favorable, by their conforma-
tion, to the process.
That 'ere place [New Orleans] is built in
a bar in the harbor, made of snags, drift-
wood and CHOKES, heaped up by the river
and then filled and covered with the sedi-
ment.-Sam Slick's Clockmaker.
CHOKE OFF, TO.-To forcibly
obstruct; interrupt; repulse; frus-
trate. A slang Americanism which
in this idiomatic sense has almost,
if not altogether, passed into ortho-
dox speech.
As usual, the call for the previous question
was heard on the other side, and the mem-
bers who had hoped to be heard on the
momentous question were CHOKED OFF by
Republican courtesy.-Baltimore Sun, 1888.
CHOKEBERRY (Pyrus arbutifolia).—A
somewhat stunted appletree, the
fruit of which is possessed
astringent qualities.
of
CHOKE-CHERRY (Prunus borealis).—A
plant with astringent properties.
Our host refused to take money, invited us
to come again, and following us to our boat,
as a last act of hospitality, he gathered for us
Some CHOKE-CHERRIES in a thicket near the
river.-Century Magazine, 1887.
CHOMPINS, CHAMPINS.-The masti-
cated refuse of fruit after the juice
resulting therefrom has been swal-
lowed. Champ," to chew or
masticate, from the Icelandic
kampa.
CHOP.-FIRST-CHOP-first-rate. The
Chinaman has not come in con-
tact with Western civilization
without making an impress upon
it. Chop means quality, and is
frequently used in that sense by
Americans.
CHOPPING-BEE.-In the old pioneer
days a new settler would frequently
142
Chore
receive neighborly assistance in
operations which, unaided, it would
be out of his power to carry
through in anything like reasonable
time.
'You see, sir' [says a squatter in Ruxton's
Life in the Far West, in explanation of the
term], 'when you wants to get anything done
right away in a hurry, all at oncet like,
whether its flax beatin' or apple parin', or
corn huskin', and the neighbors all around
come and help work, that's a BEE.'
A chopping-bee is thus described in
the Western Magazine, the occasion
being one when a clearing on a
large scale was required to provide
a site for a public institution.
The inhabitants within a radius of ten
miles were invited. Each one brought his
axe and day's provisions. No spirituous
liquors were allowed. The work was
ordered by an elected marshal of the day.
The front rank of trees, ten rods in width,
were chopped partially through on either
side; then the succeeding ones in like
manner, for a space of perhaps twenty rods.
Then the last rank were felled simultaneously
by the united force, when with a crash
increasing to a thundering volume, it bore
down on the next, till all lay prostrate. And
thus for three days did this volunteer war
against the forest progress.
CHORE. A Small job; or work of
a domestic character; an odd job;
"char in England is used both
as a noun and verb in much the
same sense; and, presumably, both
have a common origin in the Anglo-
Saxon cyre. Chore is mainly used
in the plural, as "The old darkey
who did the chores." Ben Jonson
seems to have used the American
form of chores, and J. Russell Lowell
affects to trace the word to the
French jour in the sense of a day's
work; but, as the Anglo-Saxon root
cyre has also the secondary mean-
ing of a space of time, the latter,
assuming Mr. Lowell's line of
argument to be sound, would thus
appear to have a double claim
to recognition over the French
derivation.
Chouse
'James, dear, will you bring me up a hod
of coal from the cellar?' said a busy wife.
'That's just the way with you. As soon
as you see me enjoying myself you have
some CHORE or another for me to do.'—
Boston Courier, 1888.
Hence also TO CHORE, and, in
Connecticut, TO CHORE ABOUT, i.e.,
to do chores or small odd jobs.
He needed somebody to do CHORES at his
house; the wood had to be sawed, the cow
had to be milked, the horse must be fed, and
the garden attended to.-Century Magazine,
1887.
CHORE-BOY. - An errand
page boy.
on
or
some
CHOUSE, TO.To cheat; to defraud.
Similar in origin to such words as
burke, boycot, and bogus. In
1607, a notorious swindle was per-
London
petrated in
Turkish and Persian merchants by
a chiaous or official attached to the
Turkish Embassy, sent to announce
the advancement of Sultan Solyman
to the throne. So gigantic was
the fraud, and so notorious did it
become, that to chiaous or chause or
chouse became synonymous with
chicanery and swindling practices.
It is now classed as slang in Eng-
land, but for a long period was much
used by standard English writers.
In America, however, the word
is still looked upon as orthodox,
and is applied to all kinds of frau-
dulent dealing and deceit. Also
CHOWZLE.
'I wudden give it to no lieyer, Jim. The
lieyers'll CHOWZLE YE. Ye'd better go down
ter the headquarters, an' see ef yer can't get
'em ter compermise it.-Scribner's Magazine,
1888.
CHOWDER. A popular dish composed
of fresh fish boiled with biscuits,
pork, and onions. Sometimes wine
is added. Chowder is probably a
Canadian corruption of Chaudière.
The man took the woman into Hadfield
Crowther's saloon near by, ordered a CHOW-
DER for her and left her.-Galveston News, 1888.
143
Chromo-Civilization
-CHOWDER EXCURSION.-No pic-
nic by the sea would be complete
without this almost national dish,
indeed it has given a distinctive
name to some of these jaunts, in
that a chowder forms the pièce de
resistance. On such occasions it is
cooked gypsy-fashion on the spot,
with the usual fun and frolic
generally accompanying such im-
provised culinary arrangements.
It is difficult to say upon what
principle of analogy CHOWDER-HEAD
is used as synonymous with a fool,
dunce, or numskull; in Anglo-
Chinese slang, however, chowdar
stands for a fool, and chowder-head
may be derived therefrom, and not
have any connection with the tooth-
some dish of a similar name.
The showman
grabbed the
chestra [a single performer] and shook
him up, and says, That lets you out, you
CHOWDER-HEADED old clam.'—Mark Twain's
Launch of the Steamer Capital.
4
•
or-
CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS.- A new sect,
whose distinctive doctrine is that
disease is all a matter of imagina-
tion. "You think you are not ill,
and you get well," or in other
words they claim to "heal by
faith."
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [as expounded by one
of their leaders] is a metaphysical method of
healing all diseases, both mental and physi-
cal, without the use of drugs, electricity, baths,
braces, belts, or any other material means.
It is not spiritualism, mind-cure, clairvoy-
ance, manipulation, massage, or any form
of animal magnetism. The healing power
is God, as understood and demonstrated by
Christ and the Apostles. It is not neces-
sary that the sick understand its divine
principle in order to be healed, though all
should seek to know more of this divine
power when they feel its beneficial effects.
The spiritual understanding of God being
lost for centuries, healing by the God-power,
was also lost until at this age; it is again
discovered and explained on a scientific
basis.
CHROMO-CIVILIZATION.-An invention
of the late J. R. Dennett, which,
says the Nation, "confessedly
Chub
supplies a gap in our terms of
precision." Chromo-civilization is
a term applied to the aggregate of
what is false or pinchbeck in
"
latter-day" society to the gilt
and tinsel, the surface polish,
which, in many respects, charac-
terizes the civilization of the last
decades of the nineteenth century.
It is notorious that in America
chromo-lithographic prints are
sent out in shoals, all displaying a
remarkable want of taste as regards
subject, drawing, and coloring alike
-a sorry would-be substitute for
the genuine article.
CHUB.--(1) A local name (Texas) for
the TAUTAUG, or BLACKFISH (q.v.).
(2) In Connecticut a SQUASH
(q.v.).. CHUB-SUCKER (Catostomus
storer). Otherwise the HORNED
SUCKER. An ungainly sea-fish.
CHUCK.
argot.
Refreshments. Thieves'
i wish i was nere you so i could send you
CHUCK on holidays; it would spoil this
weather from here, but i will send you a box
next thanksgiving any way.—Mark Twain's
Life on the Mississippi, p. 463.
CHUCK-A-LUCK.
-A gambling game
played in the West with dice.
·
CHUCK! CHUCK!-A call used in the
summoning of pigs to the feeding
trough. It is curious that though
evidently a corruption of the "sug!
sug!" used in Norfolk for a similar
purpose, this expression differs
from the ordinary cry, and yet is
identical with the call employed in
gathering poultry.-See CALLS FOR
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
CHUCK FULL.-Full to repletion; a
colloquial variant of CHOCK-FULL.
CHUCKLEHEAD.-An idiot; a block-
head.
144
Chunk
Well, now, his case is curious! There
wasn't a human being in this town but knew
that the boy was a perfect CHUCKLEHEAD;
perfect dummy; just a stupid ass, as you
may say. Everybody knew it, and every-
body said it.-Mark Twain's Life on the
Mississippi, p. 473.
CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW.
POOR-WILL.
"
See WHIP-
•
CHUNK.-A short thick piece or por-
tion. This word, provincial in
England, is thoroughly colloquial
throughout the States. The New York
World once made itself (February
14th, 1888) responsible for
for "a
chunk of geographical knowledge
in Western Clearings a "large chunk
of sadness" falls upon a woman,
and in another quarter, "a chunk
of sentiment " is spoken of as
pitchforked into the midst of a
play." TO CHUNK." I'll chunk
him," i.e., throw some missile, gene-
rally a handy short piece of wood,
stone, or clod of earth. CHUNKY.
-A derivative of chunk, which is
probably genuinely American; the
equivalent of stumpy," and
meaning short and thick. Said to
have been used first by Doctor
Kane, the Arctic explorer.-
CHUNKED.-South Western. Said
of a person possessed of per-
tinaceous effrontery. CHUNK-
HEAD (Trigonocephalus contortrix).—
The red snake or COPPER-HEAD.
"(
CHUNK-YARD, CHUNKEE-YARD.
-Both Bartlett and De Vere quot-
ing Bartrams's Travels in Florida,
define these as names given by
white traders to oblong four-square
yards adjoining the high mounds
and rotundas common in the State
of Florida, and supposed to have
been built by the Seminole Indians.
In the centre stands a mysterious
obelisk, and at each of the more
remote corners a post or strong
stake, to which their captives were
bound previous to being tortured
and burnt. In another place Bart-
Church
ram states that the pyramidal hills
or artificial mounds, and highways
or avenues, leading from them to
artificial ponds or lakes, vast tet-
ragon terraces, chunk-yards, and
obelisks or pillars of wood, are the
only monuments of labor, ingenuity,
and magnificence that he had seen,
worthy of notice. Dupratz, in his
History of Louisiana, has established
the fact that chunkee was the name
of an Indian game, a diversion
practised by warriors two at a
time. It was played with a pole
about eight feet long, resembling
a Roman ƒ; and the game consisted
in rolling a flat, round stone, about
three inches in diameter, and one
inch thick, and throwing the pole in
such a manner that when the stone
rested the pole should be at or near
it. Both the antagonists threw
their poles at the same time, and he
whose pole was the nearest counted
one, and had the right of rolling
the stone.KERCHUNK !-An ex-
clamation carrying with it no
especial meaning, but supposed to
represent the sound of a falling
heavy body; varied also by
CACHUNK (q.v.
v.).
I looked up, and there I saw a young cata-
mount, scrambling up the little, old oak; he
stretched himself out on the branch and
looked down upon me so kind of impudent,
I thought I'd take a crack at him; I raised
my rifle and down he came, KERCHUNK!
right on the edge of the precipice.-W. S.
Mayo's Kaloolah, p. 27.
CHURCH
CHURCH. THE LITTLE
AROUND THE CORNER. An ex-
pression taken from the popular
song bearing the same title, and
used in speaking of places of wor-
ship, which, though not " fashion-
able,"
centres
are
of really
genuine spiritual activity.
CHURCH EXCURSION.-As implied
by the term, an excursion or-
ganized in
in connection with a
church.
145
Chute
The Rev. Dr. Talmage recently got off the
the largest CHURCH EXCURSION to Europe
ever undertaken. Over 200 members of
his congregation were included in this
monster picnic, as the pastor styled it.
The idea of this excursion originated with
Mr. Talmage, and he has overseen per-
sonally all its details, involving an amount
of thought and work of which none but the
practically initiated can form even an idea.-
New York Mercury, July 21, 1888.
CHURCH-MAUL.-A New Eng-
land vulgarism, equivalent to our
own slang phrase "calling over the
coals," when the jurisdiction is one
of an ecclesiastical character.
CHUTE. (1) An inclined shaft or plane
through or down which timber and
general merchandize are conveyed
to a lower level.
On the rocky Pacific coast there is not a
spot for miles and miles where it seems.
possible to build a wharf or to load freight
and passengers. The hardy coasters over-
come the forbidding breakers, however, by
bridging them with CHUTES, which are
engineering and architectural triumphs.
There is little choice of location as far as
sheltered nooks are concerned, for there are
none, but a spot is selected where deep
water is nearest the shore. Occasionally à
rocky mound affords help and a foundation
for a tower of scantling. The CHUTE, a
massive structure of timber, supported by
wire cables on the suspension-bridge plan,
runs from the edge of the bluff down to the
tower on the little islet in one dizzy span,
often over 300 feet long. From the top of
the tower run more cables that suspend the
continuation of the CHUTE out over com-
paratively smooth water. Venturesome
skippers run their schooners in under these
CHUTES, and firmly moored to buoys, the
craft receives and discharges cargo with as
much facility as would be experienced
alongside the finest dock in the world. The
cargo, mainly lumber, is rolled into the
CHUTE at the top, and down the polished
surface of the face of the CHUTE it slides
with railroad rapidity until near the end,
where a sort of floodgate arrangement
checks the momentum just sufficient to land
it on the deck. At Point Arena there is
a CHUTE with 490 feet of slide, and light
planks are landed on a vessel in thirteen
seconds, heavy pieces, like scantling, occupy-
ing less time in proportion to their weight.
The word is French, and means
literally "a shoot." Chutes of
19
Chute
various kinds and construction are
known all over the Union.
The corpse of a Chinaman, sewed up in
a canvas sack, was one consignment while
our party was studying the operations of
the CHUTE, and the proprietor charged the
estate of the deceased i dol., something in
excess of the regular rate, because, as he
said, the corpse was liable to muss up
the CHUTE. The friends of the departed
kicked, but the edict of no dollar, no slide,
brought them to time, and the coin was
paid. - -San Francisco Weekly Examiner,
March 22, 1888.
(2) A hasty confused migra-
tion, applied to men and animals in
a body. Obviously borrowed from
the primary meaning of the French
chute, English "shoot"; just as
one of the stations on the London
Chatham and Dover Railway has
been nicknamed "The shoot," on
account of the steep, narrow ap-
proaches and the large number
of passengers using the station in
question. (3) Along the Missis-
sippi and in Louisiana a narrow side
channel, the river in low-lying parts
of the country oftentimes dividing
into numerous forks, which unite
their waters again lower down the
course. In this sense it is often
used by Mark Twain, and in
the Gilded Age, he speaks of a
steamboat approaching "a solid
wall of tall trees as if she meant
to break through it, but all of a
sudden a little crack would open,
just enough to admit her, and
away she would go, ploughing
through the chute with just barely
room enough between the island
on one side and the mainland on
the other.". -(4) A rapid; or
cascade. Down these rapids tim-
ber and small vessels are floated.
The river men are exceedingly deft
in the management of their craft
when "shooting the rapids," as it
is called, the slight element of
danger lending an exhilarating
spice of excitement. Hence to
TAKE A SHOOT, signifying ardent
146
Cinch
pursuit of any object; earnest
study; or thorough enthusiasm in
the performance of any action.
CIDER. ALL TALK AND NO CIDER.—
Purposeless loquacity; or, to use
an English synonym,
"Much cry
and little wool," the idea conveyed
being the insignificance of results
compared with the means adopted
to obtain them. Literally, much
ado about nothing.
According to De Vere this phrase origi-
nated at a party in Bucks County, Pennsyl-
vania, which had assembled to drink a barrel
of superior cider; but politics being intro-
duced, speeches were made, and discussion
ensued, till some malcontents withdrew on
the plea that it was a trap into which they
had been lured, politics and not pleasure
being the purpose of the meeting, or, as they
called it, ALL TALK AND NO CIDER.
This slang phrase is still largely
used, particularly in political
circles.
It's an expensive kind of honor that, bein'
Governor
Great cry and little wool;
AND NO CIDER.-Sam Slick's
ALL TALK
Clockmaker.
•
+
What we want is more CIDER and less
TALK.—Artemus Ward, His Book.
CIDER-BRANDY.-This is iden-
tical with APPLE-BRANDY (q.v.)——————
CIDER-OIL.-A concentrated de-
coction of cider and honey.
Another name for it is CIDER-ROYAL,
under which name it seems first to
have been known.
CIENAGA. A marsh. Of Spanish
origin and current in New Mexico
and Texas. When of small
dimensions a marsh is called a
CIENEGUITA.
CIMLIN CYMBLING. A variety of
squash. A name peculiar to the
Middle and Southern States.
CINCH.-Used by plainsmen both as
a noun and verb. In saddling his
Cincinnati Oysters
horse with the huge Mexican
saddle it has to be cinched. To
cinch a horse is by no means the
The two
same as girthing him.
ends of the tough cordage which
constitute the cinch terminate in
long narrow strips of leather called
LATIGOS (q.v.)—thongs-which con-
nect the cinches with the saddle, and
are run through an iron ring and
then tied by a series of compli-
cated turns and knots known only
to the craft. From the Spanish
cincha, a belt or girdle; cinchar, to
girdle.--TO BE CINCHED is also
à Californian localism signifying to
come out on the wrong side in
mining speculations.
-To CINCH
also means idiomatically to have or
get a grip on; to corner; to put
the screw on.
Black and Blue thinks the Dwyers have a
CINCH on both the great events.-Daily Inter-
Occan, Feb. 2, 1888.
The bettor, of whom the pool-room book-
maker stands in dread, however, is the race-
horse owner, who has a CINCH bottled up for
a particular race, and drops into the room an
hour or two before the races begin.-New
York World, July 22, 1888.
CINCINNATI OYSTERS.-Pigs' trotters.
A curious interchange of names
seems, not infrequently, to occur
between fish, flesh, and fowl. In
CINCINNATI OYSTERS we have flesh
presented in the guise of fish; and
the reverse is the case when the
sturgeon is spoken of as ALBANY
BEEF (q.v.). Amongst other ex-
amples may be quoted MARBLE-
HEAD TURKEY, for a codfish. Nor,
may it be remarked, is the practice
confined to America. In English
slang, a Billingsgate pheasant is a
fresh herring; whilst a Yarmouth
bloater is sometimes called a two-
eyed steak; indeed many examples
might be given of this strange per-
version of terms.
CIPHER, TO.-To ponder; to think
out; the transition from the pri-
147
Circle
mary meaning to calculate, to the
idiomatic usage is obviously an
easy one.
I had not seen anything yet [at a spirit-
rapping séance] that I could by any possi-
bility CIPHER out.—Mark Twain's Among the
Spirits.
CIPHER DISPATCHES.-After the closely
contested Presidential campaign of
1876, the New York Tribune secured
a number of telegraphic dispatches
in cipher, which emanated from
the Democratic headquarters in
New York. The key was most
ingeniously discovered, and the
dispatches translated and published,
implicating the senders in corrupt
dealings of the most flagrant nature
in connection with the bribery of
State - returning boards whose
decisions affected the vote for
president.
CIRCLE.A spiritualist's term for a
gathering of people assembled for
the purpose of holding communi-
cation with spirits. Among the
more elementary phenomena are
table tipping and rapping, and as
for convenience sake, a round table
was, in the early days of the move-
ment, frequently used, those pre-
sent naturally sat round it in a
circle. Later on, the term circle was
enlarged in meaning to include all
meetings at which spirit com-
munion was practised.- -CIRCLE
RIDING.-A cowboy's term. At
ROUND-UPS (q.v.), or when cattle
are on the march, the plains are
scoured for stray beasts, sometimes
for fifteen or twenty miles back.
This is effectually done by circle
riding. The herdsmen scatter in
different directions, returning on
lines that tend to the common
centre like, says Roosevelt "as if
the lines of a fan were curved."
Two or three of the band take
shorter and larger circles than the
rest; each man engaged in the
Circulate
circle riding driving in any strays
he may have come across.
CIRCULATE, TO.-To move, or cause to
move about; to travel. A vulgarism
which probably arose from want of
knowledge as to the correct use of
the word. To circulate specie is
good English, but for a man to circu-
late instead of to move amongst his
fellows is, to say the least, question-
able; at any rate it is illiterate.
CIRCUMSTANCE. NOT A CIRCUM-
STANCE. Not to be compared
with; a trifle; of no account-un-
favorable comparison.--Another
very similar phrase is TO WHIP [Some-
thing] INTO A CIRCUMSTANCE, which,
being interpreted, means that the
thing whipped is thrown into the
shade; or compares unfavorably
with the object of comparison.
Thus a newspaper correspondent
writes, that the streets of George-
town, Demerara,
" are broad,
smooth, and well laid out. George-
town could give points to New
York in its roads and WHIP IT INTO
A CIRCUMSTANCE.
"}
I took a broadhorn to Noo Orleens, and
when I was paid off on the levee, I was the
worst lost man you ever did see. In the
middle of the thickest woods in the world
WASN'T A CIRCUMSTANCE ΤΟ IT. Such
crowds and crowds of people-why they
warn't more'n one man in four understood a
word I said.-7. H. Beadle's Western Wilds,
p. 28.
Our system would ha' caird us thru in any
Bible cent'ry.
'Fore this onscripterl plan come up o' books
by double entry;
We go the patriarkle here out o' all sight an'
hearin',
For Jacob warn't a SUCKEMSTANCE to Jeff at
financierin';
He never'd thought of borryin' from Esau
like all nater
An' then cornfiscatin' all debts to sech a
small pertater.
-Biglow Papers.
CISCO, CISCOVET (Salmo amethystus).-
The popular name of this fish is
148
City
derived from the Indian siskiwit.
Some authorities class it with the
herring, but Lanman in his Summer
in the Wilderness takes a contrary
view, and pronounces it a trout.
Like the herring it is very prolific,
rarely exceeds the weight of 12 lbs.,
and, when salted, is considered
delicate eating. It abounds in
Lake Ontario, where it is largely
fished and pickled.
CITIFIED. A New England expres-
sion for pertaining to city life.
CITIZENIZE, To. To invest with the
privileges and responsibilities of a
citizen. This, though given by
Webster, is not common.
CITRON. A species of candied fruit
made from the melon. The re-
semblance between this and the
genuine article is very close.—
CITRON-MELON. This is the dis-
tinctive popular name of the variety
of melon used in the manufacture
of the crystallized fruit above-
mentioned.
M
CITY. Even in England considerable
difference of opinion exists as to
what constitutes a city. Ecclesias-
tical usage, which agrees mainly
with the commonly accepted dic-
tum, at least from the time of
Henry VIII., decrees that a city
becomes such when a Bishop's see
is attached to it. This, however,
is not the legal view, for Manchester
was denied the right to the rank
when its claims were based on this
ground alone, and a Royal Procla-
mation was necessary to invest it
with the dignity and privileges of a
city. Be this as it may, a much
lower standard of rank seems to
hold good in America. Just as
village schools have been sup-
planted by ACADEMIES, So the term
city has been grandiloquently ap-
City
plied in many parts of the Union
to the smallest collection of rude
cabins, tents, and shanties, which
in England would hardly be digni-
fied with the name of hamlet.
Webster defines a city as a town
or collective body of inhabitants,
incorporated and governed by a
mayor and alderman, and the
smallest are theoretically assumed
to
contain upwards of 10,000
inhabitants. This, however, is by
no means the case, and many so-
called cities contain less than a
twentieth part of that number.
The settlers and miners in the
Western States are no doubt the
greatest sinners in this respect,
as all their mining camps are
called cities; but New England
is far from being free from
such an abuse of terms.
CITY COLLEGE (Cant).-In New
York this is the grandiose name by
which the Tombs are known.
CITY OF BRICK.-The town of
Pullman, in Illinois.
Yesterday morning a party of guests left
in Mr. Depew's private car, and were run as
a special to Pullman, where a couple of hours
were to be devoted to an inspection of the
various features of the CITY OF BRICK.
CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE.—
Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
This nickname is clearly derived
from the literal meaning of the
two Greek roots from which its
name of Philadelphia is formed, i.e.,
Philos, love, and Adelphos, a brother.
Philadelphia is, however, quite as
often called the Quaker City, and
this cognomen is due to associa-
tion with its founder, William
Penn, a Quaker, and the settlement
there of large numbers of that
persuasion.— CITY OF CHURCHES.
-Brooklyn has long been dis-
tinguished by this title; though in
the first instance a mere suburb of
New York, from which it is sepa-
rated by the East River, Brooklyn
149
City
has so enormously increased in
size and importance, that it now
possesses upwards of half-a-million
of inhabitants. As may be in-
ferred, its title City of Churches
has been bestowed upon it in
consequence of the number and
beauty of its ecclesiastical edifices.
CITY OF COLLEGES.-Toronto
in Canada.- CITY OF THE GOL-
DEN GATE.-San Francisco; also
very commonly known as FRISCO,
GOLDEN CITY, and CITY OF THE
HUNDRED HILLS.
CITY OF
MAGNIFICENT DISTANCES.-Wash-
ington; also known as the Federal
CITY (q.v.). Washington is the
seat of Government, and conse-
quently possesses many public
buildings. These being built on
carefully selected sites, and being
isolated one from another, have
given rise to its especial appella-
tion. -CITY OF THE MOUNTAIN
AND THE RAPIDS. Montreal.
CITY OF NOTIONS.-Boston,
Massachusetts. A somewhat sar-
castic nickname, the allusion being
partly to the thousand and one
articles of utility, forming one of
its staples of trade, and partly to
the assumption of intellectual
superiority, which rightly or
wrongly is placed to its credit.
Perhaps no city in the Union has a
greater variety of nicknames.
Amongst others are the CLASSIC
CITY TRI-MOUNTAIN CITY; and
HUB OF THE UNIVERSE (q.v.).—
CITY OF WITCHES.-Salem, so called
from episodes in connection with
the belief in witchcraft, which are
matters of history.- -CITY OF
SOLES. Lynn. CITY OF
SPINDLES.-Lowell, Massachusetts.
One of the largest centres of
cotton manufacture in the States.
CITY OF ELMS.-Newhaven ;
also called ELM CITY, from the
trees of that name which beautify
its public
public places.--CITY OF
ROCKS.-Nashville, in Tennessee.
Civil Service Reform
This city is built on a considerable
elevation, and derives its title from
the character of its foundations; it
may literally be said to be built
upon a rock.- CITY OF THE
STRAITS.-Detroit, in Michigan.
This city is situated upon a narrow
neck of land, connecting Lake
Erie with Lake St. Clair. The
popular name is a somewhat rough
translation of Detroit, a name which
it received from its original French
founders.
O'Rourke was seized with a strong desire
to try his fortune in the CITY OF THE STRAITS
and accordingly bade his wife an affectionate
adieu, and left for Detroit.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, March 30, 1888.
CITY OF BAKED BEANS.-A
humorous sobriquet for Boston.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.-The correc-
tion of abuses in the public service,
or more specifically, the adoption
of a system which shall not permit
the removal of good and faithful
officers for partisan reasons, and
which shall prevent appointment
to office as a reward for partisan
services.
150
Claim
land allotted to one, and colloqui-
ally a dwelling or resting place.
You are certain you know where Jack
Mayne lives?' the girl asked presently.
'You bet your life-I mean certain I do.
Know his CLAIM like a book.'-New York
Mercury, 1888.
'She filled a seat,' I have said. 'Well,
she did'nt exactly fill it, but she spread her
skirts over it-STAKED OFF HER CLAIM, So to
speak-and there is not a man in St. Louis
gifted with common sense and an ordinary
knowledge of woman's nature who would
have had the courage to ask her to push over
and share that seat with him.'-St. Louis
Globe Democrat, April 29, 1888.
-CLAIM-JUMPER. In the early
days of а new country, little
regularity of procedure is, of
course, possible in land tenure;
but, nowadays the squatter or
settler has to go through a regular
routine when "locating his claim."
Miners also lay out their claims,
and, as the search for the precious
metals is carried out in regions
where few of the restraints of
civilization are possible, this has
given rise to claim-jumping. A claim-
jumper is one who lays violent
hands upon another man's claim,
in plain English robs him of
it, ousting him by sheer brute
force. This practice has, of
course, compelled many a man to
fight for dear life and home. If
strong enough to withstand the
rough brutality of the claim-
jumper and defend his rights
successfully he is said To HOLD
DOWN HIS CLAIM. Hence a
secondary meaning of the phrase
where the squatter takes, say, a
dozen homesteads with their
accompanying pre-emptions
un-
speculation, expecting to get some-
thing for his rights," fulfilling as
few as may be of the government
requirements.
Here he simply
holds down his claims till a
purchaser can be found.
CLABBEK.-Thick milk. Pennsylvania
and South. Ordinarily called
BONNY-CLABBER. This term is a
survival of old English usage.
As the stranger looked straight at old Pete,
and as the latter had a wart about as big as
a thimble on his chin, the remark savored of
personality. However, old Pete did not
resent it. He was as quiet as a bowl of
CLABBER.-Texas Siftings, June 23, 1888.
CLAIM.-Primarily a piece of
settled and unappropriated land
marked out by a settler for his own
use, and generally with the expecta-
tion that when the Government, as
the custodian of all national pro-
perty, so requires, some sort of
payment shall be made and a legal
title established. Hence a piece of
on
'I came to tell you to git,' said Sam
Hunker as he halted before Si.
Clam
'But I own this CLAIM,' protested Si. 'I
staked it out fust, and I'm a-goin' to hold it
down, you hyear me !'
4
Hunker laughed roughly, and turned to his
associates. Say, boys,' he cried,' he says
he haint a-goin' to git, and wants to know ef
I hear him. Haw, haw, haw!' and the
CLAIM-JUMPER laughed as though he enjoyed
it hugely.-The Critic, April 14, 1888.
There is one woman in this county, White
Oaks, New Mexico, who has taken, I think, a
dozen ranches. At one time she heard that
a man was about to move on to a CLAIM on
which he had discovered a spring, but upon
which he had made no improvements. She
started for the place early in the morning, and
arrived there a few hours in advance of him,
and he found her with her dogs, children,
and other goods and chattels, in possession.
She pointed a shot gun at his head and
invited him to leave, which, it is needless to
say, he did.-Portland Transcript, March 7,
1888.
To CLAIM.-In the sense of to
assert or profess. This is not found
in the dictionaries, but it was so
used long ago. It is, however, as
likely to be an Anglicism as an
Americanism.
CLAM.-A popular name for a bivalve
shell-fish, largely found in American
waters. Clams are of several
varieties, and are of great im-
portance as an article of food,
by reason of their abundance.
They are also sometimes specified
as HARD-CLAMS (Venus mercenaria)
and
SOFT-CLAMS (Mya arenaria).
CLAMISH.-Happy, contented.
-See HAPPY AS A CLAM.- -HEN-
CLAM is the New England name for
the Mactra gigantea.– OLD CLAM.
-A term of abuse and reproach,
equivalent to CHOWDER-HEAD
(q.v.). In this connection it may
be compared with the English
saying "as stupid as an oyster."
No meddling old CLAM of a justice dropped
in to make trouble, and so the model boy
George got thrashed, and Jim was glad of it,
because, you know, Jim hated moral boys.
-Mark Twain's Screamers.
AS HAPPY AS A CLAM AT HIGH
WATER.-A New England proverb
151
Clankers
of widely extended usage, but it is
difficult to say on what grounds the
simile is based, except it be that
these molluscs are, when covered
by the tide, more in their element
than at low water. Anyhow the
figure of speech is universally
adopted as representative of con-
tentment and happiness. Are you
happy?" says Howell, in A Modern
Instance. "Perfect clam," replies
the person addressed. SHUT
YOUR CLAM-SHELL is a simile more
readily understood. Clam-shell here
is equivalent to the mouth, the
sense being, hold your tongue;
keep your counsel. The phrase is
a common vulgarism in New Eng-
land.
You don't feel much like speakin'
When, ef you let your CLAM-SHELLS gape, a
quart of tar will leak in.
เ
-Biglow Papers, ii., 19.
CLAM-SHELL PADLOCK.-A
name given to the fastenings used
to secure the bags employed in
conveying the United States mails.
-CLAM-BAKE.—A picnic at which
the main dish is one of clams baked
in the primitive Indian fashion.
The bivalves are placed in a cavity
in the ground, which is lined with
hot stones, the whole being then
covered with sea-weed. The result
is one of the most popular dishes
in the American cuisine.
Is that the way people talk in New York?'
'Why, yes; it's the common language of
the City Hall and the Mayor's office. All
our judges talk that way when they go on a
CLAM-BAKE or a William O'Brien chowder
excursion.'-New York Herald, March 25, 1888.
CLAM-BAIT. As the name
implies, a bait formed of the flesh
of the clam. CLAM
-
BANKS.-
Beds or banks where clams abound.
CLANKERS
(Cant).-Silver vessels,
pitchers, and the like.
Clapboard
-
CLAPBOARD.-A thin, narrow board
with bevelled edges, used in the
construction of frame houses.
These boards are from three to four
feet long, and are so laid upon the
roof or sides that they overlap one
another. Considerable difference
of opinion exists as to the deriva-
tion of the term. Bartlett derives
it from "clove-board," or board
made by cleaving; but
but Elwyn
inclines to the opinion that the
term may be originally derived
from the thin, smooth boards called
a clapboard, on which, in the North
of England, a kind of bread is
clapped, which, hence, is known as
clapbread, or clapcake, and which,
Kennett says, is so called from
clapping or beating the oatmeal
dough till it is very thin.--Hence
TO CLAPBOARD.-TO cover with
clapboards.
These huts were not made of logs, but
cheaply constructed, and CLAPBOARDED with
slabs. Kimball's Was he Successful?
CLAPE. (Picus amatus).-A bird of
the woodpecker tribe, with bright
golden wings. Like most American
birds, this one possesses many an
alias, but it is universally known
by its popular name of clape which
is said to have been introduced by
English colonists. Other names
are YELLOW-HAMMER, FLICKER,
HIGH-HOLE, YUCKER, WAKE-UP,
PIGEON-WOODPECKER, and in Louis-
iana, PIQUE BOIS JAUNE.
CLAPMATCH. (1) See CLOCKMUTCH.
-(2) A kind of sealskin.
CLAPPER-CREAMERS.-Milk jugs fur-
nished with swinging covers to ex-
clude flies.
CLASSIC CITY.-Boston, Mass.-See
also ATHENS OF AMERICA.
152
Clay-Eater
CLATTERWHACKING.-A factitious com-
pound of to clatter," and to
whack," the former of which,
under ordinary circumstances,
means just as much as its more
grandiose compound.
CLATTY. Dishevelled; untidy. A
similar meaning attaches to the
word in Lowland Scotch.
CLAW-HAMMER.
American 'for the
coat worn in "evening dress." A
few variants are given in the fol-
lowing quotation:-
A few days ago an anxious and troubled
seeker after truth inquired if a swallow-tail
coat should be worn at an informal recep-
tion. To this the editor [of a New York
paper] vouchsafed a curt affirmative and
then proceeded to flay alive the audacious
truthseeker. 'Don't,' he thunders, 'call a
dress coat a swallow-tail, or a CLAW-HAM-
MER, or a spade coat, but give it its proper
name. It is too dignified an article of
clothing to be spoken of flippantly.' This
withering rebuke should stand as a warning
to all those persons who fail to appreciate
the dignity of the steel-pen coat.-New
York Sun, September 29, 1888.
CLAYBANK (Texas). - Claybank color
is a yellowish dun. From the
color of a bank of clay.
The bare-foot Zeke waded through the
stream, which was knee-deep, and set him-
self to beguile Britton's CLAY-BANK horse
into standing still and forfeiting his liberty.
-Scribner's Magazine, 1888.
CLAY-EATER.-The curious custom of
earth eating appears to have found
followers in some of the Southern
States. A sample of this strange
food, as found in Java, proved on
analysis to be very rich in iron,
combined with a small quantity of
potassa and soda, it being also soft
and smooth to the touch.
We saw a little darkey yesterday, in front
of our office, deliberately take a handful of
fresh mud from the street and eat it with as
much gusto as though it were candy. He
came originally from the CLAY-EATING and
turpentine district of South Carolina, and
Clean
said, 'Yes, boss; this is just as good as de
CLAY we uster EAT in old Carolina.' Fort
Smith beats the world in natural resources,
and can even furnish food to those who like
it, from the very mud in her streets.-Fort
Smith Tribune, Feb. 1888.
CLEAN. TO CLEAN UP A HERD is,
in cowboy parlance, to separate
from a mixed lot of cattle all the
animals under his own care. This
work requires skill, judgment, and
practice, as well as considerable
experience in reading BRANDS (q.v.).
-See ROUND UP.
CLEAN-CUT.-Sharp; crisp; to the
point. The sermons of an Ameri-
can divine have been spoken of as
rare specimens of clear, clean-cut
gospel preaching of a refreshing,
self-applying character.-See also
CLEAR-CUT.
CLEAN THING, THE.To do the clean
thing is to do the thing that is
morally right-a simile borrowed
from that meaning of "clean" which
denotes purity and freedom from
moral guilt.
It would have been the CLEAN THING to
say at once that no debate would be al-
lowed, instead of professing a readiness to
go into debate, and then to refuse discussion.
-Washington Patriot, 1888.
CLEAN TICKET.-See TICKET.
CLEAR CUT.-Real; sterling; honest.
Compare with CLEAN-CUT.
CLEAR GRIT. (1) The right thing;
honest courage; that about which
no question can be raised.
I used to think champagne no better nor
mean cider
but if you get the
CLEAR-GRIT there is no mistaking it.—Sam
Slick's Clockmaker.
(2) In Canadian political slang
a clear-grit is a Liberal.
153
Clever
CLEARING.-A tract of land cleared of
wood for cultivation.
CLEAR OUT, To.-To make an exit; to
get away. Clear out! i.e., Be off!
is an exclamation perhaps more
forcible than polite. Whether
derived from backwoods phrase-
ology or from the Custom-house,
the phrase is now a common collo-
quialism wherever English is
spoken.
CLEAR SWING. TO GET A CLEAR
SWING is to get ample scope, or a
good opportunity.
CLEARWEED (Pilea pumila).—A species
of nettle, so-called from its semi-
transparent stems.
(
CLERGYWOMAN.-A woman who, as
the ancient phrase has it, adminis-
ters ghostly consolation". -a
product of latter-day civilization,
St. Paul notwithstanding.
"
CLERK, TO (pronounced as spelt,
never clark" as in England).-
To act as clerk. The St. Louis
Globe Democrat of January 21, 1888,
spoke of one who clerked in a
store. Western in origin, but,
owing to rapid means of inter-
communication, it has like most
Americanisms " become collo-
quial throughout the States.
Old Lady (to saleswoman)-'You don't
seem to possess the patience of Job, young
woman!'
Saleswoman-' 'No, ma'am; but Job never
CLERKED in a dry goods store.'-The Epoch,
1888.
CLEVER.-A word which has dis-
tinctive and differing meanings on
either side of the Atlantic. So
much is this the case, that on
occasion it is necessary to indicate
in what sense, English or American,
the word is used. Even in Eng-
20
Clevis
land, the word has run through a
whole gamut of significations, the
senses ranging, from dexterous and
skilful, through just, fit, proper, and
commodious, down to well-shaped
and handsome. In America,
smart is more generally used in
these senses, and clever is reserved
to indicate good nature, honesty,
or amiability of disposition. A
clever man is a well - disposed
man, whose disposition is kind, and
who on that very account, save the
the mark, is generally a fool.
Also CLEVERNESS in a similar sense.
New England. CLEVERLY.
Right; well; c.g., "long life and as
much happiness as you can cleverly
digest."
CLEVIS OF CLEVY (French clef, clavette).
-An iron, bent to the form of an
ox-bow, with the two ends perfora-
ted to receive a pin, used on the
end of a cart-neap, to hold the
chain of the forward horse or oxen;
a draft iron on a plough.—
Webster.
or,
154
CLIMATE-FINEST CLIMATE IN THE
WORLD.-A Californian expression
in reference to the climate of that
State which, from its frequency, is
now hardly above the level of a
catch phrase. Notwithstanding
this circumstance in no way de-
tracts from the salubrious character
of the climate in question.
CLIMB-DOWN, To.-A perversion of
words to signify downward motion;
to descend; come down. Commonly
colloquial.
CLING, CLINGSTONE.-A popular name
in Virginia for those varieties of
peach in which the pulp of the fruit
clings or adheres to the stones.
Those of which the reverse can be
said are called FREE-STONES.
CLINGJOHN.
baked.
CLINKER-BUILT.
#
Clomb
A rye cake lightly
A corruption of
I clincher-built.' Also used idio-
matically to convey the idea of
absolute certainty; thorough. Thus,
Judge Halliburton speaks of an old
clinker-built villain; and, comparing
French and American girls, asks
whether the former can show such
lips and cheeks and complexions,
or such clinker-built (well-formed)
models.
CLIP.-A blow delivered with the fist
or open palm. It is perhaps hardly
necessary to point out that this is
still provincial in some parts of
England, as, for example, to clip
(ie., to box) the ear. Sometimes
clop.
CLIPPER-BUILT SHIP.- A term for a
ship expressly built for speed, from
to clip, i.e., to fly-cutting the air
or waves. Though American in
origin the term has ceased to be
exclusive.
CLOCKMUTCH.-Literally a night-cap,
from the Dutch clapmuts. A form of
head-dress which, though still worn
in Holland, is as rarely seen, in
America, even in the most remote
parts of the Dutch settlement, as is
the old, curtained, coal-scuttle
bonnet in England. This cap has
been made familiar to English eyes
through painters of the old Dutch
School.
CLOMB. The preterite of climb. Now
obsolete in England. The old past
participle, clomben, is also still heard
in New England.
The Saviour bowed beneath his cross,
CLOмв up the dreary hill,
While from the agonizing wreath
Ran many a crimson rill.
-The American, 1888.
Close
CLOSE.-Money is said to be close, or
as English commercial phraseology
has it, "tight," when it is scarce and
difficult to obtain.-TO CLOSE
OUT. To clear out; to dispose of
without reserve. A piece of trad-
ing cant.
We are CLOSING OUT all of our broken
sizes of ladies' and gents' fine shoes. It will
pay you to call and examine them, as we
are bound to CLOSE THEM OUT regardless of
cost.-Advertisement in Troy Daily Times,
January 31, 1888.
-CLOSE HERDING. A plains-
man's term for the difficult art of
keeping cattle together in a close
body. By a novel transference
of meaning, a sheriff will talk of
close herding several prisoners in his
charge.
CLOTHIER. A designation of the man
who manufactures cloth as well as
he who sells and converts it into
garments.
CLOUD.-A large woollen or silk scarf-
like wrap for the head. As well
known in England as in the States.
CLOUDBURST.-The climax of
a storm.
The insignificance of man and his
achievements in the world's progress are
forcibly impressed upon the mind while in
contemplation of these unrivalled freaks of
nature. While in the valley [the Yosemite]
a thunderstorm and CLOUDBURST occurred
as if especially arranged to impress one
with the magnificence of nature.-The
American Naturalist.
-To CLOUD UP.-To become
overcast; the sky is clouded up
when it has become overcast.
Not common and probably an
individualism.
CLUB-TAIL.-The SHAD-a Carolinan
cognomen derived from the swollen
aspect which the tail of this fish
presents at certain portions of the
year, when fattened up.
155
Coast
CLUTTER. To make a bustle; to be
busy with. This word is still
provincial in many parts of Eng-
land.
'Can you make room for a stunhunter?
Lucy Ann surveyed the professor, who
smiled at the scrutiny, and then said,
'There's plenty of room; but if this gentle-
man be hunting minerals, there'll be a nice
pair to CLUTTER UP.'-(Boston) Sturdy Oak,
May, 1888.
COACHEE.-The driver of a stage-
coach; a coachman. From the
French.
COACHWHIP.-The name given in Vir-
ginia to a snake.
COAL-See HARD COAL and SOFT
COAL.- COAL BARONS. - Anglicé
coal merchants.-See BARON.
――
The COAL BARONS who imagined that the
strike would be settled so easily are mis-
taken.-Boston Daily Globe, 1888.
COAST. To coast is to slide down a
frozen or snow-covered hill on a
sled. Proctor describes this as a
method of breaking limbs very
popular in America. The word is
thought to be a corruption of the
French côte. The fact of the term
being mainly confined
confined to New
England and New York is urged in
support of its Canadian-French
origin.
As Rev. Charles R. Tenney, Lawyer O. A.
Marden, and a few other friends were
COASTING down Walnut Street last evening,
in trying to avoid a collision with a passing
team, the sled was overturned, and Lawyer
Marden had one shoulder dislocated besides
being otherwise severely bruised.-Boston
Daily Globe, 1888.
-ON THE COAST.-Near at
hand; hard by. Said by De Vere
to be peculiar to Nantucket fisher-
men, who have a way of using the
words on the coast, even when on
shore, in the often very ludicrous
meaning of "near at hand," and a
Coat
gallant lover will assure his lady
love that if she will only fix the
day, "he'll be sure to be on the coast
with the parson."
COAT.-Southern for petticoat. Ob-
viously a contraction, a similar
abridgment being provincially col-
loquial in some parts of England;
in other localities in the Mother
Country ladies, when speaking of
their coats, refer to an outer jacket
or wrap.
COB. The stalk of maize or Indian
corn. Before the kernels
stripped from the cob it is often called
an
are
156
EAR. In some localities the
cob is ground and mixed with other
food for cattle. These stalks are
also manufactured into pipes, much
esteemed by smokers for their
lightness, durability, and sweet-
ness.
+
•
•
We
gazed in terror at the pretty
jewelled fingers and white teeth opposite
making short work of a very buttery cORN-
COB.-Chicago Times, 1888.
COBBLER.-Cobblers are of two kinds.
(1) A drink concocted of wine,
sugar, lemon, and pounded ice,
and imbibed leisurely through
straws or slender glass tubes.
Cobblers of all kinds, especially
those yclept sherry-cobblers, have
of course long been known in Eng-
land, but the method of drinking
them is decidedly American.-See
DRINKS.
'Liquor up, gentlemen.'
(
We bowed.
'Let me introduce you to some of the most
highly esteemed of our citizens.' We bowed
again. Now then, mister,' turning to the
man at the bar, 'drinks round, and COBBLERS
at that.'-Notes on the North-western States,
Blackwood, September, 1855.
-(2) A kind of open fruit pie. The
fruit is stewed or baked in a dish,
lined on the bottom and sides with
a rather thick layer of dough. A
Western dish.
Cock of the Plains
COCASH (Erigeron canadense). - Also
called SQUAW-WEED. A plant used
by the Indians for medicinal pur-
poses. These names are also given
to Senecis aureus.
COCHRANITES.-A rather notorious
sect, who for some time scandal-
ized the communities of the New
England States by their public
exhibitions. Claiming to have
arrived at that state of perfection
and purity usually only associated
with seraphs and archangels, they
proceeded to put their faith into
practice before a sceptical gener-
ation, by appearing in the tra-
ditional garb of our first parents.
The authorities finally stepped in
on behalf of public order and
decency, and put a stop to their
proceedings.
COCKLOFT (Cadet). The name by
which the upper story in the West
Point Barracks is known among
the cadets.
COCK OF THE PLAINS (Tetras (centro-
cercus) urophasianus).-Dodge, in his
Plains of the Great West (p. 224),
says-
This noble bird has been doubly unfortu
nate in its naine. Audubon, in giving it the
above name, intended doubtless, to signify
his appreciation of the size and beauty of
the bird. It was, however, a most unfortu-
nate selection of title in that it did not catch
the popular taste (which no sportsman can
wonder at). Had he called it the GREY COCK
or SAGE COCK or even the PLAINS COCK, his
name would probably have been adopted;
but the frontiersman is too economical of
speech to adopt any such nomenclature as
that bestowed, and the consequence is that
the finest grouse in America is commonly,
almost universally, known as the SAGE HEN.
As the Pacific railroad has put these grouse
within reach of sportsmen, I propose to do a
favor to them by changing the name. SAGE
GROUSE is most appropriate. While in no
sense a mountain bird, this grouse is a lover
of high altitudes.
He varies very
greatly in size in different localities, the best
COCKS of some sections, being but three or
four pound birds, while in other sections.
Cocktail
they will weigh eight, ten, or even more
pounds. The habits of this grouse are
almost identical with those of the common
barn-yard fowl. They go in packs at all
seasons of the year.
COCKTAIL.-A drink of a very seduc-
tive character, and very popular
with Americans everywhere. First
is taken a wineglassful of brandy,
whiskey, gin, or other spirit, to
which is added a teaspoonful of
bitters (mostly Angostura); this,
with a pinch of sugar and crushed
ice, according to taste, is then
whisked briskly round, until the
mixture, sparkling and foaming,
nearly overruns the vessel in which
it is made. It should be served
"
hot," as the Yankees say, i.e.,
while still frothing and foaming.
Tradition has not handed down the
prescription for the "nectar of the
gods," but the typical American
claims to have re-discovered it in
the cocktail; at any rate, well made,
and not drowned overmuch, it is
very good, and, as was once
remarked, "It makes a feller wish
he had a throat a mile long, and a
palate at every inch of it," a
saying which, if not original, to
say the least, is expressive.
I never heered nothin' bad on himn let
alone his havin' what Parson Wilbur cals a
pong shong for COCKTALES.-Biglow Papers.
Coco GRASS.-A weedy plague of
the Southern States, which, when
once fairly rooted, is almost in-
eradicable.
COCO-PLUM (Chrysobalanus hicaco).-
A Barbadian fruit.
Cocos (Arum esculentum).-A tuber-
ous root, largely used as a food-
stuff in the West Indies.
C. O. D.-Collect or Cash on De-
livery. Manufacturers and trades-
men in America have organized
157
Coffin-Boat
a system by which payment for
goods may be made upon delivery.
So convenient has the practice
proved, that it has become all but
universal, and the visits of the
Express men, as the employés of
the Parcels Delivery companies
are called, are as frequent as those
of a London postman. Hence the
colloquial use of the initials C. O. D.
to signify regularity and frequency
also.
When three weeks had gone by without
the regular c. o. D. appearance of Binks
[on a visit to his betrothed], and it began
to look as though he really meant it, she
looked up the book and found the explana-
tion in the inscription.-Chicago Mail, 1888.
COD, TO.-To play the fool, or to
use another slang equivalent To
MONKEY (q.v.).
COFFEE (Cant).-Beans.-
COFFEE. Pork and beans.
GREASED
COFFEE-TREE (Gymnocladus canadensis).
-Also called the KENTUCKY
COFFEE TREE, or KENTUCKY LOCUST.
Much esteemed, both on account
of its ornamental character and its
valuable wood. Its seeds are used
at times in lieu of coffee (this was
especially the case during the Civil
War), being roasted and prepared
in the same fashion as the genuine
berry, hence the name given to it
by the early colonists.
COFFIN-BOAT.-The somewhat sugges-
tive name of a boat used at duck
battues. It is a box sufficiently
large to contain a man, with a deck
about two feet wide surrounding it.
To this deck are attached, by
hinges, floating wings, which, ris-
ing and falling with whatever
little sea may be on in the shallow
waters of the flats, prevents the
water from washing in. There is
also a rim of lead around the
Coge It
edges of the box to fend off the
ripple from its occupant. When
the gunner is in his craft, it is so
arranged that it is nearly on a level
with the water, being ballasted
down, sometimes with iron decoys
placed on the deck. An old hand,
on a good day for the work, which
is not a good day in the conven-
tional acceptation of the term,
when the ducks are plentiful,
may by this mode practically
slaughter them by the hundred.-
See BATTERY.
COGE IT, TO.-To drink heavily and
habitually. Sometimes to COAG.
COHEES. A nickname given to cer-
tain communities in Western Penn-
sylvania, from their use of the
archaic form quo' he Quoth
he," at least so says Lowell.
""
158
COHOG.-An Indian substitute for
specie, strings of shells being
used for this purpose.
WAMPUM
(q.v.) is an inferior currency; and a
more costly one is obtained from
the largest shells of the quahaug or
cohog, a welk, known
known in the
Middle and Southern States as the
round clam, and belonging to the
genus Venus mercenaria, so called
on account of their being used as
currency. The inner surface of
these shells is beautifully polished,
the centre of the valves pure white,
and part of the outside mantle of
a rich violet.
COHOSH (Actaca racemosa).—An Indian
name for a well-known medicinal
herb, of which there are several
varieties, the best known being the
blue, white and black cohosh. Also
called BLACK-SNAKE ROOT.
COLD.-Used in the sense of stale;
e.g., cold bread is stale bread.-
Collar
COLD DECK.-A good hand; cold or
a cold deck in poker phraseology is
to get a good hand at first, without
the necessity of drawing fresh
cards. In thieves' slang it means
a prepared pack of cards.
I never have gambled from that day to
this never once-without a COLD DECK in
my pocket. I cannot even tell who is going
to lose in games that are being played unless
I deal myself.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
-COLD FLOUR. - Backwoods-
man's fare-simple, modest, and
rough, but withal a delicacy and
nourishing. It consists of maize
meal (the corn itself having been
parched before grinding) mixed
with sugar, and stirred into a paste
with water, spice being sometimes
added according to taste, to render
it even more palatable. This latter
is known in the Spanish districts
as PINOLE.———A COLD SCALD.
A periphrastic term for double
misfortune or trouble. The idea
conveyed is that of being frozen
and scalded at one and the same
time.- -COLD-SHUT. — Explained
by quotation.
Out West the same trap is used [for
bears], but instead of pinning it to the
ground a long chain is attached, and the
end of this chain is made fast around a log,
with a COLD-SHUT or split-ring, such as you
put your pocket-keys on, and which can be
fastened by hammering.-Scribner's Maga-
zine, 1887.
·COLD SLAW.—Cold cabbage.—
See KOOL SLAA.-
-COLD SNAP.-
See SNAP.
COLLAPSITY. A state of COLLAPSE;
prostration; exhaustion. Probably
little more than an individualism.
Many emigrants, arriving in that state of
COLLAPSITY termed flat-broke, staid at Los
Angeles because they couldn't go on.-
Boston Post, 1888.
COLLAR. TO WEAR THE COLLAR.-To
be subject to authority; such
control not being altogether to
Collect
one's taste. The meaning con-
veyed, as regards people and
things generally, is the antithesis
of that contained in "to have the
whip hand";
the
breeches"; etc.
"to wear
a
"The
To
ΤΟ
COLLECT. A depression in which
rain water forms temporary
pond; a large puddle. A portion
of New York-the neighborhood
of the Tombs and Five Points-
was formerly known as
Collect" on this account.
COLLECT.—A contraction for "TO
COLLECT payments." -COLLEC-
TOR.-One of the three principal
officers attached to the U.S.
Customs. Equivalent to the
superintendent of the English
service.
159
COLLIDE, TO.-To come in collision
with. Formerly confined to railway
phraseology, but now anything that
comes into violent contact with
another object is said to collide with
it. In spite of the objections raised
to the use of this word, it has
forced its way afresh into the
dictionaries, for in reality collide is
an instance of a word falling into
disuse, and after the lapse of time
again making its way into popular
favor. Used both as a noun and
verb.
COLONEL.-A Courtesy title of all work.
In the South and West especially,
and also in New England, a most
amiable weakness seems to exist
for the appropriation (whether one
has served with the colors or not)
of military titles, colonel being one
of the most popular. It is said
that officers of this and other
ranks are so numerous that the
wonder is there are any privates.
A similar laxity is observable as
regards professional titles, such as
judge, etc.
Come
COLORADO BEETLE.-An insect pest,
the name of which has, of late,
become, unhappily, too familiar to
English ears; it is also called the
POTATO BUG, and is about half-an-
inch long, and, in color, yellow
striped with black.
COLORED.-COLORED MAN, COLORED
PEOPLE. Euphemisms employed
to designate those in whose veins
runs negro blood. The terms were
most rife during the period imme-
diately succeeding the Civil War,
the result of which was to secure
to the negro race the rights of
citizenship, and which, conse-
quently, enhanced the importance
of the black man, especially when
his influence began to be felt at the
polling booth. Other terms of
contempt, sickly philanthropy, or
humor, as the case may be, are
NIGGERS, FREEDMEN, CONTRABAND,
FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT PERSUA-
SION, and UNBLEACHED AMERICANS
(q.2'.).
There was a suppression of votes of COL-
ORED citizens at the recent municipal
election of Jackson, Miss.. . . The report
recites the story of the suppression of
the COLORED vote, and finds that the resolu-
tion of COLORED MEN to abstain from voting
was due to terrorism inspired by the actions
of the White League.-San Francisco Weekly
Chronicle, July 26, 1888.
COMB. TO HAVE ONE'S COMB CUT.—
To be humbled or snubbed; to be
taken down a peg after talking
big; overweening pride, followed
by mortification. A simile drawn
from cock-fighting, and probably
an American survival of a good old
English phrase.
COME. This verb is used in a
variety of slang ways outside
orthodox usage. Many of these
turns of expression are, without
doubt of English origin, and had
their rise in the prize-ring and
Come
cock-pit; others, however, are
employed in a distinctively Ameri-
can fashion, but it is difficult
to draw the line with any degree
of precision. Among them are
-To MAKE COME, which, in the
parlance of Western hunters and
plainsmen, signifies to bring down
game with the rifle; to make a
dead shot. ΤΟ ΜΑΚΕ DRUNK
COME. To produce intoxication.
-To COME AROUND, or to get
around," to persuade; lure;
wheedle; or prevail upon.-
-To
COME OFF.To occur.-TO COME
IT OVER. To convince by argument.
"
TO COME IT STRONG.-To work
vigorously; to act or speak with
force. Who does not remember
the Heathen Chinee of Bret Harte,
the wily euchre player, "who came
it strong with his aces and bowers?"
-To COME DOWN. To abate
prices.To COME OUT. To make
a profession of one's belief or of
religion.-See also COME-outers.
Come out." How did it come
out?" i.e., What was the result?
-To COME OUT OF THE LITTLE
END OF THE HORN.-To fare badly
an obvious allusion to the thin end
of the horn of plenty, the cornu-
copia or emblem of plenty.-
160
-To COME UP TO THE CHALK.
-An equivalent of COMING UP TO
THE SCRATCH; performing what is
expected of one.--TO COME UPON
THE TOWN.-A New England
phrase, signifying to go upon the
rates, or into the union.--To
COME DOWN FROM THE WALLS.-
To abandon one's position; to
retire.To COME IN WITH.-TO
bring; bear forth; have. A
Connecticut phrase.
TO COME
TO STAY.- -When a thing is said
to
come to stay, the expression
signifies permanence and stability;
thus the New York Morning Journal
announces that "earth fuel, a won-
derful new discovery for cooking
and heating purposes, has come to
Come
stay," i.e., its commercial success
is assured.
Year after year has since rolled by,
And now her hair is gray;
Yet I love her still, because I know
My love has COME TO STAY.
-Clarence Stetson,
In the realm of advertising, the illustration
has evidently COME TO STAY. It attracts and
retains the eye, and so serves a double pur-
pose. A high degree of artistic ability finds
employment in producing the advertisements
in the better magazines of to-day.
The pictures, in fact, compare favorably
with any in the body of the magazine itself.
It evidently pays to spend time and money
in the employment of this illustrative art.-
Pittsburg Bulletin, 1888.
TO COME UP SMILING.--To be
impervious to rebuff or disaster; to
meet defeat without flinching.
TO COME THE GUM GAME.-See GUM
GAME. -To COME DOWN.-TO
furnish money; another slang
equivalent being to stump up.
A COME DOWN. A fall, whether
of pride or worldly prospects.
YOU CAN'T COME IT, i.e., cannot
succeed-the phrase being a some-
what defiant expression of disbelief
in the ability of another to obtain
an advantage over one. A doubtful
Americanism, and probably a sur-
vival of old English usage.
COME OUT." There is some come
out in those people after all"; i.e.,
something to admire, praise, or com-
mend. COME OUTERS. This
term is generally applied to those
who for some reason or another
have separated themselves, or come
out, from the religious organi-
zations with which they were
previously connected. The move-
ment, which is large and influential
both in point of numbers and the
wealth of its members, is an out-
come of a wave of independent
thought concerning matters of faith.
The creeds have been found
narrow," men's thoughts have been
cramped by human authority,"
and without organizing themselves
"
-
"too
Combine
into another sect, they profess to
believe that " Christianity as it
existed in Christ is a life rather
than a belief."
COMBINE.-Associated effort for pro-
tective purposes; American com-
bines are synonymous with English
trades' unions.
COMICAL.-Used in the South for
strange; extraordinary.
(
Dr. White, who discovered the Puncheon
Run Falls, said to a mountaineer that they
were a great curiosity. 'I don't see nothing
kewrus about 'em,' replied the man disdain-
fully, when the water comes over the top, it
is bound to run down to the bottom, and der
ain't nothin' kewrus or COMICAL in that.
Now,' adding meditatively, if the water
was to run up, you see, then I'd allow it
to be a kewrosity.-E. A. Pollard's Southern
Scenery.
COMMANDER.-In New York a heavy
wooden hammer goes by this name.
COMMITTEE OF ONE.- ΑΝ INVESTI-
GATING COMMITTEE OF ONE, i.e., a
holding the reins of office by oneself,
brooking no interference.
Police Commissioner Suboft was very,
very obliging in some respects. To use an
American expression he was an investi-
gating COMMITTEE OF ONE, that had to be
continually lubricated. He had, however,
one other weakness. He was very much
given to paying his addresses to the fair sex,
but he was not pretty to look at.-Exchange.
COMMON.-As
OFTEN AS COMMON,
i.e., as often as usual; "as well as
common," i.e., as well as usual.
COMMON-DOINGS.-Plain everyday
fare; the kind of food ordinarily
served. Anything out of the com-
mon, specially prepared dainties
for a festive or other gala occasion
are, on the other hand, spoken of
as CHICKEN FIXINGS (q.v.). Com-
mon-doings originated in the West,
being at first restricted in its mean-
ing, but the term now includes any
161
Conceit
ordinary transaction in contrast
with those that are very large or
peculiarly profitable, being ap-
plied to men, actions, and things
in general of an inferior kind.
"What shall we do?" says a poor
frontiersman's wife, when she hears
of a Federal officer who is to take
up his quarters at her cabin for a
day; "I can't give him common-
doings. And thar Jim's gone away
and I can't send him over to Billy's
wife, or I might get up some
chicken-fixings for him."
I guess I'll order supper. What shall it
be? Corn-bread and COMMON
COMMON DOINS, or
wheat-bread and chicken fixins?
fixins? Sam
Slick, 3rd Ser.
COMPANERO (Spanish).-In the bucolic
dialect of the plains, a companion
partner; equivalent to
mining slang PARD.
or
the
COMPASSIVE. — Exercising pity
pity or
sympathy; compassionate.
COMPASS PLANT (Silphium laciniatum).
-This plant derives its popular
name from the fact of its leaves
being supposed to point north and
south.
COMPLECTED.-Referring to the com-
plexion. A new-fangled Western
barbarism.
COMPLIMENT.-A word which, in the
South-west, signifies a present.
CANCAGEER.-A general name applied
to reptiles of the lizard and sala-
mander species.
CONCEIT, TO.-Equivalent to"reckon,"
'guess, calculate "; to have in
view; to form an idea; to think.
In the sense of to think (concep-
tional volition)
this word was
formerly colloquial in England, but
21
Concerned
is now quite obsolete, although the
noun
} }
"
"' conceit
a pretty con-
ceit "-still lingers, and is used in a
somewhat similar sense. To conceit
may be regarded as a New Eng-
landism.
CONCERNED (pronounced consarned).
An
D--D CONCERNED.
ejaculalory expression of great
emphasis.
That's a CONCERNED ugly fix, and how
we'll ever get out of it is more than I know.
-Southern Literary Messenger, 1888.
CONCESSION.-In Canada, a subdivi-
sion of a township bordered by a
public road.
CONCHAS.
Silver ornaments attached
to the spurs worn by cowboys and
other plainsmen on high days and
holiday occasions. These men are
extremely lavish in personal adorn-
ment, and the embellishment of the
trappings of their steeds when
visiting the towns. A recent writer
in Scribner's Magazine, touching upon
caprice and fashion of this kind,
remarks that the cowboy's life is so
rough, rude, and brutal, that a sort
of internal reaction occurs at
intervals, out of which there
flashes a coarse but genuine need
of pleasure, gaiety, and color. At
times they really surpass the most
ambitious conceptions of the
modern Beau Brummel in the
matter of leather and prunella.
Then the cowboy sets himself out,
like the jay in the fable, with as
small and narrow and high-heeled
a boot as ever the cavaliers who
followed Rupert could boast, so
small and tightly pinching that it
is only donned and endured on
certain solemn occasions-when
he enters town after a long absence
on the trail. Nothing then can be
allowed to interfere with the cere-
mony of boots; they must be
worn, displayed, and exulted in,
162
Conestoga Horse
together with their parti-colored
laces in front, and the silver conchas
outside the spur, jingling and ring-
ing to the bronchos tread. This is
indeed a glorious moment in his
experience; but once out of town
and far from admiring eyes, off
come these terrible tormentors, to
be transferred to the saddle, where
he can survey them with a defiant
satisfaction.
CONCK, CONK, KONCK.-A wrecker.
CONCOA.-The butter-nut. Bartlett
thinks the name of Indian origin.
CONDERIPT.
-A
А Kentucky phrase
meaning "thrown into fits."
CONDUCTA.-A caravan; and often
so-called in the States; of Spanish
origin.
CONDUCTOR.-The guard on English
railways. His position, however,
is far more responsible than that
of his English confrère, inasmuch
as he is not only responsible for
the safety, punctuality, and general
management of the entire train
under his charge, but he also col-
lects the fares, and in other respects
assumes a superior position.
Our new CONDUCTOR (just shipped) has
been without sleep for twenty-four hours.
Such a thing was very frequent.
He is generally addressed as "Cap-
tain," a sobriquet drawn by analogy
from water traffic.-See RAILROAD
TERMINOLOGY.
CONEPATE.-The Southern name of
the skunk (Mephitis mephitica).
Conepate is a corruption of the
Mexican concpatl.
CONESTOGA HORSE.-A breed of
horses so named from the Conestoga
Confectionery
River. Heavily built, of large
size and great power, being a cross
between the Flemish cart-horse
and an English breed, these animals
are still much esteemed in Penn-
sylvania and New York State for
draught purposes; formerly, before
the introduction of railways des-
troyed heavy wagon traffic, they
were much more common than
now.- CONESTOGA WAGON.- A
covered wagon of large capacity,
specially built for the powerful
horses of the above breed.
CONFECTIONERY.-A bar-room. South-
west and West. Also called a
GROCERY.
CONFEDERATE.-This name was as-
sumed by those States which, in
the crisis that arose on the ques-
tion of slavery, seceded from the
Union, forming themselves into
the Confederate States, electing a
rival President, and for seven
years engaging in the most bitter
Civil War the world has ever
known. In Texas the word con-
federate is singularly used. There
it is synonymous with the Yankee's
ABOUT EAST (q.v.). When a Texan
wishes to express the strongest
possible approval of some senti-
ment he will exclaim "it's mighty
confederate!"
CONFEREE.-One conferred with; a
new form, based on the same model
as referee. While, however, the
latter is a standard dictionary
word, conferee has yet to establish
itself. It is difficult to say where
the line should be drawn in such
word-making, but conferee seems
to supply a want, and is certainly
SO objectionable as some
creations, such for example as To
not
BURGLE, or TO EXCUrt.
163
Conjecture
CONFIDENCE, To.-A factitious verb,
derived from "confidence' as a
curtailment of CONFIDENCE-TRICK.
This consists in obtaining one's
trust with the deliberate intention
of subsequently betraying it.
The missing Hindsboro' merchant has at
last turned up alive and well. He had
been on the trail of two sharpers who had
CONFIDENCED him, and did not leave it until
one of them was landed behind the bars at
Terre Haute.-Daily Inter-Ocean, February
20, 1888.
Detectives Fitzgerald and Conners arrested
Lawrence Stanley on Eighth and Market
Streets, between 7 and 8 o'clock yesterday
morning, on a charge of CONFIDENCING
Henry Mueller, a coal dealer and contractor.
-Missouri Republican, February 15, 1888.
CONFIRMATE, TO.-To confirm.
He wheeled upon the planter-'Sir, do I
exaggerate?'
Forty miles,' replied the planter; 'some-
times fifty.'
'Friends, CONFIRMATED! more than
twice-fold CONFIRMATED.'-Century Maga-
zine, 1888.
CONGRESS.—The Legislature of the
United States. This is constituted
of three divisions-the PRESIDENT
(q.v.), the SENATE (q.v.), and the
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (q.v.).
The history of Congress may be
roughly divided as follows: (1)
The Continental Congress, the
pre-revolutionary governing body;
(2) the Federal Congress, which
lasted for a period of eight years
only; and (3) the Congress of the
United States as now constituted,
and which met for the first time
on March 4, 1789.— CONGRES-
SIONAL. The labors, powers, and
practices of Congress are SO
distinguished. M.C.-Member
of Congress.
CONIACKER.-A counterfeit. Evi-
dently a play upon words.
CONJECTURE, TO.-Like to " reckon,"
"guess," and "calculate," to con-
Conner
jecture is always used with a kind of
mental reservation. It is an in-
grained characteristic of the New
Englander that he rarely, if ever,
ventures upon a direct statement
when there is the slightest possi-
bility of mistake. This trait has
descended from Puritan times when
to tell even an unintentional false-
hood was regarded as heinous in the
extreme. It is not to be wondered
at, therefore, that direct asseveration
is thus eschewed and guarded
against; in other respects, however,
a Yankee takes full revenge for the
straight-laced and restricted notions
handed down to him-his diction-
ary of
half-veiled blasphemies
being singularly complete.
CONNER.-The BURGALL (q.v.).
CONNIPTION Or CONNUPTION FITS.
An American synonym for hysteria,
A word common in New England
and among the descendants of New
Englanders in the State of New
York. Also a state of collapse.
164
He's fixed up a putty fair sort o' organiza-
tion in Dearborn, although it can't last long,
simply because it's all built up on money,
'n' I don't go a cent on that kind of organiz-
ing. Still it's good enough in its way. But
he made his mistake in lettin' the idea run
away with him that he could skeer me into
a CONNIPTION FIT with his musharoon
organization. He didn't knaow me.-Scrib-
ner's Magazine, 1887.
CONNUBIATE, TO.-To act in concert
with; to unite with.
The last Presidential election illustrated
these truths. When the machine had nom-
inated Blaine and CONNUBIATED with Tam-
many and waved the shirt, every gopher
politician in the band actually believed that
every factor in the case had been accounted
for. San Francisco News Letter, February
4th, 1888.
CONSEQUENTIOUS.-Said to be of New
England origin, but as a synonym of
CONSEQUENTIAL it has now passed
Continental
into general
general colloquial usage,
though excluded from the diction-
aries. Hence also CONSEQUEN-
TIOUSNESS.
11
CONSIDERABLE. Used colloquially
for emphasizing qualities and quan-
tities as applied to men and things.
Thus (1) such vulgarisms as "he
is considerable of an artist," and
"he is considerable of an author,
as indicative of superior talent or
popularity, are very common.
(2) Considerable is used in a manner
analogous to SOME, or ANY (q.v.),
in the sense of very, a good deal;
as exemplified in the following
quotation :-
A wet day is CONSIDERABLE tiresome, any
way you can fix it.-Sam Slick in England.
CONSUMPTED. TO BE
i.e., in a consumption,
CONSUMPTED
That lady is mighty pale complected. I'm
afcard she's CONSUMPTED;
CONSUMPTED; she's always
complaining of some misery. Western
Sketches.
CONTESTEE. - A new form on the
model of lessee, legatee, etc.
Washington. Feb. 4.-The House resumed
the consideration of the Lowery - White
election case. Messrs. Moore of Texas and
O'Ferral of Virginia spoke in support of the
majority resolution, and contended that the
CONTESTEE, James B. White, had failed
utterly to make proof of his naturalization.
-Troy Daily Times, Feb. 4, 1888.
"
CONTINENTAL.-An expression which,
at the time of the Revolution, was
much used to designate all that
concerned the colonies as a whole,
even before they were united into
a confederacy, hence continental
congress, continental money,"
"continental troops," and the people
themselves were generally spoken
of as continentallers or continentals.
NOT WORTH A CONTINENTAL
DAM or NOT WORTH A CONTINEN-
TAL
is a curious slang phrase
Continental
165
handed down from the times to
which allusion has just been made.
Continental dam, a term almost
universally applied to the utterly
valueless continental paper - money
of those days is, nevertheless,
traced back to a very different
origin by James Grant White, who
thinks the phrase a counterpart, if
not a mere modification, of others
of the same sort a tinker's damn,
a trooper's, etc., and as the troops
of the colonies were called con-
tinentallers or continentals during the
war, and for many years afterwards,
it is probable that the phrase in
question was at first a continen-
tal's damn, from which the sign
of the possessive was gradually
dropped. Passing to the general
phrase not worth a damn, Mr. White
thinks that the damn represents
watercress, A.S., cerse. By transfor-
mation of the "e"-a very common
occurrence, as, e.g., bird for brid, and
burn for brun-it became cres; but
for a long time it retained its origi-
nal form; and a man who meant
to say that anything was of very
little value, said sometimes that it
was not worth a rush, and others.
that it was not worth a cerse or
kerse. The transition from this, by
reason of identity of sound and a
love of variety, to not worth
damn is easy.
a
'Are you thinking of writing a letter of
declination, Senator?'
'No, not at all. I am not worrying about
the nomination, though. I don't care a CON-
TINENTAL if I don't receive it. -Missouri
Republican, February 16, 1888.
He didn't give a CONTINENTAL for anybody.
Beg your pardon, friend, for coming so near
saying a cuss-word. - Mark Twain's The
Innocents at Home, p. 20.
CONTINENTALS.-The uniform
of the continental troops of the
American Colonies during the
War of the Revolution. Used
exactly as the term "regimentals "
is now employed.
Convenient
The knowledge of an audience is never
homogenous. The Englishman, whose
helmeted ancestors hang in portrait upon
his walls, will know one thing, the Yankee,
who contemplates his grandfather in CONTI-
NENTALS above the chimney-piece, will know
another, the street urchin in the gallery will
know neither.-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
CONTINUANCE.
- A remand.
g
It is
obvious that this sense has, by an
easy transition, come from that
which signifies duration.
Boylan and Needham insisted they were
innocent and asked for a CONTINUANCE. It
was granted. And they both furnished bail.
-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 14, 1888.
CONTRABAND.-A term applied to
negroes at the time of the War of
Independence, from the fact of
their being then treated as contra-
band of war. The word fell into
general disuetude, but was revived
with a similar meaning during the
late Civil War; indeed the name,
applied to negroes as slaves or
chattels seems at times, as is only
natural, to have been in common
use.
new-
CONTRAPTIONS.-A genuine American
vulgarism applied to any
fangled, peculiar thing or idea;
c.g., an extravagant form of dress,
a queer and unusual manner of
speech, or anything else that is
new and to which the public taste
is not accustomed would be spoken
of as contraptions.
CONTRIVE. To perform; to do. An
Americanism which is, perhaps,
altogether obsolete.
CONVENE, TO.-To be agreeable to;
convenient; suitable for. Obsolete.
CONVENIENT. Close by; easy of
access; a word which has assumed
a new meaning in the United
States, probably owing to Irish
Conventions
influence. It is used to denote
what is near at hand, within easy
reach; a farm will thus be adver-
tised as having "wood and water
convenient to the house."
CONVENTIONS.-The different parties
in counties, states, and in the
nation at large usually hold con-
ventions prior to important elections.
Delegates are selected in the
various local political subdivisions.
National conventions are held for
the purpose of nominating candi-
dates for the Presidency. The
delegates number many hundreds,
and the votes are recorded as the
roll of States is called from the
presiding officer's desk. National
conventions date back about sixty
years. Prior to that time, general
nominations were made in
Washington, the Congressmen
representing the two great parties
meeting in caucus for the purpose.
Increased facilities for travel made
really national conventions possible,
but it was many years before they
attained their present perfection
of organization. The following
interesting details concerning con-
ventions recently appeared in an
American paper :—
The evolution and growth of party cON-
VENTIONS demonstrate two very gratifying
facts: That the American people are far more
accustomed to acting together, as a great
unit, than they once were; and that there is
none of that infatuated personal devotion
and blind reliance upon party leaders that
was so marked in Clay and Jackson times.
Exactly the opposite of what our fathers
feared is what has happened; the larger the
country grows the easier it is for its repre-
sentative men to come together, and the
people must initiate a political movement or
they will not support it. George Washington
was elected by unanimous consent, without
resolution or nomination; and while the
electors were not at all bound by instructions
as to vice-president, they chose John Adams
without serious division; the opposition to
Washington's second election was so slight
that it held no general consultation, and before
his second term expired the people had by
common consent fixed upon John Adams
166
Conventions
and Thomas Jefferson as the natural leaders
of the Federal and Republican parties re-
spectively. They had politics then-not so
heated as in 1800, but the first real contest
was very animated. Four years later, by
common consent, the same contest was
renewed as before, but not so informally;
for a regular caucus of the Republican-
Democratic congressmen met in Philadel-
phia and nominated Thomas Jefferson and
Aaron Burr for first and second place. If
the Federal party held any full caucus that
year, it left no record of it; but by common
consent John Adams and Charles C. Pinck-
ney were accepted as the candidates. Not
till 1844 was there so hot and personal a con-
test as in 1800. In 1804 the tendency was all
one way; the election on the part of the
Federalists was a mere form, and Jefferson
was triumphantly re-elected. In 1808 the
caucus was regularly established by both
parties, and in 1812 it was worked for all
it was worth quite as skilfully as any
CONVENTION ever was. Not only did the
congressional caucus of each party make a
regular nomination, but the Legislature of
New York repeated or confirmed the nomi-
nation of De Witt Clinton; yet Madison
was re-elected. For sixteen years this pecu-
liar practice of nominating by congressional
caucus continued, but in Monroe's second
administration the old Federal party expired.
Then the Republican party split into factions
-on men rather more than on principles.
The congressional caucus was regularly
called in 1824, but only 66 members were
present out of 216; they nominated Wil-
liam H. Crawford, one of the first to be
spoken of as a Democratic candidate; but
three other candidates, Henry Clay, General
Jackson, and John Quincy Adams, were
soon in the field by calls from their friends,
resolutions of minor caucuses, and nomina-
tions by State Legislatures. The result of this
singular contest, the election of Adams by
the House of Representatives, ended King
Caucus for ever; it was by common
consent recognized that a better method
must be adopted. At the next meet-
ing of the Tennessee Legislature, Jackson
was renominated by that body; the
Democrats everywhere accepted it without
protest, and in 1828 he received 178 electoral
votes to 83 for Adams. John C. Calhoun,
as candidate for vice-president, brought all
the Crawford strength to the support of the
ticket, aided not a little by Martin Van
Buren and Churchill C. Cambreling, of New
York, who made a long southern tour for
that purpose. For the next sixteen years,
no matter who were candidates, Jackson
and Clay were the real leaders of their
respective parties, and the CONVENTION
system was soon established much as we
find it now. The first regularly called national
political CONVENTION was that of the Anti-
Masonic party at Philadelphia in 1830;
there they adopted a platform, but convened
Conversationalist
167
again in Baltimore, September 26, 1831,
and nominated William Wirt for president,
and Amos Ellmaker, of Pennsylvania, for
vice-president. The striking fact about all
the early CONVENTIONS was that they were
held so long before the election. The first
Whig or National Republican CONVENTION
met at Baltimore Dec. 12, 1831, and nomi-
nated Henry Clay and John Sergeant. The
Democrats met in the same city in May, 1832,
and confirmed the nomination of Jackson,
already made by State Legislatures, naming
Van Buren for vice-president. Their next
CONVENTION was as early as May, 1835, and
nominated Van Buren and Richard M. John-
son. Oddly enough the Whigs did not hold
a national CONVENTION for that campaign,
but accepted the action of their Pennsylvania
state CONVENTION, which nominated Gen. W.
H. Harrison and Francis Granger. There-
after the party CONVENTIONS met regularly.
On the 13th of November, 1839, the first
Abolition CONVENTION met at Warsaw, N.Y.,
and nominated James G. Birney and Fran-
cis J. Lemoyne. In 1844, August 30, they
convened again, calling themselves the
Liberty party, at Buffalo, N.Y., and nomi-
nated James G. Birney and Thomas Morris.
In 1848 they fused with the Barnburners of
New York, and at Utica, on the 22nd of June,
nominated Martin Van Buren and Henry
Dodge, of Wisconsin. The latter declined;
and they put Charles Francis Adams in his
place. In 1852, calling themselves the Free
Soil Democracy, they convened August II
and nominated John P. Hale, of New
Hampshire, and George W. Julian, of
Indiana. It is a curious fact in political
evolution that the latter is now a Demo-
crat and an official of New Mexico by
appointment of President Cleveland. The
old party CONVENTIONS need not be
detailed; but in 1856 a new one came into
the field, absorbing the Abolitionists and
nearly all the old Whigs in the north. This
was the Republican party, which held its
first CONVENTION at Pittsburg, February 22,
1856. It was informal, called by the chair-
men of state committees in nine States, and
only provided a plan for the regular CONVEN-
TION which met at Philadelphia in June,
1856. For that and the following eight years
every CONVENTION was memorable; but
their history is too recent to need repetition
here. The one Republican cONVENTION,
however, which stands out in history be-
yond all others, was that of May, 1800, at
Chicago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln.
Not one element of dramatic interest was
lacking; almost every man was there whom
the next few years were to make eminent in
statesmanship.
CONVERSATIONALIST.-One who con-
verses. Colloquial on both sides
Cook-House
of the water, but as yet shut out
from the dictionaries.
CONVICTION.-STRUCK UNDER CONVIC-
TION. To be "convinced of sin."
This and many similar phrases are
the outcome of the plain and
simple phraseology which at first,
in America, characterized all re-
ligious life.
COODIES.-The name of a political
party which originated, in 1814, in
the State of New York. A full
account will be found in Ham-
mond's Political History of New
York.
Like
COOKEY, COOKERY. A small cake;
popularly esteemed a tit-bit.
the English pancake on Shrove
Tuesday, and the hot cross bun
on Good Friday, cookies form,
among old fashioned folk, a special
dainty at Christmastide, and on
New Year's Day; in the latter case
they are called New Year's cookies.
The custom of preparing these
cakes was so much part and parcel
of the national life that people
swore by cookies, and for the matter
of that, still do so; for Bret Harte
makes one of his reckless Cali-
fornia characters say: "Don't
know whar he is! He lost every
hoof and hide, I'll bet a cookey!"
Luck of Roaring Camp, P. 227.
Probably a Dutch survival from
kockye. New York and New Eng-
land States.
A book has just been published to instruct
reporters in the use of proper phrases. We
bet a COOKEY no reporter will ever read it.
It's an insult to the profession to intimate that
a reporter doesn't already know everything
under the sun.-Detroit Free Press, Marchi
30, 1888.
COOK-HOUSE.-An out-door kitchen, or
on board ship, the cook's galley.
In the West Indies and Southern
States where houses are built
Cooler
without fire-places, the cooking
arrangements are generally rele-
gated to a small detached building.
COOLER.-A prison; e.g., the judge
gave me five months in the cooler !"
COOLEY
or
or COULEE. A gully
rocky valley. A term introduced
by French settlers. Every ravine
short of
an inhabitable valley
is called a cooley.-See COULee.
COOLING-BOARD.
A ghastly name
given in Pennsylvania and Mary-
land to the slab upon which a dead
body is laid out.
COOLWORT (Tiarella cordifolia).-A well-
known herb, celebrated for its
diuretic and tonic qualities.
forms one of the far-famed Shaker
remedies.
It
COON.-(1) A curtailment of raccoon
(Procyon lotor); one of the Opossum
tribe. The name is thought to
be of Indian origin (Algonquin,
aroughcun, the scratcher), though
some trace it to the French raton.
The contraction coon dates from
about 1840 when this animal was
used by a political party as a kind
of badge. Hence- (2) COONS as
a nickname for the Whigs, who,
during Henry Clay's time, had thus
appropriated the emblem. In the
campaigns of that day raccoons
were painted on banners, and live
specimens were frequently borne in
processions. The Whig policy was
denounced
as COONERY, which,
said a writer in the Boston Post,
"must fall with all its corruptions
and abominations, never more to
rise." The epithet was thought by
opponents to ybe all the more
forcible, no doubt, because so
suggestive of the known character
of the animal, which moves in a
168
Coot
somewhat oblique and sidelong
manner, and is up to all sorts of
shifts in self-defence. Hence,
also, the ludrcious corruption of
SHE-COONERY, for chicanery, not
uncommon in
in the South, and
expressive of a kind of mild and
feminine whiggery. A GONE
COON represents a man in a serious.
or hopeless difficulty. This Western
phrase is, of course, drawn from
the idea of a coon which has been
treed. COON'S AGE.-A long
period, as, "he's been gone away
this coon's age." The origin and
application of the simile is by no
means self-evident.--To GO THE
WHOLE COON.-Equivalent to the
English slang phrase, "to go the
whole hog."
COONER.-Southern for " canoe."
COONERY.-See COON.
COONTIE. (Coontie adka or Coontie
chatta).-A preparation of arrow-
root (Zamia integrifolia). Florida.
The mode of manufacture em-
ployed by the Indians is similar
to that observed in the case of
CASSAVA (q.v.).
COOP. TO COOP VOTERS is to col-
lect them as it were in a coop or
cage, so as to be sure of their
services on election day. Liquor
dealers are the usual " coopers
for obvious reasons.
COOT-A small water-fowl. The
American variety differs consider-
ably from its European namesake.
-Poor cooт.-A weak-minded,
stupid person; a simpleton.
this connection "
as stupid as a
coot," is provincially proverbial in
England.
In
He was debarred the rude heraldry of a
nickname of achievement, and in a camp
Copperhead
made up of Euchre Bills, Poker Dicks,
Profane Pete, and Snap-shot Harry, was
known vaguely as 'him,' Skeesicks, or that
COOT.-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
COPPERHEAD (Trigonocephalus contortrix);
-A deadly snake, the venom and
noisomeness of which have more
than once furnished a contemptuous
sobriquet in American history.
The reptile itself is known under
different names in various parts
of the country-COPPER BELLY,
CHUNK HEAD, RED VIPER, ADDER,
DEAF ADDER, RED ADDER, RED EYE,
and DUMB RATTLESNAKE, the last
name, probably because, unlike the
rattlesnake proper, it does not give
warning before it strikes.. -As a
nickname copperhead was first ap-
plied to the Indian; it subsequently
descended to the Dutch colonists,
Irving having frequently used it in
his History of New York. Its latest
application, however, was when,
during the Civil War, the epithet
was bestowed upon certain anti-war
Democrat Northerners who sym-
pathized with the cause of the
South. The aptness of the name
is apparent when the nature and
habits of the copperhead proper are
borne in mind-its deadly character
and the absence of warning before
discharging its venom. The term
is still often met with in the press.
Gay was executed, I think, in November,
1862, at Indianapolis. He was twenty-nine
years old, and had been a school teacher in
Southern Indiana previous to enlistment,
and was a member of the Knights of the
Golden Circle, and a virulent COPPERHEAD.
While in the hospital at Richmond,
Ky., he took the oath of allegiance to the
Confederacy, which other Federal soldiers
there did not do. He did it because it
was in harmony with his views, which then
prevailed in that benighted and COPPERHEAD
Stricken portion of Indiana.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, March 2, 1888.
April 10, 1864.-Unusual agitation all
around concentrated here. Exciting times
in Congress. The COPPERHEADS are getting
furious, and want to recognize the Southern
Confederacy.--Walt Whitman's Diary in
Century Magazine, October, 1888.
169
Corn
to
-Hence COPPERHEADISM,
represent secret sympathy with
the opponents of the party to
which a person ostensibly belongs.
CORAL-BERRY (Symphoricarpus vulgaris).
The Indian currant, a native of
Missouri.
CORD. (1) A measure of wood for
domestic purposes, as "a cord of
wood." Wood thus sold is called
CORD WOOD.- (2) In the West "a
large quantity "and not merely a
cord. The enlargement of the term
is probably due to the plentiful
supply once so common in those
regions.
Woodcraft is the art of selling an ex-
urbanite half a cord of chestnut for a cord
of hickory, when he is new to the rural
districts. Puck, August, 1888.
CORDELLE. A Western name of
French origin for a tow-line. Also
-TO CORDELLE; to propel by
means of a tow-line.
CORDUROY ROAD.-A rough kind of
road consisting of logs laid side by
side; usually found in swamps and
low-lying marshy ground.
I had to cross bayous an' criks (wal, it did
beat all natur'),
Upon a kin' o' CORDEROY, fust log, then
alligator;
Luckily, the critters warn't sharpsot; I guess
'twuz over-ruled
They'd done their morning's marketin' and
gut their hunger cooled.
-Biglow Papers.
The reader will not fail to note the subtle
art which brings out and intensifies the
writer's repetition of the word "diddle
a word as stirring as a ride over a CORDU-
ROY ROAD.—Mark Twain's Screamers.
TO CORDUROY.-To construct
roads of the above mentioned
description.
CORN.-Maize; Indian corn. Ameri-
cans never employ this word corn
22
Corn
in the sense in which it is used in
England. English corn stuffs are,
in America, called grain. It is
curious to note that, though it
sometimes includes other varieties,
the word corn is primarily and
principally applied, in the idiom of
any given country, to the staple
cereal, as for example, wheat in
England, rye in Germany, oats in
Sweden, and MAIZE (q.v.) in America.
CORN-BALLS. — A sweetmeat
made of POP-CORN (q.v.), and
molasses, very similar to English
hard bake and almond rock.
CORN-BASKET.-A large basket for
carrying maize.--CORN-BLADE.—
The leaf of the maize plant. In some
parts of the country the leaves
are dried and stacked for use as
fodder. CORN-BREAD. - Maize
meal bread which is unfermented
with yeast. CORN-BROOMS.
Brooms made of the tops and dried
seed stalks of the maize plant.
CORN AND COB MILL. -A mill for
grinding together the kernel and
spike of Indian corn.- -CORN-COB.
-See COB. CORN-COB SHELL.-
A weapon of offence which
came into vogue during the Civil
War. These shells were made
by taking the pith out of the
cob of a full ear of corn and re-
placing it with powder. A short
fuse was inserted and the hole
170
plugged. It will be seen at a
glance that this was a weapon of
offence not to be despised. It
exploded with a report equal to
that of a musket, and the grains
flew in all directions with stinging
force.
Soon after that disgrace a party of the
boys prepared a lot of grenades-CORN-
COB SHELLS they called them-and deter-
mined to storın head quarters.—American
Paper, 1888.
CORN-COB PIPE.— -A pipe manu-
factured from the maize cob-sweet,
light, and durable, and a favorite
with smokers.
Corn
Lazar returned to the house, knocked the
ashes out of his pipe and refilled it. Then
with some difficulty he succeeded in taking
a live coal from the ashes: holding it in the
leathery palm of his shaking left hand, he
got it deposited at last on the CORN-COB
BOWL OF HIS
HIS PIPE.-Scribner's Magazine,
1887.
in
structure
CORN-CRIB.—A
which the dried ears of maize are
stored. It is built so that the air can
circulate round and through it,
being raised from the ground, and
having open sides of lattice work.
-CORN-CUTTER.
A machine
similar to a chaff-cutter, and used
for chopping up stalks of maize.
-CORN-DODGER.-A hard-baked
cake made from Indian corn, so
named from a tendency to burst
when subjected to heat, very similar
to POP-CORN (q.v.).
on
He opened a pouch which he wore
his side, and took from thence one or two
CORN-DODGERS and half a boiled rabbit,
which his wife had put up for hunting
provisions.-Mrs. Stowe's Dred, vol. ii.,
p. 170.
CORN-FED. —A woman is popu-
larly said to be corn-fed when stout
and plump-an allusion to the
nourishing qualities of this kind of
food. CORN-FIELD SCHOOL.-
The old-time school-house of the
South, in which the education re-
ceived was of a very primitive type,
and very different from the public
school system now prevailing
throughout the Union. Thus a self-
made man will boast of his old corn-
field school training.- -FLINT-CORN.
One of the many varieties of maize
which, says Beverley, in his History
of Virginia, looks smooth and as
full as the early ripe corn; the
other has a larger grain and looks.
shrivelled, with a dent on the back
of the grain, as if it had never
come to perfection; this they call
she-corn. This is esteemed by the
planters as the best for increase.
-CORN-FODDER.-Maize Sown
broadcast and left to take care of
Corn
itself. Used as fodder for cattle,
both in the dried and undried state.
CORN-FRITTER.-A dish com-
posed of batter and grated green
maize.- -CORN-HUSK, or CORN-
CHUCK or CORN-SHUCK.- The
outer leaves surrounding the ear of
maize.- CORN-HUSKING or CORN-
SHUCKING.-See HUSKING BEE.
CORN-HOUSE.-See CORN-CRIB.
No one would suspect that a well-timbered
CORN-HOUSE had been the cause of much
litigation, and even now looked, when you
come to know its story, as if it stood on its
long, straight legs, like an ungainly top-
heavy beast, already to stalk away when
his position became too dangerous.-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
CORN-JUICE.-A Western term
for whiskey.
Don't run to dress-of all the orts with
which the airth is strewed
The most concarned useless thing is what
they call a dood,
An' don't be for ever loafing whar the CORN
JUICE flows.
-Detroit Free Press, May, 1888.
CORN-MEAL.-Maize meal.
CORN-MILL.-A mill for grinding
Indian corn; compare with CORN
AND COB MILL. CORN-OYSTER.—
similar to corn-fritter; the taste
of this dish is supposed to be like
that of the oyster-- CORN-PONE.
-A tin-baked maize-meal bread,
enriched with milk and eggs.-
POP-CORN.-A very popular dainty,
for the manufacture of which
a special, small, dark variety
of maize is used. The grains
are placed on a heated shovel
or held in a wire-gauze over
a brisk fire, till they pop open,
swelling to great size, and in the
act of bursting, expose the snowy
white inside, thus presenting a
pleasing appearance in harmony
with their attractive odor. Popcorn
is eaten with salt or sugar.-
CORN
POPPER.-A sieve-like utensil for
making POP-CORN (q.v.).- CORN
RIGHTS.-The title under which
171
Corn
land was acquired in the early days
of settlement. He who planted an
acre of corn acquired a title to
100 acres of land. -CORN-STALK.
-The stalk of the maize plant.
CORN STALK FIDDLE.-A toy made
by loosening the external fibre of a
corn stalk and placing a fiddle bridge
under each extremity. This is
capable of producing a few dull
sounds by each vibration.
Ole Nashville dey say is a very nice town,
Dar de niggers pick de cotton till de sun
goes down;
Dey dance all night to de ole banjo,
Wid a
CORN-STALK FIDDLE and a shoe-
string bow.
-Negro Melodies.
CORN TRASH.-See CORN HUSK.
-CORN TASSELS.-The graceful
feathery flower of the maize plant,
the ornamental effect of which, in
conjunction with the long leafy
blades, has supplied the basis for
what has been called the American
style of architecture.
I heard the bob-white whistle in the dewy
breath of morn,
The bloom was on the alder and the
TASSEL On the CORN.
I stood with beating heart beside the
babbling Mac-o-chee,
To see my love come down the glen to
keep her tryst with me.
-Texas Siftings, 1888.
Numerous as are the special
terms to which this valuable plant
has given rise, the slang phrases also
derived from it are hardly fewer in
number; one very curious is--
TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CORN.-
To confess to a mistake; or, in
other words, to "own to the soft
impeachment." It also implies an
acknowledgment of having been
outwitted. Several versions are
given as to the origin of the phrase,
of which two will suffice. The
first, as related by the Pittsburg Com-
mercial Advertiser, is as follows:-
Some years ago, a raw customer from
the upper country deterinined to try his
Corn
fortune at New Orleans. Accordingly he
provided himself with two flat-boats-one
laden with CORN and the other with po-
tatoes and down the river he went. The
night after his arrival he went up town
to a gambling-house. Of course he com-
menced betting, and his luck proving un-
fortunate, he lost. When his money was
gone he bet his truck; and the CORN and
potatoes followed the money. At last,
when completely cleaned out, he returned
to his boats at the wharf; when the evi-
dences of a new misfortune presented them-
selves. Through some accident or other,
the flat-boat containing the CORN was sunk,
and a total loss. Consoling himself as well
as he could, he went to sleep, dreaming of
gamblers, potatoes, and CORN. It was scarcely
sunrise, however, when he was disturbed
by the child of chance, who had arrived
to take possession of the two boats as his
winnings. Slowly awakening from his sleep,
our hero, rubbing his eyes and looking the
man in the face, replied: 'Stranger, I
ACKNOWLEDGE THE CORN-take 'em; but
the potatoes you can't have, by thunder!'
The other version, as given by De
Vere, is that the Hon. Andrew
Stewart claims to have caused its
first appearance in this wise:-
In 1828, he was in Congress discussing the
principle of Protection, and said in the
course of his remarks, that Ohio, Indiana,
and Kentucky sent their hay-stacks, corn-
fields, and fodder to New York and Philadel-
phia for sale. The Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe,
Kentucky, jumped up and said, 'Why, that
is absurd; Mr. Speaker, I call the gentle-
inan to order. He is stating an absurdity.
We never send haystacks or cornfields to
New York or Philadelphia.' 'Well,' said I,
'what do you send?' 'Why horses, mules,
cattle, hogs.' Well, what makes your
horses, mules, cattle, hogs? You feed
a hundred dollars' worth of hay to a horse,
you just animate and get upon the top
of your haystack, and ride off to market.
How is it with your cattle. You make one
of them carry fifty dollars' worth of hay and
grass to the Eastern market; how much
CORN does it take at thirty-three cents per
bushel to fatten it?' 'Why, thirty bushels.'
'Then you put that thirty bushels of CORN
into the shape of a hog, and make it walk oft
to the Eastern market.' Mr. Wickliffe
jumped up and said: 'Mr. Speaker, I
ACKNOWLEDGE THE CORN.'
Just as he passed in front of me I caught
his eye, and he stopped the whole procession
and said, 'God bless my soul, isn't that Dan
Linahan?
1
he
I ACKNOWLEDGED THE CORN, and
called me up to him and shook hands.-
Missouri Republican, January 25, 1888.
172
Corner
ALL FOR CORN. A synonym
for sincerity; honesty; and good
intention; "he took it all for
corn," i.e., equivalent to "he took it
all for gospel."
CORN-CRACKER.-A sobriquet for a
Kentuckian. Also the name in
North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, and other
Southern States for a poor white.
-Corn-crackER STATE, Ken-
tucky; another name is the BEAR
STATE, an epithet which is also
applied to Arkansas.
CORNEL-TREE (Cornus florida).—The
common dog-wood. A useful
timber tree, which, in the early
spring, flowers profusely, its snow-
white blossom being replaced in
the autumn with brilliant scarlet
berries. This is not to be con-
founded with the POISON SUMAC
(Rhus venenata), which also is
popularly designated DOG-WOOD.
—
CORNER. A Commercial phrase now
pretty generally used by all English-
speaking people. Properly" to
have a corner," is to purchase a
larger quantity of stock or other
commodities than is really on the
market; colloquially, it appears to
be used in the sense of having the
command of, or taking first place
in, as for instance, when the Daily
Inter-Ocean (March 13, 1888),
speaking of Mr. Donnelly the
Shakspeare-Bacon controversialist,
says that :-
In appearance, he is a trifle odd. He
doesn't use hair restorative to any noticeable
extent. Homeliness of feature he has a
CORNER on, and he has ceased growing at
five feet two inches.
Men in the sugar trade were excited
yesterday over a report that the members of
the Sugar Trust had decided to ship large
quantities of the best refined sugar to London,
in order to keep up the prices of the refined
article in this country by relieving the
market here of any surplus, and creating a
Corner-Trees
shortage, or what would practically be a
CORNER in sugar.-New York World, Feb.
14, 1888.
173
the
why
To CORNER.-To operate as
described above.- CORNER-LOT.
-Most building plots, especially
of late years, are laid out in squares;
the corner-lots are naturally much
sought after.
CORNER-TREES.-Trees which mark
the boundary lines of homesteads,
claims, etc. In the early days it
was frequently the practice to mark
off tracks of land by blazing certain
trees at the corners, such landmarks
being termed corner-trees or corners.
Also WITNESS TREES (q.v.).
A
CORN-SNAKE (Coluber guttatus).
snake which frequents the corn-
fields of the South.
CORP.-A Pennsylvanian corruption
of " corpse."
CORPOROSITY.-
-The human body. A
Pennsylvanian idiom.
His CORPOROSITY touches the ground with
his hands in a vain attempt to reach it.-
7. C. Neal's Charcoal Sketches.
CORRAL.-Literally a circular en-
senses
closure into which horses and
cattle are driven for safety or
other purposes. On the plains
to corral means the difficult art
of keeping cattle in a compact
body, for the purpose of fending
and feeding them; and from this
primitive usage its multitudinous
are derived. From the
Spanish corro a circle. Collo-
quially extended in meaning in
many ways, with its corresponding
verb to corral, it partakes largely of
the nature of slang; thus a society
belle at a ball, when asked to
dance, will reply that she has been
corralled by so-and-so for the dance
Cotton
in question; or a Western parson
performing the marriage ceremony,
when asking if any cause is known
him
couple before
"shouldn't make the play," will
bid the bystanders "squeal right at
that stage of the game, or corral
When
their jaws for evermore."
personal sympathy has been enlist-
ed upon any subject, the person
extending it is said to have been
corralled, or if the plainsman is
overtaken by a blizzard, he speaks
of himself as having been corralled,
and so on.
It was evident that they [the Indians]
could not understand what such a large
party was doing on the prairie, and we did
not take the trouble to inform them. When
we camped we took extra precaution to
CORRAL the wagons and hobble the stock.
As soon as it grew dark the red-skins began
to light signal-fires, and by this means we
could see that the country swarmed with
them.-San Francisco Weekly Examiner,
February 23, 1888.
COSOUSE -An onomatopoetic word
representing the fall of a heavy
body into water.
After a fashion I got to my dug-out, with
no weapon along but the paddle. Snags
were plenty. I felt strong as a hoss too;
and the dug-out hadn't leaped more'n six
lengths afore-co-SOUSE I went the front
eend jest lifted itself agin a sawyer and
emptied ine into the element.—Robb's
Squatter Life.
COTBETTY.-A mollycoddle. Cotbetty
is thus applied in the North and
East. Authorities unite in thinking
the word of English origin. It is
probably a compound of "cot,"
an effeminate, troublesome man,
and "betty" with the same
meaning.
COTTON.-KING COTTON;
-KING COTTON; COTTON IS
KING!-Both phrases were signifi-
cantly used by Southerners before
and during the Civil War, their
belief being that the cause of the
South would finally triumph by
Cotton
reason of the vast stake at issue, as
represented by the staple of the
South. Among other special
terms to which the cultivation
of cotton has given rise may be
mentioned COTTON-BAGGING, OF
BAGGING, a material used as an out-
side wrapping for cotton bales.
COTTONDOM.-The region in which
cotton is grown; also COTTONIA.
COTTONOCRACY.-A term applied
to Boston cotton merchants.
SEA-ISLAND COTTON.-A variety of
the plant which has now gone out
of cultivation, having been re-
placed by what is known as UPLAND-
-COTTON-MOUTH. A
deadly snake found in Arkansas, and
thought to be the same as the
Moccasin snake.- COTTON-WOOD
TREE (Populus monilifera). The
ALAMO of New Mexico and Texas.
COTTON.
―
Placid as a Minnesota lake in summer time,
the Missouri glides along between banks
shaded by cOTTON-WOODS.-Century Maga-
zine, 1887.
TO HAVE THE COTTON-WOOD
ON ONE. To have an advantage
over.
Shoo! Say, you jess keep quiet 'bout
twenty minits! I'll go home an' bounce de
new wife an' take de old one back, an'
make all up wid her! I jess reckoned she
was blowin' around, an' yere she's HAD DE
COTTONWOOD ON ME all de time! Shoo!
Gin me twenty minits an' look out fur
splinters!-Detroit Free Press, Nov. 3, 1888.
-COTTON ROCK.-A variety of
lime-stone, so-called probably be-
cause its light gray or buff color,
when first bared to the light, some-
what resembles fresh gathered
cotton-wool; it is a Magnesian lime-
stone, abounding in Missouri, and
is valuable as a building material,
because of its softness when first
quarried. -COTTON-SEED
vą
OIL.-
The oil of the cotton-seed, a pro-
duct mainly used for adulteration
purposes. A large proportion of
the so-called olive oil is said to be
174
Council-Fire
nothing more than cotton-seed oil.
The industry is a large one.
The committee arranged to investigate
the COTTON-SEED OIL trust this morning,
and at the hour for beginning the proceed-
ings some of the members of that trust were
in attendance.--New York Evening Post, Feb.
24, 1888.
COUGAR (Felis concolor).-This animal
is the same as the CATAMOUNT (q.v.)
and panther.
Also called [says Dodge] the MEXICAN
LION, CALIFORNIAN LION and MOUNTAIN LION.
He is an habitual resident of many rough
and broken parts of the plains. He is shy,
spending his days in thick cover, and
prowling like a huge cat at night. His
senses are very acute, and it is exceedingly
rare that one is seen; and the hunter might
easily be forgiven for disbelieving the exis-
tence of such an animal, were it not that the
prints of his footsteps in the vicinity of the
camp show plainly when and where he has
been prowling.
COULEE OF COULIE.-A term applied
in many of the states to any dried
up creek or narrow rocky valley.
They (bears) will creep along beneath the
underbrush in the sides of the canyons and
COULEES, and when a cow or an ox, or any-
thing else comes along, spring upon it and
dash it to the ground with terrific force, and
then with one blow of their paw or bite
crush its skull to pieces. I have seen num-
bers of cattle killed that way along the sides
of the mountains.-Nashville American, 1888.
COUNCIL-FIRE.-Among the Indians.
questions which concern the tribe
at large are discussed around the
council-fire, lit in the middle of the
encampment. Now becoming, if
not quite, a thing of the past, the
white man's whiskey and vices
rendering the few red-men still
remaining on the American conti-
nent quite incapable, as a rule, of
taking care of themselves, much
less advising and directing others.
The U.S. Government exercises a
'paternal control over the red-
man in the Indian reservations.
Now colloquial.
Councilmanic
A thousand warriors bore in war
The token of my sires:
On all the hills were seen afar
Their blazing COUNCIL-FIRES!
-Bryant's Last of the Red Man.
Democrats, freemen! keep your COUNCIL-
FIRES brightly burning. Let no one remain
listless, or in doubt, or hesitate; push on
your columns, rout the coons, beat them,
overwhelm them, and let the welkin ring
with the soul-stirring tidings that Massachu-
setts is safe-free from the curse of whig-
gery.-Boston Post, 1888.
COUNCILMANIC.
Pertaining to the
affairs of a council.
There is less interest taken in the cOUNCIL-
MANIC elections, perhaps, than has been
known for some years past.—Philadelphia
Press, January 29, 1888.
COUNT, TO.—A verb synonymous with
"to guess,
to reckon," "to cal-
culate." The idea conveyed is that
of expectation with power to
perform.
COUNTERBRAND.-A verb and noun
The counter-
used by cattle men.
brand is a duplicate mark placed
upon cattle when sold; this des-
troys the force of the original
mark. The operation is called
counterbranding.-See BRAND.
COUNTRY - JAKES.— Country - folk;
equivalent to the English "country-
joskins or "country-bumpkins."
"}
COUNTRY-MERCHANT-TRICK.-A varia-
tion of the confidence game.
When the police learned that he had at-
tempted to raise fifty dols. on a check at
Shapleigh's, the conclusion was reached that
he was working the old-time COUNTRY-MER-
CHANT-TRICK, but whether he succeeded in
getting any of the checks cashed is not yet
known. Missouri Republican, February 24,
1888.
-
COUNTY HOUSE. —The
-The poor - house;
the union.
An exceedingly singular character has just
died in the Hillsdale COUNTY HOUSE.
For
175
Court
many years fair Aunt Abbie Munson, a
spinster, has tramped over the county,
having no definite habitation and unwilling
to conform to the restriction of relatives and
refusing all proffered assistance from the
authorities. At the age of eighty, she was
forced to go to the COUNTY HOUSE.-Phila-
delphia Press, January 29, 1888.
COUP.-GIVING THE COUP. This,
says Dodge in his Plains of the Great
West:
Is a very curious and unexplained custom
among the Northern plains tribes. How it
originated is not known, but the term indi-
cates that it was, at least, named by the old
French trappers, predecessors of the Hud-
son Bay Company. When a foe has been
struck down in a fight, the scalp belongs to
him who shall first strike the body with
knife or tomahawk. This is the coup. If in
a mclée or running fight a warrior kills an
enemy, he, in order to secure his proper
recognition and reward, must rush at once
on the prostrate body, and strike his cour,
regardless of other enemies that may be at
hand. This, of course, renders the Indian
less formidable. The enemy being in full
flight, a brave and skilful warrior who would
press on and on, adding victim after victim
to his list, would return at last to find the
scalps of all the enemies killed by his hand
at the girdles of laggards in the race, to each
of whom would be accorded all the honors
due to one who had killed his man. While
he who took all the risks and did all the
killing, and who, in his eagerness to kill,
may have passed even the last of his victims,
has nothing whatever to show for his gal-
lantry, and is consequently without honor or
credit, the cowardly shirk, far in the rear,
gained all the glory and applause. The con-
sequence is that, when a foe falls, the slayer,
even in the hottest race, and though other
victims are at his hand, must, to obtain the
proper recognition of his act, at once give
up all thought of further killing, make his
COUP, and take the scalp.
COUPLE.-In Pennsylvania couple is
equivalent to "a few."
COURCE.-A term, supposed to be of
Indian origin, for the leather cover
which, in the West, is used to
protect the saddle in wet weather.
A ranchman's word.
COURT.-In New England a legisla-
tive body composed of a House of
Cousin
"
Representatives and a Senate.-
COURT-HOUSE. A curious usage
prevails in Virginia, and partially
in South Carolina and Maryland,
of designating the county-town as
the Court-house of the county in
question; as, for example, if the
practice prevailed in England,
Guildford, the county town of
Surrey, would be called Surrey
Court-house," and not Guildford.
This custom applies mainly to
official documents; thus, Fairfax
Court-house (Providence) and Cul-
peper Court-house became famous in
the late Civil War, while the real
names of the towns are utterly
unknown to history. COURT OF
ASSISTANTS.—A court formerly in
existence in New England, where a
magistrate or an assistant presided.
These courts were subsequently
merged in the County Court.
COUSIN SAL.-See AUNTIE EXTENSION.
COVE.-A term taken from sea
phraseology to indicate narrow
strips of pasture land, running into
forest. Also, in the Catskill
Mountains, a narrow passage or
pass.
COVERCLIP.-A New York name for
the sole. An equally curious
appellation for this fish is CALICO.
COVERED INTO THE TREASURY.—A cant
official phrase, expressive of the
transfer of an unexpected balance
of an appropriation back into the
Treasury, and the final balancing
and cancelling of the account.
The phrase was originally "' cover-
ing [the item in a balance-sheet]
by a transfer of the amount into
the Treasury." The words "by a
transfer of the amount were
gradually eliminated, leaving the
phrase as it stands-a puzzle
to many. When introduced,
176
"to cover
Cow
in " was
seized
upon and used in many parallel
ways-very few, however, being
aware of the real meaning of the
phrase.
COVERLID.
counterpane.
couvrelit.
A bed covering; a
From the French
Cow. As a prefix this enters largely
into peculiarly American terms.
COWBERRY (Viburnum lentago).
-A small insipid cranberry called
CERISES by the French-Canadians.
-Cow-BIRD or COWPEN-BIRD or
COW-BLACKBIRD.-A species of BOB-
OLINK. So called from its habit
of searching for food among the
-COWBOY.
droppings of cattle.-
to
Now applied exclusively
Western herdsmen, but originally
to the Tory partisans of West-
chester County, New York, during
the Revolution; and in 1861 to
semi-secessionists in New England.
In the latter sense coOWBOYISM was
used as indicative of the spirit and
practices of these partizans whose
treatment of opponents was bar-
barous and ruffianly. It is prob-
able the term was perpetuated as a
name for cattle-herders in Texas
and the far West because descriptive
of their real or alleged rough man-
ners and customs; the fraternity
more generally term themselves
COW-PUNCHERS (q.v.).
When the branding season comes and we
are fussing,
We are fussing.
fences on the run,
On the run.
[a particular brand]
And the cows are taking
And when Circle Bar
as usual is a-cussing,
Then the COWBOYS' lot is
Is a-cussing.
not a happy one,
Happy one.
Notwithstanding his bad reputa-
tion, the cowboy as he is, to judge
from the descriptions of friends, is
a not altogether unworthy member
Соче
are
of society; and, to tell the truth,
the popular estimate much maligns
a body of men who, save under
exceptional circumstances,
quiet, self-reliant, frank, and hos-
pitable. The many suffer for the
sins of omission and commission
of the few. Rough, they undoubt-
edly are; but, for this, their
occupation is mainly responsible;
which, though healthy, is varied
by a good deal of hardship
and anxiety. The following ex-
tracts from an article, written by
W. Lynn Wilson in one of the
American papers, presents a bird's-
eye view of a cowboy's life :-
Our ranch, which is considered one of
the finest in Northern Wyoming, is situated
on the south fork of Powder River, which
runs through it in a winding course. The
house, stables, and other outbuildings are
situated in a valley, inclosed on one side by
a high ridge covered with small pines, and on
the other sides by gently rising hills. The
house is built of logs, the interstices being filled
in with plaster. The roof is made of boards
covered over with tar paper, over which is
laid a layer of earth eight inches thick, and,
although there have been a great many
heavy storms lately, it has not leaked
a drop. The floor is made of boards
painted brown. There are five rooms-
a sitting-room, two bed-rooms, dining-room
and kitchen, and the work hands have a
separate house to sleep in. The stables,
blacksmith's shop, chicken house and store-
house, are likewise built of logs with a dirt
roof. Behind the stable is the horse corral
[see CORRAL], a circular plat of ground sur-
rounded by a fence with a snubbing post in
the centre, into which the horses are driven
when we wish to rope or lasso them for use.
Behind the house is a large patch of garden
ground, in which we grow all kinds of vege-
ables, and on another part of the ranch we
grow several fields of oats. COWBOYS must be
strong, able-bodied men, capable of enduring
all kinds of hardship and privation, and
should also be patient, shrewd, and enter-
prising. The fare is plain and substantial,
and where a ranchman keeps pigs and chick-
ens and has a vegetable garden he can have it
sufficiently varied. Many of them, how-
ever, live on salt pork, canned goods, and
bread, and do without both milk and butter;
but this is inexcusable, as out of a herd of
cattle they can easily get a few cows for
milking. Breakfast is generally taken at
5.30 a.m., and as soon as this is finished, or
sometimes before it is commenced, one or
177
Соче
two of the men hunt the band of saddle
horses and drive them to corral, when each
man, whose work will necessitate his riding,
ropes his horse, saddles him and rides off to
his task, whatever it may be, perhaps hunt-
ing lost horses, seeing to the fences, or
driving back any stock that may have got
beyond the fences, and which it is highly
desirable should be kept inside, such, for
In the
instance, as thoroughbred bulls.
spring it is often necessary to get cows
and cattle out of bog holes, where they get
in searching for water, and are too weak,
after a severe winter, to get themselves out.
All the men, however, are not riding, as some
are irrigating, and others are at work attend-
ing to the farm crops. The dinner hour is
usually twelve o'clock, and is the principal
meal of the day. The afternoon tasks are
much the same as the morning's. Supper is
taken at seven o'clock, and the men usually
retire to bed soon after. It is customary in
the East to speak of all ranchmen as cow-
BOYS. This is not correct, however, as the
term is restricted to those men who are
employed on the ROUND-UPS (q.v.).
See also BRAND and RANCH.
across
Cow - CATCHER.-In America,
where the lines of railway run
open country quite un-
guarded, the reverse of which is
the case with English and Euro-
pean tracks, cattle and other ob-
stacles are liable to stray and get
upon the line, to the great danger
of traffic, to say nothing about
their own. As a safeguard, a con-
trivance, triangular in shape, is
fixed low down in front of the
locomotive, by which means serious
accidents are often prevented.
The animals are caught in the
basket-like cow-catcher, saving them
from destruction and the coaches
from being thrown off the track.
The COW-CATCHER and headlight of the
West End locomotive were broken into
small pieces [in a collision between the train
and some standing trucks], and the engine
itself was badly damaged, but it was able to
continue the journey to Brooklyn with its
freight of badly frightened passengers.-
New York Evening Post, February 24, 1888.
The train continued for some distance
with a man and a horse on the cow-CATCHER,
and when it was stopped, both were found
to be uninjured; the sleigh was entirely
demolished.-Philadelphia Ledger, 1888.
23
Cow
New
-Cow-CRITTER.-In
England and the Western States.
a cow is thus popularly spoken of.
Readers of Carleton's Farm Ballads
will remember " the blamed cow-
critter [which] was always coming
up."
COWGRASS. A weed
which constitutes one of the
plagues of farming in the Southern
States. COW-HIDE or COW-
SKIN.-A whip in use
use amongst
ranchmen and cowboys. It is
made of twisted strips of raw
hide, by which name it is also
known.
Το COW-HIDE.-To
castigate with the weapon afore-
said. -COWLICK.—A slang term
for a peculiar smooth arrangement
of the hair.
178
If it becomes distinctly apparent that
the interests of the government will be
subserved by our ministers combing their
hair behind their ears, tousling it in
picturesque dishevelment about the temples,
or indulging the vain ostentation of a cow-
LICK, we shall then ponder the matter with
deliberation.-New York Tribune, 1888.
COW-PARSNIP (Heracleum
latanum).-One of the far- famed
and popular Shaker remedies, with
carminative and diuretic properties.
COW-PEASE. A bean which
abounds in a wild state in Texas,
forming food for man and beast.
-Cow-PONY.—A mustang before
it is broken in.. COW-PUNCHER.
-A herdsman or COWBOY (q.v.).
A bright silk handerchief knotted about
his neck and with the light buckskin gloves
on his hands there was no mistaking his
occupation, he was a cowboy or in
Western parlance a cow-PUNCHER.-Detroit
Free Press, July 21, 1888.
-Cow TOWN.-In the West the
local centres of the stock-raising
industry are so called. Theodore
Roosevelt, in Ranch Life in the Far
West, says,
"a true cow town is
worth seeing, such a one as Miles
City, for instance, especially at the
time of the annual meeting of the
great Montana Stock-raiser's Asso-
Crab-Schooner
ciation. Then the whole place is
full to overflowing, the importance
of the meeting and the fun of the
attendant frolics, especially the
horse-races, drawing from the sur-
rounding ranch country many
hundreds of men of every degree,
from the rich stock-owner, worth
his millions, to the ordinary cowboy
who works for forty dollars a
month. It would be impossible to
imagine a more typically American
assemblage, for although there are
always a certain number of
foreigners, usually English, Irish,
or German, yet they have become
completely Americanized; and on
the whole it would be difficult to
gather a finer body of men, in spite
of their numerous shortcomings.
-Cow-WHIP.-The cow-whip is a
very long lash with a very short
stock, and is used only in driving
the herd, which is often called THE
cows. See ROUND-UP.
COYOTE (Canis latrans).—See CAYOTE.
A grass
CRAB-GRASS (Digitaria).
which flourishes in the South,
sometimes much to the detriment
of the growing crops. It, however,
excellent
forms, when dry, an
fodder.
CRAB-LANTERN.-Why a small pasty
or turnover should, in the South,
be called a crab-lantern does not
appear upon the surface, and depo-
nent, knowing nothing, says so.
CRAB-SCHOONER.-A boat of schooner
build. There seems some doubt
as to whether crab should not be
rendered "grab"; in any case the
term is not common. Bartlett
quotes it in connection with an
extract from the New York Tribune
in which, during the war, the
Reliance," a vessel belonging to
the Potomac Flotilla was reported
Crack
as having captured a crab's schooner
named the "Monitor."
CRACK, TO. To utter worthless paper
money; to forge bank-notes,
cheques, etc. Possibly an idio-
matic extension of the slang phrase
crack, i.e., "to force,' and
cracksman," a burglar.
to
CRACKER.- —(1) Crackers in America.
are what in England usually
receive the name of biscuits,
although in the Northern counties
the American usage in part pre-
vails. When biscuits are spoken
of, hot rolls are meant.
I gave the latter (a professional tramp)
a piece of tobacco and some CRACKERS and
some cheese, and he soon went away.-
New York Sun, 1888.
(2) In the same way that, in
firework displays, the squib of
English pyrotechnists is replaced
by a cracker made of a kind of
fulminating powder, so jeux d'esprit,
or lampoons, instead of being
spoken of as squibs, are called
crackers.--(3) In Carolina and
Georgia, a poor white; and, in other
localities, generally a vagabond or
tramp.
Black Joe's bear was not really savage,
nor was he exactly tame either - sorter
betwixt and between, as a CRACKER once
expressed it.-Denver Republican, April, 1888.
CRACKER STATE. Georgia.
This, one of the most thriving
States of the Union, and be-
yond comparison the most enter-
prising and energetic
energetic Southern
State, little deserves the name of
Cracker State, by which it is
occasionally designated, from the
crackers, the lowest and most
ignorant of its citizens before the
abolition of slavery. Some have
thought the nickname arose from
the peculiar dialect of these people,
which is almost incomprehensible
179
Cradle
·CRACKER-
to report or describe.
BOY.-A boy attendant on machines
called crackers, used for pulverizing
anthracite coal.
CRACKLINGS.—(1) Also known as
GOODY BREAD; this is a favorite
dish with negroes in the Southern
States. It consists of crackling,
i.e., the rind of roasted pork, mixed
with corn-bread.- (2) Pork fat
roasted or baked until quite crisp.
This, in New England, is known as
PORK SCRAPS. (3) The cinders
of a wood fire. Southern.
CRACKLOO. A tap-room game.
A
crack in the floor is selected, and
the game consists in pitching coins
so that, after touching the ceiling,
they shall descend on or near the
line selected.
CRACK ON, TO.-A verb synonymous
with energetic performance;
promptness; persistence. «Το
crack on all hands," i.e., to employ
all one's resources.
CRADLE.-A cradle-shaped machine,
which is also known as a rocker,
used in mining for washing out
gold dust.- TO CRADLE.-To per-
form the operation of washing out
gold dust. CRADLE SCYTHE.-
An agricultural instrument which
takes its place as the forerunner
of the modern reaping-machine.
By its aid the work of reaping is
largely expedited. Little used now
except on small properties.——To
CRADLE. To cut grain as afore-
said.- -CRADLE OF LIBERTY,
Faneuil Hall, in Boston, Mass., one
of the show places of that city, on
account of its having been the
scene of meetings, the purpose of
which was to rouse the American
people to throw off the English
yoke.
Cramp Bark
CRAMP BARK (Viburnum opulus).—The
tree cranberry of the North. The
fruit is very acid, and is mainly
used in medicine.
CRANBERRY-TREE.-See CRAMP BARK.
180
A
CRANK. Various meanings are
associated with this word; but
generally it is used to signify an
unsteady, capricious,
capricious, eccentric,
or crotchetty individual. Latterly,
however, its meaning has been
enlarged so as to include one who
manifests a deep enthusiasm in
any subject or thing; like many other
expressions which have hit the popu-
lar taste it is worked to death.
writer in the Florida Times Union
speaking of the new forcing system
in the public schools remarks: I
know perfectly well that I shall
probably be called an old fogy, if
not a crank, for persuming to think
that anything in the past can be
better than in the present.
While
in speaking of base-ball the New
York Tribune thinks a good deal
of ridicule, mostly good-natured,
is showered upon the base-ball
crank, as everybody persists in
calling the man or woman who
manifests any deep interest in the
great American game, or who per-
sists in interlarding all his converse
with the peculiar phraseology of
the sport. The Daily Inter-Ocean
(February 2, 1888), was clearly
right in dubbing a man "as evi-
dently a crank [who] said that 4,000
dollars was due him by the Govern-
ment [that] the president had
retained for his Own use, and
[that] he intended going to the
White House with a big bull-dog
and demanding of the president
that he settle up accounts."
CRAPS. A game of chance played
with dice, and a great favorite with
negroes, who carry their supersti-
Crazy
tions into this as into other matters
of their everyday life.
A party of colored deck hands were play-
ing CRAPS. One of the party had a bat's
liver, and he laid it on the deck floor every
time he picked up the ivories to throw. As
a result, he won all the money his com-
panions had.- St. Louis Globe Democrat,
1888.
-Crap-house.-A negro gam-
bling den, where the game of craps
is played.
When arrested he was in the negro
CRAPHOUSE kept by Alex. Wells in the alley
between Sixth and Seventh and Poplar
and Spruce Streets.- Missouri Republican,
Feb., 1888.
CRAWFISH.-A turncoat; a backer-
out.
Hence ΤΟ CRAWFISH,
equivalent to what is known in
English politics as "ratting."
CRAWFISHY.-An adjective used in
a similar sense.
After a hard session we landed at 8.30 p.m.,
when I offered to bet Cartmell the drinks
that I was dead. He was afraid to bet and
CRAWFISHED out of the issue by claiming
that he didn't drink.-San Francisco Weekly
Examiner, March 22, 1888.
Mrs. Breezy, of Chicago (to daughter)-It
has occurred to me of late, dear, that
George is not quite so attentive and devoted
to you as he was when you first became
engaged.
Miss Breezy (nervously)-Oh, mamma,
you don't think he intends to CRAWFISH, do
you? The Epoch, 1888.
The simile is suggestively drawn
from the mode of locomotion
the shell-fish.
peculiar to
To
crawfish is as general as "to rat";
it originated in the West.
CRAWL
CRAWL THROUGH, TO.-To
THROUGH A KNOT HOLE.-To escape
from a difficult position by "ways
that are dark and tricks that are
vain."
"
CRAZY.-Synonymous with mad,"
and never used as in England;
simply to mean shaky. It must be
Crazy Bone
noticed, however, that even in the
Old Country, of late years, crazy is
more often than not used with the
more serious meaning.
CRAZY BONE.-The "funny bone" of
English children.
CREAM-CITY.-Milwaukee; from the
color of its bricks.
CREAMERY. In the same way that
Yankee grandiloquence writes up a
village as a city, or a school as an
academy, SO the old-fashioned
dairies have been replaced by
creameries.
Madam might have another idea on the
subject if she but knew that most of these
flowery-named CREAMERIES had an existence
only in dark and dingy cellers down town.-
New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
Despite the oleo-margarine law the produc-
tion of choice gilt-edged butter is far below
the demand, as a larger proportion of
inferior butter finds its way to market. The
CREAMERIES send butter of the most uni-
form quality to market, but that from private
dairies differs greatly.—Missouri Republican,
February 24, 1888.
CREAM SODA.-A favorite drink of
American women. It is composed
of ice cream mixed with soda
water.
CREASE, To
(Transitive verb).—To
temporarily stun a horse or steer by
a blow or shot in the neck in order
to catch him. This practice, which
is sufficient for the purpose in
view, is said not to hurt the
animal much.-See MUSTANG.
In the early days of the cattle business in
Texas, from 1857 to 1860, the ranges were
overrun by bands of wild horses. As a rule
they were a rough ill-shaped set of beasts,
and almost untamable, so that few attempts
were ever made to catch them, it being con-
sidered best to shoot them on sight and thus
get rid of a disturbing influence in our horse
herds. Sometimes, however, a really fine
animal would be seen, and the ranchmen
would try hard to secure it. But the or-
181
Crease
dinary mode of capture, lassoing, could
seldom be used against wild horses, as
these beasts were very shy, and even a poor
horse, carrying no weight, could outstrip a
very fine animal with a man on his back.
In this extremity the Texans used to re-
sort to a means of capturing the horses,
which is, I believe, exclusively American.
It was discovered, I do not know how, that
a blow upon a particular sinew in a horse's
neck, located just above where the spine
joins the skull, would paralyze the animal
temporarily without doing it any permanent
injury. In those days the Texans were
nearly without exception fine shots, and at
short range could send a rifle ball with
phenomenal accuracy. The horses could
not be approached except on foot, and it
was impossible to catch them on horseback.
But, not to be overcome by any such difficul-
ties, the cowboys discovered a way to
capture them. Taking his rifle a hunter
would crawl through the thick chaparral until
within fifty or sixty yards. Then, taking
careful aim, he would send a bullet through
the top of the neck so as to strike the sinew.
When this was properly done the horse would
fall as if struck by lightning and remain in-
sensible for ten or fifteen minutes, recovering
completely in an hour or two, with no worse
injury than a slight wound in the back of
the neck that soon healed. Of course many
bullets went astray and hundreds of
horses were killed, but a good shot would
secure about one horse in three that he
attempted to CREASE, as this mode of capture
was called. The large calibre rifles com-
monly in use were not adapted to this pecu-
liar mode of hunting, as if they touched the
sinew they were sure to break it, and the
wounds the 44 or 52 calibre balls inflicted
were too severe. The weapon universally
employed in CREASING mustangs was the old
Hawkins rifle, which carried a bullet not
much larger than a pea, had a set trigger, and
required but a small charge of powder.
These weapons were wonderfully accurate
up to 100 yards, but inflicted a trifling wound,
and the bullet was likely to take a course
through soft flesh around any hard object,
instead of tearing through it, as a larger ball
propelled by a heavier charge of powder would
do. Hundreds of mustangs used to be CREASED
every year, and this practice was kept up
until the herds had entirely disappeared.-
J. T. Hill in St. Louis Post Dispatch.
They approached within about two
hundred yards of a dozen buffaloes, and
all hands stopped, with the exception of
Vic, who crawled on hands and knees
within one hundred yards, and, selecting
a fine fat cow, took careful aim and accom-
plished what was intended-that is, shot
her through the muscles of the neck and
knocked her down, a feat that is called
CREASING.-Billings (M.T.) Gazette, February,
1888.
Creation
CREATION.-BEATS ALL CREATION.-
Overpowering; incomparable. A
general idiom used throughout the
States, but probably in the first
instance of Western origin.
'Nayburs,' said Joe after a painful pause,
'if I've mistook then I've mistook. I
reckon you know better nor me, an' I'm
willin' to take advice. BEATS ALL CREA-
TION how I mistook, but I shan't go agin
yer words.'-Detroit Free Press, August, 1888.
CREATURE and CRITTER are used collo-
quially with very finely-drawn
shades of meaning.
[De Vere says] This word is frequently
used in the South for an animal, especially a
horse. Its more common form is CRITTER,
with a nice distinction between the two, when
applied to men, as explained by General
Squash of Connecticut, in the Gouty
Philosopher: The word CREATURE, said the
General, implies a certain amount of good-
ness, beauty, and respect, and love, as when
we talk of God's CREATURES; whereas
CRITTER is always associated with some
idea of inferiority in the person so desig-
nated, and of good or even ill-natured con-
tempt on the part of the speaker. Thus
when I tell you that Mrs. or Miss A— is
a CREATURE, you'll learn, if you do not inter-
rupt me, that I consider her lovely either in
mind or person or both. But were I to call her
a CRITTER, and no more, you'd be justified in
believing that, in my opinion, she was either
a slut, a scold, a scandalmonger, a fool, or
a flirt, and that I had no respect for her.
If I said to you in the street: 'Look at that
lovely CREATURE!' it would probably be to
direct your attention to a fine woman or a
beautiful child. But if I said: 'Look at that
pretty CRITTER!' the words might apply to a
pet-poodle or a prancing horse. Ours
is a great country, sir, a very great country,
but it swarms with CRITTERS, as you'll
see if you travel much among us and open
your eyes as you go. They are the unwhole-
some growth of our over-ripe civilization
and of our too much liberty.
P. H. Gosse gives a ludicrous
account of the nice distinction
which Americans, with all their
apparent looseness of language,
know how to apply, when it
seems necessary.
I inadvertently spoke of it (a 'possum) as a
singular CREATURE, but CREATURE or rather
CRITTER is much too honorable a term for
such an animal, being appropriated to cattle.
182
Creole
A 'possum, sir, is not a CRITTER but a var-
mint.-Letters from Alabama, p. 234.
which
"
CREDIT MOBILIER. The name by
The Pennsylvania Fiscal
Agency" was popularly known.
This corporation was, in brief, a
construction company for the
Union Pacific Railroad. Banks
of Crédit Mobilier in France are
designed to aid all industrial enter-
prises, hence the adoption of the
phrase in the present case. The
scandal with which it is connected
occurred during the forty-second
Congress, and several members of
the House were charged with
having been improperly influenced
by representatives of the company.
Except in the cases of two (both of
whom died within three months
after the vote of censure was passed
upon them), the charges were not
sustained by the House.
CREEK.-Throughout the American
continent and the West Indies, a
small stream. In New England, a
creek is a brook; and elsewhere a
run or branch are used synony-
mously.- ·CREEK - BOTTOM.
BOTTOM LANDS.
CREEP.-In Pennsylvania a
04
"
Sec
stool.
Creepie" or creepy" is quoted
by Jamieson, in his Scottish
Dictionary, as a low stool.
CREEPER.-In New England, a shallow
frying-pan.
CREEPY. A Pennsylvanian name for
a speckled kind of fowl.
CREOLE. This word, both as a noun.
and adjective is, in England,
generally applied to one in whose
veins flows, wholly or partially,
negro blood. This is an error.
In the Southern States and the
West Indies it simply means of
a
Creosote Plant
native birth; thus, in Demerara,
child born in the colony,
whether of white or black parents,
would be a creole, the term being
also applied to horses, cattle, and
sheep. A marked exception pre-
vails, however, in the Southern
States, in that creole is
never
applied by residents to negroes, or
to any person who has, in the
least degree, a touch of the "tar
brush." In Louisiana, and more
particularly New Orleans, a creole
is a native of French descent.
Creole is from the Spanish criollo
which originally meant nothing
more than a child born in the
West Indies, or on American soil.
-Hence CREOLE FRENCH, a dia-
lect or patois now rapidly passing
into disuse.
In the City of the Crescent, by red Missis-
sippi's waves,
Walk's the haughty CREOLE lady with her
daughters and her slaves.-Ballad of
Crescent City, Harper's Weekly.
CREOLE STATE.- Louisiana.
So called from the greater
number of the inhabitants being
descended from French and
Spanish settlers.
CREOSOTE PLANT (Larrea mexicana).-
This plant, which is noxious to
animals, on account of its highly
odorous and resinous exhalation,
covers vast districts in the sandy
parts of California, and extends
eastwards as far as Arkansas.
CRESCENT CITY.-New Orleans. Origi-
nally so called because built in the
form of a crescent on a bend of the
Mississippi River. This descrip-
tion no longer applies on account
of large extensions. New Orleans
is the metropolis of the South.
New Orleans has laid back, satisfied that,
with its unequalled advantages, trade and
business would naturally come here with-
out any bidding. They have not come, and
183
Crook
we have seen business diverted to other
places, with not one-half the advantages of
the CRESCENT CITY.-New Orleans Times
Democrat, Feb. 7, 1888.
CRESCENT CITY OF THE WEST.
Galena in Illinois has perhaps a
better title to the sobriquet of the
Crescent City from its shape, than now
has New Orleans, its older rival in
that respect.
CREVASSE. From the French crêver,
to burst. Specially used along the
Mississippi to denote a breach in
its embankments. When the great
river thus breaks its bounds, the
swift-flowing current causes great
destruction for miles round.
CRIMSON. TO MAKE
THINGS
LOOK
CRIMSON. This is a variant of
PAINTING THE TOWN RED (q.v.), i.e.,
indulging in a drunken frolic.
CRISPSE and CRIPSY.-Crisp; crispy.
A vulgarism formed on the same
lines as " wopse" for wasp.
CRITTER.-See CREATURE.
CROAKER. A fish found principally
in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
So named from the peculiar sound
emitted by it when taken from its
element.
CROKER.-A species of water-fowl
found in Virginia.
CRONKER.—A wild goose.
After a half-hour's wait, a flock of the
wild CRONKERS, numbering several thousand,
flew down near the spot and began de-
vouring the corn. Jimmy got his knife and
club ready and rose up with loud cries.
The geese rose too.-Portland Transcript,
1888.
CROOK.-A thief; swindler; one
whose ways society regards as
"not
straight."
Crooked-Stick
Strange as the statement may seem, the
public know nothing of the work of a really
clever CROOK, and the police themselves
know very little more. The explanation of
this ignorance is a very simple one. A
CROOK whose methods are exposed is a
second-rate CROOK.-Orange Journal, April
16, 1887.
CROOKEDNESS.- Rascality of
every kind.
'What are you trying to get out of me?'
'I am going to see that to-night you are
better lodged to begin with. I may decide
to do more, but that will depend pretty
much on yourself.' 'Nothing CROOKED, is
it?' asked the other, suspiciously! 'because
I had an opportunity to go into the sawdust
game with a most accomplished swindler.'-
Detroit Free Press, November 3, 1888.
To CROOK THE ELBOW or
LITTLE FINGER. A slang term for
drinking.
CROOKED - STICK.
-
A cantankerous,
cross-grained, and perverse person.
So as I aint a CROOKED-STICK, just like,
like old-(I swow,
I don't know as I know his name)-I'll go
back to iny plow.
-Biglow Papers.
CROOKED WHISKEY.-Illicitly distilled
whiskey upon which no excise has
been paid.
The United States Marshall, who was
looking for CROOKED WHISKEY, was on his
way to arrest the whole bilin' of [them]
for treasonable proceedings.-Petroleum, V.
Nasby.
CROOK NECK. A New England
-
SQUASH.
CROP.-A noun and verb. In the
bucolic dialect of the plains an
ear mark, or to make a mark by
cutting the ear.—See BRAND.
CROPPER.-A farmer on commission,
the consideration being paid either
in money or kind, oftenest the
latter, and calculated by the
proprietor on the basis of the crop
produced.
184
Cross
CROPPIE.-A local name for a spe-
cies of green bass found in Lake
Minnetonka, near which are the
Minnehaha, or Laughing Water-
falls, immortalized by Longfellow.
CROPPING.-In England the nearest
approach to the Western and
Southern meaning of this word is
"to sow"; or "plant" land; in the
localities named, however, it is used
to signify giving special attention to
one kind of crop.
CROSS.- To SHAKE THE CROSS.
Thieves' argot. To quit stealing.
The day my time was up, you told me if i
Would SHAKE THE CROSS and live on the
square for three months, it would be the
best job i ever done in my life.-Mark
Twain's Life on the Mississippi, p. 459.
Cross - BUTTOCKSED. Pugi-
listic slang.
Defeated in an en-
counter.
John L. Sullivan's defeat was galling
enough to our national pride, but we of
St. Louis have a deeper humiliation to bear
in the inglorious discomfiture of Baptist
Ray by Methodist Ditzier. The ring was
formed at Kennett, in this State, and it was
a fight to a finish. They say Ditzier CROSS-
BUTTOCKSED Ray (whatever that may mean)
on the third round, and was declared the
winner. The Christian Advocate says the
result was a great victory for the Gospel.
It was a scrapping match between Eolus
and Neptune, or between Methodist wind.
and Baptist water, and CROSS-BUTTOCKSING,
we suppose, meant turning the old Baptist
tub bottom upwards.-Western Watchman,
April 8, 1888.
CROSS-FOX (Vulpes fulvus).—A
breed of fox between the silver-
gray and reddish-brown varieties,
usually with a black cross marked
upon the back. The skins, which
are exceedingly rare, command a
high price. CROSS-TIMBER.
The name of two remarkable
tracts, about twenty miles wide
and several hundred miles long,
which extend in a southern
direction between Red River and
'
Crotchical
Trinity River, and are covered
with lofty trees in such singularly
regular lines and cross lines, that
they suggest irresistibly the idea
of having been planted at some
remote time by the hand of man.
TIMBER (q.v.) is a Western phrase
for forest. The wood of the cross-
timbers is mainly POST-OAK and
BLACK-JACK, and the whole tract of
country covered by it is passable
for wagons. CROSS-VINES.
trailing plant, the stem of which,
when stripped of its bark, divides,
as if split cross-wise into quarters.
CROTCHICAL.
- A
A New Englandism
equivalent to whimsical; having
peculiar fancies; CROTCHETY.
CROW. TO EAT BOILED CROW. A
newspaper editor who is obliged
by his "
party" or other outside
influences, to advocate "prin-
ciples" different from those which
he supported a short time before
is said to "eat boiled
Originally the phrase was simply
TO EAT CROW, and the following
account is that currently accepted
as to its derivation.
crow."
During the unpleasantness between the
States and England there were located on
the opposite sides of the Niagara river a
British and an American fort, and during an
armistice the soldiers of both garrisons were
accustomed to go hunting. Among the
American troops was one long, lank, stutter-
ing specimen of the genus Yankee, who
would persist, in spite of orders to the con-
trary, in going across the river on his hunting
expeditions. One day when on the Canada
side he had had poor luck and got nothing,
but resolved not to go back entirely empty
handed. While passing through the grounds
of an English gentleman, he spied a cRow,
and, blazing away, brought it down. The
Englishman had witnessed the shot and
resolved to punish the offender for poaching
on his private grounds. As the Yankee was
loading his gun he approached, and, com-
plimenting him on his good shot, asked
to look at his gun. The unsuspecting
Yankee handed it to him, and the Briton,
bringing the gun to his shoulder and cover-
ing the Yankee abused him for trespassing
185
Crowd
on his grounds, and ordered him, on pain of
The
death, to take a bite out of the CROW.
soldier begged and pleaded, but to no avail.
The Englishman had the drop on him, so he
finally bit a piece from the breast of the
CROW. The Englishman, after warning him
to keep off his premises in the future, handed
him back his gun and bade him clear out.
No sooner was his rifle returned than he
covered the Briton and ordered him to finish
the CROW. Then it was the Englishman's turn
to beg off, but the Yankee was firm, and the
Englishman, with many a wry face, did suc-
ceed in downing several bites of the unsavory
bird. His wounded honor being appeased, the
Yankee betook himself back to the fort.
The Englishman the next day went to the
American commander and told his version
of the affair, and demanded that the culprit
be punished. From the description_given
the American officer knew that the offender
must have been the stuttering soldier, and
ordered him to be brought before them.
When he came in the captain asked him if
he had ever seen the gentleman before.
The Yankee shifted uneasily from one foot
to the other, and, after several attempts,
finally answered that he had. 'When and
under what circumstances?' asked the
officer. I d--dined with him y-y-yesterday,
captin,' stuttered the soldier. The story
goes that his wit saved the soldier from
punishment.-Atlanta Constitution, 1888.
CROWD. I DON'T BELONG TO THAT
CROWD, i.e., I don't belong to that
set. Colloquially crowd is used in
America to denote a company or
even a single person; e.g., "he's a
bad crowd generally." Originating
in the South and West, its use has
spread all over the Union, and is
now frequently heard in England.
Also TO CROWD, to squeeze in ;
to push; or even simply to pass in
without abnormal exertion. The
New York Mercury of July 21, 1888,
gives rather an amusing instance of
the peculiar use of this word. It
seems that a colored Baptist congre-
gation in Minnesota was out on the
border of a conveniently located
lake, attending the immersion of
young converts gathered in at a
recent revival. Among the candi-
dates for the rite was a strapping
great mulatto woman, whose ample
proportions were enhanced by a
bustle, itself of no mean dimen-
24
Crower
sions. When she went into the
water the minister found the bustle
a stumbling block to his holy work.
It acted as a buoy for the candi-
date, floating her up when the
minister attempted to put her
under the water. After he had
experimented two or three times
with the candidate, each time be-
ing defeated in his purpose by the
bustle, one of the dusky brethren
on the shore yelled out: Crowd
dat ar bustle under the water,
parson; crowd it under. It's de
wickedest thing you've got to deal
with."
Phillips has, it is said, been in the habit of
getting very heavy with liquor and then
CROWDING in to his wife's room at unreason-
able hours of the night.-Missouri Republican,
February 24, 1888.
CROWER.-A prudish euphemism for
"cock." This is not the only
instance in which certain sections
of Americans fall from the frying-
pan of squeamishness into the fire
of indelicate suggestiveness.
CRUEL.-Very, exceedingly. An old
friend with a new face, and not an
Americanism save by survival. It
was used by Pepys in his Diary
-"cruel angry,'
cruel mad." It
is to be feared that these intensi-
tives are again creeping into favor
in England.
CRUISE.-TO GO ON A CRUISE.-To
go on an expedition, whether im-
portant or otherwise, even to taking
a walk down the next street. A New
Englandism, and obviously derived
from sea-faring life.
CRULLER.-A twisted cake made of
flour and sugar and fried in lard.
From the Dutch kruller, a curler;
the term has, in New York, been
handed down as cruller. Farther
186
Cully
South, in Maryland, cruller, DOUGH-
NUT and FOSSNOCK are synonyms.
CRUMMY. American
slang for
comely; pretty; a plump, full-
figured girl is, in England, also
described as crummy.
CRUSH HAT. Whereas in England the
collapsible opera hats are only so
called, in America any soft head-
gear receives this name.
CRY, TO.-To be cried in church is a
New Englandism which corres-
ponds to the publication of banns,
or the English provincial "ask-
ings" or " callings." Now almost
obsolete, but formerly quite offi-
cial, since the laws of Connecticut
provided that persons "shall be
cried three times in church before
they can be married."
CUCUMBER-TREE (Magnolia acuminata).
-So called from the resemblance
of its fruit in its early stages to
small cucumbers. The likeness does
not continue, the fruit turning to a
bright red.
CUDDY.-See BURRO.
CUDWEED.-A species of everlasting
plant (Gnaphalium).
"
"
CUFFY or CUFFEY.-A generic name
for a negro; akin to Sambo,"
Quashie," etc. Thought to be a
corruption of the English slang
"cove."
CULLY.-A
companion. In Old
English slang "cull" had the same
signification-a man or woman; a
partner.
What's yer hurry, CULLY?-New York
Mercury, 1888.
Cunner
CUNNER. A univalve found in New
England waters. Genus Patella.
CUNNING. A feminine Americanism,
used when speaking of anything
that is interesting or pretty. One's
hand may have cunning, but a
cunning foot would, in some cases,
awaken stirring memories. Ameri-
can ladies, however, would simply
mean that the pedal extremity was
small, shapely, pretty, or taking.
Mr. R. A. Proctor amusingly
comments upon this word, that, on
hearing in America that twins had
been born to him in England, a
lady "comforted him " by saying
that twins are always so cunning.
As a child, she had been called CUNNING
in the popular American use of the word
when applied to children; that is to say,
piquantly interesting; and this character-
istic of quaint piquancy of appearance she
retained, now that she was a young woman
of eighteen.-Century Magazine, 1888.
CUNNUCK.-See CANACK.
CURIOUS.-Particularly fine; excel-
lent; nice. Only an Americanism.
by survival, a fact which both
Bartlett and Proctor omit. It was
once in very frequent use by old
English writers.
CURLED MAPLE.-A species of maple,
the wood of which is peculiarly
adapted for cabinet work.
CURLEYCUES.-See CARLICUES.
CURTISANS (Cant).- Broken down
lawyers; the SHYSTERS (q.v.) of the
Tombs.
CURTITUDE.-
curtitude,'
"Skirts of convenient
i.c., shortness, from
curt," short. A vulgarism.
CUSPIDOR.-A spittoon. From the
Spanish escupidor.
187
Cuss.
of
"
Cuss
CUSS. CUSSED. CUSSEDNESS.-Author-
ities differ as to whether cuss is
derived from a mis-pronunciation
curse," or whether it is an
abbreviation of "customer." At
any rate it is used in both ways,
the latter primarily involving the
idea of meanness and worthlessness.
It is, however, by no means con-
fined to a shade or two of meaning.
Mischievousness seems implied in
the following:—
A more mischievous boy never came
under my observation. Pure CUSSEDNESS
was spread out all over him. I was a bad
boy myself; my son was worse than I was; but
that boy of his beat all creation. I'm a dea-
con, and never believed in total depravity,
but I believe in it now. He must have
been beyond redemption before he was born.
-Detroit Free Press, August, 1886.
In Hay's Song of the Prairie Bell
it conveys the idea of resolution
and courage.
Through the hot, black breath of the burnin'
boat
Jim Bludsoe's voice was heard,
And they all had trust in his CUSSEDNESS,
And knowed he would keep his word.
-Colonel John Hay.
It is to be noted that the Coventry
Plays employ cursydnesse in the
sense of sheer wickedness and
malignity.
CUSS-WORDS.
Oaths. A story is told of a lady
who, too squeamish to give utter-
ance to her thoughts, compounded
with her conscience by keeping
what she called a CUSS-BOOK.
Whenever anything particularly exas-
perating occurs she seizes her cuSS-BOOK,
sits down and scribbles all the darns and
other imprecations she can remember, to the
extent of several pages. After that she feels
better.-Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean, 1888.
We had a call the other day from Major
George Devine, a late arrival from the East
who is here to look after his mining
interests. The Major had on the first real
biled shirt we have seen in six months.
His boots were also blacked. He sat for
two hours and never asked us for a chew of
tobacco, a drink of whiskey, or a free puff.
He didn't have a gun strapped to his back,
and he didn't use cuss-words.-Detroit Free
Press, Sep. 15, 1888.
Custard Apple
CUSS HIS (YOUR, etc.) PICTURE!
-A Western oath.
(
'Would you have the least mite of an idea,
boys,' said Hoss, that this creature of a
faction wants to have every man's rifle
stamped with the State arms, and then made
pay a license to the State before he can get
à bonus for wolf scalps? I want to know
what in yearth this Mississippi country's
comin' to when such fellars finds favor with
the people-what do you think of him,
boys?
"Why, cusS HIS PICTURE !' was the
general response from the bar hunters.-
Slick's Americans at Home, p. 18.
CUSTARD APPLE (Annona sqramosa).-
A West Indian fruit; also called the
SWEET-SOP and SUGAR APPLE.
CUSTODIZE, TO.-A new form.
form. A
thief is custodized when captured by
the police authorities.
CUSTOM-MADE CLOTHING. Clothing
made to measure.
CUSTOM-MADE
Mr. Bond abominated
CLOTHING, and hence, although his suits
were good enough in material, they fitted
him as leaves fit a cabbage. He put com-
fort before style, and independence before
tailors' plates. In fact, Mr. Bond was a trifle
eccentric without being in the least outré.—
Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1888.
"
CUT. TO CUT enters into many com-
binations, in some of which frolic-
someness runs down the gamut
from simple mirth to thorough-
going rowdyism. To cut capers"
"to cut shines "; "to cut didoes
and other similarly characteristic
phrases, each and all convey the
idea of boisterous fun with or with-
out wine and women. IN TO CUT
DIRT (see DIRT) we get a slight
variation, but it still enshrines the
same idea of energy, which, how-
ever, is not misapplied to such an
extreme degree. Another shade
of meaning is expressed in To
CUT A SWATHE (see SWATHE), TO
CUT A SPLURGE (see
(see SPLURGE),
both being used to indicate swagger-
188
Cut
•
ing pomposity in gait or dress,
while to CUT ONE'S STICK (q.v
has been very materially en-
larged in the scope of its meaning.
-CUT, a reduction, e.g., a cut in
freight rates for grain.
The Burlington and Quincy Road has
made a five cent CUT to Des Moines and
other equally distant Iowa points on first-
class freights, and a corresponding reduc-
tion on second and third-class.-New York
Evening Post, Feb. 24, 1888.
Or, as when speaking of the com-
petition in providing popular enter-
tainment, the Boston Journal says:—
Three hours of solid fun that anybody can
understand, together with thirty or forty
songs and a play, are very rarely offered in
this city for twenty-five cents, and it cer-
tainly seems to me to usher in an era of
prosperity and good feeling among the plain
people who enjoy a spectacular, musical,
and dramatic season at CUT rates.
To CUT OUT. A Western
plainsman's term for separating a
particular animal from the rest of
the herd.
When looking through the herd, it is
necessary to move slowly; and when any
animal is found it is taken to the outskirts at
a walk, so as not to alarm the others. Once
at the outside, however, the cowboy has to
ride like lightning; for as soon as the beast
he is after finds itself separated from its
companions it endeavors to break back
among them, and a young, range-raised steer
or heifer runs like a deer. In CUTTING OUT
a cow and a calf two men have to work
together. As the animals of a brand are CUT
OUT they are received and held apart by
some rider detailed for the purpose, who is
said to be HOLDING THE CUT.-Century
Magazine, 1888.
TO CUT ROUND.-To make a
display.- -TO CUT UNDER.-To
undersell in price. To CUT Up.
-To rudely break in upon con-
versation; to act in a boisterous
manner. To be cut up about
anything in the sense of being
put to mental pain or anguish is
well known as an English collo-
quialism.-CUT IT FAT-Over-
done flattery is called "Cutting it
Cute
189
Cypress
fat.".
CUT OFF.-A new chan-
nel formed by swift-flowing rivers,
especially in the case of the Mis-
CUT-THROAT GAMES.-
sissippi.
Games of chance which readily
lend themselves to dishonest play,
the distinctive name arising from
the frequency with which fatal
quarrels result amongst the wild
and lawless characters who largely
participate in them.
Promontory [once a tent-town on the Union
and Central Pacific Railway] was for that
season the transfer point between the Union
and Central Pacific; and was composed
about equally of hotels, saloons, and gam-
bling tents, with a few stores and shops.
There flourished every form of CUT-THROAT
gambling known-three-card monte, ten-die,
the strap game, chuckaluck, and the patent
lock game. Occasionally legitimate gambling-
like faro or keno was established, but CUT-
THROAT GAMES were the rule.-J. H. Beadle's
Western Wilds, p. 104.
JUMPING THE CUT.-So to ma-
nipulate cards when cutting that
the result is to give the one cutting
an unfair advantage-in short,
jumping the cut is to cheat at cards.
If he lets the light of day strike his opera-
tions he is no more a first rate crook than a
card sharper, who is detected, can really be
called a good hand at JUMPING THE CUT.-
Orasege Journal, April 16, 1887.
CUT GRASS (Leersia oryzoides).-
A name given in tribute to the
sharp edges of the leaves of this
plant.
CUTE.
An abbreviated form of
"acute"; sharp; keen. This is a
much debated word. Though pro-
vincial in England, it has attained
a special prominence by reason of
its application in describing the
typical Yankee. Hawthorne's par-
ticularly 'cute Yankee child, who
left his home and native parish at
the age of fifteen months, because
he was given to understand that
his parents intended to call him
Caleb! will readily occur to mind
in this connection.
Ain't it CUTE to see a Yankee
Take sech everlastin' pains,
All to get the Devil's thankee
Helpin' on 'em weld their chains?
-Biglow Papers.
There is little doubt that the more
frequent use of cute in England is
mainly attributable to this associa-
tion and not to an extension of native
provincial usage. The word is
largely colloquial in the States.
Cute is also employed with the
same meaning as CUNNING, in the
sense of pleasing, quaintly pretty,
amusingly odd.- -So also
CUTENESS; keenness.
or
CUTTER. A sleigh, very lightly built,
and drawn by one horse.
CUTTOES.-A Corruption of couteaux-
knives. A word which still sur-
vives in the New England States
for a large knife.
CYMBLIN.-A variety of SQUASH.
CYPRESS (Taxodium disticha).-A tree
found in the Southern States which,
however, is quite distinct from the
European variety. It is described
by C. H. Gosse as a tree of noble
stature, being occasionally seen 120
feet in height. It is very valuable
for the durability of its timber,
and hence is much in request for
building. Its root generally swells
in a great cone or beehive-shaped
protuberance, several yards in cir-
cumference, from the summit of
which the tree springs.- CYPRESS
BRAKE, or SWAMP. Low-lying
swampy ground in which fallen
cypresses abound.
Before him, as he turned away from the
water, a small gray railway platform and
frame station house, drowsing on long legs
in the mud and water, were still veiled in
the translucent shade of the deep CYPRESS
SWAMP whose long moss drapings almost
overhung them on the side next the brighten-
ing dawn.-Century Magazine, 1888.


4
D
ADBINGED.
This, with
other expressions
very similar in type,
belongs to a class
of half-veiled blas-
phemies very com-
mon throughout the
Union, being used by
those who, fearful of committing an
open profanity, sugar-coat their
oaths and thus think to cheat the
devil. Some one has said that
such slang terms are but a
"whip-
ping the devil round the stump,"
by persons who desire to enjoy the
sweets of wickedness and yet to
escape the penalty. The prefix
"
"
"
""
""
dad" is probably a variation of
dod" (Query a corruption of
God"), both of which with
dog" enter into combination with
blamed," fetched,"
"
44
gasted,"
'goned, "rot," etc., as e.g., DAD-
BLAMED, DODGASTED, DOGGONED,
(q.v.).
Why, Mars Tom, I doan want no rats.
Dey's de DAD-BLAMEDEST creturs to 'sturb
a body, en rustle roun' over 'im, en bite his
feet, when he's tryin' to sleep, I ever see.
No, sah.'-The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, p. 391.
-DADFETCH, DADFETCHED.-—An
oath akin to DADBINGED (q.v.).
He as soon chop a chile in two as a cat.
Day's plenty mo. A chile er two, mo 'er
less, warn't no consekens to Sollermun, DAD-
FETCH him. The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, p. 122.
'What jury are you on?' asked a lawyer.
'What jury?' Yes, what jury? Grand or
traverse jury? 'Grand or travis jury?
DADFETCHED if I know.'
-So also DADGUM.
He was crawling along, two-thirds of the
way home, when his mule shied, with a great
splash, and nearly reared off the roadway.
'DADGUM ye!' cried Jeff, irritably, 'whut-
by grabs, hit's a human critter!'-Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
--DADSNATCHED.-"Dadsnatched
if you can." A circumlocutory
oath, akin to DADBINGEd.
I doan k'yer what the widder says, he
warn't no wise man, neither. He had some
er de DADSNATCHEDES' ways I ever see.-
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 121.
A
DADDOCK.-A fallen decayed tree.
rarely heard provincialism in Eng-
land, but colloquial in the States
especially New England.
DADDYISM.- Colloquially equivalent
to "Mrs. Grundyism," in so far as
it arises from slavish adulation of
wealth and birth.
man.
An Eastern man commending the services
of a young Philadelphian to a Chicago
tradesman, said: 'He comes of a very good
family; his grandfather was a distinguished
'Was he?' replied the Inan of
Chicago. That's of no account with us.
There's less DADDYISM here than any part
of the United States. What's he himself?'
-Kate Field, in Harper's Bazaar, August,
1871.
DAGOS.-A name first given to people
born in
of Spanish parentage born
Louisiana, but now applied, with-
out distinction, to Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, and others of South
European nationality.
The shrimps .... are caught by DAGOS
with their seines, who frequently will, with
Daisy
one haul, bring in enough to fill their lugger,
a flat-bottomed boat with a square sail.—The
American, July 18, 1888.
DAISY.-When a man or thing is
called a daisy, the meaning is that
he or it is first-rate of the kind.
Thus, a dog, drunkard, or divine
may each be called a daisy if only
they come up to the required stan-
dard of excellence. Also equiva-
lent to DANDY.
When fistic exhibitions have these char-
acteristics they are highly manly and
intensely interesting. While John L. is
unquestionably the peerless, Jack Dempsey
is beyond compare a pugilistic DAISY.-
Denver Republican, 1888.
Our patent spring bed has been remodelled.
The one for two in a bed is so arranged that
the part the wife lies on can be set by the
husband unknown to the former, and it
springs her out of bed and stands her up on
the floor at any hour for which it is set. It
then remains turned up on one edge so she
can't get back again, at least on her side of
the bed, and she won't come back on his side,
for she's too allfired mad to come near him.
So the result is that she is compelled to dress
and go downstairs to see to breakfast, and
the old man will get a rest. Oh, it's a DAISY !
--Hyde Park Journal, Mass., 1888.
DAMAGE. WHAT'S THE DAMAGE?-
What is there to pay? Quite as
common now in England as in the
States. Also WHAT'S THE SWINDLE?
-DAMAGED.A man when in-
toxicated may well be said to be
damaged. A simile of little
little wit
but much point.
DAMNASTY OATH.-An irreverent cor-
ruption of AMNESTY OATH (q.v.), or
IRONCLAD OATH, as it was otherwise
called, exacted from Southerners
after the Civil War.
DAMSON PLUM.-Also called the STAR-
APPLE (q.v.). West Indian.
DANCE HOUSE.- A dancing saloon.
The "public buildings" of Western
towns consist mainly of dance houses,
drinking saloons, and faro banks,
191
Dandy
with their inseparable adjuncts of
gun shops and a shooting gallery.
DANDER. TO GET ONE'S
DANDER
UP; TO GET ONE'S DANDER RAISED.
-To work oneself into a passion;
to get angry. Possibly an English
provincialism. It may be re-
marked in this connection that
Brewer in Phrase and Fable quotes
dander as a corruption of "damned
anger," the "damned" being em-
ployed as an oath. He further
remarks that Halliwell gives, in his
Archaic Dictionary, both dander
(anger) and dandy (distracted) the
former common to several English
counties, and the latter peculiar to
Somersetshire.
Wut'll make ye act like freemen?
Wut'll GIT YOUR DANDER RIZ?
-7. Russell Lowell's Biglow Papers.
He was as spunky as thunder, and when
a Quaker GETS HIS DANDER UP, it's like a
North-wester. Major Jack Downing's
Letters, P. 75.
DANDIFIED.-Dandyish; foppish.
DANDY.-Something out of the com-
mon; first-class.
Dr. H. Conner has invested in a fine piece
of horseflesh. The animal was purchased in
Oshkosh, and has a record of 2:37. It is
said to be a DANDY.-Superior Inter-Ocean,
1888.
A shoeblack suggested to me that my
boots were badly in need of a shine. In
fact he hinted that the condition of my
footgear was in a state of dimness and
dinginess unbefitting a gentleman of my
standing, so I bade him go to work and
shine 'em up. As I placed my boot on the box,
I noticed the end was inlaid with coppers,
and I picked it up to examine it. My box
ain't no good mister, but I know a feller
over dere dat's got de DANDY one.
It's got
a whole lot of five dollar gold pieces in it,'
said the arab. I bribed him to guide me to
the haunt of de feller what's got de DANDY.
-St. Louis Globe Democrat, January 21, 1888.
•
'I'm a terror from Philadelphia and I can
lick any man in the world. I'm a DANDY
from away back; the further back they
come the DANDIER they are, and I come
from the furthest back,' spoke a rough-
>
Dandy Trap
looking specimen of humanity as he threw
off his coat and vest and danced a can-can
on Exchange Place in Jersey City last night.
—Missouri Republican, February 2, 1888.
Officer Finley, who had wielded the club,
stepped modestly forward and was just
about to inform the specimen that he had
done the work, when he was caught under
the chin with a DANDY from the specimen's
left that staggered him.-Missouri Republican,
February 2, 1888.
Daly, rushing in, again sent in two
swingers on Jimmy's neck, and stepping
back he made a right-hand swing, which
landed on the latter's lower ribs and caused
Jimmy to remark that it was a DANDY. If
that was a DANDY, what followed must have
been more than that.-Boston Daily Globe,
1888.
DANDY TRAP.-A loose stone, which
tilts when trodden on, and, in wet
weather, throws up the mud under
it, to the great detriment of the
clothes of the victim.
DANGEROUS.-Used colloquially in the
States to signify being in danger, a
meaning which is also given by
Forby in his Vocabulary of East
Anglia.
DANGLE BERRY.-A species of the blue
whortleberry.-See BILBERRY.
DANGNATION !-A comforting exclama-
tion for those whose consciences
will not allow them to
"damnation!" Dangnation! is often
contracted to DANG IT!
say
Dakota lady (impatiently)—'Aren't you
nearly ready for church, my dear? the bell
is tolling.'
Dakota husband-' DANG IT all, I can't
find my plug of tobaccer!'- Scenes in
Dakota, 1888.
"
DANITES.-A band of Mormon assas-
sins whose work consisted in
"removing" those who had made
themselves obnoxious to the Mor-
mon leaders. The Saints" deny
the existence of these men, but there
seems little doubt of the truth of
the serious allegations laid to their
charge.
192
Dark and Bloody Ground
DANSY. A Pennsylvanian Dutch
term used in describing those whose
faculties are failing them through
old age. Similar in meaning and
application to the English "dotty."
DARDANELLES OF THE ORINOCO.-The
tract of country which commands
the Orinoco on either side, in the
same way that the Dardanelles of
Europe command the approaches
to Constantinople. The river
Orinoco is bounded on one side by
the island of Trinidad, and the
claim recently made by the British
Government to the country lying
eastward, if established, would, it
is averred, give England absolute
possession of the Dardanelles of the
Orinoco, recognized for a century as
the key to South America.
DARK AND BLOODY GROUND.-The
State of Kentucky which, more
than once in its history, has been
the scene of frightful carnage and
unhappy memories. Its sobriquet
is said to be a literal translation of
its Indian name, bestowed by the
aborigines, in consequence of a
death struggle which once took
place within its confines, between
rival tribes of Indians. The cog-
nomen has been still further
perpetuated through its having
been the battle ground, in early
colony days, of the long and
relentless struggle between the red
and white races.
The McCoy and Hatfield feud shows that
Kentucky will not willingly surrender its
designation of the DARK AND BLOODY
GROUND.-St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat,
1888.
In the area thus described is
included part of the Upper Ohio.
Senator West in a speech upon the
compulsory education of "Indian
children, thus delivered himself
concerning this historically blood-
stained region :--
Darkie
I am a Western man; I come from a State
which was called the DARK AND BLOODY
GROUND on account of the terrible wars
between the red and the white races, and
my forefathers were engaged in them, and I
lost relatives in them. I was raised with the
prejudices of the men that fought against
these Indians; but with advancing years, I
trust with more charity and more enlarge-
ment of observation and judgment, I say
to-day that the proposition that these people
must be left to extinction is the most
horrible that can be contemplated by any
intelligent man.-St. Louis Globe Democrat,
March 8, 1888.
DARKIE, DARKY.-A popular appella-
tion for a black man.
Way down upon the Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away.
Dere's wha my heart is turning eber,
Dere's wha de old folks stay.
All up and down de whole creation,
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for the old folks at home.
All de world am sad and dreary,
Eberywhere I roam.
Oh! DARKIES, how my heart grows weary,
Far from de old folks at home.
-Negro Ballad.
DARK MOON Or DARK OF THE MOON.-
The period between the moon's
change from full" to new."
Also provincial in England.
"
DARK MOUNTAIN CITY.-Greenville.
Greenville, the DARK MOUNTAIN CITY, is
literally in semi-darkness to-night from the
partial burning of the gas works last night.
No street lights are burning.-The News and
Courier (Charlestown), February 21, 1888.
DARN, TO.-A euphemistic form of
swearing, which (with other ex-
pressions of its kind) has apparently
been invented for those who, as
Brother Jonathan puts it, do not
care "to cuss bar'foot." Hypocriti-
cal and evasive, the disguise is too
thin to deceive. Of Southern
manufacture. Compare with DAD-
BINGED, etc.- -Also DARNATION,
DANGNATION and DARN BURN IT!
(a Texan form), with which also
may be compared DODROTTED.
193
Deacon
My friend, I don't doubt your story in the
least. On the contrary, I believe it fully and
implicity. I will only remark that my ex-
perience has taught me that in Colorado the
man who tells the first story has a DARNED
poor show. Harper's Magazine, 1888.
DARSN'T.- Dares not; probably a
negro corruption, and of Southern
origin. Popularly colloquial.
(Come, thet wun't du, you land-crab there, I
tell ye to le' go my toe!
My gracious! it's a scorpion thet's took a
shine to play with 't,
I DARSN'T skeer the tarnal thing fer fear he'd
run away with 't.)
-Biglow Papers.
DAUBER. A species of sand-wasp, so
called from the manner in which it
builds its nest.
DEACON, TO.-In packing fruit, vege-
tables, etc., to deacon is to place the
finest on the top, a phrase which
either originated through a process
of inversion, or is the same idea as
that contained in the popular
Yankee proverb-" All deacons are
good, but there is odds in deacons."
At all events, it is curious that
the name of an important office, in
which men exercise great authority,
should have become synonymous
with mean deceit, grasping, petty
pilfering, and other forms of im-
TO DEACON
position.
is to kill it; a Connecticut
phrase. Το DEACON LAND.
A CALF
To filch land by gradually ex-
tending one's fences or boundary
lines into the highway or other
common property.To DEACON
OFF.
- J. Russell Lowell, in his
glossary to the Biglow Papers, ex-
plains this as "to give the cue to,"
derived from a custom once uni-
versal, but now almost extinct, in
the New England Congregational
Churches. An important part of
the office of deacon was to read
aloud the hymns given out by the
minister one line at a time, the
25
Dead
congregation singing each line as
soon as read. This was called
deaconing off.
To funk right out o' p'lit'cal strife ain't
thought to be the thing,
Without you DEACON OFF, the tune you
want your folks should sing.
-Biglow Papers.
In
194
The practice is, except in outlying
parts of the country, rapidly pass-
ing away, owing to the multiplica-
tion of books. -DEACON SEAT.
-A lumberer's camp term.
How
or why so called is difficult to say,
as it has no more to do with dea-
cons than with the pope; unless,
indeed, it is an allusion to the seats
round a pulpit, facing the congre-
gation, reserved for deacons.
log cabins the sleeping apartment
is separated from the other interior
arrangements by poles laid on the
ground. The bed is mother earth,
rests for the head being formed of
logs, and a footboard is a long pole
placed six feet from the fire and in
the centre of the cabin. The
deacon seat is a plank of wood fixed
over this pole, and running parallel
with it, thus forming a kind of
settee in front of the fire.-
DEACON'S HIDING-PLACES. Pri-
vate compartments in oyster
saloons; the cabinets particuliers of
the French. Boston slang.
A
DEAD.- With a subtle sense of
analogy, sometimes incomparable,
the true American draws upon his
surroundings and experiences for
words and phrases wherewith to
express his emotions and feelings.
The solemn experience of death
has, not unnaturally, supplied
many a sententious expression and
dramatic metaphor. In a slang
sense, the meaning conveyed is that
of certainty, or extremity-an all-
round superlative. Whether this
usage can be traced to an exclu-
sively American origin is not quite
Dead
clear; at all events many of the
innumerable variants may rightly
be classed as Americanisms.
DEAD-BEAT. (1) A "pick-me-up,"
compounded of ginger, soda, and
whiskey. (2) A sponger, one
who lives upon others. Compare
with DEAD-HEAD.
These uncles of your'n ain't no uncles at
all; they're a couple of frauds-regular DEAD-
BEATS. The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, p. 284.
-TO DEAD-BEAT.-To sponge ;
to live upon others.
'My little boy wouldn't like his color.'
'Well, then, you'd better tell your little
boy to play with his toes,' and he continued
toward the river. No party can DEAD-BEAT
his way on me these hard times.'-Boston
Journal, 1888.
-DEAD-BROKE.—Utterly ruined.
-DEAD DUCK.-Anything which
has depreciated in value to the
verge of worthlessness; 'played
out."
"
Long Branch is said to be a DEAD DUCK.
But for the investments made at Elberon
the Branch proper would probably have been
abandoned long ago. Its bathing beach is a
dangerous one, and its hotels have nothing
to recommend them. There is absolutely
nothing to see and nothing to do.-New
York Clipper, 1888.
-IN DEAD EARNEST.
In very
truth; without doubt. -DEAD-
FALL. A huntsman's trap; so
called because the quarry is killed
-A DEAD
as well as caught by it.-
GIVE AWAY, or TO GIVE DEAD AWAY,
signifies betrayal in varying shades.
With this infernal thing [the phonograph],
let loose
And put to every kind of use
We shall be careful what we say,
For it will GIVE US DEAD AWAY.
-Detroit Free Press, August, 1888.
DEAD GONE.-Utterly col-
lapsed.DEAD-HEAD.-One who
lives by sponging on others; the
same as DEAD-BEAT, and as great a
pest to society as were the old
Dead
highwaymen, though probably the
latter would not have felt com-
plimented by the comparison.
Surely, however, Bartlett libels his
countrymen in saying that dead-
heads consist of engineers, con-
ductors, and laborers on rail-roads,
keepers of hotels and the editors
of newspapers." Be this as it
may, the typical dead-head travels
free of charge, gets his drinks
ditto, and, it is said, even lives at
the same rate, which it may be
assumed is not slow in pace.
Dead-heads in truth are confined to
no particular class or country ;
they swarm everywhere.
The world their country,
And their brethren all mankind!
The machine has gone round and round
and the music has ground and ground for full
ten minutes now without a break, and no one
has paid a cent. The riders are all DEAD-
HEADS and they ride to make business look
lively. No wonder the boss looks glum !—
American Humorist, July 28, 1888.
To DEAD-HEAD.-A verb de-
rived from its corresponding noun
which has been popularly extended
in meaning to include anything that
passes free. The practice itself is
similarly called DEAD-HEADISM.
The honorable-be it remembered that
Mr. Green was a Government official, though
no post office business had ever passed
through his hands, not even a letter from or
to himself, unless we count those which had
to do with the stage business and went DEAD-
HEAD. Portland Transcript, March 14, 1888.
Elder Knapp, the noted revivalist, is excit-
ing a theological fever in the towns of Mas-
sachusetts. In Pittsfield, recently, he is
reported to have advertised that he would
furnish a free pass to glory, but very few of
the unrighteous population seemed anxious
be be DEAD-HEADED on this train.-New
York Tribune, March, 1871.
-DEAD RABBITS.-An extremely
rowdy section of the dangerous
classes of New York. These nick-
names are, like other fashions,
continually changing, the dead-
rabbits of the last decade being now
195
Dead
"
called Whyos. Shortboys" was
the name in former days, and
another sobriquet was the "Soap-
Locks," a term which has long
since been forgotten.
When I first came to this city the dan-
gerous class was the SOAP-LOCK. One of the
Sunday papers then contained a picture of a
SOAP-LOCK, and this was the beginning of
that pernicious custom of illustrating crime,
which is one of the worst features of the
day.-Troy Daily Times, February 3, 1888.
-DEAD-SET.— Resolute antago
nism; the same idea being conveyed
in DEAD - SET - AGAINST.-
TO BE
DEAD or DEATH, on anything, indi-
cates complete mastery over it; to be
a sure hand at it; or to have a great
liking for the matter or thing in
question; thus Americans are said
to be DEATH ON Cocktails, while
the fairer half of Transatlantic
humanity are likewise reported
to be DEATH ON candy, or-save
the mark!-chewing-gum.- To
DRESS TO DEATH conveys the same
idea in a round-about slangy way,
i.e., dressed to kill; overdressed.
-DEAD TO RIGHTS.-Certain ;
without doubt.
Hill claims he has the thing down DEAD TO
RIGHTS, and that he will make the farmers
sweat who have been asserting that his
claim was 'N. G.' Cincinnati Weekly
Gazette, February 22, 1888.
-DEAD UNIT.-A dead unit for,
or against, denotes collective
advocacy of, or opposition to a
subject, principle, or line of action.
The Eastern press is a DEAD UNIT against
the passage of the postal telegraph bill.-
The Solid Muldoon (Ouray), Colorado, 1888.
com-
Work
DEAD-WORK.
menced and unfinished is said to
be dead-work. In reference to a
strike it was reported that
To-night the joint committee issued a
circular commanding the men to quit every-
thing but DEAD WORK, and denouncing as
scabs all men working at Reading collieries.
-Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1888.
Deaden
DEADEN, TO. (1) A Western back-
woods term. To deaden is to pre-
pare the way for the actual clear-
ing of land of trees by GIRDLING
(q.v.) them, i.e., by cutting off a
ring of bark round the trunk. This
wounds the tree to death; and a
CLAIM (q.v.) or piece of forest land
thus treated is called a DEADENING;
subsequently it is a CLEARING.-
(2) Politicians in the West draw
from this practice an expressive
simile. In the course of a political
campaign it is often found neces-
sary to DEADEN the chances of an
opponent by circumventing the
peculiar dodges and tactics which
play so prominent a part in elec-
tions.
DEAF.-This is said of nuts when
decayed or empty. Compare with
the Lowland Scotch "deaf," sterile,
Pennsylvania.
DEAF ADDER.—
The BLAUSER (q.v.).
DEAL-A transaction of any kind.
A term borrowed from the card-
table.
A big timber DEAL.-The largest timber
transaction ever made in Appleton was com-
pleted Thursday by the purchase of 46,000
acres of Florida timber land by an Appleton
syndicate. The consideration was 80,000
dollars cash.-Brainerd (Min.) Tribune, 1888.
DEARBORN.A Mr. Dearborn was the
inventor of a light four-wheeled
carriage which received his name.
At last the stage was ready-a three-seated
DEARBORN with one white and one brown
horse.-Lippincott's Magazine.
DEATH.-See DEAD.
DEATH HORSES.-The death watch.
DECAPITATE, TO.-Used in political
circles. An office-holder is said
to be decapitated when his term of
office has come to an end. Official
positions depend for their tenure
196
'Deed
on the result of Presidential elec-
tions, which take place every four
years.
DECEDENT.-Equivalent in speaking
of persons to "the deceased."
DECK.-A pack (of cards). An old
English survival. Shakspeare uses
it and Hoyle has it in his book of
games. Rarely if ever heard in
England, but general in the States.
In twenty deck poker, deck does not
literally mean a pack as it is
played with twenty cards.
A preacher in Fleming county, Ky., bor-
rowed a suit of clothes to wear while
baptizing a convert. Somewhere in the
suit there was a DECK of cards which the
owner of the clothes forgot to take out, and
while the parson and his convert were in
the water the cards began to float around
them, to the great amazement of the
spectators.-Norristown Herald, 1888.
DECLENSION.An archaic form; a
refusal.
He asked me to drive with him to-day, but
I was forced to send him a DECLENSION.
-Southern Literary Messenger.
DECLINATION.-A refusal.
I have no doubt that Blaine's DECLI-
NATION
York
is entirely sincere.-New
World, Feb. 14, 1888
DECORATION DAY.-A public holiday,
set apart for the decoration of the
graves of those who fell in the Civil
War; very similar to the jour des morts
of the French. Also called MEMORIAL
It occurs generally towards
the end of May, and is observed
by North and South alike.
DAY.
We DECK their graves alike to-day
With blossoms fresh and fair,
And on the grassy mounds of clay
We lay the flow'rs with care.
-T. N. Mitchell's We Deck Their Graves
Alike To-day.
'DEED.-Indeed. A negro corruption.
-TO DEED.—To convey by deed.
Deer-Meat
Mrs. Holibaugh, of Aspen, Col., is taking
steps to secure possession of eighteen acres
of land, located in the heart of Kansas City,
valued at 2,500,000 dols. She claims to have
been DEEDED the property by her mother-
in-law, a French lady, who then held a title
to it. Mrs. Holibaugh was born in France,
and her first husband was a count.-Phila-
delphia Evening Bulletin, February 23, 1888.
DEER-MEAT. - Venison. A curious
simplicity, quite out of all compari-
son with the usual American love
of big names, seems to characterize
the terms for flesh food; thus we
get BEAR-MEAT, deer-meat, BUFFALO-
MEAT, SHEEP-MEAT, etc.
DEHORNING.—The practice of dehorning
cattle is rapidly increasing, not
only in the West, but in some parts
of the Middle and Eastern States.
The chief objection urged against
dehorning has been the cruelty of
the operation; a lesser one is that
it detracts from the appearance of
the animal. The second objection
remains, but the great majority of
those who have practised dehorning
contend that it is no more painful,
if as painful, as other operations
generally practised. However this
may be, it is fairly safe to conclude
that dehorning, carefully performed,
is not a dangerous operation. The
arguments advanced in favor of
dehorning are; First, the prevention
of terrible accidents in handling
vicious cattle, especially bulls;
second, that the DEHORNED cattle
can be turned loose in sheds and
stalls without fear of their injuring
each other, even if they are more
or less crowded. The preferred
age at which TO DEHORN is in the
second year of the animal's life,
and spring is the season favored.
The operation, it is averred, is more
successful in moderate weather
than in either extremes of heat or
cold. Preparatory to the operation,
the animal's head is made fast;
then the horns are sawn off with
197
Demnition
a suitable saw close to the hair,
where a soft place occurs in the
horns.
S. W. H., McLeansboro, Ill.-DEHORNING
is performed when the calfis young, and the
tips of horns movable. They are simply cut
out with a sharp knife.-Answer to Corres-
pondent in Missouri Republican, February 15,
1888.
DEHORT, TO.-To exhort; to beg; to
entreat. Judge Sewall in his diary
(Ap. 1. 1718) dehorted Sam Hirst to
eschew idle tricks. Now obsolete.
DELTA.-A piece of land at Cambridge
in the shape of a A belonging to
Harvard, and used for recreation
purposes.
DEMI-MEAMELOUC.-A grade of color
(like mulatto which is the first
remove), in a person with negro
blood in his or her veins. These
distinctions are drawn very fine.
Demi-meamelouc is a French term.
See MULATTO.
"
DEMNITION. This, written plainly, is
damnation." Some people think
it "looks nicer.- -DEMNITION
BOW-WOWS.—A superlative species
of the "dogs" which spell "ruin."
Going to the demnition bow-wows.''
There are some men who, if they don't
make twice as much as they expect to make,
will cry hard times, and say that general
business is going to the DEMNITION BOW-
wows, but these men would say the same
thing in any event.-New York Herald,
March 25, 1888.
-DEMNITION HOT.-Exceedingly
warm; a heat which is supposed to
be akin to that of "the place
where they don't rake out the fires
nights."
It was a steady, winding climb, and the
sun came out. Overcoats were dispensed
with. Then our other coats were peeled,
and finally we stripped to shirts and trousers.
It was DEMNITION HOT, and I commenced to
hunt for soft spots in my saddle.-San Fran
cisco Weekly Examiner, March 22, 1888.
Democrats
DEMOCRATS.-Democratic-Republi-
can is the full official designation
of this great party. It was by a
suggestive coincidence, originally,
and until 1828-30, known as the
Republican party, but affiliating at
that time with the Democratic
faction, it assumed the compound
title which it still claims. The
party overthrew the Federalists in
1800, electing Jefferson to the
Presidency, and remained in
power until 1848, when they were
defeated by the Whigs and Free-
Toilers. (See REPUBLICANS.) It
appears, however, that "Citizen
Gluet first suggested the name
(in 1793) as that of a political
party. At that time some Phila-
delphia politicians wished to take
the cognomen of "Friends of
Liberty and Equality," but Gluet
opposed it, and suggested the
name Democratic Society," which
they adopted.(Magazine of Ameri-
can History, vol. 15, p. 614.)
"
DENGUE. A malarial fever of the
South; it is also called BREAK-BONE
FEVER (q.v.).
DEPARTMENT.-A Government office;
thus, instead of Home Office, War
Office, Treasury, Colonial Office,
etc., the corresponding terms in
America are State Department,
Treasury Department, Interior De-
partment, etc. Most American
official terms are of French deri-
vation.
Also DEPARTMENTAL,
that which relates to the principal
offices or departments of State.
DEPOT.-A railway station. A French
word imported into the American
vocabulary without the smallest
reason or excuse; besides which,
when a good word existed for the
same thing, it was a blunder to
employ a name which the French
apply to a storehouse, military and
198
Desperate
otherwise, and never to a railway
station. Depot is altogether inde-
pendent as regards pronunciation,
it being called deepo," or
daypo," or deppo," or "dee-
pot.'
..
It is the height of pretentious absurdity
to give the name of DEPOT to a little lonely
shanty, which looks like a lodge outside a
garden of cucumbers, a staging of a few
planks upon which two or three people
stand like criminals on the scaffold.-R. G.
White's Words and their Uses, p. 149.
DEPOT in the United States is a bastard
foundling. DEPOT must go !-Buffalo Com-
mercial Advertiser, 1888.
DERAIL, TO.-To cause a train or any
portion of it to leave the rails.
Like DETRAIN, this is a verb which
the exigencies of railway-traffic
have called into use. It is em-
ployed both transitively and in-
transitively.
A heavily-loaded passenger - train was
standing on the main track directly in the
way of the runaway train. A switchman
quickly turned the switch just in time to
save many lives, and the on-rushing train
was DERAILED and piled up in a huge mass,
causing 15,000 dols. damage.-New York
Evening Post, February 24, 1888.
DESERET. A Mormon name for the
territory of Utah. It is said to
mean "honey-bee."
DESK. A New England term for a
pulpit. The severe simplicity of
the Puritans will account for the
difference of nomenclature. Simi-
larly, when a man intends his son.
for the Church, he speaks of send-
ing him to the desk.
DESPERATE.- Very; exceedingly.
Used intensitively in the same
manner as AWFUL and CRUEL (q.v.).
Desperately ill is quite intelligible;
not so, however, desperately well,
except as a perversion of language.
The corruption does not stop short
at the meaning of the word, for
Despisement
liberties are also taken with its
pronunciation desprat" and
desput."
DESPISEMENT.
Contempt; disdain ;
contumely. A new form "built,
says an American writer, "on a
well-known model."
One evening, I may own to, spent in the
weird company of the Pharaohs, when he
of the Oppression stretched from the tomb
of ages a grisly hand, to hold me spell-bound
and leave me with an uncomfortable sen-
sation of over-familiarity bordering on
DESPISEMENT, for the illustrious Rameses
and his intricate problems of domesticity.
But nothing less than a tête-à-tête with an
excavated sovereign could have long de-
tained me from the rival magnet that just
at present claims my literary homage.-The
Critic, May 27, 1887.
DESSERT.-Pronounced wrongly, (it
being called des'sert,) and often
misapplied by Americans. Pro-
perly speaking, it is the service of
fruits and sweetmeats which follow
the regular courses. In America,
it is very generally understood to
mean the course of "sweets,"
pastry, puddings, etc.-following
meats.
The pastry-cook [in Paris] is very useful.
He supplies delicious meat and fish pies, and
such DESSERT (I use the word in the
American sense) as an ordinary cook could
not be expected to make; for instance,
Charlotte Russe, St. Honoré, Frangipane,
and the like.--Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
DESTROYING ANGEL.-Mark Twain
thus relates an encounter with
one :-
Half an hour or an hour later, we changed
horses, and took supper with a Mormon
DESTROYING ANGEL. DESTROYING ANGELS,
as I understand it, are Latter-Day Saints,
who are set apart by the Church to conduct
permanent disappearances of obnoxious
citizens. I had heard a deal about these
Mormon DESTROYING ANGELS and the dark
and bloody deeds they had done, and when
I entered this one's house I had my shudder
all ready. But alas for all our romances, he
was nothing but a loud, profane, offensive,
old blackguard! He was murderous enough,
199
Devil
possibly, to fill the bill of a destroyer, but
would you have any kind of an Angel devoid
of dignity? Could you abide an Angel in an
unclean shirt and no suspenders? Could
you respect an Angel with a horse-laugh and
a swagger like a buccaneer?—Mark Twain's
Roughing It.
DETAIL, also TO DETAIL. Detail is
pretty generally employed to sig-
nify a marking or telling off for
any given purpose, the verb being
similarly used.
I have seen big crowds gather upon Mrs.
Cleveland's leaving the church, but I never
saw so many people as were there this
morning. Some time ago the church people
asked for a policeman to stand inside the
vestibule and keep the way clear on these
occasions, but it did not seem necessary,
and no DETAIL was ever made for the pur-
pose.-Daily Inter-Ocean, February 6, 1888.
An extra DETAIL of police is always made
on this account, and the crowd is not
allowed to block the exit.-Troy Daily
Times, February 6, 1888.
DETRAIN, To.—To empty a train of
its passengers; generally used in
connection with large bodies of
people, e.g., "the volunteers de-
trained quickly on arrival at their
destination."
DEVIL.-TO WHIP THE DEVIL AROUND
THE STUMP.-To enjoy the sweets
of wickedness and yet escape the
penalty.-
DEVIL-FISH.-A poрu-
lar name for the AMERICAN ANGLER
a fish of hideous appearance. The
true devil-fish is the Southern STING-
RAY. Amongst other names for the
spurious devil-fish, are SEA-DEVIL,
FISHING - FROG, BELLOWS - FISH,
GOOSE-FISH and MONK-FISH.-
DEVIL'S BIT (Aletris farinosa).—A
popular medicinal plant.
DEVIL'S DARNING NEEDLE.-A
species of dragon-fly. Probably
derived from the English provin-
cial popular name-the Devil's
needle. DEVIL WOOD (Olea
americana).—A species of olive
found in the Southern States. It
Devilism
is said to derive its name from
the impossibility of splitting it.
DEVILISM. THE SECT OF DEVILISM.—
The Whigs of the Revolution.
The Christian element was
represented by the Tories.
DEWLAP. A brand used in marking
cattle, being a cut in the lower
part of the neck. A ranchman's
term.-See BRAND.
DIAMOND STATE.-Delaware
bears
this sobriquet as well as that of
BLUE HEN STATE. - See BLUE
HEN'S CHICKENS.
DICKER, TO.To barter; and, when
used as a noun, the thing bartered.
A genuine Americanism of Western
origin. Generally applied to trade
in small articles, and thought to
be derived through the Dutch.
The colored man takes his medicine from
the Northern drug shops. When Senator
Ingalls, or Senator Chandler, or Senator
Sherman digs up the past and screams over
the ancient relics, the colored man of the
South begins to think that he has been
neglectful of his duty. He had perhaps
been considering the advisability of making
a DICKER with his old political opponents in
the hope of bettering his condition.-New
York Weekly Times, March 28, 1888.
A young man walked into the establish-
ment of a prominent undertaker in Detroit
a few weeks ago, and after glancing care-
lessly over the place inquired:
'How much for a coffin?'
The undertaker ran over a list of prices,
and asked the sex of the person for whom it
was needed.
'It is for a man-a man about my size,'
replied the customer.
After some DICKERING a style of coffin
was selected and a price decided upon.
Denver Republican, April 7, 1888.
DICKEY. A shirt collar. New Eng-
land. This usage differs from that
current in England, where it means
a false shirt front.
200
Dig
Didoes. To cUT DIDOES.-To play
pranks; to cut capers.
Had the Free States been manly enough,
true enough, to enact the Wilmot Proviso as
to all present or future territories of the Union,
we should have had just the same DIDOES
CUT UP by the chivalry that we have wit-
nessed, and with no more damage to the
Union.-New York Tribune, April 10, 1851.
"
DIFFICULTED. TO BE DIFFICULTED.-
To be perplexed.
To difficult "
appears in Lowland Scotch.
DIG.-A diligent student. As scho-
lastic America has invented a
special word to describe the genus,
it must be assumed that they are
not rare aves. -TO DIG A MAN IN
THE RIBS, is to give him a thrust
or blow in the side. Generally
used in a jocular sense, and some-
times idiomatically. To DIG
OUT.-To elope; to depart.
Then I jumped in the canoe and DUG OUT
for our place a mile and a half below, as
hard as I could go.-The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn.
'Well, what do you think? The old
woman has skipped.'
'Your wife 1'
'Yes, she DUG OUT last night with a
teamster.'-Detroit Free Press, July 21, 1888.
To dig snuFF is Southern for
to dip into a box containing this
old - time irritant. DIGGER
INDIANS.-A tribe of Indians who
get their name from digging for
roots as food. These wretched
people have mostly been improved
out of existence. DIGGER PINE
(Pinus sabiniana). - A species of
pine found mainly upon the foot-
hills. Resinous exudations be-
slobber the trunk, which is
Its
rarely straight or vertical.
foliage is bluish green in color.-
DIGGING.-Primarily a mining
term, signifying the place where a
man works, but the almost bound-
less licence which Americans allow
themselves in matters philological
Dig
has long since brought about its
adoption, in a more familiar sense,
as a place of abode. After all,
the transition is not unnatural;
and, in any case, the sturdy, if
rough phraseology by no means
detracts from the dignity of labor;
only amongst a Democratic people
could the terms for home and work
be synonymous. "Were you ever
before in these diggings?" is a
phrase very often heard in the
West upon first introduction; and,
in J. C. Neal's Charcoal Sketches,
we read: "Look here, Ned, I
reckon it's about time we should
go to our diggings; I am dead beat,
and you don't look as if you could
keep out of bed much longer."
The village boys would raise a party of
gals, and start off early in the morning for
Toad Hill, where the blackberries was e'en
a'most as plentiful as mosquitoes in these
DIGGINGS.-Lafayette Chronicle.
Wet-diggiNGS and DRY-DIG-
GINGS are terms in gold districts, for
mines near rivers or on the higher
lands, as the case may be.-DIG-
GING as an adjective, signifies dear
or costly. A horse fetches a digging
price; or a man's habits are said to
be very digging, i.e., expensive.
This application of the word is
peculiarly Southern. TO DIG
UP THE HATCHET.-A phrase de-
cidedly Indian in origin. Amongst
the aborigines the making of
peace or the declaration of war
was accompanied by symboli-
cal ceremonies, in which the
hatchet or tomahawk played an
important part. This, their chief
weapon, was buried to signify the
putting away of strife; and, con-
versely, digging up the hatchet meant
a renewal of warfare. These cus-
toms soon became painfully familiar
to the early colonists, who appro-
priated the picturesquely symboli-
cal phraseology of their Indian
foes, to signify the amicable settle-
201
Ding-Bat
ment of differences, or the opening
up of hostilities.
DIKE. TO BE OUT ON A DIKE is to be
carefully attired for social pur-
poses, such as making calls, or
attending festivities. De Vere
thinks the word is a corruption of
dight (now obsolete), to be
decked out. It is used both as a
noun and a verb; in the former
case it is applied alike to a man
and to his dress.
DILL, TO.-To soothe. Thought to
be a corruption of "to dull.” A
North of England provincialism.
DIME. A silver coin, worth ten cents
TO HAVE
or (about) fivepence.-
THE DIMES or THE DOLLARS AND
DIMES, i.e., to possess wealth, or, as
English slang expresses it, "to have
the pieces."
A sound on the gong, and the miser rose,
And his laden coffer did quickly close,
And lock secure. These are the times
For a man to look after his DOLLARS AND
DIMES.-Henry Mill's Dimes and Dollars.
-DIME NOVELS.-The " penny
dreadfuls" of America. These are
of the usual trashy, wishy-washy
description.
The story of his crime, escape, and capture,
is a strange one, and smacks somewhat of
the DIME NOVEL.-Missouri Republican, Feb.
24, 1888.
DING, DINGED.-A Southern equiva-
lent of the Northern DARN or
DARNED (q.v.). The word enters
into various combinations.
DING-BAT. This word seems to be
applied to anything that can be
thrown with force or dashed vio-
lently at another object, from a
cannon-ball to the rough's tradi-
tional 'arf brick, and from a piece
of money to a log of wood. From
the Icelandic dengia, to beat.
26
Dingee
DINGEE, DINKY.- The tub-like boat
which, in England, is known as the
DINGY.
DINGLING.-Between two stools; in-
secure.
DINING ROOM SERVANT. The butler
of English households. This title
is peculiar to the South.
be
202
DIP.-American cant for a pick-
pocket, as well as for a stolen kiss,
on the principle, it must
inferred, that the receivers of
"illicit kisses" are often tempted to
pick other people's pockets in
order to pay for the same.
Long Point, on the Canadian side of Lake
Erie, was the scene of these fights, as a land-
ing could be easily effected from tugs and
steamers, which were also available for
flight. At one affair, a DIP touched the
Canadian Sheriff for his watch and massive
chain while he was reading the riot act.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, 1888.
TO DIP.-In thieves' slang, to
pawn.- -TO DIP or RUB SNUFF.-Of
all the forms of taking tobacco, this
is perhaps the most offensive and
disgusting. It is practised-tell it
not in Gath!-by women chiefly in
the South, and the habit is said to
have originated in the use of the
narcotic as a powder for cleansing
the teeth. The effect of dipping or
rubbing the gums, which is
performed by a split, brush-like
stick, the end of which is wetted
and dipped in snuff, is said to be
similar to that which follows
inhalation through the nostrils.
At times the snuff is put into a
small bag, which then forms a
substitute for chewing gum.
Altogether a delightful piece of
feminine dissipation! The stick
alluded to is called the RUBBING-
STICK or SNUFF-SWAB, and the
person who indulges in the practice
is called a dipper.
Dirt
This neat, orderly sin-exterminating
woman RUBBED SNUFF. She kept a snuff-box
in her right pocket, filled with the strongest
and most pungent Scotch snuff, and she
went about all day, brandishing a dangerous-
looking, hickory stick, with a mop at the end
of it, which she was constantly DIPPING into
this huge, black, horn snuff-box. Then she
would fill her mouth with load after load.
At times, she would invite her few friends
to come over and take a DIP.-Putnam's
Magazine.
DipE. TO GO ON THE DIPE (Cant).–
To pick pockets. The pickpocket
himself is called a DIP (q.v.).
i felt very rough and was thinking i would
have TO GO ON THE DIPE again, when i
thought of what you once said about a
fellow's calling on the Lord when he was in
hard luck, and i thought i would try it once
anyhow. Mark Twain's Life on the Missis-
sippi, p. 460.
DIPPER. (1) A ladle - like utensil.
(2) The constellation of Ursa
major. In both these senses dipper
(3) See
is a true Americanism..
under DIP.
DIPSY.-A sinker used in sea fishing.
A Pennsylvanian localism. A cor-
ruption of "deep sea."
DIRT.-In employing dirt to signify
earth, rag for linen, and rocks for
stones, American usage varies very
considerably from that of England.
An unfloored cabin is spoken of as
having a dirt floor; while DIRT, or
LAND - HUNGER, merely signifies
that which is popularly regarded
as an unfailing antidote to radical
ideas. The DIRT-CART is the dust-
cart of London and other English
cities, while an unmetalled road is
designated a DIRT-ROAD,
The gar-
dener fills his flower-pots with dirt,
and in the West the word means
that which is dug, whether earth,
clay, gravel, or other substances;
thus miners talk of RICH DIRT,
POOR DIRT, TOP DIRT, PAY DIRT,
Discard
the last named being simply earth
that it pays him to work.
The inundashun carried the sile off my
farm clean down to the rocks. Ther wasn't
'nuff DIRT left on 120 acres to put in your
eye. American Humorist, September 15,
1888.
Oh! fire away ye villains, and earn King
George's shillin's,
But ye'll waste a ton of powder afore a rebel
falls;
You may bang the DIRT and welcome, they're
as safe as Dan'l Malcolm,
Ten foot beneath the gravestone that you've
splintered with your balls!
-Grandmother's Story of Bunker-Hill Battle.
Hence ON TOP OF DIRT in the
idiomatic sense of "this side the
grave"; BELOW DIRT being the
last resting place of all that is
mortal in man.
It's no use argufyin' the matter,-I'm the
ugliest man now ON TOP OF DIRT. Thar's
nuther like me. - Widow Bagly's
nary
Husband.
-To CUT DIRT.-A slang phrase
which, in the sense of running
away in haste, is evidently an out-
come of the Yankee penchant for
fast driving, where the dirt or
earth flies in all directions under
the action of the horse's feet.
Now, I say, old hoss, if you don't hurry
up and CUT DIRT like streak-lightnin', this
child goes arter you, and you look out for a
windin' sheet, you hear?-Border Adven-
tures, p. 231.
TO EAT DIRT is to retract, or
"eat humble pie' -the Yankee
equivalent of "to eat one's words."
DISCARD (in Poker).-To take from
your hand the number of cards you
intend to draw, and place them on
the table, near the next dealer, face
upwards. The American Hoyle.
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.-This denomi-
nation, though known by a variety
of names, such as Baptists, Re-
formed Baptists, Rcformers, or
Campbellites, have themselves
203
District
chosen the name of Disciples of
Christ. The originator of the sect
was a Mr. Thomas Campbell. A
full account of the doctrines of this
body will be found in Fullerton's
Faiths of the World.
DISFELLOWSHIP, TO.-To debar from
the rights of fellowship or com-
munion. Colloquial on both sides of
the Atlantic in religious circles, but
of American origin.
DISGRUNTLED.-Disconcerted; to have
a spoke put in one's wheel; to be
disappointed. The Philadelphia
Press of January 29, 1888, in its
"Old World news, speaks of
Bismarck as being disgruntled at his
reverse in the Reichstag. So
also in a contrary sense, UNDIS-
GRUNTLED.
}}
DISREMEMBER, TO.-To fail to remem-
ber. An obsolete English vulgarism
which is largely colloquial in the
States, especially in the South and
West.
'Mistoo Claude, I see a gen'leman dis day
noon what I ain't see' befo' since 'bout six
year' an' mo'. I DISREMEMBER his name,
but-
'Tarbox?' asked Claude with sudden
interest.-G. W. Cable's Au Large.
DISRESPECTABLE.
For disreput-
able." Despite its seeming ortho-
doxy, an entirely spurious word.
Nellie Thierauf asks to be divorced from
Henry Thierauf. She alleges he associated
with lewd and DISRESPECTABLE characters
of both sexes. Republican St. Louis,
February 14, 1888.
DISTRESSED.-A term of commisera-
tion; wretched; miserable. "Look
at that distressed woman," i.e.," poor
thing," or if a man "poor devil."
DISTRICT, To. (Pronounced dees-
trick). To apportion a state into
Ditch
electoral districts or counties. In
connection with this, see To GERRY-
MANDER.
DISTRICT COURTS.-
Courts for the administration of the
Civil Law; also for Admiralty
cases. One judge presides over
each Court. DISTRICT SCHOOL
and DISTRICT SCHOOL-MASTER.-
The school and master, under the
American free public school system.
DITCH. TO DIE IN THE LAST DITCH.
-This saying, which was much
used by Confederates during the
Civil War, is attributed to William,
Prince of Orange.
DITE. I DON'T CARE A DITE,
A DITE, i.e.,
'not at all," or "not a little bit."
A New England survival; from
"doit."
DITTANY (Cunila mariana).—A plant,
the leaves of which are used for
herb tea. A curious popular fancy
is that its leaves always point to
other plants of dittany near it.
DITTY BAG.—A sailor's "housewife"
is so called.
DIVE.-A brothel.
204
A plot to entrap young women for the
DIVES of Northern Wisconsin has been
discovered at Eau Claire, Wis. Arrests are
expected.-Troy Daily Times, February 7,
1888.
Worse than that even, and the man who
robbed her of her money and cast her out to
live a life of shame, was her husband's best
friend. Even fallen women, when the rose
is gone from their cheeks, are pushed aside,
and from a gilded house to the lowest DIVE
is the last and quickest step of all.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, February 27, 1888.
DIVIDE.-A water shed; that portion
of a ridge which separates one
ravine from another, and acts as a
watershed, sending the waters from
the slopes in different directions.
Dodge says that all land which is
Dixie
not level is divide, though this term
is specially and technically applied
to the summit or junction of the
slopes arising from two contiguous
ravines. Level land is either MESA
(q.v.) or BOTTOM (see BOTTOM LANDS).
The term mesa is applied to a level
upland; bottom, to the level land
bordering a stream and enclosed
between the sides of the ravine. The
line or ridge separating the waters of
two streams not uniting with each
other is called a principal divide.
This is an undoubted Americanism,
and one of genuine Western birth.
We began the long winding ascent of the
canyon toward the DIVide. As day broke
we journeyed down into the valley of the
Lake, and, feeling secure, halted to cook
breakfast, for we were tired and sleepy and
hungry. Three hours later the rest of the
population filed over the DIVIDE in a long
procession.-Mark Twain's Roughing It.
The backbone of the DIVIDE separates
Spring Garden from the well-known Owl
creek and its tributaries, from which thou-
sands of dollars were taken in the early days
of mining.-Placer Herald, 1888.
DIVORT. A watershed. An indi-
vidualism of Dr. Antisell's of the
Pacific Railroad Survey, who used
it as specially implying elevation
as the cause of separation, which
DIVIDE (q.v.), he maintained, did
not.
DIXIE.
DIXIE'S LAND.- -DIXIANIC.
I WISH I WAS IN DIXIE.-The last
named phrase is the refrain of
many a song in which the popular
fallacy, that Dixie relates to
Southern institutions is per-
petuated. The upsetting of old idols
is always an ungracious task, but
the real truth (as given in Putnam's
Record of the Rebellion, i. 113), is
that Dixie is an indigenous
Northern negro refrain common
upwards of eighty years ago. It
was one of the every-day allusions
of boys in New York at that
time, when Dixie's Land
was
Dixie
associated with Manhattan Island.
Only recently has it been errone-
ously supposed to refer to the
South, from its connection with
pathetic negro allegory. Its deriva-
tion was as follows:-
When slavery existed in New York, one
DIXIE owned a large tract of land on
Manhattan Island, and a large number of
slaves. The increase of the slaves and
the increase of the abolition sentiment,
caused an emigration of the slaves to more
thorough and secure slave sections, and the
negroes who were thus sent off (many being
born there), naturally looked back to their
old houses, where they had lived in clover,
with feelings of regret, as they could not
imagine any place like DIXIE'S. Hence it
became synonymous with an ideal locality
combining ease, comfort, and material
happiness of every description. In those.
days negro singing and negro minstrelsy
were in their infancy, and any subject that
could be wrought into a ballad was eagerly
picked up; this was the case with DIXIE.
It originated in New York, and assumed the
proportions of a song there. In its travels
it has been enlarged, and has gathered
more; it has picked up a note here and
there; a chorus has been added to it, and
from an indistinct chant of two or three
notes, its has become an elaborate melody.-
Charlestown Courier, June 11, 1885.
See this new king who comes apace,
And treats us like a conquered race:
He comes from DIXIE'S LAND by rail,
His throne a ragged cotton bale.
On to the White House straight
He's marching,-rather late;
Clanking along the land,
The shackles in his hand.
Hats off, hats off,
Ye slaves, of curs begotton,
Hats off to great King Cotton.
-R. H. Stoddard.
Dar's a mighty famous Hunter in de part-
ment of the Souf,-
An' he gubberns all ob DIXIE, as you
know,
An' he talks to de darkies by de words of his
inouf,-
Sayin': 'Niggers, you's at liberty to
gol'
You may lay down de shobel an' de
hoe-o-o!
You may dance with de fiddle an' de
bow;
Dar is no more cotton for de contraband to
pick,
Dar is no more cotton for to mow.
Chorus.-Den lay down, &c.
-New York Sunday Times, 1862.
205
Doctor
DIZZY.-Used as in quotation.
There seems little likelihood of any pro-
fessional beauties or maidens, commonly
called Dizzy blondes, attempting the hard-
ships of a stage life this winter. The public
can congratulate themselves; it was their own
doing. For my own part, I never thought
that a bath and a few Parisian toilets
rendered a soiled society queen a fit subject
for serious consideration. -Texas Siftings,
September 29, 1888.
"
Do. Instead of do for," as this
pen does me," i.e., will suit my
purpose.
Do As I Do!-A whilom invitation to
drink.
Dos, To.—A corruption of "to dab."
The corpse said, whitewash his old canoe
and DOB his address and general destination
on to it with a blacking brush and a stencil
plate.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
DOBBLER. The float attached to a
fishing-line. New York.
DOCIOUS. For "docile." A Southern
survival of an English pro-
vincialism.
DOCITY (Pronounced dossity).—Apt-
ness; quickness of wit. Used nega-
tively, e.g.,
"he has no docity."
Like DOCIOUS it is a survival in the
South of a usage still provincial in
some parts of England.
DOCKMACKIE (Viburnum acerifolium).
This plant was used medicinally by
the Dutch for external application.
Its properties were well known to
the Indians long prior to the settle-
ment of the country.
DOCK WALLOPER.-A New York term
for an idle loiterer about the
docks.
DOCTOR.-Jack's name for the cook
on board-ship; hence probably
Dod Burn It
-TO DOCTOR in its slang sense
of to cook; to change; to modify.
It is open to question whether
either term can be classed among
Americanisms.- Concerning DOC-
TORESS, however, there is no doubt,
it being a creation resulting from a
new need.
DOD BURN IT!-A euphemistic oath,
formed on the same model as DAD-
BINGED (q.v.).
'No, I can't forget her;' and, with an audi-
ble sob, he started as if in a trance, and,
swinging his whip, yelled out at the mules
with ungovernable fury, 'You git, DOD BURN
YOU ! What d'ye stand flopping yer ears
for? Git!'-Adventures in the Apache Coun-
try', P. 50.
DODFETCHED. This is also a thinly-
veiled oath, the "Dod" being a
corruption for God.
Then the poet was sore grieved, and he
said unto himself, 'I'm a DODFETCHED fool.
The Sultan sent money in the loaves, and
verily I lacked sense to know it.
I'll go
down to Flynn's first, and then to my attic
and kick myself.-Texas Siftings, July 7, 1888.
-Of the same stamp is DOD-
GASTED.
Dick leaned thoughtfully back in his chair.
'It's a DODGASTED funny thing, Uncle Zeke,
but it's a fact, never knew it to fail; straight
as a string, too.'-Detroit Free Press, 1888.
It is curious that these euphemisms,
whose name in truth is legion,
have mainly originated in the New
England States, where the descen-
dants of the Puritans form the
largest portion of the population.
DODGER. (1) A hard-baked cake or
biscuit, more usually termed CORN-
DODGER (q.v. under CORN). When
mixed with beef they are called
BEEF-DODGERS.-See BEEF.- -(2)
Handbills distributed in advance
of Barnum's great moral show,
otherwise yclept the Greatest Show
upon Earth.-See BARNUMESE.
206
Dog
'Then I would have a great quantity of
little DODGERS printed to throw around
everywhere - Kate Bateman, the greatest
living dramatic genius, is coming! or some-
thing like that. I would put out ten thousand
at least,'
"
Great Cæsar! Sir, two hundred thousand
DODGERS are now--Texas Siftings, Sept.
15, 1888.
DO DON'T! A negroism; but generally
colloquial in the South for "don't."
DODROTTED.-A euphemistic oath.-
See DADBINGED, DODFETCHED, etc.
'You ketch us with yer DODROTTED
foolin',' says he; 'we hain't the kind to be
fooled. We know what we're about afore
we begin, we do. We hain't the sort to be
tuck in by lawyers ur nobody else.'-Century
Magazine, 1887.
DOE-BIRD. (Numenius borealis).—The
New England name for the
Esquimaux curlew.
DOG. With many variations "dog
enters largely into the colloquial
language of the American people.
(1) An iron instrument used
by burglars.
The safe was rifled, and every appearance
of robbery was manifest. In this case the
murderer was discovered by means of a
DOG, which was described in the newspapers
as having certain peculiar scratches on it.-
American Humorist, March 31, 1888.
(2) DOGS for andirons is still
current in New England. Lowell in
a note says that in Walter de Bibles-
worth, chiens is glossed in the
margin by andirons.To dog,
meaning to follow closely, and
derived from the custom once pre-
valent in England of tracking fugi-
tives by means of bloodhounds, is
of course good old English, as also
are a few other phrases in which
the word appears. While, how-
ever, to dog in England is now only
used in its metaphorical sense, it
was, until the abolition of slavery,
employed in America as literally
meaning to hunt with dogs.-
Dog
I'LL BE DOGGED IF, etc.-This may
be derived either from the practice
of hunting down men with dogs,
thus affording a simile expressive
of determination; or it may be
a corruption of a form of oath
in which the name of God is
simply transposed. Hence also
DOGGAUNED or DOGGONED,
which, in the South, is undoubt-
edly used as a substitute for
strong language of a blasphemous
character.
But when that choir got up to sing,
I couldn't catch a word;
They sung the most DOGGONDEST thing
A body ever heard!
-Will Carleton's Farm Ballads.
In Texas and the West gene-
rally the expression is DOG MY CATS!
A mere expletive, supposed to give
force to a statement.
Why, DOG MY CATS! there must have been
a house-full o' niggers in there every night
for four weeks to have done all that work,
Sister Phelps. Look at that shirt- every
last inch of it rivered over with secret
African writ'n done with blood!-The Ad-
ventures of Huckleberry Finn.
207
A DOGGONED FIXEMENT is
another Texan phrase applied to
anything that is praiseworthy or
acceptable.- TO GO THE WHOLE
DOG-a West Indian variant of
"to go the whole hog.". -DOG-
FISH. The mud fish of Western
waters; also called the LAKE LAW-
YER. A voracious and ferocious-
looking fish. -DOGGERY.—A grog
shop, generally of a very low kind.
Originally confined to the West
and South, but now prevalent
throughout the Union.
There was a crowd from the floating popu-
lation of the river, and loose-footed, DOGGERY-
haunting, dissipated renegades of the towns
and villages all around. (Autobiography,
P. 376.)
-DOG-POWER.-Used in the
same manner as horse-power,
steam-power; i.e., "force "exerted
Dog
or produced by dogs. A relic of
the old Dutch times, dogs being
then used, as even now in the Low
Countries, as beasts of burden.
-DOG'S AGE.-To be
gone a
DOG'S AGE is to be gone a long time.
"
-DOG SOLDIERS.-Dodge, in
Plains of the Great West, p. 266
(speaking of the Indian tribal
government), says, "Whatever the
power or influence of chief and
council, there is another power to
which both have to yield on all
matters on which it assumes the
right of deciding. The first two
may be said to represent the brains
of the tribe or band; the latter
represents its stomach. As brains
are only occasionally called into
requisition, while the demands of
the stomach are incessant, the
tribe is habitually under the con-
trol of this third estate." This
power is composed of all the hun-
ters of the tribe, who form a sort
of guild, from the decisions of
which, in its own peculiar province,
there is no appeal. Among the
Cheyennes these men are called
dog soldiers. The younger and
more active chiefs are always en-
rolled among these dog soldiers, but
do not necessarily command. The
soldiers themselves command by
viva voce determination on general
matters, the details being left to
the most renowned and sagacious
hunters selected by them. Among
these dog soldiers are many boys
who have not yet passed the
initiatory ordeal as warriors.
short, this guild comprises the
whole working force of the band.
It is the power which protects and
supplies the women and children.
In
-DOG TOWNS or DOG VILLAGES.
-The communities formed by the
little marmot (Cynomus ludovicianus),
miscalled the PRAIRIE-DOG, prob-
ably on account of its crisp,
short, warning bark. Their dwell-
ings, which are burrows thrown
Doings
up like little conical huts, are
sometimes congregated in im-
mense numbers, and seen, says
C. A. Murray, in his Prairie
Rose, in the dim light of a misty
morning air, the little conical huts
and grotesque dark figures by their
side, look from a distance not
unlike a village crowded with
people sitting idle at their doors.
DOGWOOD.-The popular name
given to the CORNEL-TREE (Cornus
florida) (q.v.) and to the POISON
SUMAC (Rhus venenata). The former,
a beautiful though small tree, covers
American woods in early spring
with a profusion of large, snowy-
white flowers, and adorns them in
autumn with scarlet berries, while
its wood is useful for many pur-
poses. The latter, an inmate of
swamps, and well known by the
beauty of its semi-tropical foliage,
hides a violent poison in its leaves,
and even affects susceptible persons
who approach it too nearly.
is
เ
208
DOINGS, DOIN'S (the g is not sounded
in either form).-Brother Jonathan
immense "in his doings. By
this playfully non-committal term,
he wisely, perhaps, designates all
kinds of prepared food; preferring
to say his grace "after" instead of
before meat.' Sometimes he
speaks of his daily fare as COM-
MON DOIN'S, to distinguish it from
what with some grandiloquence
he calls CHICKEN-FIXIN'S (q.v.).
Then, again, he has GREAT DOIN'S
and HARD DOIN's, the one used in
speaking of high days and holidays
in which feasting plays a pro-
minent part, and the other to the
dark days of adversity, when, as
Ruxton puts it, "the horses tails
are eaten up by the mules."
If thar wasn't COLD DOIN's about that
time (in the mountains), this child wouldn't
say so. Thar was no buffalo and no meat,
and we had been livin' on our moccasins
for weeks; and POOR DOIN'S that feedin' is.
-Ruxton's Life in the Far West.
Dollar
-In New England the ques-
tion, How are the doin's? is an
inquiry as to the state of the roads.
It takes the form, How are the
roads? in Virginia and the
Southern States generally; while
in New York it is, How is
travelling? and in Massachusetts
and Connecticut, How is the going?
"
DOLESS.-Probably a corruption of
dole-less," used colloquially for
inefficient; lacking in manly quali-
ties.
DOLLAR. The principal silver coin of
the United States, of the approxi-
mate value, in English money, of
4s. 2d.
Dollar is a contraction of
thaler (Low German dahler; Danish
daler), and means "a valley "-Eng-
lish" dale." Brewer thus explains
its derivation: The counts of
Schlick, at the close of the fifteenth
century, extracted from the mines
at Foachim's thal (Joachim's valley)
silver, which they coined into
ounce-pieces. These pieces, called
Joachim's thallers, gained such high
repute that they became a standard
coin. Other coins being made like
them were called thallers only.
THE DOLLAR MARK, thus, has
been the subject of considerable
discussion. Its derivation is
variously put as follows. (1) It is
supposed to be a combination of
the sign of U.S., the initials for the
United States; (2) that it is a
modification of the figure 8, the
dollar being formerly called
piece of eight," and designated by
the character 8-8; (3) that it is a
combination of H.S., the mark of
the Roman unit; (4) that it is a
combination of P and S, from the
Spanish peso duro, which signifies
"hard dollar." In Spanish ac-
counts, peso is contracted by writing
the S over the P, and placing it
after the sum; (5) and lastly, that
a
Dollar of the Fathers
it is taken from the Spanish dollar.
At one time, on the reverse of the
coin was a representation of the
Pillars of Hercules, and round each
pillar a scroll with the inscription
Plus ultra. This device, it is
thought, has, in course of time,
degenerated into the sign which
stands at present for American as
well as Spanish dollars-$. The
scroll around the pillars represents
the two serpents sent by Juno to
destroy Hercules in his cradle.
DOLLAR OF THE FATHERS.-A catch cry,
turned by opponents into the
DOLLAR OF THE DADDIES, which was
used during the remonetization
agitation of 1877. The Philadelphia
Times, of Nov. 10 and 17, 1887, re-
marks that "of all the unreason-
ing agitations of recent years the
demand for the dollar of the fathers
has been the most unreasoning and
absurd.
There are people
who must have "cheap money" of
some kind, and when they can-
not get cheap greenbacks they hit
upon silver as a cheaper thing; and
the dollar of the fathers is to be put
through [Congress] with a shout.
•
It is commonly assumed in
the discussion of the silver question
that the old silver dollar, the dollar
of the fathers, was a very popular
coin; that the people have been
unjustly deprived of its use; and
that it ought to be restored to them.
The truth is that there never was
any real demand for silver dollars.
as currency; and it is not possible
that there ever can be, except in
semi-barbarous countries, where
the value of money is estimated by
its bulk.
DOMESTICS.-Cotton goods of Ameri-
can manufacture as distinguished
from imported goods. Always
used in the plural.
209
Donate
DOMINIE.-A minister of the Dutch
Reformed Church is so called in
some places. The Scotch dominie
is a schoolmaster, the first "o"
being short; in the American word
the "
о " is long.
DONATE, TO.—A barbarous, unpleas-
ing word, formed from donation. R.
Grant Allen sharply criticises this
monstrosity by saying that, instead
of the simple and noble English in
which the Omnipotent-the Giver
of every good and perfect gift
-has been described, there are
some people who would like to call
Him the Great Donator, because
He donates every good and perfect
donation. Its use in the sense of
to give, present, grant, confer, etc.,
is at once indefensible and unneces-
sary.
At a meeting of the citizens of Newton,
held last evening under a call of the mayor,
the city council was asked to DONATE 100
dols. to the Mt. Vernon sufferers.-Missouri
Republican, Feb. 24, 1888.
The money thus DONATED to the bride-
and this part of the ceremony might be
continued for some days-was employed in
furnishing the house of the wedded pair.
Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires and Detectives.
DONATION PARTY. Proctor,
with characteristic brusquerie,
defines this as a party collected to
make presents to a clergyman
where the parishioners are not
generous enough to give him a
sufficient salary. The party
generally appear suddenly with
their loads of presents,-edibles,
bibibles and other good things,-
request the temporary absence of
the good man, set his table, fill his
larder, and generally make them-
selves pleasantly officious. Some-
times, however, the clergyman is
victimized when the number of
mouths outrun the supplies brought.
Donation parties, however, are not
confined to clergymen; others,
27
Done
not "
so near to grace," are some-
times participants in them.
DONE.
In addition to the misuse of
done for " did," a vulgarism which
is common on both sides of the
Atlantic, done is specially used
adverbially in America, as an inten-
sitive, in a fashion which is quite
unique. Though a corruption of
negro origin, it is pretty general
amongst all classes of society.
"he's
The emphasis enshrined in
done gone and done it," could
hardly be excelled. The word is
met with in all kinds of odd com-
binations. "It's done" gone away,
i.e., disappeared altogether; if a
person is done got anything, it may
be taken for granted he has entered
into possession beyond recall; while
a done dead man would be looked
upon as dead indeed. The word
is constantly added to all verbs used
in the past tense.
Tige was using me powerful rough, and
had DONE whipped me; but pshaw! I never
did holler.-NY. Spirit of the Times.
When I awoke in the morning, refreshed
and re-invigorated, I asked for my friend. 'He
DONE come down early,' was the laughing
reply of Jupiter, who had burnished my
boots till they shone as bright as his ebony
face.-Letters from the South.
Aunt Chloe gives her ideas on politics as
follows: De publicans hain't DONE used de
colored folks right, nohow. Dey promis'd
eb'ry ting and done nuffin. De Dem'crats
promised nuffin' an'-dey keep der word !—
Texas Siftings, October 13, 1888.
'What's dat gotter do wid payin' me dat
sebenty-five cents?'
'You is de most ignerant niggar eber I
seed. Hit means dat de property hab_DONE
GONE inter de hands ob a receiber for de
benefit of de preferred creditors, and I don't
pay no moah old debts.'-Texas Siftings,
October 6, 1888.
DONKEY PARTY.-An amusing parlor
pastime. Black-board and chalk
are provided, members of the
party are blindfolded, and each in
turn draws upon the board a re-
presentation of a portion of a don-
210
Door Rock
key's anatomy. The general effect
is ludicrous in the extreme. The
poor donkey often gets beheaded
altogether, and by mischance he
may appear to be making a meal
off his own tail.
Recent announcement in the society
column of a Baltimore paper: Mr. Matthews
gave a DONKEY PARTY to the choir of the
Lutheran Church on Saturday evening.-
Detroit Free Press, 1888.
DONOCH, also DONNOCK. A stone.
Thought to be a humorous corrup-
tion of "dough nut," although
some authorities point out that the
word may be derived from the
Gaelic doirneag, a stone of con-
venient size for throwing. Heard
throughout the South-west; in the
West it is DORNICK.
DON'T KNOW AS I KNOW. A collo-
quialism heavily worked in some
quarters. Said to be the nearest
confession of ignorance to be got
out of a Yankee.
DOODLE.-A contraction of YANKEE
DOODLE (q.v.). -DOODLE BUGS.-
A species of ground beetle. Bart-
lett confidingly volunteers the in-
formation, that by calling doodle
several times the bugs make their
appearance. It is an open question
as to which is most worthy of
admiration-Mr. Bartlett, or the
bugs.
DOOM, TO.-An old-time New Eng-
landism, signifying to tax at dis-
cretion. A man was doomed when
he neglected to make a return of
taxable property.
DOOMAGE. This, under the laws of
New Hampshire, is a penalty or
fine for neglect.
DOOR ROCK. All stones in America.
are rocks; to Western ears a door-
Door Tender
step may sound better if called a
door rock.
DOOR
TENDER.
-A door-keeper or
hall-porter. Doors, the bars of
drinking saloons, etc., are, in
America, tended, not kept, as in
England.
The DOOR TENDER, James Lathrop, hurried
into the lobby to find it filled with smoke.-
Philadelphia Press, 1888.
DOOTEROOMUS.
A slang term for
money; the word is often shortened
into DOOT.
DORIAN HIVE.-New England. Like
the Dorians of ancient Greece the
New Englanders are chiefly
pastoral people-plain, cheerful,
chaste, and solid in character.
a
There was the Yankee, moving on with
that resistless energy which distinguishes
the emigrant from our DORIAN HIVE.-J. H.
Beadle's Western Wilds, 1878.
DORY.-A fisherman's boat.
DOTED. This term, in the South and
West, is applied alike to objects
animate and inanimate. Cloth
that is doted is rotten and unser-
viceable-spoiled.
DO TELL!-A senseless catch-phrase,
lugged in everywhere, in season
and out of season. The DOWN
EASTER'S dew tell is supposed to be
expressive of surprise and wonder;
as a matter of fact, it forms a very
useful non-committal interjection
for listeners who feel that some re-
mark is expected of them; it is thus
equivalent to the "really?" "in-
deed?" of English people. A similar
phrase in the South is the Old
English, "You don't say so?"
which a Yankee will vary by,
"I wan't to know! Do tell is
also used as a decoy, with inex-
211
Dough-Faces
11
perienced narrators of the Mun-
chausen type, who, if "green
enough, will be lured to repeat the
story over and over again, by the
blandly suave do tell !
DOUBLE ENDER.-A special build of
gun-boat was so called, during the
Civil War, on account of its being
rounded both fore and aft.
DOUBLE HORSE.-DOING DOUBLE
HORSE is doing or being two things
at a time; double-facedness.
DOUBLE RIPPER.-Two sleds fastened
by a plank. A more effective way
of endangering one's neck could
hardly have been designed.
DOUGH-FACES. A political nickname,
which seems generally to mean a
politician who is open to influence
personal or otherwise-mostly
"otherwise." Primarily, how-
ever, by dough-faces are under-
stood those who, in the North,
were favorable to slavery, and at
the same time, in the South, those
who favored the North
equally honored with the epithet.
J. Russell Lowell speaks of the
dough-face as "a contented lick-
spittle, a common variety of
Northern politicians."
were
They think they're a kind o' fulfillin' the
prophecies,
Wen' they're on'y jest changin' the holders
of offices;
Ware A sot afore, B is comf'tably seated,
One humbug's victor'ous,
defeated.
an'
t'other
Each honnable DOUGH-FACE gets jest what
he axes,
An' the people,-their annooal soft-sodder
an' taxes.
-Biglow Papers, I. 4.
Thurlow Reed's Memoir (vol. ii., p.
427) contains the following note in
elucidation of the origin of the
term.
Dough Head
In 1838 the Democratic Congressmen.
from the Northern States decided in caucus
in favor of a resolution requiring all petitions
relating to slavery to be laid upon the table
without debate. This identified the party
as it then existed with the slave-holding
interest, and its Northern representatives
were stigmatized as DOUGH-FACES.
John Randolph, a senator from
Virginia, appears to have been the
first to use the term. Speaking
from his seat in
in Congress, he
branded this baser sort of Northern
demagogues as DOE-FACES in allu-
sion to the timid startled look of
that animal, which is said to shrink
from the reflection of its own face
in the water.
When that scornful Roanoke artist placed
his branding-iron on the base brows of this
whole race of demagogues, he exclaimed, in
slow, sharp, quaint intonations of voice, so
peculiarly his own-'It is not in our own
strength that we of the South have always
conquered you of the North. We have done
it by using your own DOUGH-FACES (sic)
your DOUGH-FACES! (sic). They are dirty
dogs. They will eat dirty pudding.
Memorial of George Bradburn, Boston, 1883,
P. 138.
Hence DOUGH-FACISM, to sig-
nify a truckling policy.
DOUGH HEAD.-An idiot; fool; soft-
pate.
DOUGHIES.-Explained by quotation.
212
At first our conversation touched only the
usual monotonous round of subjects worn
threadbare in every cow-camp. A bunch of
steers had been scen travelling over the
scoria buttes to the head of Elk Creek; they
were mostly Texan DOUGHIES-a name I
have never seen written, it applies to young
immigrant cattle-but there were some of
the Hash-Knife four-year-olds among them.
-Century Magazine, October, 1888.
DOUGHNUT.-A popular delicacy-
flour, eggs, sugar and milk, rolled
into balls and fried in lard.
The table was always sure to boast of an
enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough,
fried in hog's fat, and called DOUGHNUTS or
olykaks.-Knickerbocker's New York,
Down
DOVE for dived. This is the old form
for the past tense.
Straight into the river Kwasind
Plunged as if he were an otter,
DOVE as if he were a beaver.
-H. W. Longfellow's Hiawatha, Canto VII.
I stood on the extreme end of Howard's
ocean pier at Atlantic City, when three
strong swimmers DOVE under the outer
roller, and began to disport themselves out-
side the surf.-Detroit Free Press, Septem-
ber, 1888.
DOWN.-A peculiar usage of down,
unaccompanied by a preposition,
prevails in New England, as, for
example, down cellar, for down in
the cellar," so also up garret for
"
up in the garret."- TO BE DOWN
UPON. To seize with avidity;
also, in reference to persons, to be
influenced by dislike or enmity.
TO DOWN.-To humble, to re-
duce to submission. In this sense
it was used by Sidney-"To down
proud hearts." Quite obsolete in
England, but occasionally heard
in America.
I drew my horsewhip and told the negro if
he attempted to close the gate, I would
DOWN him.-Rev. P. Cartwright's Autobio-
graphy, p. 206.
We had a run of very nearly two hours
before we
DOWNED the fox, as the dogs
lost the scent at one time and led us a chase
over many useless miles. My cousin and
I were in at the death, and drew straws for
the brush.-American Humorist, Oct. 27,
1888.
-DOWN COUNTRY.-The region
round and about the mouth of a
river or near the sea. Compare
with UP COUNTRY.- -DOWN EAST.
-The Yankee's Mecca. Down East
is the place in all the States where
alone a man can be born, live,
or die with any degree of credit to
himself. The true Down East is a
shifting locality, but taking the
Union as a whole the Eastern or
New England States are generally
understood by the term.
DOWN-EASTER. From the fore-
going it will be seen that the only
Doxologise
true believers are those who can
lay claim to this title in its most
restricted sense.-See ABOUT East.
The people of Calais never saw a genuine
living and moving millionaire till Uncle
Russell Sage went down there the other day
to buy the Grand Southern Railroad. With
true DOWN EAST hospitality a son of the
hotel landlord hitched up a span of horses
and gave Millionaire Sage a delightful ride
about town.-Lewiston Journal, July, 1888.
the son of a
whose vigorous and rather
boisterous youth was ever source of
bewilderment, and even a cause of grief, to
the minds of regular DOWN-EASTERS.-Ed.
Egglestone's The Grayson's.
Hiram Mason was
minister.
•
•
a
-DOWN ON STYLE.-Out of the
common.
He was the most DOWN ON STYLE of any
remains I ever struck.—Mark Twain's
Screamers.
DOWNTOWN. The business
portion of a city.
Washington, February 7. Speaker
Carlisle has ordered that the wires used
exclusively for stock purposes be taken out
of the corridors of the house. The under-
standing is that there are two of these.
There is besides a telephone connection with
a DOWNTOWN broker's office, which is also
likely to be removed.-Troy Daily Times,
February 7, 1888.
Mr. George D. Baremore, a well-known
DOWNTOWN merchant, was found dead with
his legs sticking out of a drift in Fifty-fourth
street, within three blocks of his home.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, March 14, 1888.
good
DOWN-TOWNY. - Not
"form," or à la mode- -what in
the miserable puny fashionable
cant of the day is dubbed as
vulgar," by men and women who
have yet to learn the A B C of the
ethics of the new Democracy.
"
DOXOLOGISE, To. Webster quotes
this as: "to give glory to God as
in doxology; to praise by singing
doxologics."
Dozy.-Timber, in Pennsylvania, is
said to be dozy when decay has set
213
in.
Dratted
Like a sleepy pear, it may, to
outward appearance, be perfectly
sound, and yet quite unfit for use.
D. Q.—On the dead quiet-a phrase
of the strict Q. T. order, which is
often met with in newspapers and
in conversation.
DRAG.-The Eastern harrow is a drag
in the West, while the Northern
New England farmer's drag be-
comes a STONE-BOAT (q.v.) further
West.-DRAG-DRIVERS.-A COW-
boy's name for a herdsman who
follows in the rear of a herd of
cattle to drive up the stragglers.
Two men travel along with the leaders,
one on each side, to point them in the right
direction; one or two others keep by the
flanks, and the rest are in the rear to act as
DRAG-DRIVERS and hurry up the phalanx of
reluctant weaklings. If the foremost of the
string travels too fast, one rider will go along
on the trail a few rods ahead, and thus keep
them back so that those in the rear will not
be left behind.-Century Magazine, 1887.
-DRAG OUT.-(1) In pugilistic
parlance, a knock down and drag out
is a fight carried to extremities.-
(2) Southern for a bully.
DRAGGED-OUT.-Exhausted; fatigued.
Used colloquially, like fagged out
or fagged.
DRAINS.-The tributaries of the larger
rivers are so called.
[W. Irving thus spoke of them:] About
noon, the travellers reached the DRAINS and
brooks that formed the head-waters of the
river.-Astoria, II., p. 254.
DRATTED.-Proctor rightly excludes
'drat it!" from his list of Ameri-
canisms, and takes exception to
Bartlett's treating it as such, for,
says he, while fully admitting that
many expressions often used in
England are properly classed as
Americanisms, if much oftener
heard on the other side of the
Draw
Atlantic, he draws the line at
drat it, for there is no part of
England, scarcely a house in
England, where this singularly
elegant expression of feminine
wrath is not occasionally heard.
This objection, however, does not
apply to dratted, a word which
Americans derive from drat.
ted is but a silver-coated oath.
Drat-
This is a DRATTED piece of business, and I
wish we were well out of it.-Judge Long-
street's Georgia Scenes.
DRAW, TO (In poker).—After discard-
ing one or more cards, to receive a
corresponding number from the
dealer. The American Hoyle.
DRAW IT MILD!-An objugation to
exercise care and caution. Prob-
ably as frequently used in
England as in the States.
an
DREADFUL. As hardly - worked
adjective as AWFUL (q.v.). Applied
to things by no means dreadful in
themselves, and in truth,
truth, the
epithet might more properly be
applied to this manner of speech.
It is used in the sense of very;
exceedingly-whenever a state-
ment requires an extra amount of
bolstering.
214
DRESS. An American lady never
speaks of her gown; with her it is
always a dress. In England
a society lady of to-day would
shudder at calling this article of
attire anything but "a gown," or it
may be "a frock." It is simply,
however, a matter of fashion.
Dressing.—A term applied to the
sauces, gravies, stuffings, and other
condiments which accompany fish,
flesh, and fowl.
DRINK.—Primarily, a river. People
in the South-western States call
Drinks
"
the big
the river Mississippi
drink." It has also latterly been
applied to the Atlantic. Shakspeare
uses the word in a somewhat
similar sense when speaking of
Ophelia :-
Till that her garments, heavy with her
DRINKE,
Pul'd the poor wretch
To muddy death.
•
•
•
DRINKS.-AMERICAN DRINKS. If there
is one thing above another upon
which Uncle Sam prides himself
it is the variety and seductiveness
of the national beverages. Bartlett
gives a list which, indeed, contains
rather more than one variety for
every day in the year, and quotes
as his authority an advertisement
and a book on mixed liquors. An
American friend assures the writer
that the advertisement in question
must have appeared in a special
edition of the Noah's Ark Chronicle,
so incomplete is the list at the present
day. As for the book, it may have
suited the requirements of such pro-
vincial and countrified places as
New York, Boston, or the Hole in
the Sky at Washington, but it by
no means exhausted the resources
of civilization in the West. APPLE-
JACK and APPLE-TODDY, indeed!
why, their simplicity and hoary
antiquity are only equalled by that
of the modest BRANDY FLIP or
SHANDY-GAFF. The vigorous ver-
nacular of the West has changed
all that, and nothing short of a
DEACON'S PALAVER, a PHLEGM-
CUTTER, or a DEAD-AND-GONE will
now satisfy the national thirst.
These may be varied by draughts
of MORAL SUASION, STAGGER JUICE,
or TURPENTINE WHISKEY, to say
nothing of THE QUICK AND THE
DEAD. Even Pousse Café is out of
date, and the nearest to CATS! is a
decoction compounded of PAN-
THER'S BREATH with SOUR
SAP and 'LASSES TRIMMIN'S.
MASH
In
Drive
very truth the list is interminable.
Appended will be found a few-the
word is written advisedly-of the
thousand and one forcible, if not
always seductive, aliases under
which the demon drink manages
to enthral its votaries.
Agent, Apple Jack, Apple Toddy, Baldface,
Black Jack, Brandy Champerelle, Brandy
Fix, Brandy Flip, Brandy Smash, Brandy
Straight, Brandy Toddy, Bust Head, Bug
Juice, Corn Juice, Ching Ching, Chain Light-
ning, Citronella Jam. COBBLERS, viz.-
Arrack, Brandy, Claret, Champagne, Ca-
tawba, Hock, Rochelle, Peach, Sherry, Sau-
terne, COCKTAILS, viz.-Brandy, Cham-
pagne, Gin, Japanese, Jersey, Soda, Whiskey;
Deadbeat, Deacon, Exchange, Egg Flip,
Egg Nog, Egg Sour, Floater, Fiscal Agent,
Fusil Oil, Gin Straight, Gin Fix, Gin Punch,
Gin Sling, Gin Sour, Gin Smash, Gin Flip,
Gin Rooster-Tail. JULEPS, viz.-Arrack,
Brandy, Capped, Claret, Fancy, Gin, Mixed,
Peach, Pine Apple, Mint, Racehorse,
Strawberry, Whiskey. I o u-Jewett's
Fancy, Knickerbocker, Lemonade, Mead,
Moral Suasion, Ne Plus Ultra, Orgeat
Lemonade, Pine Top, Porteree, Phlegm
Cutter, Port-Wine Sangaree, Port-Wine
Negus, Polk and Dallas, Pousse Café.
UNCHES, viz. :-Arrack, Gin, Claret,
Brandy, Epicure's, Iced, Milk, Pig and
Whistle, Poor Man's, Roman, Rum, Soda,
Spiced, Sherry, Sauterne, Vanilla, Seventh
Regiment, St. Charles, Whiskey, Ropee,
Santa Cruz Sour, Sargent, Sherry and Egg,
Sherry and Bitters, Shandy Gaff, Shambro,
Silver Top, Sling Flip, Snap Neck, Snifter,
Smasher, Split Ticket, Stone Wall, Stagger
Juice, Switchel Flip, Tangle Leg, Tip and
Ty, Tippee na Pecco, Toddy, Tog, Tom and
Jerry, Turpentine Whiskey, Vox Populi,
Veto, Virginia Fancy, Whiskey Flip,
Whiskey Toddy, Whiskey Julep, Whiskey
Fix, Whiskey Punch, Whiskey Smash,
Whiskey Skin, Whiskey Sour, Whiskey
Straight, Eye-opener, Appetizer, Digester,
Big Reposer, Refresher, Stimulant, Ante-
Lunch, Settler, A la Smythe, Cobbler,
Social Drink, Invigorator, Solid Straight,
Chit Chat, Fancy Smile, Entire
Sparkler, Rouser, Night Cap.
DRIVE. (1) A ROUND-UP (q.v.).
Act,
(2)
In Maine and Canada a collection of
logs brought together near a stream
ready for floating. --DRIVER.—
(1) A driver is the foreman of a
gang of laborers on a plantation.
On some estates the title of fore-
man is coming into use, the negroes
215
Drive
objecting to the old word.- (2)
A lumberman's term for one who
directs the passage of logs to
navigable waters. This process is
called DRIVING THE RIVER.-
DRIVEWAY.-(1) A road set apart for
wheeled traffic as distinguished
from the side walk or footpath.
These vaults
[in the cemetery at
New Orleans] are architecturally graceful
and shapely; they face the walks and DRIVE-
WAYS of the cemetery; and when one moves
through the midst of a thousand or so of
them, and sees their white roofs and gables
stretching into the distance on every hand,
the phrase city of the dead has, all at once,
a meaning to him.-Mark Twain's Life on the
Mississippi, p. 384.
(2) A covered approach to
churches, public buildings, and
mansions.
The outside appearance of the house, with
arched entrances and DRIVEWAYS, turned
gables and antique battlements, presented a
graceful and striking appearance.-Phila-
delphia Press, 1888.
DRIVING THE NAIL.-A favor-
ite amusement amongst cowboys
and plainsmen, and one which
serves, not only as an opportunity
for showing skill with the rifle,
but also as an excuse for betting.
A stout nail is driven into a post,
about half-way up to the head;
the riflemen then stand at a great
distance, and fire at the nail, the
object being to hit the nail so truly
on the head with the ball as to
drive it home. At another time, it
is threading the needle; an auger-
hole is pierced through the centre
of an upright board, just large
enough to allow the ball to pass,
and the best marksman is he who
drives his ball through without
enlarging the orifice!- DRIVING
PARK. A race-course. One would
think Americans are not in the
habit of calling spades spades, so
frequently do half-and-half phrases
of this kind occur. Bartlett calls it
a euphemism, he most likely meant
an absurdity.
DROGER
Droger
or DROGHER. From the
Dutch draager. The English form
is drugger. It is a vessel, with or
without sails, of the barge type.
DROP.- -To GET THE DROP ON.-
Generally speaking, to be in a
position wherein one holds the
life of another in hand; literally
to take one at a disadvantage
before he can use his own weapon.
Like most phrases of the kind, the
idiom is being softened and other-
wise modified, and is often used for
to get an advantage over."
"
Joseph recognized the picture I drew,
and swore he would shoot me on sight,
although up to that time we had been the
best of friends. I also kept my revolver
handy and did not propose that he should
GET the DROP ON me. When he found that
I was prepared for him, he did not try to
shoot me.-Troy Daily Times, February 8,
1888.
It has been currently charged that Duggan
has killed a number of men during his
twenty years' residence in Colorado, but
this is not true, at least so far as his
residence in Leadville is concerned, the
only person who lost his life at his hands
being a man who followed him up with a
pistol in 1881, and who, it is said, actually had
the DROP ON Duggan, but the latter was too
quick a shot.-Denver Republican, April 9,
1888.
At any rate, we will not let Arcturus GET
the DROP ON the reading public.-Texas
Siftings, August, 1888.
216
-DROP GAME.-A variation of
the confidence trick, which is
worked as follows:-The thief
having chosen his victim, walks
before him, and when sure that his
action will be noticed, pretends to
pick up a pocket-book containing a
roll of notes. This opens up the
line of communication, and the
object of the thief is then, under
some pretence or other, to induce
the greenhorn to part with ready
money in exchange for the notes,
which of course are spurious. The
trick is varied with rings and other
supposed valuables. DROP
LETTERS.-Letters addressed to
Drunk
residents of the town in which
they are posted. The practice of
renting boxes at the post-offices,
largely prevails in the States, and
drop letters have simply to be
placed in the box of the person for
whom they are intended, without
necessarily passing through the
mails at all.
A St. Louis exchange wants DROP LET-
TERS reduced to I cent. People up this
way would prefer to pay 2 cents and have
their letters dropped at their destination on
time. The department is short of help and
funds now.-Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean, 1888.
DRUDGE.-Raw whiskey. The term
originated in the New England
States.
DRUG STORE.-A chemist's shop is, in
America, always called a drug store.
DRUMMER. A commercial traveller.
The old-time pedlars and Cheap
Jacks were in the habit of an-
nouncing their arrival in the town
by the beating of drums, hence the
term.- So DRUMMING, the solici-
tations of orders by commercial
travellers.
Friend-'Don't you have a great many
DRUMMERS Coming in and boring you with
their samples and their talk? '
Merchant-'A good many DRUMMERS Come
in here, but they don't bore me.'
'Don't they ask you to look at their
samples?'
'No.'
'Don't they ask you to give them orders?'
'No, they go right out without saying a
word.'
How do you manage to get rid of them?'
'It's the simplest thing in the world. I
put a plug hat and an open gripsack on the
counter every morning. When a DRUMMER
sees these signs of another DRUMMER being
on the premises, he goes off. Every ten
minutes in the day a DRUMMER comes to the
door, looks at the gripsack, and goes away,
and I am left in peace.'-Texas Siftings, 1888.
DRUNK. A spree; a debauch.
His foot swelled up pretty big, and so did
his leg; but by-and-by the DRUNK begun to
Dry
come, and so I judged he was all right; but
I'd druther been bit with a snake than pap's
whiskey.-The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, p. 83.
A policeman must be careful in dealing
with loose women, and instantly discern the
difference between a noble lord on a frolic, a
medical student in his cups, and a butcher
on a DRUNK.-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
DRY. (1) A town is said to go dry
when, on the question of local
option, it declares for the shutting
up of bars and drinking saloons.
Compare with WET. -(2) Thirsty.
So used in Middleton's plays, and
also in Skelton, and in the World
(1754).
Lenawee County votes on local option
to-morrow, and will probably give a DRY
majority of from 1,500 to 2,000.-Chicago
Herald, 1888.
If a county (for instance Wayne) has voted
on local option and has gone DRY, can the
city authorities grant a license to operate a
saloon inside of the city limits? [No.]-
Answer to Correspondent in Detroit Evening
Journal, February 20, 1888.
-DRY CREEK. - A COULEE
(q.v.).-DRY UP!-(1) Hush! Be
quiet!
'It's all d―d nonsense. We might work
here a week and not hit it.'
'But I told you to bring the tools and you
wouldn't,' protested another.
'Oh, DRY UP,' put in a third voice.-New
York Sun, 1888.
Also (2) To become cheerful.
DUBERSOME.-Doubtful; vacillating;
applied to uncertainty of mind.
He was a DUBERSOME man, who always
meant well, but always hesitated between
two opinions.—Mrs. H. B. Stowe.
DUDE.—If not American by origin it
is certainly so by usage. Probably
derived from the Lowland Scotch
duds," i.e., clothes, the DUDE being
a very convenient tailor's block.
217
Dug-Out
As illustrating its possible origin
from "dud" or "duds," see the
following extract:
Think of her? I think she is dressed like
a DUD; can't say how she would look in the
costume of the present century.-Putnam's
Magazine, February, 1870.
The DUDE and his club cane having passed
into retirement, the New York Sun has begun
to war on the policeman who chews a tooth-
pick. The curiosities and the liberties of
the age are being curtailed in Gotham.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, February 3, 1888.
DUDS.-Clothes. This Scotticism for
old clothes is largely used in the
vernacular of the Union for wear-
ing apparel of any kind, and, indeed,
for all movable property.
The three [railway] Commissioners, in
whose appointment you had no choice, de-
cide that you must get out, leave your house,
bundle out your DUDS, and be off.-New York
Tribune, January 23, 1871.
-Hence DUD-CHEST, a box in
which clothes are kept.
DUG-OUT.-(1) A cabin made by dig-
ging into a hill or other elevated
ground. The front is faced with
logs, and the flue is run out at one
of the sides.
The hunter is the arch-type of freedom.
His well-being rests in no man's hands save
his own. He chops down and hews out the
logs for his hut, or perhaps makes merely a
rude DUG-OUT in the side of a hill, with a
skin roof, or skin flaps for the door.-Century
Magazine, October, 1888.
(2) A canoe hewn out of a log.
-See CANOE.
The sun was just rising, as a man stepped
from his slender DUG-OUT and drew half its
length out upon the oozy bank of a pretty
bayou.-Century Magazine, 1887.
The DUG-OUT hadn't leaped more'n six
lengths from the bank, afore-zip-chug-
ke-souse I went; the eend lifted agin a saw-
yer, and emptied me into the element!-The
Americans at Home, vol. i.
28
Duk o' Darby
DUK O' DARBY.-The BOBOLINK (q.v.).
DULL MUSIC. Anything tedious is
said to be dull music.
DULLY.-Stupidly. An uncouth and
needless form.
DUMB-BETTY.-A washing machine.
DUMB CHILL or AGER (q.v.).—A form
of intermittent fever.
DUMFOUNDERED.-The English form
is dumbfounded. The Yankees
prefer the Scotch dumfoundered.
DUMMERHEAD.-A blockhead; from
the German dummkopf. Common
in Pennsylvania, and other local-
ities where the German element
prevails.
DUMP, TO.-To cast or shoot down
in a heap; a good old English
word, which can only be reckoned
an Americanism from its much
more frequent use by Americans
than by English people. Hardly a
paper can be taken up, in which
the word does not occur over and
over again.
You know the usual custom was to DUMP
a poor devil like him into a shallow hole,
and then inform his friends what had
become of him.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
So also IN THE DUMPS or DUMPY.
-DUMP CART.-A vehicle which
tilts from the front. -DUMPING
GROUND. Land upon which
rubbish may be shot. -DUMPAGE.
-The fee paid for shooting rubbish
upon vacant spaces.
DUNFISH.-A superior kind of dried
cod-fish, so called from its colour.
218
Dusky Grouse
In curing, the fish are first salted,
and then laid in piles in a dark
room, covered with salt hay or
other similar substances. After two
or three months the piles are
opened and the fish examined, after
which they are piled up once more
in a compact mass, and left to ripen
for another two or three months.
In July or August they are ready
for use, and command a high price,
being far superior to ordinary cod-
fish. J. G. Whittier describes an
old puritan's outfit thus:
They had loaded his shallop with DUNFISH
and ball,
With stores for his larder and steel for his
wall.
NING.
The process is called DUN-
DUNGAREE.-In New York and Con-
necticut waters a vessel used for
the transportation of dung,
whence its name.
DUNKY.-Excessively thick; badly-
proportioned; and clumsily -
shaped.
DUNNOW'Z I KNOW. Dunnow'z (do
not know as) I know, says J. R.
Lowell, "is the nearest your true
Yankee ever comes to acknowledg-
ing ignorance."
DURHAM BOAT.-A flat-bottomed boat
formerly in use; it was propelled
by punting.
DURN, DURNED.-Relief words.
You know that clay-bed over back of the
East Lot? I'll bet I could make as good-
lookin' a burst as any o' these,-an' mcbbe a
DURN sight better.-Portland Transcript, 1888.
DUSKY GROUSE.-This bird has a
variety of names, being called in
different parts of the country the
Dust
BLUE GROUSE, the BLACK GROUSE,
and the MOUNTAIN GROUSE. He
is found almost everywhere in the
mountainous regions of the great
West, between an altitude of
about 6,000 feet and the snow line.
Though a fine large bird, second
only to the SAGE GROUSE, and
most delicious as food, he affords
less sport to the hunter than any
other of the grouse family. In his
habits he differs entirely from other
grouse. He is solitary, never being
found in packs after the brood has
been weaned by the mother bird.
He frequents jungles and pine or
quaking-asp thickets; will not lie
to the dog, nor fly from the hunter.
He is usually found on the ground,
but when disturbed takes refuge on
a branch of the nearest tree, and
will sit still, though the hunter
approach within a few feet. He
gives no opportunity for wing-shoot-
ing, for if driven from his perch,
he seeks another a few feet off, or
darts off among the thick branches
of the pine in a rapid and tor-
tuous flight, sufficient to baffle the
quickest aim.-Dodge's Plains of the
Great West, p. 227.
DUST.-TO GET UP AND DUST.-To
move about quickly; also to casti-
gate. Texas.
The following marriage licenses were
granted yesterday, but do not include the
names of three more young, quite young
couples, who were refused a license by Re-
corder Hobbs. Two boys who applied for
licenses with young girls were not backward
in giving their ages as 19 and 18, respectively.
In fact, they became angry when told they
could not marry their sweethearts. Recorder
Hobbs said yesterday that he was getting
tired of these young people bothering him-
puppy love couples, he calls them-and
threatens to take the next pair home to their
parents and see the DUST Ay.—Missouri Re-
publican, March 27, 1888.
DUTCH.
S
A corruption of Deutsch,
German. Throughout the Union
219
Dutch
the Dutchman is thus confounded
with the German. There is, how-
ever, excuse for the confusion. Arch-
bishop Trench tells us that, "Till
late in the seventeenth century,
Dutch meant (in England) gener-
ally German, and a Dutchman a
native of Germany, while what we
now term a Dutchman would have
been named a Hollander." Quaint
old Fuller said accordingly, "At
the same time began the Teutonic
order, consisting only of Dutch-
men, well descended. (The Holy
War, II., c. 16.) It can, moreover,
be pleaded in excuse that the
German immigrants themselves
but too readily acquiesced in the
designation, and adopted it them-
selves. Thus, e.g., the first English
almanac ever printed in the
German form was published by
John Gruber, a native of Stras-
burg, under the title of
'Dutch - English Almanac."
DUTCH CURSE. The field daisy,
but why called a curse is hardly
conceivable surely not be-
cause, as Bartlett says, of its
annoyance to farmers. -THAT
BEATS THE DUTCH is an exclama-
tion still common in all parts of
the Union to indicate surprise. It
has been traced back for more than
a century, and is either a reference
to the sturdy hardihood displayed
by people of that nationality, at
a time when their naval superiority
had not altogether disappeared;
or its derivation must be looked
for in the English slang usage
in which the word Dutch is
synonymous with ludicrous sounds,
undesirable relations, and
and false
valor. (Double Dutch, Dutch
concert, Dutch consolation, Dutch
courage, Dutch feast, Dutch
uncle). In the latter case that beats
the Dutch may mean, by a species
of transition very common with
colloquialisms of the kind, a mode
of bestowing praise on objects not
Dutch
altogether unworthy; thus Dutch
courage-false courage; ergo, that
beats the Dutch signifies that the
matter under discussion is, to say
the least, genuine of its kind; or,
assuming the reference to be sar-
castic, that even the mockery of
Dutch valour is surpassed. The
whole subject is, however, con-
fessedly obscure.
220
Dutiable
DUTIABLE.-Liable to duty; a term
which, in the United States, never
represents the tax levied on real
estate or farmers' stock. The
word, which came into use with
the first tariff, has proved eminently
useful, and is universally adopted.
The following articles shall be DUTIABLE
hereafter at the fixed rates.-Act of Congress,
1865.


AGLE. A gold coin,
worth ten dollars
(£2. Is. 8d). It takes
its name from its
device of an eagle,
which is also the
national emblem.
Other gold coins are
double, half, and quarter eagles.
EAR. TO GET UP or GO OFF ON ONE'S
EAR. To bestir oneself; to rouse
oneself to a great effort.
They called me bully boy, altho' I've seen
nigh three-score years,
And said that I was lightning when I GOT
UP ON MY EAR.
—Galveston News.
-EAR-BOB.-An ear-drop; one
of the marks in branding cattle.
-See BRAND.— EAR-MARK. In
localities where the grazing grounds
are largely held in common, it is
necessary, for purposes of identifi-
cation, that cattle and stock gene-
rally should be marked, as evidence
of proprietorship. Amongst such
brands, the ear-mark takes its place.
On the monster cattle ranges of
the West, however, the animals
are usually branded on the hip,
shoulder, and side, or any one of
them. In some States, branding is
compulsory.-See BRAND.
EARTH ALMOND (Cyperus esculentus).–
A reed-like plant which, indigenous
to Spain, was introduced by the
Department of Agriculture into the
South where it has been grown
for many years. Also called
CHUFA.
EARTH-NUT (Arachnis hypogaea).—This
is the pea-nut of the South, the
negro name in Florida being PIN-
DER, while in Virginia and North
Carolina it is known as the
GOOBER. It is called the earth-nut
because of its peculiar habit of
ripening its pods by burying them
underground after flowering.

EAST. One of the chief divisions into
which, colloquially, the Union is
divided. Roughly speaking, this
partition follows the points of
the compass-the North, South,
East, and West, and since the pur-
chase of New Mexico, and the
incorporation of Texas, etc., the
South-west. This classification is,
of course, a rough-and-ready one,
and a more complete division, based
on distinctions of position and
resources will be found under
POLITICAL DIVISIONS (q.v.). East,
signifying the New England States
as the centre of intelligence and
learning, will be found dealt with in
ABOUT EAST and DOWN EAST (q.v.).
EASTERN STATES.-The New England
States. These are Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu-
setts, Rhode Island, and Connecti-
cut. Broadly speaking they are
the manufacturing centres of the
Union, commerce holding the
second place, while agriculture
comes last. They form part of
the original thirteen States.
EAT, TO. To provide with food; to
provision. Used in this sense, to
Ebenezer
eat is an old friend with a new
face indeed. It is a Western
barbarism, "to sleep" being used
in much the same way; e.g., a
steamer is alleged to be able to
eat 400 passengers and sleep about
half that number. This certainly
is pretty good going for verbal
gymnastics.
Hoosier 'Squire, what pay do you give?'
Contractor-Ten bits a day.'
Hoosier 'Why, Squire, I was told you'd
give us two dollars a-day and EAT US.'-Pick-
ings from the Picayune, p. 47.
-Proctor remarks that some-
times a host may eat his guests in
another sense. He once, when
staying at an hotel, found a finely-
colored motto rather unfortunately
spelt; it ran, Watch and Prey."
Its owner, he says, carried out the
idea.
"
EBENEZER.—TO RAISE ONE'S EBE-
NEZER. To put oneself en évidence
-in Biblical parlance, to set one's
light on the top of a hill, and not
hide it under a bushel. To raise
one's Ebenezer is of Puritan origin.
EBONY.-An ebony is a negro in com-
mon parlance.
a
ECCENTRIC.-Probably only an indi-
vidualism. This word, says De
Vere (as this deponent knows
nothing thereof, he says as much
concerning the expression), has, in
Western parlance, obtained
curious meaning, which threatens
to spread in spite of its absurdity.
"I want my land down to the
eccentric," said an illiterate man in
Illinois, objecting to the reserva-
tion of mining rights under his
purchase.
EDDOES (Arum esculentum).-A tuber
which enters largely into the food
supply of the West Indies. Also
called cocos.
222
E'enamost
EDIBLES. See BIBIBLES.
EDITORIAL.-If ever this word was a
genuine Americanism, it has long
since passed into the common
speech of the old country. The
same remark applies to-
EDUCATIONAL and EDUCATION, both of
which are classed as Americanisms
by Bartlett and De Vere.
EEL GRASS (Zostera marina).—A grass
which is not a grass but a sea-weed,
and which is said to derive its name
from its inhabitants! SEA-WRACK
is another name for it.
EEL-SKIN, A device which the author
of the National Anthem must have
had in view when he wrote the
couplet associating "tricks" with
politics":-
"
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks.
Of all the dark and
and devious
ways of the ballot this was (for
the practice is hardly possible
now) perhaps the darkest and most
"vain." An eel-skin was a thin
slip of gummed paper, on one side
of which was printed a candidate's
name, and employed to falsify the
ballot, being secretly used to ob-
literate the name of an opponent.
Bartlett cites New Englanders and
New Yorkers as the chief sinners
at this merry little game; possibly
he knew.
EEL-SPEAR. The eel-shear of Eng-
lish fishermen.
E'ENAMOST.-A New England dia-
lecticism for "almost."
The dandy run, and the gals snickered
out, and the fellers hawhawed till they was
E'ENAMOST dead, to see him marvell down
the road.-Hill's Yankee Stories.
Egg
EGG, TO.~(1) A playful method of
signifying disapprobation; to pelt
with eggs.
The man, a black abolitionist of the deep-
est dye, was EGGED out of town last night,
and will find it safer, we venture to say, not to
show himself again.-Kansas Paper, 1860.
(2) See PECULIARITIES
PRONUNCIATION.
OF
EGG-NOG.-Eggs, cream, and brandy
mixed together.-Sce DRINKS.
This is the first time in my life that I ever
heard of people warmin' themselves up with
hens' eggs and spirits, except when mixed
up into EGG-NOG.-Century Magazine, 1888.
EGYPT. A sobriquet given to
Southern Illinois. The origin of
the nickname is appropriately
somewhat obscure. The inhabi-
tants themselves derive it from the
fertility of the land in which they
live, whilst enemies rather unkindly
aver that the allusion is to the
crass ignorance and mental dark-
ness there prevalent. Criticizing
these theories, Proctor remarks
he should imagine that anyone
who had seen the region around
Cairo in the good old times
(remember that Cairo was
Eden of "Martin Chuzzlewit")
would need no explanation. Prob-
ably Cairo was so called because
the region around Cairo in Egypt,
after an inundation of the Nile,
looked about as forbidding as the
region around Cairo in Illinois
looked all the time.
the
The lumber we get from Illinois is rom
the central portion of the State, along the
Indianapolis and St. Louis Railroad. The
northern part of the State is prairie, dark in
soil and low, until one reaches the extreme
northern limit, where hills and pine begin to
appear. The southern part of the State,
popularly known as EGYPT, is full of sand
hills and jack oak, neither being very profit-
able to anybody.-St. Louis Globe Democrat,
January 20, 1888.
223
Electoral Commission
EIGHTEEN - CARAT
DESPERADO.
ruffian of the deepest dye.
A
ELDENT HAND or ACE (In Poker).-
The player immediately at the
left of the dealer.-The American
Hoyle.
ELECT, TO.-The Yankee not only
elects his officers of State, but also
any given course which seems right
and proper for him to pursue.
For example, given a choice
between two roads a person may
elect to take either. This use of
the word is gradually creeping into
English literature.
ELECTORAL COMMISSION.-In order to
decide between disputed election
returns sent from Florida, Louisi-
ana, Oregon and South Carolina
during the Presidential campaign
of 1876, a special tribunal was
created by Congress, January 29,
1877, under the above title. As
appointed by Congress, it consisted
of four Justices of the Supreme
Court (two Republicans and two
Democrats), five Senators (three
Republicans and two Democrats),
and five Representatives (two
Republicans and three Democrats).
The four Justices were directed
to select a fifth, whose district
was specified, though he was not
named. The Hon. David Davis, of
Illinois, would, in the natural order,
have been chosen, and upon his vote
in the Commission, the Democrats
confidently counted. Just as the
Commission was organized how-
ever, January 25th, 1877, Judge
Davis was elected to the United
States Senate, and thereby dis-
qualified from serving on the
Commission. The eligible Justices
were all
all Republicans, and the
Hon. Joseph P. Bradley was
chosen. Upon him, therefore, fell
the weighty responsibility of the
Electors
casting-vote, on matters which the
national Congress had confessed
itself unable to decide, and which
threatened to precipitate a civil
war. It is impracticable here to
give a detailed account of what
followed. A good summary will
be found in Lalor's Cyclopædia of
Political Science, and the proceed-
ings are published in full in the
Congressional Record, part iv., vol.
V., 1877. In brief, the Com-
mission decided that it could not
go behind the Governor's certifi-
cate in the cases submitted. This
rule of procedure was so worded,
however, that a majority (Re-
publican) of the Commissioners
held that in the case of Oregon,
where the Governor had certified
incorrectly, it (the Commission)
was competent to correct the
certificate in accordance with the
laws of the States. This ruling
gave Mr. Hayes, the Republican
candidate for the Presidency, a
majority of one vote in
in the
Electoral College (see ELECTors),
he receiving 185, while Mr. Tilden,
the Democratic candidate, received
184 votes.
224
ELECTORS.-The President is not
chosen by a direct vote of the
people. The voters of each State
choose as many electors as the
State has representatives in both
Houses of Congress. These meet
and vote for President and Vice-
President, under certain constitu-
Collectively,
tional restrictions.
these electors are known as the
Electoral College," though this
term is not recognized as an offi-
cial designation in the Constitution,
and was not used, even informally,
until about 1821. Many of the
clearest-headed statesmen 110W
living believe that a direct vote
would more fairly represent the
popular will.
Empire City
ELEGANT. This adjective is much
affected by Americans in describ-
ing what, in England, would be
characterised as "substantial " or
of first-rate quality. Everything
is elegant from a mountain down to
one's stockings.
ELEPHANT.-TO SEE THE ELEPHANT.
-To see the world; to gain know-
ledge by experience. The cost is
oftentimes understood to be more
than the thing is worth. The ex-
pression conveying the idea of just
a dash of "wild oats "' and the
prodigal son."
"
Strange, isn't it, that so many countrymen
who come to New York TO SEE THE ELEPHANT
will go and fight the tiger.-New York Com-
mercial Advertiser.
It was in a Hanover Street dispensary,
where the tillers of the soil love to congre-
gate, when they are down to Bosting, in-
specting the Athenian white ELEPHANT.-
Boston Globe, March 4, 1888..
ELEVATOR.—A lift, either for passen-
gers or goods. Lifts are much
more largely used in America than
in England. A characteristic ex-
ample of this divergence of speech,
as well as of the rage for every-
thing English, which is just now a
craze in the States, is given in the
following from the Chicago Tribune:
Beg pardon, mum, but you
dropped your veil in the-the lift,'
said the bell-boy to the departing
guest, narrowly watching the effect
of his words. 'James,' said the
pleased New York lady to her hus-
band, give the boy two shillings.
He takes us for English people.'
ELM CITY.-Newhaven, Connecticut.
A sobriquet derived, as is obvious,
from the magnificent trees of the
same name which adorn it.
EMPIRE CITY, EMPIRE STATE. The
city and state of New York; so
called by reason of their position
Empt
on the sea-board, their wealth, and
population.
New York City, to-
gether with Brooklyn and Jersey
City, which, though separated from
it by East River and the Hudson,
are really suburbs of it (just as, in
popular parlance, Westminster is
now included in London), is the
first city in the Union, possessing
an admirable harbor, and a unique
water way by the Hudson to
the Lake system. The motto
"Excelsior" upon its coat of arms,
has also supplied another nickname
in EXCELSIOR STATE. The term
EMPIRE STATE OF THE SOUTH has
been applied to Georgia.
EMPT.-A word, says Bartlett, coined
by old ladies of New England for
empty, as "go and empt out the
water." It is an ungracious thing
to deprive ladies, especially "old'
ones, of the fruit of their mental
labors, but there is hardly a house
in some quarters of England where
this old provincialism is not still
current.
EMPTYINGS.-Pronounced and written
in New England emptins. Yeast;
the lees of beer, cider, etc.
A betch o' bread that hain't riz once ain't
goin' to rise agin,
An' it's jest money throwed away to put the
EMPTINS in:
But thet's wut folks wun't never larn; they
dunno how to go,
Arter you want their room, no more'n a
bullet-headed beau.
-Biglow Papers.
END. TO BE AT A LOOSE END.-To
have nothing to do; to loaf about.
Jem Phillips is AT what he calls A LOOSE
END, and from his appearance one would
imagine that his want of occupation is not
troubling him very much, American
Humorist, September 15, 1888.
ENDWAYS.-For ENDWISE.
He stole as many apples as he wanted, and
came down all right; and he was all
225 Ensanguined Undergarment
ready for the dog too, and knocked him
ENDWAYS With a rock when he came to tear
him.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
ENGINEER.—An engine-driver.
If I was an ENGINEER, I'd clap on steam,
-I'd fire up, I tell you; you wouldn't get me
to stop the engine, no way you could fix it.-
Pickings from the Picayune.
I suppose I might have jumped, boys,
In hope to save sinew and bone,
And left those women and children.
To take their ride alone;
But I thought of a day of reckoning,
And whenever old John's done here
The Lord won't say to him, then,
You went back as an ENGINEER.
-Denver Republican, March 1, 1888.
As a verb it is often used instead
of to plan, or to work out.
Scott, with a good deal of shrewdness,
ENGINEERED the fight against Gorman, and
when St. Louis was selected as the conven-
tion city, all the influences in the committee in
favor of tariff reform united with Scott to set
the convention at an early date.-Missouri
Republican, Feb. 24, 1888.
Suddenly a notion entered into her head.
Adela was only eighteen, it is true, and the
general was forty-two, as she had heard him
say. But he hadn't a wrinkle and looked
some years younger. He was a most excel-
lent man, even-tempered, and exceedingly
rich. Why couldn't she ENGINEER a match
between these two?-New York Mercury,
July 21, 1888.
ENGLISHMENT.-Something Angli-
cized.
The torrent that rushes through Maniton
just under Pike's Peak (Colorado), was called
by him (the French explorer, St. Vrain)
poetically enough la Fontaine qui bouille.
The hard-headed Anglo-Saxons, reckoning
this altogether too poetical abridged it to
fountain, by which ENGLISHMENT it is com-
monly known.- Scribner's Magazine, Oct.
1887.
ENSANGUINED
UNDERGARMENT. -A
variant of the BLOODY SHIRT (q.v.).
The moment any honorable Senator on
the Republican side, or any editor of any
Northern paper, or any organ of the grand
army talked about the Union armies, the
grandeur of the achievements, the obliga-
tions of the nation, they were taunted with
waving the ENSANGUINED UNDERGARMENT-
29
Ensilage
raking up the ashes of sectional strife, ap-
pealing to partisan hatred and malice.-
St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat, March 7,
1888.
226
ENSILAGE, TO. With the introduc-
tion of silos and ensilage, the verb
to ensilage, signifying the act of
preparing the silos naturally takes
its place.
ENSMALL, TO.-To condense. A facti-
tious word modelled on "enlarge.”
Be sure you have nothing to say [in
writing for the press], and then sit down
and say it. Don't bother about ideas; or
about sense, if you haven't any. Make up
for the absence of both by grandiloquent
words, and many of them, especially if you are
writing for space. Enlarge upon your topic
-it shows fertility; to ENSMALL upon it
indicates paucity.-F. W. Stauffer in The
Epoch, July 20, 1888.
ENTHUSE, TO.-Filling or being filled
with enthusiasm.
Kilrain came here to startle the people,
but they failed to ENTHUSE. Sully came
here and captured the people by storm In
no instance has he gone to any town without
receiving a hearty welcome from the local
sporting fraternity. - Chicago Inter-Occan,
1888.
ENWEAVE, TO.-To intertwine or inter-
mix by weaving; another form for
inweave.
E PLURIBUS UNUM.-The origin of
this motto is shrouded in some
degree of mystery. Virgil uses
e pluribus unus, and also Horace, de
pluribus una, but the generally
received view is that it was taken
from the Gentleman's Magazine, that
periodical having used it for more
than one hundred years. It is
claimed that its adoption on United
States coins was suggested by Mr.
W. Barton, of Philadelphia, in
1782. On the New York "doub-
loon," and one of the New York
coppers of 1787, and one of the
Washington cents of 1791, the
Eternal
legend occurs as unum e pluribus ;
while on the "Immunis Columbia"
of 1787, the New Jersey cent of
1786, and the Kentucky cent of
It
1791, it is e pluribus unum.
appeared for the first time on the
national coinage in 1796.
ERUPT, TO.-From "eruption." A new
and utterly violent form.
This person had, at the peak and tip of a
gigantic volcano of infuriated scolding
against everything whatever, ERUPTED in a
final blaze of fury.-Putnam's Magazine.
ESCROD. A fisherman's term applied
to any kind of small fish fit for
boiling. Sometimes shortened into
scrod," and then applied to a
small broiled cod.
เ
ESQUIPOMGOLE.-See KINNIKINNICK.
ESSENCE-PEDDLER. The skunk. A
peddler, which everyone fights shy
of. This nickname is said to have
been introduced by J. Russell
Lowell.
ESTUFA, A stove. Of Spanish
origin, and part of the common
speech of the Rocky Mountain
States in which the Spanish ele-
ment prevails.
ETERNAL. An intensitive of the same
type as ALMIGHTY, CRUEL, AWFUL,
etc. (q.v.), thus a week is spoken
of as an eternal time.-ETERNAL
CAMPING GROUND.—A simile for a
future state of existence borrowed
from the phraseology of backwoods-
men.
Uncle Larry enjoyed his jolly life so well
that he wanted to keep on enjoying it. About
June 1 he went into the Adirondacks with a
party of congenial spirits. Unmindful of
his seventy years he undertook to tramp like
a youth of twenty. It was too much for him;
he was found by a companion lying in the
wood. After that he failed rapidly, and they
say that he will soon go to the ETERNAL
Euchre
CAMPING GROUND to join the many jolly
campers who have gone before.-The Ex-
amiñer (N.Y.), August, 1888.
EUCHRE.-Like many other card
games or chess, euchre has lent its
phraseology to everyday speech.
Euchred in the terminology of the
game means to lose two points;
hence to euchre in the sense of to
defeat; to foil; to overcome. The
game itself is one which, though
less difficult than whist, permits of
much skilful play.
The Controller could scarcely believe his
senses, but the fact finally dawned upon
him that he had been EUCHRED by Hall,
who had succeeded in getting control of the
balance of the last 10,000 dollars appropria-
tion despite the Controller's objection to
having it transferred to this year's account.
-San Francisco Weekly Examiner, March
22, 1888.
EVACUATION DAY.-The end of a mad
king's folly-November 25, 1783,
being the day when the British
troops evacuated the city of New
York. Once kept as a public
holiday.
EVENER. The swing splinter-bar of
a carriage.
EVENING.In the South and West,
evening commences at noon, there
being no afternoon as that term is
understood in England. At sun-
set night commences.
EVERGLADES.-In the Southern States
this term is applied to swampy
grass-land. These, in Florida, are
generally found near the coast and
lie just above the sea level.
EVERLASTING. One of those strangely
perverted words which go to make
up the American comic Bible-
dictionary. Taken in conjunction
with "eternal," almighty," and
the innumerable combinations in
"
227
"
Everlasting
"
which the name of the "Divine,"
damnation,' hell-fire," and
similar expressions are everlastingly
worked up into the half-veiled
blasphemies so painfully prevalent
throughout the Union, and more
especially in the New England
communities of Puritan descent,
it would appear that the Pilgrim
Fathers secured ample freedom for
their descendants to whip the
devil round the stump." These
expletives are, in effect, the protest,
grotesque and vulgar it may be, of
the average human intellect in
America, against the hard and fast
theology of the men who, though
standing out as giants amongst their
fellows in the fight against tyranny,
bigotry and wrong, yet too soon
forgot to accord the same liberty
of conscience to others which
they claimed for themselves. In a
theological sense they were far too
ready to condemn those who ven-
tured to question the all-round
perfection and finality of the new
standard which they set up. All
honor to the men who, with the
Divine breath of freedom on their
lips, laid the foundations of a
mighty Republic which, despite its
acknowledged shortcomings, may
even yet restore to the human mind,
in days to come, some of the peace
and contentment of the far-famed
fabulous golden age of the past.
Truly may it be said of them that
they, in many respects, builded
wiser than they knew. Yet, from
the narrowness and bigotry of their
character, a recoil was natural, and
soon the gibes of the profane
derived fresh significance from the
exotic vocabulary of New England
theology. The transition was rapid
indeed, when helped out by the
terse and vigorous vernacular of
the Western pioneer and plains-
man. Fond of high-sounding
words, bold in metaphor, and with
a country spread out before him,
Everything, etc.
the natural features of which are
stupendous in their magnitude—
mountains whose snow-capped
peaks reach up to heaven, and
where-
•
The rivers that flow
Run thousands of miles, spreading out as
they go,
Prairies like seas where the billows have
rolled,
As broad as the kingdoms and empires of
old,
And the lakes are like oceans, in storm or
in rest-
it is little wonder that the language
of the latter should reflect, in a
measure, the influence born of new
surroundings, and modify the speech
of early youth. The admixture
is, to say the least, always curious
and sometimes grotesque, if not
profane. Said Maj. Downing, in
May Day, "New York is an ever-
lasting great concern." And if
anything goes wrong it goes to
almighty," or "everlasting smash,"
and so on ad infinitum.
"
An EVERLASTING good shot. Jo Brown,
one of the Georgia senators, used to be the
best shot with a squirrel rifle in the South.
His father would give him twelve bullets
and tell him to bring in twelve squirrels.
'And mind ye,' the old man would add, 'let
the holes be through their 'tarnal heads.'
"Why,' said the peddler to the Widow
Bedott, who had selected an article for her
wedding dress, 'a body 'd think 'twas some
EVERLASTIN' old maid, instead of a hand-
some young widder that had chosen such a
distressed thing for a weddin' dress.'-
Widow Bedott Papers, p. 113.
EVERYTHING IS LOVELY, AND THE GOOSE
HANGS HIGH-A slang phrase,
equivalent to what 'Arry would
call "ter rights"; all is going
swimmingly; all is serene.
EVERY WHICH WAY. Everyway; in
all directions. A common col-
loquialism.
He put on the pack saddle (a thing like a
saw-buck), piled the property on it, and then
228
Exercised
wound a rope all over and about it and
under it, EVERY WHICH WAY, taking a hitch
in it every now and then.-Mark Twain's
Roughing it.
EVIDENCE, To.-To bear witness; to
give evidence. A verb formed from
evidence in the sense of testimony.
Flandroe said: 'I hadn' 'a' thought ye'd'a
EVIDENCED agin me that-a-way.'
The man winced, and answered in a low
voice, without looking up:
'I didn' want fur ter do ye no harm, Jim;
but the comp'ny summonsed me, an' I was
'bleest fur ter come.'-Scribner's Magazine,
1887.
EXCELLENCY.-This title is, in America,
given, by courtesy, to Governors
of States, and to representatives
at foreign Courts.
EXCELSIOR STATE.-The State of New
York, from the motto Excelsior upon
its armorial bearings.
EXCURSH, EXCURT, TO. To visit; to
go upon an excursion. Forms for
which, Brother Jonathan! we do
not thank thee.
EXECUTIVE CITY.-Washington; from
its being the official capital of the
Union, and the seat of Govern-
ment.
EXERCISED, TO BE. To be perturbed
in mind. A novel usage which,
however, is not altogether un-
known in England.
Chicago shippers are considerably EXER-
CISED over a new deal. The Iowa roads,
with the exception of the Burlington, exact
20 cents a hundred on grain from the Mis-
souri river to Chicago. The Eastern lines.
insist upon 27 cents, Chicago to the sea-
board, but these same roads have agreed
upon a through rate on grain billed from the
Missouri river to the seaboard of 36 cents,
the Western lines accepting as their pro-
portion 161 cents, and the Eastern lines 20
cents, a total cut of 11 cents.-Missouri
Republican, February 24, 1888.
Exercises
EXERCISES.-The proceedings at a
public meeting; no doubt from the
vigor displayed these are in many
cases exercises indeed.
A few minutes later General Draper
opened the EXERCISES. He said: Fellow
Citizens,- This is the first time in my life
that I have had the honor, etc., etc.
"
EXPECT, TO.- Equivalent
guess"; "to reckon ";
late," etc.-See CALCULATE.
to
to "to
"to cal'
EXPERIENCE. In a religious sense,
what one has passed through in
"getting religion." The visits
of American revivalists to this
country have made the term quite
familiar to English ears.
-To
EXPERIENCE or GET RELIGION is to
become converted.
'Do you mean to insinuate that ye've met
with a change?' said the Widow Bedott to
Jim Clarke, the peddler.
'I think I may confidently say I hev,' said
Jim.
'How long since?'
Wall, about a year and a half. I EX-
PERIENCED RELIGION Over in Varmont, at
a protracted meetin'. I tell ye, widow,
them special efforts is great things; ever
since I've come out, I've felt like another
critter.'-Widow Bedott Papers, p. 108.
EXPOSE.-A corruption of "exposure,"
which has become colloquial.
The EXPOSE of the Coal Hill convict camp
horror, with its attendant letters of criticism,
have caused a great commotion from one
end of Arkansas to the other.- St. Louis
Globe Democrat, March 30, 1888.
EXPOSITION. An exhibition; to put
on exposition, to exhibit; Ameri-
cans here follow the French usage.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, who were married
at the EXPOSITION building last year, have a
ten-pound kid, William Palmer Nelson,
which they propose to put on EXPOSITION
this year. What's the matter with making
him general manager when the present
incumbent quits, as it is expected he will
do after this year's show.-St. Paul and
Minneapolis Pioneer Press, July 22, 1888.
229
Express
EXPRESS. An institution similar to
the English Parcel Delivery Com-
panies, only much more expeditious.
The word express is never used
in any other connection. The busi-
ness has attained such enormous
dimensions that the great Express
companies have special cars
running on all the great lines of
railway. These are called Express
cars or Express waggons; the Express
office is where the business is trans-
acted and Express-men are the
employés.
Detroit detectives made a thorough search
of O'Rourke's room yesterday morning, and
found a lot of massive silver-plate which he
had stored there. Later a lot of EXPRESS
receipts, showing that he had shipped large
quantities of goods stolen from the firm to
his wife and mother-in-law.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, March 30, 1888.
An American paper recently gave
the following account of the rise
and progress of the system :-
William F. Harnden was the first EXPRESS-
man, and he began his business in 1837-
just fifty years ago. Before the time of
Harnden, goods were always sent by freight.
The transmission of valuable parcels-bank
notes, gold and silver, etc.-in that way, was
not to be thought of, and people who could
not afford the time or the money to carry
such precious things themselves used to
depend upon the courtesy of some friend or
chance acquaintance who was going that
way. In those days, of course, there was
far less of that sort of business required
than now, but it had become a serious
matter by 1837 to the business men of
New York and Boston. At that time,
James W. Hale kept the Tontine coffee
house at the corner of Pearl and Wall
streets, in New York. Connected with
the coffee house was a news room-an
institution long since rendered super-
flous by the daily press-where New
York merchants daily congregated and a
famous stopping place for travellers to
Boston and other New England points.
Harnden's health had somewhat failed him,
and he went to Hale for advice as to his
future occupation. Hale told his applicant
that every day some one dropped in at the
news room anxiously inquiring for a traveller
to Boston or Providence by whom a parcel
could be sent. Harnden finally decided to
make the venture, and, provided with a
carpet bag, set out on his first trip. By
Hale's advice, the novel enterprise was
Express
230
called the EXPRESS, a new name at that
time, and one which would give the idea of
speed and fidelity. Orders for the EXPRESS
were taken on a slate hung up in the news
room and trips were at first made but three
times a week. But it was some time before
the venture proved a success. It seems
strange now to think that business men of
that time could not easily be made to under-
stand that such a service as Harnden's
should be paid for, but they had been accus-
tomed for so long to the free carriage of
their parcels by their friends and others that
Harnden received small support at first,
and, when eight weeks had rolled by, had
sunk all his ready money. Some friends,
who dimly saw the future of the enterprise,
befriended him, however, procuring for him
free passage on an opposition boat. This
reduced his expenses; he continued, and
soon began to make a little money. Then
he hired an assistant, made six trips a week
instead of three, and one night was overjoyed
to find that his receipts for the day were
20 dols. When the Cunard line of steamers
was established Mr. Harnden undertook the
delivery of valuable parcels sent from America
to Europe, and was soon on a sound finan-
cial basis. His friends advised him to go
West with his EXPRESS, but he believed the
western country was then too sparsely settled
to support an EXPRESS. Perhaps he was
right. At about this time he became im-
bued with the idea of controlling the immi-
gration of the United States, and in 1841 the
English and Continental EXPRESS was estab-
lished, with offices in London, Liverpool,
and Paris. Ships were chartered, and a
small fleet of boats on the Erie canal to
carry the immigrants westward was pressed
into service, and in three years Harnden
controlled a very large proportion of the
immigration to America. But it did not pay,
and in 1845 Harnden died of consumption,
a poor man. Closely following Harnden came
Alvin Adams, whose name will be perpetu-
ated as long as there are EXPRESS Companies,
and Henry Wells. Wells saw money in the
West, and the firm of Livingston, Wells &
Co., was formed to prosecute the business in
the new field. At that time the United
States postal rates were high-twenty-five
cents being charged for the carriage of a
letter from Buffalo to New York. Wells
demonstrated that letters could be carried
between these points for six cents each
at a profit, and opposition to the United
States' mail was at once set up. This
was against the law of the land, of
course, and Livingston, Wells & Co.'s mes-
sengers, mounted
fleet horses, were
often hotly pursued by Government riders;
were frequently arrested, only to be bailed
out at once by sympathetic friends, and were
rarely punished. At last the postal rates
were put down, and Livingston, Wells &
Co. retired from the business of letter carry-
ing, having lost money, but gained a reputa-
Eyes Skinned
tion which insured them complete success
afterwards in the legitimate EXPRESS busi-
ness. They were the forerunners of the
American EXPRESS company. The Central
Overland California and Pike's Peak EXPRESS
(the celebrated Pony EXPRESS) was pro-
jected in 1859. "Overland to California in
thirteen days" was its promise, and the
enterprise was watched with the keenest in-
terest. Its messengers rode fleet-enduring
ponies, and there were frequent relay sta-
tions, where fresh messengers on fresh horses
were always in waiting to take the package
on without the delay of a second. The dan-
gers of this service were so great, that 1,200
dols. a month in gold was the salary paid
messengers. Many men and horses were
killed and many more were wounded by
hostile Indians. The rate was five dollars
a quarter ounce, which was little enough,
for the concern lost money. The route was
from St. Joseph, Mo., to San Francisco, and
messengers were sent out from either side
once a week. The St. Joseph Gazette was
the first paper to send a copy of its publica-
tion across the plains along with the first
messenger who started out April 3, 1860. In
1862 a telegraph line was built across the
plains, and the Pony EXPRESS died a loser
of 200,000 dols. The Overland Mail Com-
pany came in 1858, carrying monthly mails
from St. Joseph to the Pacific, and at last the
Pacific railroad.
To EXPRESS. To send by
special messenger or conveyance.
Whether this is derived from the
expedition which characterizes the
express service of America, or from
the express trains of England, is
uncertain.
EXTRA (American cadet).-An extra
is a punishment imposed on Satur-
day and Sunday, when general
leave is granted to all except those
who are thus doomed to do extra
sentinel duty.
EYE-OPENER.
Something which
arouses one's surprise; a startler.
It is also the name of a morning
pick-me-up, which, imbibed often
enough, would certainly prove a
misnomer.
EYES SKINNED. TO KEEP ONE'S EYES
SKINNED. Part of the vigorous
Eyes Skinned
Western speech; to be on the
alert; to have one's wits about
Thus the paternal advice
one.
is :-
My son, afore you leave yer home, I want
ter say ter you,
Thar's lots of pitfalls in the world ter let
young roosters through;
So keep a padlock on yer mouth and SKIN
YER WEATHER EYE,
But never advertise yerself as being mons-
trous fly.
-The huntsman, trapper, and
pioneer had to depend largely for
the success of their operations
and for their very safety upon keen-
ness of sight and untiring watchful-
ness, especially where the often
almost imperceptible Indian SIGN
(q.v.) had to be looked for. The
phrase is sometimes varied, "Keep
231
Eyes Skinned
your eyes peeled." The expression
is generally colloquial.
KEEP YOUR EYES SKINNED and your rifles
clean, and the minit yer git item that I'm
back, set off for the cross roads, etc.-New
York Spirit of the Times.
I don't know nothin' about takin' keer of
stock in New York, but it's a mighty risky
business out here. Have to KEEP YOUR EYE
SKINNED, or some darned rascal will get
away with all you've got.-Texas Siftings,
August 18, 1888.
American love making and courting is a
curious thing to the Corean legation. The
minister cannot understand it, and he
hardly knows how to take care of his eyes
at one of these bare necked and bare
backed receptions. He has asked some of
the Americans here as to whether it was
really right for him to look at the ladies, but
at the last receptions I have noted that he
makes no bones of KEEPING HIS EYES SKINNED,
and that he admires many of the pretty
girls exceedingly. - American Humorist,
May 26, 1888.



ACTORY COTTON.-Un-
bleached cotton
goods made at home
in contrast to those
which are imported.
FACULATE, To.-A New
England localism for
to arrange; to put in order.
FAIR MAID.—A popular name on the
Virginia coast for the SCUP (q.v.),
a small fish which abounds also
in New England waters. The
flesh is much prized by most per-
sons, as it is firm and flaky and
usually sweet. When a year old
they measure about six inches, and
at three years old their length is
ten inches and they weigh about
half a pound.
FAIR OFF, FAIR UP, TO.-Phrases which,
in the South-western States are
used in connection with the weather.
They denote gradual improvement.
FAIR SHAKE.—A fair bargain.
FAITH - CURISTS. A new sect; they
hold that all disease can be cured
by faith and prayer alone-tenets
which "the powers that be" look
upon with a certain amount of
suspicion.
There is also a doctor of mystic philo-
sophy from Boston, who advertises a course
of instruction on FAITH CURE, prayer cure,
and the power of the mind and will over
matter of the human or animal body.-
Pittsburg Dispatch, July 29, 1888.
Great preparations are being made by
the FAITH-CURISTS, at Mount Zion Sanc-
tuary, on the borders of New York Bay, in
Greenville, New Jersey, for their annual
conference or camp meeting, which com-
mences on August 10, and lasts one weck.
This annual session is looked forward to
with considerable expectancy. At this time
reports are made by delegates from all
parts of the country of the work done
during the year, and the wonderful cures
that have been effected through faith and
prayer.--New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
See also CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST.
FAKE. A Swindle; something other
than what it appears to be. This,
with its corresponding term, FAKER
(the agent), and to fake (the action),
is expressive and comprehensive.
Faker is a word of oriental origin,
more commonly spelled with an
"i" than an "e," and applied to an
adept at sleight of hand. It came
into use
to characterize street-
corner peddlers, who drew atten-
tion to their wares by performing
tricks. A Chicago merchant once
sued a Chicago newspaper for libel
for asserting that he began his
business career as a fuker. Those
who testified to the meaning of
the word construed it as carrying
the implication of swindling.
Since then, a faker, in newspaper
parlance, has come to mean a
reporter who draws upon his imagi-
nation for his facts and a fake is
the spurious result of his labors.
Others think, however, that the term
wandered into the ranks of news-
paper men direct from the stage,
as, on the boards, when an actor
failed to memorize his lines, and
Fall
supplied the deficiency by words
of his own immediate creation,
he was dubbed by his fellows a
fake. Fake, in fact, has come to mean
falsity or swindling of any kind.
Both ladies then came to the conclusion
that the fortune-teller was
a FAKE, and
they decided to notify the police.-New
York Mercury, 1888.
The men fought according to Queensberry
rules, and as old Joe Goss said when he
fought Mace the first time, 'Some of them.
'ere reporters counted the misses.' Neither
man used his right hand, and they made as
many misses with their left hands as they
could. It was a thorough FAKE.-New York
World, February 14, 1888.
The telegraph man, who has edited Mul-
hatton's yarns before, and knows a FAKE
from a barn-door, by the date line alone,
carefully avoided this specimen, and de-
posited it tenderly in the waste-basket.-
Missouri Republican, March 24, 1888.
FALL. (1) The Autumn. A good old
English word erroneously thought
by some writers to be American
by origin. It is not so; and yet,
as the term has become unfamiliar
to English ears, it may be counted
such by usage. Literally meaning
the fall of the leaf, the word ac-
cords with its antithesis Spring;
and it seems a pity that it should
have fallen into such disuse in
England where, however, it is still
sometimes heard in provincial dis-
tricts. Bartlett and Webster say
it was used by Dryden, but fall is
older, for it is in Drayton, and
Bishop Hall has autumn fall.
Middleton plays upon the word,
etc. (2) A fall of rain
or
snow. "There will be a fall soon;"
wet drizzly weather in the States
is universally spoken of as falling
weather, probably in allusion to a
falling barometer. -(3) A crane
or derrick is so called-hence fall-
way, the line in which the fall or
derrick works. -To FALL.. A
corruption of "to fell [a tree].
Heard on both sides of the Atlantic;
but most frequently in America.
})
233
Fandango
FALLS CITY.-Louisville in Kentucky,
from the falls of the same name
on the Ohio river. Americans
seem to be very sensitive concern-
the names of their cities; rather
inconsistently so, seeing that, in
many cases the names have been
far from happily chosen. (See
CITY, et passim.) Louisville, how-
ever, seems destined to forfeit
the exclusive use of its sobri-
quet, for the people of Little
Falls, one of the suburbs of St.
Paul's, Minneapolis, are disgusted
with the word "Little" in the
name of their town since the great
15,000-horse power dam was built,
and they are going to change the
name to Falls City. A good many
Louisville, Kentucky, people have
gone there to live, and this may
account for the proposed new
name.
FAN. TO FAN OUT. To pass an
examination with credit. Said to
have originated among the cadets
of the United States Military
Academy, at West Point. Prob-
ably from fan in the sense of
winnow.
FANCIES.-Gambling stocks. The less
is known about these "securities
the more they seem to be fancied
by the sharks of the Stock Ex-
change, as they are able to fleece
greenhorns who dabble in them
five times as much as would be
possible with good stocks.
FANDANGO. In the old Spanish States
a ball or dance of any kind; but,
in the East, it rather denotes a
jollification in which the dancing,
though quiet at first, generally
becomes very pronounced in cha-
racter, the presiding genius being
not Terpsichore but Bacchus.
30
Farallon
Here's how it wuz: I started out to go to a
FANDANGO,
The sentinul he ups an' sez, 'Thet's furder
'an you can go.'
'None o' your sarse,' sez I; sez he, 'Stan'
back!' 'Ain't you a buster?'
-Biglow Papers.
FARALLON.-ASpanish-American term
for an isolated island or promon-
tory. The term is applied to
islands off the coast of California.
FARINA. A superior quality of
wheaten flour.
FAR WEST. In the past, the immense
sweep of country to the west of
the Mississippi river was thus
known. This region is still called
the West, but the iron horse has
robbed it of its special appellation.
It was also called the Wild West,
but this, too, is now much of a
misnomer.
FAST RUNNER (Tachydromus sexlineatus).
-A species of lizard of great
beauty; its name describes its
swiftness of motion.
FAT. FAT PINE KNOTS. A term
applied to wood very rich in resinous
matter. Dodge, in his Plains of the
Great West, p. 393, speaks of a
poor drummer boy who had been
taken in capture by the Apaches,
and who, after torturing him in
other ways, "procured some fat
pine knots, and, splitting them into
small splinters, stuck them into the
skin until the unfortunate boy
bristled like a porcupine. They
then set fire to the splinters, and
danced and yelled with delight
when the poor boy cried and
screamed with anguish."
FAT PORK TREE. — A Bimshire term
for the coCO PLUM.
234
Featured
FAVORED. Well-favored, and ill-
favored, as relating to the coun-
tenance, are legitimate English
terms (by-the-by, Bartlett errone-
ously says they are obsolete), but
such combinations as long-favored,
square-favored, round-favored, etc.,
to describe the type of face, are
unknown in England, though ap-
parently current in America-
apparently, because though both
Bartlett and Proctor mention this
usage, neither give examples, nor
have I been able to find any.
FAVORITE SON.-This phrase became
so common, used in reference to local
or State politicians, that the Nation
at last made it the text for an
editorial article so severely satirical
that favorite sons have not been so
numerous since its publication.
use
FAY, TO.-To fit. "Your coat fays
well." This obsolete form, a cur-
tailment of fadge, and
and in
during the Augustan Age of English
Literature, is still current in New
England.
FEARFUL.-Used by Pennsylvanians
in the same fearfully fearful manner
as are AWFUL, EVERLASTING, etc.
(q.v.). Much; great; strongly-in
fact, all that is superlative.
FEAST.-Fastidious. "I'm feast of
it."
From the Dutch vies.
Dutch vies. An
old Americanism now obsolete.
FEATHER, TO.-Cream feathers when
it rises like flakes in tea. A New
Englandism.
FEATURED, TO BE.- -To be displayed;
to be set out to the best advantage,
literally to be made a feature.
I was to a 'fashionable wedding' the other
afternoon. The papers said it was fashion-
able and that is why I quote the words. The
Feaze
biggest thing I saw at the wedding was a lot
of glassware and block tin knives and forks,
which were FEATURED in one of the rooms.
There was much blowing about them under
the disappointing name of bridal presents, and
if I am not mistaken one newspaper remarked
in a half-ashamed, half apologetic way that
they were elegant and costly. St. Louis
Globe Democrat, April 29, 1888.
FEAZE, FEEZE and PHEEZE, TO.-To
vex; TO BE IN A FEAZE is to be
in a
state of excitement; used
both as a noun and a verb. A
good old English word which is
still commonly colloquial in the
States, especially Virginia and
the South. Bartlett erroneously
derives it from the French fâcher, to
vex; others
on the contrary
believe it to have no connection
whatever with facher, and say it
was used formerly in the same
sense as "tease," as in teasing wool,
but more particularly applied to
curry-combing.
I'll pheese you
in faith," says Christophero Šly,
meaning that he will vex the
worthy hostess by staying like
teasel in wool. Yet another autho-
rity regards it as derived from the
Anglo-Saxon fysan, used to denote
the rapid and noisy movement of
water, and from which we get the
modern "fizz."
FEDERALIST, FEDERALS.-The Federal-
ists grew out of a wing of the Colonial
Whig party, which advocated a
concentration of power in a general
government. Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison and John Jay,
were among its leaders, and jointly
wrote a once famous series of essays,
which were published in the Federal-
ist under the common nom de plume
of "Publius." Washington was
the acknowledged head of the
party, and its power was not broken
until the Presidential election of
1800, when Thomas Jefferson and
Aaron Burr were elected by the
then Republicans, defeating the
235
Feel
Federalist candidates, John Adams
and C. C. Pinckney. By 1820 the
party may be said to have been
practically out of the political race,
though its traditions were proudly
cherished for many years after-
wards. Its membership mostly fell
back upon the name of WHIG
(q.v.) for
a party designation.
During the Civil War the Union
troops were sometimes called
Federals.
FEDERAL CITY.-
Washington, the seat of Govern-
called.
ment, is so
-FEDERAL
CURRENCY. The legal currency
in the United States. This
comprises, in gold, the eagle (ten
dollars), double eagle (twenty
(dollars), half-eagle (five dollars).
and quarter-eagle (two dollars,
fifty cents). There is also a gold
dollar, but this is rarely met with
except when especially asked for
at banks. The silver coins are the
dollar (one hundred cents), half-
dollar (fifty cents), quarter-dol-
lar
or the quarter (twenty-five
cents), the dime (ten cents), and
the half-dime (five cents). There
is also a nickel cent. Pennies are
again coming into use; these are
of the value of two cents.-
-To
FEDERALIZE.
Federalize.—To unite for politi-
cal purposes.
FEED.-Used for grass without any
necessarily special reference to it,
as obtains in this country, as food
for sheep, cattle, etc.-in the sense
of pasture. An American wishing
to describe grass as long would
call it tall feed.
FEEL, TO. A verb which is used
colloquially in the sense of to feel
disposed" he doesn't feel to walk,”
i.e., inclined to walk, or familiarly,
he doesn't feel like walking.
-To FEEL MEAN.- -When
Westerner, or indeed (so common is
the phrase everywhere), any Ameri-
a
Feelay
is
can citizen says he would feel mean
if restrained or prevented from
following any line of action, he
simply means that his amour propre
would be more or less wounded,
and scarcely a shade of the legiti-
mate signification of " mean
present in his mind when employ-
ing the phrase. As a matter of
fact, to feel mean is used as fre-
quently and with the same license
and meaning as is "sat upon "' in
England.- TO FEEL PALE.- To
experience fright, or sudden shock.
Familiarly colloquial.
FEELAY.-The leaves of the sassafras
prepared by being dried and pow-
dered. A Louisianian term.
FEEZE, TO. TO BE IN A FEEZE.-See
FEAZE.
236
FELLOWSHIP.-This word, used sub-
stantively and as a verb, is regarded
by many lexicographers as a part
of the stock-in-trade of religious
cant, using that word in its broader
and inoffensive meaning. Reli-
gious newspapers have, however,
so popularized the phrase that it is
no longer confined to matters theo-
logical. -To FELLOWSHIP, signi-
fies to hold communion with
those sharing identical views as
to religious or other doctrine and
discipline. Used passively, a man
would be said to refuse to fellowship
with others; actively, to fellowship
them. Also DIS-FELLOWSHIP.
The early comers of this Sunday morning
procession are, in the main, Methodists
going to eat bread and water with the brethren
in the 9 o'clock love-feast assembly, to sing
together the touching songs of FELLOWSHIP,
and to tell, and to hear told, the stories of
personal trials and sorrows, to taste the
pleasure of being one of a great company
wrought to ecstacy by a common religious
passion.-Century Magazine, 1887.
FEM, A.-The name given by cadets
of the United States Military
Fence
Academy to women generally,
whether young or old, just as
'petticoat" is similarly used in
England. Evidently a contraction
of feminine.
FEMALE HELP.-A class name for all
kinds of domestic servants and
feminine assistants in America. It
is an amiable weakness of Uncle
Sam's women-kind to walk all round
the slightest suspicion of the word
service; consequently, there are no
servants in America, only helps,
whereat one is constrained to in-
quire whether after all there is not
something in a name.
FENCE. TO BE ON THE FENCE in
politics is to be neutral as regards
the opposing parties men who
prefer as Lowell puts it—
A kind o' hangin' round an' settin' ON THE
FENCE,
Till Providence pinted how to jump an' save
the most expense.
-Biglow Papers II., p. 97.
The simile is obviously drawn from
the phraseology peculiar to settlers
in a new and uncleared country.
While Democratic papers wlll claim that
Judge Thurman is as hearty and well at
seventy-five as he was at fifty-five, journals
ON THE other side of the FENCE will repre-
sent him to be a weak, feeble old man,
much better fitted for the invalid than
the vice-presidential chair.-Texas Siftings,
July 7, 1888.
Politicians who are ON THE FENCE keep
themselves well posted.
Wen every fool knows that a man repre-
sents,
Not the fellers that sent him, but them on
THE FENCE,-
Impartially ready to jump either side
An' make the fust use of a turn o' the tide.
-Biglow Papers.
The possessors of highly devel-
oped bumps of caution are called
FENCE MEN; they run with the
hare and hunt with the hounds, an
operation which receives the
Ferry-Flat
equally descriptive name of FENCE-
RIDING, and which sometimes
qualifies them for RAIL-RIDING (9.v.).
SNAKE-FENCE.-A serpentine
wood-rail fence, which is also called
a VIRGINIA FENCE; another name
for it is a WORM-FENCE.
THERE'S A NIGGER IN THE FENCE.
-This colloquialism, an allusion
to the thieving propensities of the
negro, furnishes a slang phrase
for crooked dealing of all kinds. It
means that things are not square
and above-board. Cuffee is very
fond of poultry, and, in his efforts
to gratify his tastes, he stealthily
breaks through fences and other
barriers without compunction—
hence the origin of the phrase in
question.
FERRY-FLAT. A FLAT-BOAT (q.v.),
mainly used for ferrying purposes.
FETCH, TO.-The idiomatic usages of
this verb are by no means few in
number or wanting in quaint odd-
ness. TO FETCH UP, ie., to stop
suddenly, a phrase of nautical
origin, is of course common in
England; perhaps more so than in
America, where brought up"—
"he brought up"-is more current.
'I like sleigh-ridin', said Mrs. Aleshine,
'if you're well wropped up, with good
horses, an' a hot brick for your feet, but I
must say I don't know but what I'm goin' to
be a little skeery goin' down these long hills.
If we git fairly slidin', hoses, sleigh, an' all
together, there's no knowin' where we'll
FETCH UP.'-Century Magazine.
-To fetch in the sense of
"to perform " is common in the
South. "I fetched a howl that
you might have heard two miles,"
and blows are fetched with quick
and unerring aim. -To fetch has
also the sense of "to bring up," or
"to educate"; thus, children are
fetched up or RAISED (q.v.), with
which it is synonymous.-
Still
another meaning is conveyed when
237
Fever'n'ager
"
or
some potent argument is said to
have influenced strongly, or fetched
a man, that fetched him"
that convinced him. This meaning
is largely colloquial in America,
and Mr. Proctor relates how, even
in educated society, it is frequently
heard. A college professor once
told that gentleman how unwilling
he was to write a certain treatise
till informed that failing him
another person, known by the
professor to be incompetent, would
be invited to write the volume.
"That fetched me" was the emphatic
criticism; meaning that that was
an argument he could not resist.
This meaning of fetch is also
widened out to signify "attractive,'
as a fetching bonnet or even a fetch-
ing woman. -To FETCH AWAY is
to part, as a fool and his money
are soon fetched away," i.e., sepa-
rated.- -And not the least curious
is that sense in which TO FETCH
means to agree with.
Men, take a good look at him! You'll all
FETCH with me that if any man in these yere
hills ever considers to chitter him (stops to
question his right] that ere man has got
to die!-Detroit Free Press, September 15,
1888.
FETTERLOCK - DEEP, for fetlock - deep,
is a variation peculiar to New
England.
FETTICUS, VETTIKOST, Or FATTIKOWS.
All New York terms for corn-salad.
FEVER BUSH (Laurus benzoin).— The
spice-bush, or wild allspice. Its
bark is valued as a febrifuge. Mass.
FEVER'N'AGER.
A corruption of
fever and ague."-See AGEr.
The FEVER'N'AGER got fastened to me, and
stuck jest like a Comanche on a mustang:
the worse it jumps, the tighter he sticks, as
if he was glued to the saddle, or like he was
one of them rale half-horse and half-
alligator fellows.-New York Spirit of the
Times.
F. F. Vs.
F. F. Vs.
Satirical abbreviation of
First Families of Virginia," and
applied generally to what was
known as the Southern aristocracy.
The abbreviation was of Northern
origin.
FICE,
"
FYSE.-An obsolete English
word still used in Kentucky and
the South for a small dog or cur.
Sometimes spelt phyce. This word
is perhaps one of the most inter-
esting cases of survival now pre-
sented by American philology. It
is evidently the last small remnant
of the old English "foisting cur,"
quoted as foisting hound" in
Wright's Provincial Dialects. Nares
gives nearly the whole process of
gradual corruption: foisting-
foisty-foist
foist — fyst — fyce," and
Grose has it fyst." Halliwell
describes the foisting dog as a
kind of lap-dog, so-called from its
bad habits, which often have to
serve as an excuse for the sins of
"
the owner. A fisting hound, also,
is mentioned as a kind of spaniel,
in Harrison's England, p. 230.
De debbil's in that 'ar FICE, Jefferson
would say a dozen times a day, and shake
bis gray head doubtfully.-Putnam's Mag-
azine.
FID.-A small portion of tobacco; a
plug or a quid.
FIDDLE.-TO HANG UP ONE'S FIDDle.
-To retire; to give up or aban-
don an undertaking; or simply to
break the continuity [of action].
FIDDLER. A small lively one-clawed
crab.
The drainage-ditches were everywhere
alive with little crabs-FIDDLERS. One saw
them scampering sidewise in every direction
whenever they heard a disturbing noise.
Expensive pests, these crabs; for they bore
into the levees and ruin them. Mark
Twain's Life on the Mississippi, p. 429.
238
Figure
FIDE ON THE JECK (Texas).-Confi-
dent on the subject. A mere
corruption of words.
FIELD-DRIVER. An office which, in
New England, is equivalent to that
of pound-keeper in the Mother
Country; the duties of both are
identical.
FIELD - MARTIN (Tyrannus carolinensis).
This is the Southern name for a
bird which, in other localities, is
also known as the SCISSOR-TAIL, the
KING BIRD, and among the aborigines
as the SACHEM. This brave and
plucky bird of passage is one of the
best known of the feathered tribes
of America.
FIENDISHMENT. Fortunately, this
barbarous derivative is rarely met
with. A fiendish act or spirit.
FIFTY-FOUR-FORTY OR FIGHT.-An al-
literative rallying cry, which had a
great run in 1824, when the loca-
tion of the North-western boun-
dary was in dispute with Great
Britain. On the strength of a
former treaty with Russia, it was
held that our North-western terri-
tory should extend to the parallel
of 54° 40', but a compromise was
effected in 1846, by the extension
of the 49th parallel to Paget Sound.
-Political Americanisms.
FIGURE, TO.-Like "to fetch" this
comes in for a good deal of hard
work. (1)-To count upon, as
you may figure upon getting a
reply by return mail. (2)
FIGURE ON THAT.- -A common col-
loquialism for think it over.-
(3) To single out, or in English
billiard slang, to spot.
The next evening we came to a drove of
small pigs and began To FIGURE for one.
Finally I stood behind a tree with a club;
Figure Four
when the pig followed up I shot him with
my stick.-Burlington Free Press.
-To cut a figuRE.-To display;
to do well.
The black walnut-tree will CUT A FIGURE
on our farms in the future. It can be made
as profitable as the apple-tree in localities.
where it will thrive at all.-Detroit Free Press,
March 30, 1888.
TO GO THE WHOLE FIGURE,
is synonymous with thoroughness;
completeness; entirely; altogether.
Women, I believe, are born with certain
natural tastes. Sally was death on lace, and
old Aunt Thankful GOES THE WHOLE FIGURE
for furs.-Sam Slick's Human Nature, p. 225.
-TO GO THE BIG FIGURE.-To
launch out.
Don't know what a foo-foo is? Well, as
you're a greenhorn, I'll enlighten you. A
foo-foo, or an outsider, is a chap that can't
come THE BIG FIGURE.-A Glance at New
York.
-To MISS A FIGURE-To make
a vital mistake; to so act that
unchangeable results accrue there-
from.
FIGURE FOUR.A hunter's trap for
large game. Also called a DEAD-
FALL.
FILE.-What is known to English
servants as a house-flannel, and
a house-maid's pail, goes by the
name of FILE-PAIL, or FILING-PAIL.
FILIBUSTER, TO.-To obstruct legisla-
tive action by delivering long
purposeless speeches, calling for
divisions, and the like, in order to
gain time. The original is the
Spanish word filiboti, a pirate, and
the parliamentary meaning implies
a disposition to override regular
rules. Filibustering is usually prac-
tised by the minority in order to
tire out the majority.
Mr. Bland did not oppose these measures
to-day in a FILIBUSTERING spirit, but was
239
Fill
actuated only by a sense of public duty.-
Missouri Republican, Feb. 22, 1888.
"
Apart from political usage, the
word is equivalent to the English
freebooter or lawless adventurer,
although according to General
Henningsen, such characters form
the advance guard of civilization.
Writing to a brother legislator, he
What was Moses but a
says,
to
filibuster, whose mission was
dispossess tribes retrograding (or
whose civilization was corrupting
before matured), and to plant in
their stead another people, whose
subsequent annals show them to
have been, at least, in nowise su-
perior to our own? What were
the Normans from whom the
sovereigns of Great Britain affected
to derive their descent, and a por-
tion of their title to the crown, but
filibusters ? What the Pilgrim
Fathers but filibusters? What
State, what territory in this Union,
has not been filibustered from the
Indians, or purchased from those
who had filibustered it? Have ever
five years elapsed down to the
present time, since the landing of
the Pilgrim Fathers, that some of
the monarchies of Europe have
not, somewhere, been filibustering
something? "A variant for fili-
bustering is FILIBUSTERISM, which
Proctor calls an elegant deriva-
tive," presumably "writ sarcastic,"
Artemus Ward would have
as
said.
"
Το
FILL. To FILL THE BIN.
acknowledge the accuracy of a
description. A slang expression
evidently derived from the stable.
Thus An inquiry as to whether
such and such a piece of news is
reliable, the answer might be,
"Yes, it fills the bin"; i.e., it is
to be depended upon. Compare
with ΤΟ
CORN.
ACKNOWLEDGE
THE
Filling
FILLING (In Poker). To match, or
strengthen the cards to which you
draw. The American Hoyle.
FILLIPEEN PHILLIPINA.- -The name of
a pleasing custom. Both are of
German derivation; and, in all
likelihood, have been made familiar
to English people through the
German element in the States.-
From Vielliebchen.
11
FIND.-Equivalent to 'discovery.'
A slang expression about as com-
mon in England as in America, but
transatlantic in origin.
To sum up the day's developments is
simply to deny the senseless fakes and the
sensational FINDS of Tascott [a fugitive mur-
derer] all over the country.-Chicago Herald,
1888.
FINDING STORE.-Otherwise a "grind-
ery"; a store where shoemaker's
tools and fittings are sold.
FINE AND CLOSE.-TO GET ONE DOWN
FINE AND CLOSE.-To find out all
about a man; to deliver a stinging
blow, etc.
son.
FINE AS SILK.-A simile of compari-
As sunlight is to moonlight,
and as water is to wine, so is silk to
cotton-the metaphor is popularly
colloquial.
FINEFIED.-Bastard American English
for "
made fine"; dandified.
FINGER.
A "nip"; a small quantity;
usually applied to spiritous liquors.
Thus, in drinking saloon slang,
"three fingers of clear juice" would
be equivalent to our English three
goes" of whiskey.
"
'Which is correct, spoonfuls or spoons-ful,
uncle?' Denver uncle-' Um-er-the fact
is I don't know, my boy. In Denver, we
don't use either, we say FINGERS.'-Newport
Journal, February 25, 1888.
240
Fire-Hunt
FINIKIN.-De Vere erroneously quotes
this, with "finniking" and "fin-
nicky," all of them mere corruptions
of finical, as Americanisms; as a
matter of fact, they are, probably,
more common in England than
across the water.
FIP.-Short for fippence, or fippenny
bit. A local name for the old
Spanish half-real, of the value of
six-and-a-half cents.
FIRE-BUG.-An incendiary.
Henry Vollmer, the last of the trio of FIRE-
BUGS, arrested last fall for igniting the many
fires in the lumber yard district in North St.
Louis, was yesterday removed to the Insane
asylum, there being no doubt of his insanity.
-Missouri Republican, February 22, 1888.
FIRE-COPPER. A group of brands of
whiskey are known in America
under this strange title, given, it is
said, "because of their uniformity
and cleanliness." Another large
sour mash
group is the "
family.
Concerning the origin of these
terms there is nothing to be said.
FIRE-EATER. A bitter Southern
partisan. It came into use during
the early anti-slavery days, and is
of frequent occurrence in the
journals of that time. It is equi-
valent to BOURBON (q.v.), but pro-
bably of earlier origin.-Political
Americanisms.
FIRE-HUNT.-A night hunt for game,
in which torches of various kinds
play a prominent part.
FIRE HUNTING at night is the best plan,
and the one most followed when hides are
the object. The fire in the bow of the
canoe lights up the shores and blinds the
eyes of the 'gators so that we can paddle
close to them and put a ball into one eye
without trouble. The big beast always
throws himself ashore and slashes about
among the reeds with his tail, after an eye.
shot, dying in about five minutes. We
never stop to pick them up, but keep on
Fireman
down the bayou until we have killed half a
dozen or more, and the next day we hunt
them up, strip off the skins, cut out the jaw
bones and sometimes a part of the tail,
which is as good eating as pork. After
being buried a week or so the teeth drop out
of the jaws, and are ready for market.-The
Rambler (Chicago), 1888.
FIREMAN. A stoker on American
railways.
FIREWATER. -The name by which
Indians know whiskey, brandy,
and other spirits.
FIREWORKS.- Matches. New Eng-
land. Rarely heard nowadays,
and probably at no time anything
more than a perversion of language.
FIRE ZOUAVES.-The New York fire-
men, at the time of the Civil War,
formed themselves into companies
of zouaves, hence the distinctive
title as applied to them.
FIRSTLY. Hasty. The transition
from the legitimate meaning of the
word to this colloquial usage is
easy and apparent.
'I took down the gun and peppered Bill
Bibbs. Then one of his brothers peppered
my son Enos, and so we've been pepperin'
ever since.'
'And all about an old mule!'
'Well, mewls was skace then, and it was
the principle o the thing, ye sec. Mebbe
we've been too FIRSTLY (hasty), but the
Bibbs hain't never cum to talk it over.'-
Detroit Free Press, September 29, 1888.
FIRST-RATE AND A HALF.-An intensi-
fied form of first-rate, and an un-
doubted Americanism. Both Bart-
lett and De Vere, however, quote
first-chop (Anglo-Chinese jargon)
first-class and first-rate as Ameri-
canisms. They might as well have
included all idiomatic English.
There is no doubt that the sig-
nification of these expressions, as
now used colloquially, has been
considerably enlarged; usage, how-
241
Fish Story
ever, has confirmed such extension
of meaning, and at no time could
they have been rightly included in
a dictionary of Americanisms, even
in the widest acceptation of the
term. A variant for first-rate is FIRST-
SWATHE, of Western origin.
FISH.-TO MAKE FISH.-To prepare
fish for market. A New England
expression.
FISH CROW. (Corvus ossifragus).—The
name of this bird is self-explana-
tory. A denizen of the Southern
States, and confined to the mari-
time districts.
The FISH-CROWS alight on large mud flats,
bordering the salt-water marshes, for the
purpose of catching the small crabs called
fiddlers.- Audubon, Ornith. Biog., vol. ii.,
P. 269.
FISHERMAN - FARMER. A Massachu-
setts term for one who combines
farming with fishing at different
periods of the year.
FISH-FLAKE. A kind of faggot-hurdle
used for drying fish. New Eng-
land.
FISHING
FROG.
The American
Angler; one of the spurious DEVIL-
FISH (q.v.).
FISH-SKIN.-Used in New England,
says J. R. Russell, in his Glossary
to the Biglow Papers, to clarify
coffee. The effect on the coffee is
the same as that produced by
isinglass. But the practice is by
no means confined to New Eng-
land. In country districts in
England, dried fish - skin, newly
broken egg-shells, etc., are still
used for this purpose.
FISH STORY.-A marvellous narration;
the equivalent of what in English
31
"
Fiste
a
"sea-
newspaper slang would be called a
big gooseberry or
serpent yarn." Narratives con-
taining the wonderful exploits and
characteristics of animals, etc.,
were at one time so frequently
met with in American literature,
that they became synonymous
with an incredible relation. Fashion
changed from time to time as
regards the creature thus dealt
with-at one time it was SNAKE
STORIES (q.v.), at another MULE
STORIES, and so on-but one and
all are of the same type. Fish
stories are to be met with as early
as 1767.
FISTE.
FICE.
A small dog or cur.- See
FISTICATE, To. To quarrel; to
meddle; to fight. Compare with
fisticuff." Fisticate was at one
time the subject of considerable
discussion.
FITS. "The man ran after the
thievish Indian, and the corporal
cried out to him to give him fits if
he caught him," i.e., "to make it
hot or uncomfortable. If it should
be desired to produce a state of
discomfort more akin to hell than
purgatory, the phrase would run to
give him PARTICULAR FITS.
Another variant is TO GIVE ONE
JESSE or PARTICULAR JESSE.
FIVE CORNERED STUMP. -To TALK
Το
ROUND A FIVE CORNERED STUMP
is a simile for loquacious talk,
more or less of an exaggerated
character. "To talk the hind leg
off a cow" is a somewhat similar
expression.
Chief Sargent, of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Firemen, was interviewed by a
reporter for the Inter-Ocean last night. Mr
Sargent can talk around a FIVE CORNERED
242
Fix
STUMP when he wishes, and considerable
winnowing was necessary to separate the
grains of wheat from Mr. Sargent's chaff.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, March 8, 1888.
FIVE POINTERS.-The name given at
one time to a band of New York
rowdies.
FIVE-SHOOTER.-A five-barrelled re-
volver. A Western term; the
plainsman, quick and unerring in
aim, scorns in naming his weapon
to admit the remotest possibility
of any shot failing to take deadly
effect. Five barrels-five corpses.
So also six-shooter.
ever
FIX. The hardest worked word in
the "American language," and
which, De Vere says, may be
safely called the American word of
words, since there is probably no
action whatever, performed by
mind or body, which is not repre-
sented at some time or other by
this catholic word. It has well
been called the strongest evidence
of that national indolence which
avoids the trouble of careful
thought at all hazards, and of
that restless hurry which
makes the word welcome that
comes up first and saves time.
Whatever is to be made, whatever
needs repair, whatever requires
arrangement—all is fixed except
the exact meaning of this verb
universal. The farmer fixes his
gates, the mechanic his work-
bench, the seamstress her sewing-
machine, the fine lady her hair,
and the schoolboy his books.
The minister has to fix his
sermon in time, the doctor to fix
his medicines, and the lawyer to
fix his brief. At public meetings
it is fixed who are to be the
candidates for office; rules are fixed
to govern an institution, and when
the arrangements are made the
people contentedly say,
"Now
Fix
everything is fixed nicely." This
use of the word is thought by
Proctor to have arisen from
some confusion between "fingency'
and "fixation "—as if the word had
the meaning of the Latin fingo,
fingere, instead of that only of
the Latin figo, figere. At least
there is no use of the word fix
in America which would not
fairly represent the meaning of
one or other of the two verbs
fingo and figo.
I do hope you'll like everything; it's the
first time we ever took boarders, but we try
to Fix things nice.-Scribner's Magazine, 1888.
-Men who are ready for any
emergency are fixed.
My grandfather knew him well, and he
says Franklin was always FIXED-always
ready.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
"
Those who, according to English
slang have been squared," are
similarly designated.
FIXED
His friends on the grand jury, of whom
he had several, acted precisely as
jurors had been known to act. They bull-
dozed witnesses and insulted them. They
allowed themselves to become heated, ex-
cited and partisan, and labored to introduce
everything save the truth.-San Francisco
News Letter.
Very much akin is the fixing of
primaries" in political contests;
while in commercial circles, to fix
a thing for the market comes
perilously near flagrant and dis-
honest dealing. A representative
of the New York Herald, speaking of
oleo-margarine, which by courtesy
alone can be called butter, thus
describes some of the tricks of the
trade, or, as it is termed, fixing the
tubs. On coming into the middle-
man's possession-
All the marks on the tubs are carefully
scraped off and the butter weighed. Say the
first tub weighs sixty-five pounds net-that
is, with due allowance made for the weight
of the tub, etc.
The top is then knocked off and the butter
243
Fix
tried to see what sort of a brand it will
stand. Then as much salt or brine as the
tub will possibly hold is packed on top of the
butter. This is the first step.
A new top is then nailed on, this cover, by
the way, having been soaked, and being
therefore much heavier than the first one,
and the tub is now ready for marking or
branding.
By such means are profits in-
creased; though, to do Brother
Jonathan justice, it must be re-
marked that human nature is human
nature all the world over.-Pass-
ing from these general significations,
we get fix particularised in the slang
phrase, ANYHOW YOU CAN FIX IT,
or conversely, NOHOW YOU CAN
FIX IT, the precise meaning of
which is obvious in the following
example :
A man may be the straight thing, that is,
right up and down like a cow's tail; but hang
me if he can do the clean thing. ANYHOW YOU
CAN FIX IT.-S. Slick's Human Nature, p. 53.
In
TO BE IN A FIX is to be in a
difficulty; to be non-plussed. This
is slang in England, but probably
derived from the universally col-
loquial American usage.
FIXINGS is seen another variation,
the word itself being usually pro-
nounced fixin's. These range from
the equipment of a body of soldiers
or a railroad, down to the most
ordinary etceteras which garnish
or accompany dressed food, as in
TO FIX
CHICKEN FIXIN'S (q.v.).-
ONE'S FLINT is a phrase taken from
backwoods' life, and is equivalent to
the English slang "to dish" or "to
do for "; while TO FIX OUT is, when
used of the person, to adorn; or
a table is fixed out when arranged
for a meal. The thing itself when
so displayed is a fix out, the ex-
pression being varied both sub-
stantively and verbally by FIX UP.
-A fixed fact is a certainty, or,
as it is sometimes put, a BOTTOM
FACT.- From all this, and but a
tithe of the multifarious usages
has been instanced, it will be
Fizzle
seen that the weakness of Americans
for this word is not easily gauged.
Its universality is only equalled by
its antiquity, for, as J. R. Lowell
points out, as early as 1675, the
Commissioners of the United
Colonies ordered "their arms well
fixed and fit for service."
FIZZLE.-A failure. "I'm afraid my
reception will be a fizzle"-hence
TO FIZZLE OUT, to prove a failure.
-Both these expressions have
long been in use in England, but
are used colloquially in America far
more frequently than here.
Way down in Hoosic valley
Minds put forth their shoots,
And many weary hours were passed
In grubbing lingual roots.
There I FIZZLED and there I flunked,
So mournful all the day;
Till the welcome pony came at last,
And bore my toil away.
(Carmina, Collegensia, Songs of Williams.)
FLAG, TO.-To signal trains by means
of flags.
The trains were to be FLAGGED from the
tank instead of the bridge, and at night the
white light, indicating All right! was left
permanently at the post, seventy rods from
the nearest watchman 1-New York Evening
Post, 1888.
See
FLAKE.-A frame for drying.
FISH FLAKE. The word is a survival
of English provincial usage.
we
FLAMBUSTIOUS.-Showy; gaudy; or
applied to enjoyment, good; as
will have a flambustious time." If,
as is asserted, this word is derived
from "flam, a lie or cheat, a
certain transition of meaning has
occurred.
FLAMDOODLE.- Nonsense; vain-boast-
ing. Probably only a variation of
FLAP-DOODLE (q.v.).
And that's the way we took that job out of
the hands of a regular-built divine, and
244
Flashy
planted Uncle George in ship-shape and
proper manner. We wasn't goin' to have
any highfalutin' FLAMDOODLE business over
him. He wouldn't have laid quiet in his
grave. New York Sun, 1888.
FLANK. To FLANK THE WHOLE
BOTTLE.—A slang expression signi-
fying superlative cunning
cunning and
brilliant success. This term is
borrowed from the phraseology of
military strategy, in which to flank
has
a comparatively honorable
meaning; that is to say, if matters
pertaining to legalized murder can
in any wise be so described. Like
master, like man," however, and
the term has descended much
lower in the scale of soldier
morality, ultimately coming, gener-
ally, to signify cunning; dis-
honesty; and avoidance of duty by
trick or other mean artifice.
"
FLAP-DOODLE." To talk flap-doodle'
is to talk boastingly; to utter non-
sense. Varied by FLAM-DOODLE.
Possibly rich men will turn from sharp
dealing, from debauchery, from FLAP-DOODLE
fashion to a common-sense recognition of
a situation, which shows clearly that wealth
is no longer what it used to be-autocratic,
absolute, the ruler of all else.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, March 2, 1888.
FLAP-JACK. A griddle - cooked pan-
griddle-cooked
cake, sometimes called SLAP-JACK.
The word is old English.
Reaching the camp, Bill instructs Hole-in-
her-Stocking in the mystic art of making
gin-slings and oatmeal FLAP-JACKS, in which,
contrary to all precedent, Bill takes the cake,
and Hole-in-her-Stocking doesn't get any.—
Texas Siftings, July 7, 1888.
FLASH
DISPENSARY. - A boarding
house is so called.
FLASHY.-In Virginia, used of any-
thing that is unproductive, acid
Thus, crab-apples, sloes,
etc., would be called flashy.
or sour.
Flat
FLAT. (1) Low alluvial land; a river
shoal equivalent to bottom land.
(2) A hat worn by women
similar to the large leghorn, broad-
brimmed and low crowned. (3)
Short for FLAT-BOAT (q.v.).
(4)
A dismissal at the hands of a lover;
a jilting, from which usage is
derived- -TO FLAT.-To jilt or to
reject a lover. This is a Western
colloquialism.- TO FEEL FLAT.
To be low-spirited, dejected.-
TO FLAT OUT. -This also is a
Western phrase, which, used both
as a noun and a verb, first saw the
light in politics; now, however, it
is generally colloquial.-FLAT-
BROKE. Equivalent to dead-broke;
that is, utterly ruined.— -FLAT.-
Used adjectively, this carries with it
the idea of thoroughness, e.g., a flat
lie, and approaches very closely
to the meaning of the word as
expressed in a flat contradiction.
The statement that any person has lost
money in the leading properties is a flat lie.
The mines have sold repeatedly up to high
figures; if they have declined a reaction
has invariably taken place.-San Francisco
News Letter, February 4, 1888.
Compare this last signification
with FLAT-FOOTED.
FLAT-BOAT.—A rude kind of river
craft, now largely superseded on
the Mississippi by steam, but once
the principal means of travel and
transport for produce on the Great
Western rivers. These craft, a
slight improvement on the more
primitive raft, were ark-like in
shape, being slightly roofed in for
protection against the weather.
Their length varied from 50 to
100 feet, with a width of 15 feet or
more. Strongly built of massive
logs, they were used for carrying
immense quantities of produce and
live-stock to market, the boat itself
being broken up, and the logs of
which it was composed sold on
arrival at its destination.
245
Flat Side of Earth
This house is now owned and lived in by
Mrs. Martin Connelly. The Sheridans lived
there but a short time and went by FLAT-
BOAT the usual method of travel in the
West in those carly days-to Ohio, and were
not heard of again until the infant had
grown to manhood and become one of the
most celebrated heroes of the day.-Pittsburg
Times, February 25th, 1888.
Flat-boats still linger on some of
the remote water-ways of the West,
where they still retain the name,
KENTUCKY - FLATS, BROAD HORNS
and ARKS.- To FLAT - BOAT.-
This word is derived from the
craft of the same name, as also
is- -FLAT-BOATMAN, amongst the
most notable of whom was once
numbered Abraham Lincoln, who
was actually nicknamed the flat-
boatman after he became president.
FLAT-FOOTED. A synonym for
honesty; earnestness; and resolu-
tion. A man who is thorough,
whose heart and soul are devoted
to the interests of his party, is said
to be flat-footed; and, politically,
no higher praise can be bestowed
upon a man. From politics the
phrase has become colloquial, and
in Harper's Magazine, a brawny,
stalwart son of Vulcan, described
as a man of strong will and a
zealous disciple of Tom Paine, is
said to have had a "bold flat-footed
way of saying things," which con-
siderably impressed his neighbors.
The term is Western in origin, and
the simile, of course, is that of
a man standing firmly, with back
to wall, resolved to accomplish his
purpose, and, if driven to extremity,
to lay down his life in the attempt.
Compare with the French plat-
pied, a mean, contemptible fellow.
FLAT SIDE OF EARTH.-This side the
grave.-Compare with TOP OF DIRT.
The district schoolmaster hain't got a
friend on the FLAT SIDE OF EARTH. The
boys snowball him during recess; the girls
put hot water in his hair-dye; and the school-
Flat Top
committee make him work for half the money
a bar-tender gets, and board him around the
neighborhood, where they give him rye
coffee, sweetened with molasses, to drink,
and codfish balls three times a day for
victuals.-Josh Billing's Works, p. 325.
FLAT TOP (Vernonia noveborocensis).—
The Northern name for the iron-
weed of Kentucky.
FLAX ROUND, To.-In New England
this signifies energetic movement;
to beat.
FLEA-BANE (Erigeron canadense).—This
is not the English plant of the
same name, but is a medicinal
herb, largely used in the well-known
Shaker preparations, as an astrin-
gent and diuretic.
FLEA BITTEN.-A Texas term to des-
cribe the color of a horse or other
animal dotted with minute specks
of black and white, like pepper
and salt.
A spirited FLEA-BITTEN gray mare fell to
my lot when the straws were drawn, and
Kelly and the doctor patronized the wagon.
-San Francisco Weekly Examiner, March 22,
1888.
246
FLESHY.-This word, which had fallen
into disuse in the Mother Country,
has been retained in America. It
is now making its way into popular
English speech again, though still
regarded as " vulgar" by "society."
In the sense of "stout" it was used
by Ben Jonson.
FLICKER (Picus amatus).—The golden-
winged woodpecker, or yellow-ham-
mer. By
By the early settlers this
bird was called the CLAPE, while in
Western New York it is known as
the HIGH-HOLE. Further South,
in Louisiana, it is called PIQUE BOIS
JAUNE.
Flip
FLIES. I'VE NO FLIES ON ME, or
THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON HIM,
are slang phrases which, like most
expressions of the kind, convey an
insinuated rather than a direct
meaning. There ain't no flies on him,
signifies that he is a man of quick
parts; one not quiet long enough
for moss to grow on his heels;
one who is wide awake, and knows
a thing without its being kicked
into him by a mule.
Adam and Ebe was turned outen dar pro-
perty on account ob dar sinfulness ob eaten
ob de forbidden fruit, so we am tole in holy
writ, but hit's de 'pinyon ob yer belubbed
pasture, who reads de papers and AIN'T GOT
NO FLIES ON HIM, dat dey would hab been
turned out, anyhow. Jay Goul', or som'
udder mernopolis, would hab come aroun'
and claimed de groun' some time; and dey
would hab got hit, too. - Texas Siftings,
August, 1888.
Persons who are capable of descending to
New York and Boston English are fully jus-
tified in saying that there are no FLIES on
St. Louis or the St. Louis delegation either.
-Missouri Republican, February 24, 1888.
Sometimes the expression is
more vulgarly put as no fleas.'
FLINT-CORN.-A variety of maize.
FLINT IN, TO.-To perform or act
with energy, and without standing
on ceremony. Applied to all kinds
of actions, even to eating. Also
merely employed as a variant of
TO CHIP IN (q.v.).
FLIP.-A beverage of brandy, beer
and sugar, made hot and foaming
by means of a red-hot poker. De
Vere somewhat mixes cause and
effect, however, when he says that
it was considered as productive of
sore ankles and shins, so that old
gentlemen in knee-breeches and
long stockings would frequently
wear handkerchiefs tied around
their legs. From the Swedish
flepp.
Flip
FLIP, TO. To put or place down.
Probably a corruption of "flop," to
fall suddenly.
I stepped into Blank's just now for a little
purchase, and you know what a stunning
little creature there is in one of the depart-
ments. No? Well, she's there, anyhow,
and a half-dollar was coming to me in change.
Maybe you think she FLIPPED it carelessly
on to the counter? Not much! She held it
out to me in one of her little white hands.-
Detroit Free Press, May 5, 1888.
FLIP-FLOPUSSED.-Played out; in a
state of collapse. A variation of
the American usage of "to flum-
mox" and "to flop." Said to be
common in Arkansas.
FLITTER. A corruption of "fritter."
FLOATER.-A local political term in
Texas for a candidate representing
several constituencies.
FLOATING BATTERIES.-A slang term
sarcastically applied to the bread
rations served out to Confederate
soldiers during the Rebellion.
247
FLOCK.-TO FIRE INTO THE WRONG
FLOCK. To make a mistake; to
blunder. A variant is TO BARK UP
THE WRONG TREE. Both terms are
of pioneer origin.
"to
FLOOR.-TO HAVE or HOLD THE
FLOOR.-A Congress phrase equi-
valent to the English Parlia-
mentary expression
be in
possession of the House." A
common though vulgar mode of
expression, is, "Now dry up, for
I've the floor," ie., "Cease talking,
for I am going to do so."
After a half hour's recess Mr. Glover took
the FLOOR. He said he hadn't intended to
say anything, but certain assertions of the
contestant's counsel called for a personal
reply.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 11,
1888.
II,
Flume
FLOOR-WALKER.-A shop-walker.
A tall old lady dressed in black, with a
business-like air and water-wave curls, sailed
into one of the large dry goods stores in
Twenty-third Street, and declining the
service of a FLOOR-WALKER, made directly
for the crape counter.-American Humorist,
1888.
FLOP-UP.-A day's tramp; a SOT-
DOWN being equivalent to half a
day's travel. FLOP-UP TIME is bed-
time.
Stranger, did ye lope it?' (come on foot).
'Yes.'
'A mile or a sot-down?'
'More'n that. About a dozen FLOP-UPS."
-Detroit Free Press, September 15, 1888.
FLOUR, TO.-To convert grain into
flour. So also flouring-mill.
FLOUR CITY.-Rochester, also FLOWER
CITY. It is to be noted that Spring-
field likewise bears the latter name.
Rochester derives its double nick-
name respectively from its nursery
trade, and on account of its being
the centre of flour mills.
FLOUR DOIN'S.-Wheaten bread; fare
of a superior kind.
It was a nice weddin'; sich raisins and
oranges and hams, FLOUR DOIN'S and chicken
fixins, and four sich oncommon big gobblers
roasted, I never seed.-New York Spirit of
the Times.
FLUB-DUB AND GUFF.-Rhetorical em-
bellishment; what a Yankee also
calls HIGH-FALUTIN'.
Rev. Mr. Selah (to desk editor of the Daily
Roarer) Mr. Seezars, are you going to
publish my prayer in full?'
Desk Editor-In full? Well, I guess not.
(Changing his tone)-'However, we'll do
what we can for you. By swiping out the
FLUB-DUB AND GUFF, I guess we'll have room
to put in the points.'-Detroit Free Press,
August, 1888.
FLUME.—A narrow passage confining
water for the purpose of turning a
mill-wheel. From Anglo-Saxon
flum, a stream; or Latin flumen, a
Flumma-Daddle
river. The term is of course
thoroughly good English, but is
far more largely colloquial in
America, and in some idiomatic
senses is used in a manner quite
unknown in England.
'Look-a-here, you needn't squeal,' cried
the claim-jumper as Mrs. Hammon ran
shrieking toward them with the children
clinging, terror-stricken, to her gown.
'You and the kids has got to get, instanter.
You hear? You've got to slope, slide, take
to the FLUME, get out of this right off or
join the throng,' and he and his friends
laughed boisterously.-The Critic, April 14,
1888.
A solitary ranch was passed the first day
of the voyage, and for many miles there
was a vestige of former human occupancy
in the shape of a long-abandoned FLUME,
that once furnished water for placer-mining.
-Century Magazine, 1887.
'Now we're all right, pard. Let's start
fresh. Don't you mind my snuffling a
little-becuz we're in a power of trouble.
You see, one of the boys has GONE UP THE
FLUME.
'Gone where?'
Up the FLUME-throwed up the sponge,
you
understand.' - Mark Twain's The
Innocents at Home, p. 19.
FLUMMA-DADDLE.-" This," says De
Vere, "is a holiday mess of New
England fishermen, who lick their
chops at the very mention of this
oddly named delicacy." It is a
[ mess indeed. It consists of a
number of ingredients, the most
important of which are stale bread,
pork-fat, molasses, cinnamon, all-
spice, and cloves; by the aid of
these materials a kind of mush is
made, which is baked in the oven
and brought to the table hot and
brown.
FLUMMUX.-A college term
for a
248
failure or poor recitation.-To
FLUMMUX.-A common provincial-
ism in England, which, according
to Halliwell, is used in the sense of
to overcome, frighten, bewilder,
foil, disappoint, etc., but which in
America indicates the abandon-
Fly Around
ment of a purpose; to give in; to
die.
FLUNK.-A backing out; the idea of
fear being conveyed as the cause
of such action.
Announcement is made that the senate, in
executive session, postponed considering the
English extradition treaty until next Decem-
ber, which can only mean that Riddleberger
forced the presidential possibilities of the
senate to complete FLUNK.-Missouri
Republican, February 11, 1888.
In college phraseology it indicates
a failure. So also in both senses
TO FLUNK, or TO FLUNK OUT.
A keerless man in his talk was Jim,
And an awkward man in a row;
But he never FLUNKED, and he never lied,
I reckon he never know'd how.
-John Hay.-Jim Bludsoe of the Prairie
Belle.
The word was once current in
England, where, however, the only
survival is FLUNKEY. Flunkey has
by no means the same signification
in America as in England. Besides
the college usage, as explained
above, it is employed by brokers in
Wall Street to novices who seek
ruin by dabbling in stocks of
which they have no knowledge.
FLUTTER WHEEL. -A small water-
wheel.
FLY AROUND, TO. To move about
quickly. -From this is obtained
its still more slangy intensitive, TO
FLY ROUND AND TEAR ONE'S SHIRT.
-Hence the derivative adjective
FLY in the sense of cute, knowing,
etc., a slang variant which is per-
fectly familiar in England. A
correspondent of the San Francisco
News Letter illustrates still another
meaning when he says (Feb. 4, 1888),
I'm just gettin' sick 'n tired o' the
way 't them fly dames go on, 'n the
way 't the fellahs hang round 'em
'n dance with 'em 'n so forth."
Flyers
The fly-dames here referred to be-
longed to the frail sisterhood class.
The frequency of recent conviction and
punishment of semi-political criminals is
evidence of the working of the quickened
conscience of the American people. Each
conviction is a lesson to the youthful poli-
tician that FLYNESS and smartness can-
not be pleaded in mitigation of contempt of
honor.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 8, 1888.
FLYERS.-In the slang of railway men,
fast trains.
In spite of the strike, passenger trains, ex-
cepting what are known as the FLYERS, are
running with reasonable regularity, although
generally behind time. The mails are getting
through, too.-St. Louis Globe Democrat,
March, 2, 1888.
FLYING AXE-HANDLES.-See HANDLE.
(TO FLY OFF THE HANDLE.)
FLYING BRAND. A brand used for
cattle by the ranchmen of the
Western plains.-See BRAND.
FLYING FISH.-Otherwise called the
SEA-ROBIN and the PIG-FISH. This
is not the true flying fish of the
tropics, the name in this case being
an allusion to its general ap-
pearance in the water when sup-
ported by its long outstretched fin.
FLY LIGHT, TO.-To take things easily;
to make oneself comfortable.
When we see a monk sitting on a rock,
looking tranquilly up to heaven, with a
human skull beside him, and without other
baggage, we know that that is St. Jerome,
because we know that he always went
FLYING LIGHT in the matter of baggage.
Mark Twain's Screamers.
'people" or
"
FOLKS. So generally used in America
for "people
'folk," that it
may be included among colloquial
Americanisms. In the South white
people are called WHITE FOLKS,
where also the derivative adjective
FOLKSY is current.
249
Footy
FOLLES AROINES. - Wild rice. So
called by the early French settlers.
Foo-Foo.-A contemptuous term for
an insignificant person. New York.
an
FOOL AROUND, TO.-To hang about;
idea of resentment to the
presence of the person addressed
or spoken of is generally implied.
When applied to a man given to
dangling about a woman's skirts,
the meaning is more akin to the
original signification of "to flirt."
Mose-Now look a-here, Liz,-I go in for
Bill Sykes, 'cause he runs wid our machine;
but he mustn't come FOOLIN' ROUND my gal, or
I'll give him fits.-A Glance at New York.
FOOL-FISH.-The file-fish; said to
derive its uncomplimentary name
from its manner of locomotion.
FOOL'S GOLD.-Ore which, from its
appearance, misleads the novice in
mining, so true is it that "all is
not gold that glitters." The genuine
article by no means looks its value.
To the man who desires to engage and
invest in mining matters, I say: come out to
the mining regions, look around, take off
your coat and go to work, learn how to mine,
learn how to distinguish between FOOL'S
GOLD and the genuine article; learn how to
recognise the precious metal-bearing ores
when you see them.-St. Louis Globe Demo-
crat, April 29, 1888.
FOOT.-TO PULL FOOT.-To go for-
ward; to advance; not to let the
grass grow under one's feet.
Variants are "to take one's foot in
one's hand," "to make tracks," etc.
FOOT STOVE.- An old-time con-
trivance used as a foot-warmer.
FOOTY, FOUTY-This has the meaning
of either a mistake, a blunderer
who commits the same, or one who
for any reason is held in light
32
Forbidden Fruit
esteem. Bartlett quotes it as local
in Massachusetts.
FORBIDDEN FRUIT (Citrus paradisi).
A fruit which in size, shape, and
other particulars is very like the
shaddock. West Indies.
FORCE-A gang of laborers.
FOREFATHERS' DAY.-A holiday kept
in New England, in commemo-
ration of the landing of the Pilgrim
Fathers at Plymouth, Mass., on
December 22nd, 1620.
250
At an early period, the people of Plymouth
began to celebrate the arrival of the Leyden
colonists at that place, and the particular day
selected, was that which they supposed to
correspond with December 11th, old style.
Their astronomy being at fault, they observed
the 22nd, new style, instead of 21st as re-
quired. Some time ago the Pilgrim Society
of Plymouth appointed a committee to inquire
into the facts, and, while they admit the
astronomical error, they recommend the
continuance of the observance of the 22nd.
An attempt, however has been made to show
that the 22nd, old style, was the day commem-
orated, but of this no proof has been given,
while it is sufficiently clear that the 11th of
December, old style, was the day held in
mind.
FORE-HANDED.-In English diction-
aries the meaning of this word is
given as early; timely; with a sup-
plementary signification of easy
circumstances. This last mean-
ing is rarely heard in England, but
is perfectly colloquial in America.
I'll work and board with
you. I
know there is no need for it. Father is
FOREHANDED; he says I can go to school, but
I ain't going to try it.-Putnam's Magazine.
FOREIGN.
in re-
American usage in
spect to this word does not run on
the same lines as that current in
England. An Englishman is as
much a foreigner to an American
as are the French and Italians,
whereas in England no such dis-
tinction is ever made. The MUNROE
DOCTRINE (q.v.) is largely respon-
Forget It
sible for the antipathy, which year
by year grows in intensity, to any-
thing not American. The fruits of
this have latterly been most
marked in the action taken in
regard to emigration generally, and
Chinese emigration in particular.
FORELADY. A forewoman. See
LADY, for comparison between
English and American usage of
"woman and "lady."
FORE-PAY.-Payment beforehand, as
in the Western variation of the
old proverb, there are two bad
payments-“ nɔ pay and fore
pay."
FOREST CITY.-No less than three
cities in the Union claim this
sobriquet on account of the lavish
manner in which trees adorn
their thoroughfares-Savannah, in
Georgia; Portland, in Maine; and
Cleveland, in Ohio.
FORGE AHEAD, TO.-To advance with
alacrity; rapid progression.
Long Island is FORGING AHEAD in the
animal sagacity line.-New York Telegram,
1888.
FORGET IT!-AND DON'T YOU FORGET
IT. One of the senseless catch-
phrases which every now and then
seem to seize hold of the popular
taste (or want of taste) and run
their course like wildfire through
all the large centres of population.
They convey no especial idea,
rational or irrational, and can only
be described as utterly senseless
and vulgar.
There can be no two opposing opinions
in that respect. Great capital demands divi-
dends. Dividends can be had only from a
prosperous business. A prosperous business
must recognize the law of supply and de-
mand, and if the public demand dirt the
newspapers will furnish dirt-AND DON'T
YOU
For God's Sake
FORGET IT.-Boston Weekly Globe,
Feb. 29, 1888.
'Did you see any Quakers in Phila-
delphia?' was asked of a Detroiter who
lately returned from that city.
Only one that I was sure of.'
'Did he thee and thou you?'
was
'He did. He got down off his hack and
said: "If thee don't pay me 2 dols. I'll
knock thy blamed head off," and I paid,
although I knew the regular fare
twelve shillings. You don't want to fool
with those Quakers any, AND DON'T YOU FOR-
GET IT.'—Detroit Free Press, Oct. 6, 1888.
FOR GOD'S SAKE.-A curious mode of
stating that a thing is thoroughly
or well done, and probably of
Puritan derivation; thus, such
quaint phrases are sometimes heard
as,
"that orchard was planted for
God's sake"; or, similarly," a build-
ing is erected for God's sake"; the
meaning in each case being simply
that the work was effectively done.
FORNENT.-This old word, from the
Lowland Scotch, still lives on in
America; it is pronounced, how-
ever, as fernent or fernenst. Chiefly
heard in Pennsylvania.
Banker-'What's the matter, Pat?'
Patrick 'Sure there's three moor ov thim
hathen Chinymin started a laundry right
FORNENT the other two. Bad luck to 'em ;
they'll ruin this foine country!'
Banker' In what way?'
Patrick-Takin' the money out ov it.'-
Puck, 1888.
FORTY-'LEVEN.—A slang phrase indi-
cative of indefinitiveness to the
last degree. The first part of the
word is thought to be, in all proba-
bility, the familiar number used,
like other round numbers in
Hebrew, as an indefinite expression.
Boys say, "You have scared me
like forty," and teamsters boast of a
powerful horse, that will pull like
forty. The addition of eleven is the
element of incongruity added to
the humorous exaggeration already
expressed, and thus a forty-eleventh
cousin, for instance, expresses an
251
Fotch, Fotched
infinitesimal degree of relationship,
one too small to be stated accu-
rately, and hence given in fictitious
numbers. Forty-'leven sounds like a
negroism.
[He] rid me roun' to see the place, entirely
free 'f expense,
With
FORTY-'LEVEN new kines o' sarse
without no charge acquainted me,
Gi' me three cheers, an' vowed thet I wuz all
their fahncy painted me.
-Biglow Papers.
FORTY-NINER, 49-ER.—1849 was the
year of the great gold fever and
general exodus to California.
In the characters appear the same old con-
trasts between the California FORTY-NINER
and the more refined [characters], a con-
trast which is certainly amusing but a trifle
monotonous even to the warmest admirers.
of Mr. Harte's genius. - Review of Bret
Harte's Drift from Redwood Camp' in
Christian Intelligencer (N.Y.), February 22,
888.
(
FORTY ROD LIGHTNING.-Whiskey of
the most villainous description; so
called because humorously war-
ranted to kill at forty rods.
FORWARDLY.-Already. Compare with
firstly.
'Hip! And you'un don't want to marry
me!' shouted Deb.
'I-I can't, my child.'
'Mebbe you'un is FORWARDLY (already)
jined?' queried the mother.
'Yes.'
Hip! And I sot sich store by he'un !
wailed Deb as she sat down and began to
cry.-Detroit Free Press, September 15, 1888.
FOTCH, FOTCHED.-Negro corruptions
for "fetch" and "fetched."
I do believe me and Nancy was beliked
by the Indians; and many's the venison
and turkey they FOTCH'D us as a sort of
present, and maybe a kind of pay for bread-
stuffs and salt Nancy used to give them.-
Carlton's The New Purchase.
I was soon FOTCH'D up in the victualling
line-and I busted for the benefit of my
creditors.-J. C. Neal, Dolly Jones.
FOUL
Foul Hand
HAND (In Poker). A hand
composed of more or less than five
cards.-The American Hoyle.
FOUND. A corruption for
which is sometimes heard.
'find "
FOUNDATION. A foundation
in
Montana means four logs laid
across each other so as to form
a square, and is a legal notification
of intent to build a cabin and
take up a claim. In other localities
such titles are called NOTICES, etc.
The two FOUNDATIONS so near together
were evidences of a dispute about the title
to the little strip of meadow land, on which
the occupants perhaps expected to find gold.
-Century Magazine, 1887.
FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT PERSUASION.
-Negroes: From the number of
the clause amending the Consti-
tution of the United States when
slavery was abolished. See
COLORED.
To take the law is one of the greatest pri-
vileges in the estimation of the colored folk
that the FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT Conferred,
and, whether offender or defendant, they
take a pride in summonses beyond de-
scribing.-The Times Democrat, February 5,
1888.
Fox, To.-(1) A shoemaker's term. To
repair boots, and—(2) In Canada,
to play truant from school.
FOX-FIRE. The name given to
rotten wood found in swampy
places, and which, at night, presents
a phosphorescent appearance.
FOX GIRLS, THE.- Three sisters
Leah, Margaretta, and Catherine,
the last named being more familiarly
known as Katie-to whose instru-
mentality the strange and mar-
vellous movement called MODERN
SPIRITUALISM (q.v.) owes its origin.
Although the two elder sisters
252
Fractional Currency
were largely concerned, yet to
Katie, the youngest of the three,
belongs the special honor of being
the instrument of its introduction.
Briefly, the story runs as follows:-
The family of David Fox, at
Hydesville, N.Y., were disturbed
by a certain inexplicable knocking
in the beginning of the year 1848.
The little girl, Kate, aroused from
her evening slumber by the noise
and the alarm of the family, asked
the unknown cause of the sounds to
give a certain number of raps. It
did so; and 'Oh, mother!' the
little girl exclaimed, 'it hears what
I say; it knows what I tell it; for
it has rapped the number of times
I asked it!' Here was a discovery:
the phenomena had an intelligent
cause!" From this small be-
ginning it is difficult to say, in
view of subsequent developments,
what the end will be. The three
girls in question
became
famous, the little frame-house at
Hydesville, and later the public-
hall at Rochester, became the
centre of an enthusiastic spirit of
inquiry, such as has been seldom
known. Leah, in after life, married
Mr. Underhill, the well - known
banker of New York; Margaretta
became the wife of Dr. Kane, the
Arctic explorer; while Katie Fox
married Mr. H. D. Jencken, a
London barrister. All three sisters
are still living.
soon
Fox GRAPE (Vitis labrusca, or in the
South Vitis vulpina). A large
berried grape.
Its name is said
to arise from its rank, fox-like
taste. As, however, the juice, when
fermented, is very intoxicating, it
is more probable that its distinc-
tive name is derived from the old
English "fox," to intoxicate.
FRACTIONAL CURRENCY.
- The legal
term by which the nickel and cop-
Fraggle
per coins issued since the war are
known. These are all of small
denomination, being fractional
parts of silver coins already in use,
hence the name.
FRAGGLE, TO.-In Texas, people are
not robbed, they are only fraggled,
which, however, amounts to much
the same thing.
FRAME HOUSE. A house made of
timber. In all new districts the
houses are of this character, and
in many instances the mushroom-
cities which here and there have
sprung up in an incredibly short
space of time have been composed
entirely of frame houses. The transi-
tion to frame shells with stucco
fronts, and thence to brick and
stone houses is gradual.
FRAUD.—In addition to the English
slang sense of trickery and
cheating, another meaning is col-
loquially current in the States,
whence it has made its way to
this country. Proctor thus ex-
plains it. A person is called a
fraud, not, as Bartlett says, when
he is a cheat, or at least not
necessarily to signify that he is a
cheat, but when he disappoints
expectations. Thus an actor, of
whom great things had been heard,
but who should be judged not so
clever as had been anticipated,
would be described as a fraud, but
certainly not with the idea of
attributing actual dishonesty to
him. So a picture, or a book, or
play, which proved disappointing, is
called a fraud, without attributing
(necessarily) any trickery to the
painter or author. In fact, the
word is often applied to a land-
scape or other natural object or
phenomenon. For instance, the
constellation of the Southern
253
Free Lunch Fiend
Cross has before now been called
a fraud by those Americans who
see it for the first time under
unfavorable conditions, i.e., unless
it is nearly upright on the southern
horizon. The nearest English
equivalent is the slang use of the
word "sell."
FREE.-A term, the significance of
which, in one sense, has long since
passed away. Before the abolition
of slavery, the adjective free was
used as the antithesis of that insti-
tution. Thus, FREE-LABOR was
that performed by free-men and not
slaves. The term free-labor has,
however, again become the question
of the day, in so far as it concerns
the impending conflict between
capital and labor, the point at
issue being whether the employer
shall monopolize by far the lion's
share of the wealth created by
others. It is also doubtless well
within the memory of people still
living, that products such as cotton,
sugar, etc., were described in this
country as slave-grown sugar, free-
cotton, etc. So with the term
free-nigger and free-soil, etc.
FREE-FIGHTER.-A free lance; so used
during the Civil War.
FREE-LOVE.-A theory and practice
which, during one decade, spread
like wild-fire throughout the States.
It advocated promiscuity in sexual
intercourse, and the grain of truth
enshrined in the idea was swamped
by this terribly fatal defect. Com-
pare with AFFINITY. -From this
word come the derivatives FREE-
LOVERS and FREE-LOVEISM.
FREE LUNCH FIEND.-In American
drinking saloons, morsels of food are
pretty generally provided gratis for
those who care to partake of them
when drinking. The free lunch fiend,
Free Soilers
therefore, is one who makes a meal
off what is really provided as a
snack. He pays for a drink, but
shamefacedly manages in this way
to get something more than his
money's worth.
FREE SOILERS.-This party began to
show strength in 1848, with the
avowed purpose
purpose of restricting
slavery to its then existing limits.
It was preceded by and grew out
of the Liberty Party," which
never developed much strength,
and in 1853 was merged in the
Republican Party. Also FREE
SOILISM in a similar sense.
14
FREE STATES.-A term formerly ap-
plied to those States in which
negro slavery did not exist.
FREE-STONE PEACH.-A variety of
peach in which the stone is easily
detached from the pulp of the
fruit.
FREE STONE STATE. Connecticut,
which is also known as the Blue
Law State and the Nutmeg State.
FREE TO SAY: FREE TO CONFESS.
To acknowledge without hesitation.
FREEZE, TO.TO FREEZE ON TO, is,
generally speaking, to adhere
closely to a thing.
Thet I FRIZ DOWN right where I wuz, merried
the Widder Shennon,
(Her thirds was part in cotton-land, part in
the curse o' Canaan),
An' here I be ez lively ez a chipmunk on a
wall,
With nothin' to feel riled about much later'n
Eddam's fall.
The competence of a juror was judged by
Lawyer Forrest by a man's faith in news-
paper articles, impressionability to the lovely
Maud's back-number history, his ability to
shake ready-formed opinions and FREEZE ON
To new ones as they should be manufactured
by real live facts in the evidence about to
come, his desire to give a fair trial to a
254
Freshet
woman, and his undying hatred to stale
notions of sentimentality.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, March 2, 1888.
Another meaning is to become
possessed of an intense longing for
anything; as I freeze to go back,
would be the expression of one
thoroughly home - sick.
To
FREEZE OUT, applied to persons, is
to compel them to do one's will,
the idea conveyed being that of
unfair pressure.
FREEZE OUT,-In freeze-out poker,
each player exposes an equal
amount at the beginning of the
game, which cannot be added
to from any source, other than
winnings from other players. No
player can retire with any of this
stake until the close of the game,
or the hour fixed for its close; no
player can be deprived of a call, if
he puts up all his money; and no
player, when his money is ex-
hausted, can borrow, or continue
in the game on credit under
any circumstances.-The American
Hoyle.
FREEZER.—A refrigerator.
FREIGHT CAR.A goods van, and
similarly, a freight train is the
goods train of English railways.-
See RAILROAD TERMINOLOGY.
FRESH --A Southern phrase for bold ;
forward; and a person putting him-
self en évidence when not required,
would be described as a little too
resh.
FRESHET. This word has changed its
meaning in American usage, where
it means a flood. J. Russell Lowell
says, "Our New England cross
between Ancient Pistol and Dugald
Dalgethy; Captain Underhill uses
the word (1638) to mean a
'current," and I do not recollect
"
Friends
I.
it elsewhere in that sense.
therefore, leave it with a ? for
future explorers."
Just in front of the ranch verandah is a
line of old cottonwoods that shade it during
the fierce heat of summer, rendering it always
cool and pleasant. But a few feet beyond
these trees comes the cut-off bank of the
river, through whose broad, sandy bed, the
shallow stream winds as if lost, except
when a FRESHET fills it from brim to brim
with foaming yellow water.-Ranch Life
in the Far West.
The worst FRESHET in the annals of this
section of Western Massachusetts occurred
last night, resulting in much damage to
property. New York Weekly Times,
February 22, 1888.
FRIENDS. This word is used where
in England we employ relations.
FRIJOLES. - The Spanish name for
kidney beans.
FRILLS. TO PUT ON FRILLS is gene-
rally synonymous with an assump-
tion of style in which conceit and
bumptiousness play a considerable
part. In English slang it would
be called, "Putting on side," or as
'Arry would put it, being 'All
there."
"
You think you're a good deal of a big-bug,
don't you?'
C
Maybe I am, maybe I ain't,' I says.
'Don't you give me none o' your lip,' says
he. 'You've PUT ON considerable many
FRILLS since I been away.
I'll take you
down a peg before I get done with you.'
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
At the same time a somewhat less
offensive meaning is conveyed in
other instances, when accomplish-
ments such as music, French,
German, etc., are called frills. The
use of frills in this sense must
have arisen from the teaching of
philosophy, that Manners form
the outer garment of the man's
individuality."
Ain't you a sweet-scented dandy, though?
A bed; and bedclothes; and a look'n-glass;
and a piece of carpet on the floor-and your
255
Froughty
own father got to sleep with the hogs in the
tan yard. I never see such a son. I bet I'll
take some of these FRILLS out of you before I'm
done with you.-Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, P. 33.
FRISCO.-An abbreviation of
Francisco.
FROE.-A chopper or cleaver.
San
FROG. In railway parlance the rail
at the point where two lines
intersect.
Express train No. 8, on the New York,
Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, was thrown
from the track by a broken FROG while
passing Steamburg Station, New York,
early this morning. The engine and first
two cars passed over safely, but the third
coach left the rails and dashed into the
caboose of a freight train lying on a side
track.-Daily Inter-Ocean, February 6, 1888.
FROLIC.-An American equivalent of
The
the English "junketing."
merriment of some of these frolics
is harmless enough; with others
it is otherwise-very much so.
FRONT-NAME.-The Christian name.
FROST-FISH (Morrhua pruinosa).—A
small fish which earns its dis-
tinctive title from its appearance
off the coast in cold weather. It is
also familiarly called the TOM-COD.
FROST-GRAPE, The CHICKEN-GRAPE
(q.v.).
FROST-WORT (Cistus_canadensis).— A
herb largely used in the "Shaker
preparations."
FROUGHTY.-Spongy, brittle, or, in
fact, applied to anything that is of
inferior quality. A North of Eng-
land provincialism, and colloquial
in New England.
Frowchy
FROWCHY.-In New York a furbe-
lowed old woman is so called.
From the Dutch vrouwtje.
FRUITISH.-A cultivator of fruit trees.
One of a class of words in IST,
some few of which are useful,
but which in the main are hideous
monstrosities. What in the world
can be said for such forms as
"walkist," shootist," singist,"
་་
"
"
'landscapist," and, oh Minerva !
obituarist.'
"
FRUMP, TO.--As primarily used by
Beaumont and Fletcher in the sense
of "to insult it is still current
in New England. It survives in
England, however, in "an old
frump," a cross ill-tempered person.
FULL, FULLED. The old participles
for " filled," and which in the
South are still used.
FULL FEATHER.
TO BE IN FULL
FEATHER; that is, in good trim,
condition; or, as athletes would
say, in good "form."
FULL TEAM. A man is a full team in
himself when of consequence in
the community. The Western
man's love of horses, both for their
own sake, and also on account of
their forming part of his wealth,
has caused him to draw many a
simile from them. His best friend he
dubs OLD HOSS! and no higher credit
can be paid a man than to have it
said that he is a full team, a whole
team, or, as it is sometimes put, a
whole team and a horse to spare.
On the other hand, anything mean,
insignificant, or strikingly small,
is dubbed as ONE-HORSED.
HORSE.
See
256
Fusty
FUNDUM.-A derisive term for the bed
of the sea.
FUNERAL. THIS IS NOT MY FUNERAL,
i.e., it is no business of mine.
Funerals in America partake largely
of the nature of a show with set
pieces, etc.; hence the simile.
Meddlers are liable to be rebuked
"
by being told that it is none of
their funeral."
After a lot of slides had been exhibited the
audience howled for Miss Debar.
It got
so noisy that Mr. Marsh reluctlantly ex-
claimed 'Well, is this your FUNERAL or
mine?'-Missouri Republican, April 8, 1888.
FUNERALIze, To. A minister fune-
ralizes when officiating at a burial
service.
FUR, TO MAKE THE FUR FLY.-To
make a display of temper; to create
a commotion; or even to proceed
to extreme measures-to blows and
actual fighting.
It has been an open secret at the National
Capital for some two or three months that
a big revolt against President Cleveland's
renomination was in process of organiza-
tion. 'Wait until the National Committee
assembles on February 22,' said the
organizer, and you will see the FUR FLY from
the Cleveland hide.' - Denver Rebublican,
February 29, 1888.
·
FURMETY.-This old English delicacy
is still known in Maryland. In the
Hallamshire Glossary, fromety is de-
scribed as wheat boiled with milk,
to which sugar and spice are
added.
Fust-Out, To.-To prove abortive;
to end in smoke; to come to
nothing.
FUSTY.-In California a raw hide and
wood saddle-tree.

G
ABBEY (Cant).-A fool-
ish talker; one who
has "the gift of the
gab." Of a simi-
lar type is GABBLE-
MENT.-Idle chatter;
prating. Both are
spurious Southern
words, formed from gab. (Compare
Danish gab, "mouth"; Icelandic
gabb, "mocking.")
GAGE (Cant). Whereas in English
slang this signifies a small quantity
of tobacco, wine, spirits, etc., in
America it stands for "a man.
-GAGERS.-Eyes.
GAIT (Cant). In the patter of the
criminal classes, one's gait does
not so much refer to style or pace
in walking, as, by a curious transi-
"walk in life"
tion, to one's
calling; trade; profession-in short,
the manner of making a living is
one's gait.
GAL-BOY.-In New England equiva-
lent to tom-boy. The pronuncia-
tion "gal"
"gal" is also universal;
custom on this point varies in the
Old Country considerably, though
at present gal is the only one à
la mode.
GALE. "The children among their
toys and pets were in a regular
gale," ie., in a state of pleasant
excitement. Obviously of nautical
origin.
GALENA. Salt pork, and so named
after Galena, Ill., one of the chief
hog-raising and pork-packing
centres of the country.

GALL. (1) Treacherous boggy low-
land, barely cultivable. In Florida
called BAY-GALLS; or, where
Cypress grows on them, cYPRESS-
GALLS. (2) GALL, as defined
in the dictionaries to mean
rancour, bitterness of spirit, etc.,
is, in America, used in a somewhat
milder fashion, and on occasions
when an Englishman would never
The
dream of employing it.
nearest approach in this sense is
the slang word "cheek or "ef-
frontery e.g., where we should
say a man has " plenty of brass,'
a Yankee would employ the word
gall.
Mr. Blaine's GALL in congratulating the
Republican party upon the cheerful pros-
pects which distinguish the opening of the
national contest of '88, reminds us of a
veterinary surgeon in Ohio who attempted
the Cæsarian operation upon a valuable
blooded cow, and after explaining to the
badly rattled granger why it was that both
the cow and the calf had to die, added, by
way of condolence and congratulation, that
Cincinnati was a h-1 of a good market for
hides and bob veal.-The Solid Muldoon
(Ouray), Colorado, 1888.
GALLANTIZE, TO.-To show attention
to, and wait upon ladies; a decided
Americanism, which, however, can-
not be said of the word "gallivant,"
included by both Bartlett and De
Vere in their lists. The latter is a
good Old English word, which has
never lost currency.
33
Gallinipper
One day I took a solitary ride there, while
Oliver was GALLANTIZING the ladies, a voca-
tion for which his invincible good-humor
and unfailing vivacity eminently qualify
him.-(Letters from the South, II., p. 147.)
GALLINIPPER.—A West Indian insect
pest, of large size, akin to a mos-
quito; they are popularly and face-
tiously called the "grandfathers
and "grandmothers" of the tribe
—from their voracity and powerful
sting. Authorities vary with refer-
ence to the derivation. Some
simply refer it to gall and nip;
but it seems more probable that
the English provincialism "gallier,"
to fight (galliment, a great fight), is
the true source of the first syllable.
In solitude the lover of nature finds in the
smallest insect a subject of admiration.
Then he must have struck a different
breed of insects from what I did when I
came the hermit act out in Calaveras
Canyon, when the last grand jury was look-
ing for me. I thought the GALLINIPPERS
would fly away with me before the seed ticks
had sucked all my blood.-Lippincott's
Magazine, 1888.
——
GALOOT. Considerable uncertainty
exists as to the exact meaning of
this word. All that seems clear is
that it is applied to human beings;
but whether to bipeds in trousers
or petticoats, singly or both; old or
young; of good standing, morally
or physically, or the reverse-all
these factors must be represented
by x. Each example of its use,
given by previous authorities,
would allow of these interpreta-
tions jointly and severally.
Vere merely says galoot is a South-
western expression of unknown
parentage, and quotes as illus-
trating its use—
De
I'll hold her nozzle agin the bank,
Till the last GALOOT's ashore.
-John Hay's Jim Bludsoe of the Prairie
Belle.
Which presumably included men,
women, and children. Bartlett,
258
Galvanised Yankees
"
on the other hand, is inconsistent ;
inasmuch as, while quoting this
self-same passage of a description
of a burning boat, he defines
galoot as a worthless fellow," "a
rowdy"; and in the same breath
quotes another instance, in which
galoot clearly refers to boys and
men as such. However, generally
speaking, the word seems to
signify what in English slang is
"
a cad." Proctor, while regarding
it as a decided Americanism, seems
to think that if found anywhere
in the Old Country it would be in
Scotland or on the border; for it
seems to be of French origin, like
the Scottish "galopin," an errand-
boy, a common lad, and "gamin,"
a street-boy, a young blackguard.
And he further suggests that pos-
sibly some light might be thrown
upon it in connection with French
argot. In the following quotation
from Mark Twain, it would seem
to mean simply a man.
pard.
He was the best man that ever
You would have doted on that man. He
could lam any GALOOT of his inches in
America. ·Mark Twain's The Innocents at
Home, p. 22.
GALUMPH, TO. An onomatopoeticism,
signifying "to go bumping along,'
in the manner that tram-cars are
apt to do when driven at a high
rate of speed on uneven metals.
In further explanation of the quo-
tation, it may be remarked that
the furious driving of the one-horse
cars in the streets of American
cities has become a notorious
scandal.
The young man tackled the driver of a
green bobtail car that GALUMPHED through
Lewis-street at a high rate of speed.
World (New York), May 13, 1888.
GALVANISED
YANKEES. Southerners
who, having been taken prisoners
during the Civil War, got weary
of the confinement and privation,
Gam
deserted the Confederate cause,
and, taking the oath of allegiance
to the Union, served in the armies
of the North against their former
companions in arms.
"
GAM.-What Scotchmen would call
a long clack"; generally applied
to occasions when meeting friends
or countrymen in a strange land,
or where few opportunities exist
for social intercourse.
The GAM was long, but sober and serious;
the two sea-dogs knew nothing of each other,
and hence were cautious not to let out
any of their secrets; they compared reckon-
ing, hoped for whales, and discussed the
weather in no complimentary manner.-
H. Melville's Whaling Cruise.
-To GAM (Cant).—To steal.
GAN (Cant).-The mouth or lips.
GANDER-PARTY.- - A vulgarism for a
party of men. Variants are GANDER-
GANG; STAG-PARTY. The term may
be compared with the phrase "to
go into the buck-hutch," and con-
versely with "hen-party," "grass-
widow," etc.
J
GANDER PULLING. A brutal game,
peculiar to Texas fancy.
Two posts are set firmly in the ground some
fifteen feet apart, and about ten or twelve
feet high, with a cross bar on top reaching
from one post to the other. Underneath the
centre of this cross bar is suspended, by
means of straps around the body, an old
long-necked gander. The neck of the poor
doomed bird is denuded of every feather,
and smeared over with the sleekiest of
soap grease. All is now ready, and [says
A. B. Greenleaf, in Ten Years in Texas] the
rules and regulations are almost as follows.
A committee of arrangements, numbering
more or less, are appointed, whose duty is to
see the game fairly and equitably conducted.
An empty cigar box is procured, lid fastened,
and a drop-hole made in the top of the lid,
through which the entrance fee of fifty cents
must be deposited by each one that partici-
pates in the game, and this entrance fee
must be repeated at each successive entrance,
259
Gange
Two of the said committee stand about thirty
feet from the rack, one on either side, with
long, keen lash-whips in hand, whose duty it
is, when the rider passes through, to give
his horse a git-up. Another committeeman
stands near the victim, mop in hand, ready
to keep the neck slippery. The procession
on horse forms in single file, some eighty or
a hundred yards distant. They pass through
one at a time. The winning card of the
game is to grab the head of the gander, and
pull it off while passing through. As a
general thing they all make a clear miss
in their grab for several rounds. The
old gander, notwithstanding his bound-up,
greasy-eyed, and seemingly awkward con-
dition, uses his long, wiry neck on the dodge
with a great deal of dexterity, and it is not
until his visionary and physical abilities
become somewhat exhausted that the most
expert grabber can seize his head; and then
it is so far sleek that it slips through the
grasp as quick as made. In this way the
game is continued until someone with a
strong nerve succeeds in wresting the head
from the body. Then the box of money is
all his. A great many pay their entrance fee
of four bits for several rounds just for the
sport of the thing, while others have an eye
to business. As to the funny part of the
thing, I failed to see where or when that
part of the drama came in, unless it was
when a fellow managed to get a good grip
on the head, his horse slipping out from
under, and the gander head from above,
sprawling him lengthwise in about ten
inches of block-loblolly mud. This occur-
rence was not infrequent. As to the busi-
ness point, there was some inducement. I
learned that in this instance, when the head
was pulled off, the box contained over one
hundred dollars.
Bartlett says this devilish sport is
practised in England. Had he not
joined "the greater number," he
ought certainly to have been asked
for chapter and verse, for, as
Proctor rightly surmises, it must
have been derived from the more
barbarous of the Indian races. He
(Proctor) declines to call this
disgusting sport brutalizing, be-
"no one could by any
possibility be made more brutal
than he must already be to engage'
in it."
cause
GANGE, TO.--A Spanish derivative
(Gancho; a hook or crook). To
attach a hook to a line.
Gar
GAR.-See ALLIGATOR GAR.
260
GARDEN.-This is another instance in
which English and American usage
varies. In England the term is
applied to any place set apart for the
cultivation of plants, fruits, flowers,
and vegetables; but, in America, by
garden, a market-garden only would
be understood; while the flower
or kitchen-gardens attached to
English houses are called "yards,"
a word which, in England, is usu-
ally applied to a paved enclosed
space.
GARDEN CITY.
Chicago in Illinois, and Savannah in
Georgia. Both claim the sobriquet
on account of their numerous
gardens and trees. Savannah is,
however, also called the FOREST
CITY.-See NAMES. GARDEN OF
THE WEST.-Kansas. -GARDEN
OF THE WORLD.-The region of
the Mississippi.-See NAMES.-
GARDEN SPOT.-The extreme ferti-
lity and agricultural wealth of a
district in Kentucky and Tennessee,
have led to the bestowal of this
sobriquet.-See NAMES. GAR-
DEN STATE.-Kansas. Also called
SQUATTER STATE (q.v.). The former
epithet comes from its fertile soil,
and well cultivated lands.-
GARDEN TRUCK. Market-garden
produce. See TRUCK.
GARMENTURE.-A generic name for
dress.
Gash DING.
Half-veiled American
Billingsgate; a conscience-tickling
oath.
Farmer's wife (limping into the house)-
'That brindle cow kicked me, John, an' I'm
afraid my leg is broken.' Farmer-'GASH-
DING that critter! Is the milk spilled?'
Texas Siftings, June 30, 1888.
GASPERAU.-One of the many names
for the ALE WIFE (q.v.).
Gazon
High up in the open fire-place were two
dozen hard-wood rods, that severally sup-
ported about a dozen GASPERAUX, or ale-
wives, that were undergoing the process of
smoking.-Sam Slick's Wise Saws, p. 128.
GAT, GATE.-A gap; narrow passage;
or strait. An old Dutch term
which has survived in Barne-gat
and Helle-gat or Hell-gate, the
latter a narrow passage at the
entrance of New York Harbour,
which was recently removed by
dynamite.
GATE CITY.-Keokuk, in Iowa, from
its being the point at which the
Mississippi becomes navigable.
'GATOR.-A negro corruption of ALLI-
GATOR.
Few people pass the alligator pond without
stopping, and the boys, when opportunity
presents, take special delight in punching
the 'GATORS with sticks or pieces of boards in
order to see them dodge around from one
place to another.-Florida Times Union,
February 8, 1888.
GAUM, TO.-To smear. Still provin-
cial in England, and colloquial in
the States, this word may be re-
garded as a survival of Elizabethan
English.
"
It may
puny
"
GAUNTED OF GA'NTED.-Thin.
be worth noticing that
always means sickly; "peart,"
lively, or well.
'Iz ter dat,' said Uncle Nate, judicially,
'I ain't no jedge. Looks right puny an'
GA'NTED, but I lay it git over dat at we uns'.
I wisht ye well, sah!'-Scribner's Magazine,
1888.
GAWNICUS.-A dolt; in all likelihood
a fictitious enlargement of gawk."
GAZON.-The carpet grass of dry
uplands.
Gear-Up
GEAR-UP, TO.-A Fennsylvanian term
for "to harness." Wright gives
'gears" as horse-trappings.
"
WITH. - To
"
GEE. TO GEE
agree
with; to get on with; the phrase has
been adopted from,
gee wo!"
(Italian gio-get on), addressed to a
horse.
Mr. Conreid is better known as a German
manager than as a star, though he became
the latter before he was the former. As a
manager, however, he brought Ludwig
Barnay to this country and started him out
on an American starring season. But he
and Mr. Barnay did not GEE.-Missouri
Republican, April 8, 1888.
GEEWHILIKENS!-An exclamation of
surprise equivalent to, and used in
the same manner as Whew! Great
Cæsar! and other objurgations.
Western; also JEEWHILIKENS.
Anxious Traveller-' What time is the
West bound express due?'
Agent-At two o'clock.'
Anxious Traveller-' It is on time?'
Agent-'No; three hours late.'
Anxious Traveller-' GEEWHILIKENS!
Three hours! What time will she come in,
now?'-Detroit Free Press, 1888.
GELT.-Money. A corruption of the
German geld.
GENTILE. Amongst Mormons,
261
а
contemptuous epithet for all per-
sons outside the Mormon Church,
regardless of "color, or previous
condition of servitude."
"
GENTLE, TO.To ease; soften; or
soothe. A survival of Elizabethan
English. Young, in his Night
Thoughts," has the line, "To gentle
life's descent." Also applied to the
taming of horses by kind treat-
ment.
GENTLE KANSAS ZEPHYR.-This is in-
deed a wolf in a sheep's skin, the
gentle zeyphr being no less than a
German
howling hurricane. An idiotic per-
version of language without pith
or point.
GENTLEMAN.-
- In England, gentleman
has a distinctive if restricted mean-
ing, which is entirely controverted
by popular usage in America. Sir
Charles Lyell relates that on ask-
ing the landlord of
of the inn at
Corning, a man very attentive to
his guests, to find the coachman who
had driven him, mine host immedi-
ately called out in the bar-room
"where is the gentleman that
As a
brought this man here?"
matter of fact the difference as
regards the use of both gentleman
and "lady" in America is most
marked; so much so is this the
case that to apply them in general
society to a white man or woman
would be looked upon very much
in the light of an insult, as they
are usually monopolized by colored
"ladies and gentlemen.'
respectable uncolored (I use the
word in the American sense) per-
son is invariably spoken of as a
white man. However, this abuse
of language is slightly modified as
far as the word LADY (q.v.) is con-
cerned; but, generally speaking,
Proctor is right in stating that
whenever anyone says
"let me
introduce this man to you," the
chances are of introduction to a
good fellow; but when addressed
by the ominous words, "Here is a
gentleman I should like to introduce
to you," one may conclude that
the acquaintance of a person en-
gaged in some form of swindling
is to be made.
GENTLEMAN
TURKEY.-A turkey cock-a mock-
modest and absurd circumlocution.
A
GERMAN.-A ball; a dance. Formerly
german, was applied solely to a
cotillion.
The flower GERMAN given last Friday
evening by Mr. and Mrs. Louis Hite to Miss
Gerrymander
Maria Hopkins of St. Louis was the most
elegant GERMAN ever given in this city. The
favors were all flowers. After each figure the
lady would be presented with a bunch of
rare flowers. -Louisville Courier-Journal,
Feb. 16, 1888.
The Misses Cottraux gave a remarkably
handsome and delightful GERMAN of thirty
couples on Thursday evening. The house
was tastefully decorated with palms and rare
plants and flowers. The favors were exceed-
ingly novel and pretty.-Times Democrat,
Feb. 5, 1888.
GERRYMANDER, TO.-A species of poli-
tical "cooking of accounts"; so to
divide and redistribute electoral
districts, that, though in a state, as
a whole, a party may have a
majority of votes, representation
in the Legislature, nevertheless,
goes to its opponents. A curious
example of this occurred at the last
General Election in England upon
the question of Home Rule for
Ireland. As a matter of fact, the
number of individual votes cast in
favor of this measure exceeded
that of the Dissentient Party; but
in spite of this fact, representation
went to the latter, the Liberal
votes being so massed together in
some localities, that they were in
large part wasted. The origin of
the term gerrymandering is traced
back to the year 1811, when a
certain Mr. Ellridge Gerry was
Governor of the State of Massa-
chusetts. This official so divided
the electoral districts as to ensure
a majority of his own party, not-
withstanding that the State voted
two-thirds against them. Two of
these counties, Essex and Wor-
cester, divided without any appa-
rent regard to convenience or pro-
priety, and in spite of protest and
argument, presented on the map a
most absurd outline. The story
goes that Russell, the editor of the
Boston Sentinel, a paper which had
strenuously opposed the scheme,
marked the result in colors on a
map, and placed it on the wall of
262
Get Around
the editorial sanctum. One day,
Gilbert Stuart, the eminent painter,
looked at the map, and said that the
towns which Russell had thus dis-
tinguished resembled some mon-
strous animal. He took a pencil,
and with a few touches, added what
might represent a head, wings, claws,
and tail. "There," said Stuart,
"that will do for a salamander."
Russell, who was busy with his pen,
looked up at the hideous figure, and
exclaimed, "Salamander! Call it
Gerrymander!" The word was im-
mediately adopted in the political
vocabulary as a term of reproach
to the Democratic Legislature.
The Boston Herald takes occasion, apropos
of the protest made by the Democrats of
Iowa against the election of James F. Wilson
to the Senate, to remark that the politicians
of the West have a way in nearly all the
States of gerrymandering in the arrangement
of the legislative districts.-New York Press,
February 2, 1888.
GET.In stable slang, get is equivalent
to offspring; a foal.
The Horseman, of this week, contains the
winnings of the GET of Glengarry. Glen-
garry is a brown horse, foaled in 1866, by
Thormanby, dam Carbine.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, February 27, 1888.
GETAWAY.-Thieves' patter for a loco-
motive or train. Both are doubtless
most convenient at times as a means
of flight; hence, one may suppose,
the derivation of the term. Also
called GOAWAY.
GET AROUND, To.-To overcome; e.g.,
to get around an opponent, is to score
an advantage over him, etc.
Alderman Prefontaine explained that he
had given his consent to the closing of Bis-
son-street at the meeting of the Road Com-
mittee, because he thought the proprietors
were willing. Now that he knew they were
opposed to it, he would have to withdraw his
consent. He did not agree with Alderman
Laurent that it was altogether impossible.
He thought some means could be devised of
GETTING AROUND the difficulty.-Montreal
Herald, Feb. 21, 1888.
Get Back At
GET BACK AT, TO.- To satirize; to
call to account. Figaro had much
the same idea in his mind when he
said, "Now step I forth to whip
hypocrisy."
Sam Jones has been coming down rough
shod on Kansas City femininity for wearing
bustles and bunions. As the open letter
writers in the newspapers are GETTING
BACK AT Sam for his fondness for tobacco,
it is surmised that English grammar will
be the chief sufferer in the controversy.—
Chicago Inter-Occan, 1888.
GET RELIGION, TO.-To experience a
change of heart and life for the
better. Proctor, in defining this
phrase, though severe on its mis-
use, strikes a true key note when
he says that there is all the differ-
ence in the world between a man
getting religion and religion getting
a man.
Now, brethren and sisters, I'm going to
give my experience, to tell how I GOT RE-
LIGION.-Western Pulpit.
GET THERE, TO.To attain one's object;
to be successful. The catch-phrase,
"he gets there just the same," has
been and is still very popular.
Ben De Lemos is a shrewd politician of
the Hebrew persuasion, and always goes to
national Republican conventions as a patron
saint to the colored delegates and a wet
nurse to the deliberative body. Although
not a delegate, HE GOT THERE ALL THE SAME.
He bought off one delegate whose alternate
he was, and rumor says paid yet another to
stay at home.-New York Herald, July 29,
1888.
Americans commonly have a mistaken idea
as to English business methods. The typical
American, alert, enterprizing, full of snap
and go, is apt to try all things by his own
standard; and that test leads him to con-
sider the average Englishman slow, unpro-
gressive, and sluggish. The difference, low-
ever, is one of methods and not of results. The
Englishman aims at the same point that the
American does, and, to use a slang expres-
sion, HE GETS THERE JUST THE SAME-in-
deed, he GETS THERE in better form.-The
Haberdasher, 1888.
GET THERE.-The quality of
attaining one's object. The Boston
263
Ghoulest
Herald once related a story showing
how much of what it called "the
much esteemed get there quality
there is in the genuine Englishman,"
whose methods are sometimes
crude, but who "sticks to it and
gets there." A gentleman, whose
name now stands at the head of the
largest wire manufacturing estab-
lishment in the world,-it was a
very modest concern then,-came
to England and bought some steel
rods to be shipped to America and
drawn into wire. A workman saw
them, and made up his mind that
wherever they were going there was
work for him. He asked no ques-
tions, but made up his mind to
follow the rods. He saw them
loaded on freight cars in Birming-
ham, made friends with the train.
hands, and accompanied them to
Liverpool. He saw them unloaded
at the dock there and kept his eyes
on them. He saw them put aboard
ship, and took passage for America
in that vessel. He saw them landed
in Boston, and again kept his eye
on them until they were again put
on freight cars. Again he followed
them till they reached their destina-
tion, presented himself to those
who received them, told his story,
got a job, and kept it until he died,
leaving sons behind him who are
employed in the same establish-
ment. He knew enough to follow
the rods and ask no questions, and
he got there.
G'HALS.-The counterpart of B'HOYS
(q.v.). A female rough, and when
bad, very bad.
GHOULEST.-A factitious superlative
of "ghoulish."
'Whoop up the romping spooks out east
of Barstow,' said John Carson, an Atlantic
and Pacific railroad man, to a reporter re-
cently. 'I saw you had something in the
Examiner several weeks ago about the mirage
on the Mojave desert and the myriads of
Gibe
For
people that were seen in boats about there.
Well, they're thickening up. In winter time,
you know, they always get thicker.
eight months now I have been running the
hundred-mile division out east of Barstow.
The spooks used to loom up about every other
day.
Now we see them nearly all the time.
They're the GHOULEST lot of things, too, I
ever did see. They appear in all sorts of
shapes.-Troy Daily Times, Feb. 4, 1888.
GIBE, TO.-A thing gibes well when
pleasing and acceptable; or when
it goes well with what it is com-
pared. This sense is thus abso-
lutely antagonistic to the ordinary
acceptation of the word.
GIBRALTAR OF AMERICA.-Quebec on
the St. Lawrence, from its strongly
fortified position and situation on
a rock.
GIG (Cant).-A door is so named;
the lock is called a GIGGER; and
the turnkey, a gigger dubber.
GIGG (Cant).-The nose.
GIGGIT, TO.-To catch fish in a gig,
i.e., a light boat; a New England
corruption. Idiomatically, to move
about with briskness; from "gig," a
lively, playful person.
GILDED ROOSTER. THE GILDED
ROOSTER ON THE TOP OF THE
STEEPLE is a person or thing of im-
portance; or tip-top. Compare with
BIG BUG, BIG DOG OF THE TANYARD,
etc.
We admit that as a metropolis Chicago is
the GILDED ROOSTER ON TOP OF THE STEEPLE,
but even GILDED ROOSTERS have no right to
the whole corn bin.-New York Herald, 1888.
GILEAD FIR.-The BALSAM FIR (q.v.).
GILLY (Cant).-An idiot; a soft pate.
GILLY FLOWER. In New England a
variety of apple.
264
Ginger
GILT (Cant). A crowbar; possibly
on the principle that such gentry
make these instruments a means to
an end, that end being what is also
known to them as gilt.- GILT-
DUBBER.—A thief who prowls
about hotels for the purpose of
robbery.
GILYORE (Cant).-Plenty; obviously
a corruption of " galore."
GIMBAL-JAWED or GIMBER-JAWED.—A
person the joints of whose jaws
are loose, causing them to move
with more freedom than is cus-
tomary, is said to be gimbal-jawed.
Gimbals are a combination of
rings for suspending anything
freely, as the compass, etc. Idio-
matically, to talk with loquacity;
or, in slang parlance, "nineteen to
the dozen."
GIMPY.-As used colloquially
for
sprightly or active, this word,
which is provincial in England,
and occurs as "gimp" in Burns,
may be classed among Ameri-
canisms.
GIN AND TIDY.-Persons when decked
out in "best bib and tucker" are
occasionally, on the other side of
the Atlantic, said to be gin and tidy.
Query. Is this merely a punning
reference to "neat spirit"?
GINGER.
Backbone; or staying-
power. Transatlantic usage, in
respect to this word, is probably
only a variation of English slang.
The first symptom you will observe in
yourself [when sea-sick] is a desire to
suspend all animated conversation, and to
listen to an inward voice informing you that
your attention is specially called to the fact
that the vessel is beginning to be lopsided
in her movements. Simultaneously with
this you will remark that your spinal column
is requiring a hinge, and that considerable
GINGER is departing from your resolution
Gin Mill
to bear up and enjoy yourself.-The World,
May 13, 1888.
GIN MILL.- A drinking saloon. Eng-
lish rendezvous of this kind are
called " palaces." Gin mill origi-
nated in Boston some forty or fifty
years ago.
GIN SLINGER. -A
tippler whose favorite beverage is
gin.
GIN-SING.-See SANG.
GIP (Cant). If translated into the
jargon of the criminal classes the
old proverb would run "set a gip
to catch a gip." A variation of the
Cantab "gyp," an undergraduate's
servant; the derivation of the
word in the
latter case being
from yú a vulture, an allusion to
the general rapacity and dis-
honesty of this class of men.
GIRD. TO TAKE A GIRD, to make an
effort; to take a shot. One girds
oneself to special endeavor, and
hence this factitious use of the
word.
I'd just like TO TAKE ONE GIRD at Globe
City, and if I couldn't fetch settlers, I'd cry
co-peevi (peccavi). Will you let me try it?
-Putnam's Magazine.
265
GIRDLE, TO.-To cut a strip of bark off
a tree round its whole circum-
ference, the result of which is
decay and death. A common
method in newly-settled countries
of clearing forest land. Also called
BELTING (see TO BELT).
In all our woods (Ohio) there is not a tree
so hard to kill as the prickly horse chestnut.
The deepest GIRDLING docs not deaden it.—
After dinner speech by Dr. Daniel Drake, a
celebrated botanist of the Ohio Valley.
-A GIRDLING is a place where
trees have been so dealt with.
GISM. A synonym for energy, spirit.
Probably from the Dutch geest.
Give Away
GIT! YOU GIT!-An exclamatory in-
junction at once laconic, insinua-
tingly forcible, and full of meaning;
equivalent to "there's the door, and
your name is Walker"; an injunc-
tion to depart in peace while there
is yet time; your room is more
desirable than your company.
With a great effort the sick man raised
himself on one elbow.
GIT he gasped hoarsely;
ye kin! small-pox.
GIT while
Then he fell back exhausted. Small-pox!
Hop Sing gave a great gasp, dropped the
basin of broth, and almost tumbled from the
wagon.-Tid Bits.
It was only a word
That the silence stirred,
But an import sad had it-
A knell of despair
To a loving pair-
'Twas her father's one word, GIT!
-Boston Budget.
GIT UP AND GIT.- -Used in
various ways. For a thing to have
no git up and git about it is equivalent
to saying that it is weak, vain, mean,
slow, etc.- TO GIT UP AND DUST,
i.e., to use the utmost expedition in
departing. See DUST.. To GIT
-To obtain leave. A niggerism.
GITCHE MANITO. Among North
American Indians the name by
which the Great Spirit is known.
GIVE AWAY.-A phrase which is noun,
adjective, verb, adverb, and inter-
jection all rolled into one. Το
give away is to expose, surrender,
or, in slang, to blow upon.- -An
intensitive form is TO GIVE DEAD
AWAY; thus, as a result of the
Bertillon system of identifying
criminals, it is said that a large
number of professional thieves have
discontinued the use of assumed
names, finding it useless, as their
measurement, previously taken,
invariably gives them dead away.
Again, when interviewed, an actress
descanting on padding, excused
herself from mentioning the names
34
Given Name
of those whom she knew adopted
the practice, on the ground that it
would be unkind to give them away.
Father 'So the teacher kept you in after
school for being late this morning, did he?
Tommy-'Yes, sir.'
'But I wrote you an excuse.'
'I know it, but I didn't want to GIVE YOU
AWAY to the teacher, so I kept it in my
pocket.'
How GIVE ME AWAY?'
'It was full of mis-spelled words.'
-Texas Siftings, June 23, 1888.
Exposures of this kind are called
GIVE-AWAYS; a mean underhand
revelation of secrets or stabbing in
the back is known as the GIVE
AWAY CUE; and GIVE AWAY! used
interjectionally, is akin in meaning.
GIVEN NAME.-In America one ac-
quires, at birth, a given instead of a
Christian name, a similar practice
obtaining in a slight degree in Scot-
land. A relic of Puritan dislike to
the sacerdotalism of Saints' names.
GIVE OUT, To-To become exhausted.
GIVY.-Pliable; easy to work; i.e.,
ready to "give."
GIZZARD-SHAD.-The Carolinan name
for the ALEWIFE (q.v.).
G.K. (Masonic).-Grand King, an ab-
breviation peculiar to the Royal
Arch in the U.S.A. and Irish rite.
GLADE. This purely English word is
used in the States in a manner
differing somewhat from the ortho-
dox meaning. Primarily, of course,
it means a bright open spot in a
wood (Old English glade bright,
Nor. gleitte, a break in clouds, L.
gladius, a sword), and hence the
poetic Americanism MOON-GLADE
to signify a track of moonlight on
water. In New England glade is
is applied to a tract of smooth ice;
266
Glims
while the same word, which in this
case is a curtailment of EVER-
GLADE, is in the Southern States
used to designate tracks of land
covered with water and grass. The
history of the word is full of interest,
as showing the gradual though
constant transitions of meaning
to which words are subject by
environment.
GLAKID.-Glaikit, in Lowland Scotch,
is given by Jamieson as unsteady;
giddy; stupid; and with the last of
these meanings glakid is used in
Pennsylvania.
GLARE-ICE.-Smooth ice.
GLASS (Cant).-An hour; evidently
a contraction of hour-glass.-To
GLASS.—An old English equivalent
of "to glaze," which is still em-
ployed in the South and West.
The windows were sashed and GLASSED,
and hung with the whitest curtains of
cotton with fringes fully a foot deep.-W.
G. Simms, The Last Wager.
•
-The ground, when rimed by
hoar-frost, is in the East said to be
glazed.
GLEET.-A large wooden wedge; a
survival of Old English usage;
Halliwell giving the same word and
meaning.
GLIBE (Cant).-A term applied to
writing generally, but more parti-
cularly to a written agreement.
GLIMS (Cant). Among the fraternity
in England, a glim is respectively a
light, a lamp, or a pair of spectacles.
Among their American confrères,
however, the name is especially
given to the eyes. The involution
of meaning existing between each
of these significations is curious; as
Glutton
also is the slight variation from
English usage of GLIM-STICK for
candle-stick. GLIM - FLASHY.—
In a passion; savage.- -GLIMMER.
-The fire.
GLUTTON (Cant).-A culprit who, if
not exactly ravenous for castigation,
is yet able to stand an enormous
amount of it. One of the most
curious perversions of language to
be met with in the vocabulary of
thiefdom.
GNARLER (Cant).—The generic name
among burglars for a watch-dog;
obviously from gnarl, to murmur,
or snarl.
GNOSTICS (Cant).-Here Mr. Thief
displays his catholicity. It is well
known that, no matter what his
mother tongue or nationality may
be, the man who understands the
"
The
patter is quite at home in all
quarters of the globe. There is
always a corner in every city he
strikes where he can not only make
himself understood, but can con-
verse fluently with those with
whom he comes in contact.
language of thieves has been drawn
from almost every philological
source, and, in the use of gnostic, to
signify a knowing one, a sharp,
one who knows what is "fly," we
have a case in point. The name is
actually the same (from Greek
gnosis, knowledge) as that applied
to an ancient school of philosophy,
renowned for its culture and learn-
ing. It would be interesting to
trace the steps by which the word
has descended into the jargon of
criminals.
Go. One of the verbs universal of
the "great American language."
-To Go, in a political sense,
is sometimes the equivalent of
'to vote"; e.g., when a State is
267
Go
said to go "wet," or "dry"
[on local
local option]; or to go
Republican or Democrat.
TO GO-AHEAD. To advance; to
go forward. An English expres-
sion which, used adjectively, is
an undoubted Americanism. The
American people, by virtue of
their restless, untiring activity, and
the facility with which they adapt
themselves to new surroundings
and conditions, are said to be a
go-ahead nation—a type of bold and
fearless progress.
In the great
"
Republic of the West, says one
writer, one breathes a go-ahead
atmosphere, which "tastes good in
the nostrils." Mr. Proctor has
drawn a most interesting compari-
son between the Mother Country
and her children of the Far West
and the still farther South, which
I cannot refrain, with all due ac-
knowledgments from quoting en-
tire:-"It is perhaps characteristic
of the three great divisions of
English-speaking races that our
favorite expression in the Old
Country is "all right," while the
favorite American expression is
go-ahead," and in Australasia
men say no fear." This triple
set of sayings is better than the
French aspiration (rather more
than satisfied now perhaps) for
la gloire, or the general submission
of Continental nations to military
discipline. We English-speaking
races find fault with each other, for-
getting our kinship; we laud this,
that, and the other distinction, often
mere tinselling, of other races; but
where now, or in the past of the
world, has any race, regarded col-
lectively, made a deeper mark in
the history of the world? What
other race, or set of races, has
ever so definitely acted on the
triple principle, or has so thorough-
ly justified it. See that all is right,
then go-ahead and fear not. De-
spite the savagery shown too often
Go
by British buncombe, by American
spread-eagleism, and by Australian
assertion of Australia for the
Australians," the English-speaking
races have always shown (on the
whole) the sense of duty expressed
in our British "all right," the
aspiration for progress expressed
in the American go-ahead, and
the confident but unboasting
courage expressed by the Austral-
asian "no fear." -There are
several offshoots of go-ahead, e.g.,
GO-AHEADATIVE and GO-AHEADA-
TIVENESS and GO-AHEADIFYING.
Go-ahead bids fair, in consequence of
this enlarged usage, to become
international in character; for it is
related that a Parisian candidate
for the National Assembly, once
addressed the electors in the
following terms, Citoyens, je suis le
Représentant du go-ahead.-
TO GO
BACK ON ONE.-To turn tail; to
abandon one's cause; to disappoint
expectation; also equivalent to GIVE
AWAY in the sense of exposure.
•
·
D
I don't want no better friend than Buck
Fanshaw.. Take him all round, pard,
there never was a bullier man in the mines.
No man ever know'd Buck To GO BACK
ON a friend.-Mark Twain's Roughing It,
•
P. 333.
This phrase is of Western origin.
TO GO BETTER (in Poker).-
When any player makes a bet, it is
the privilege of the next player to
the left to raise him; that is, after
making good the amount already
bet by his adversary, to make a
still higher bet. In such a case it
is usual to say, "I see you and go
(so much) better," naming the extra
sum bet.
'I goes you five dollars, this time,' says
Jim, posting at the same time the tin.
I sees dat, and I GOES you ten BETTER,'
said Bill; 'you ain't a-goin' to bluff dis child,
nohow you can fix it.'
'I sees you again,' said Jim, 'and GOES you
forty BETTER; dis Orleans nigger won't stay
stumped, dat I tells you, sartin.'-New York
Spirit of the Times.
268
Go
Hence idiomatically to do
better than, or to excel others. Thus
the Overland Monthly speaks of a lady
in California who, threatened by
her husband, furious at having
been betrayed by her, and aiming
a rifle at her head, suddenly pre-
sented two small revolvers and
cried out, "I can play a hand at
that game, and go one better."
TO GO BY.-This sometimes puzzles
strangers, for, if an Englishman
were asked to go by and partake of
hospitality, he would certainly be
unable to reconcile the seeming
contradiction. To go by in the
South really means to stop; to call
at. Its origin, as explained by
Pickering, is very simple. In old
times, when one was riding a great
distance through the country,
where there were few roads, and
the houses often two or three miles
distant therefrom, a planter would
naturally ask friends to go by [way
of] his house and dine or lodge with
him.-TO GO FOR.
TO GO FOR.-To tackle;
to start doing anything. The
phrase "he went for so and so" is
a very frequently heard collo-
quialism, as also is TO MAKE FOR
with the same signification.
He weren't no saint-but at jedgment
I'd run my chance with Jim,
'Longside of some pious gentleman
That wouldn't shook hands with him.
He'd seen his duty, a dead-sure thing-
And WENT FOR it thar and then;
And Christ ain't a going to be too hard
On a man that died for men.
-Colonel John Hay, in Jim Bludsoe of the
Prairie Belle.
Shades of meaning are frequent
and varied; thus, it is said in
connection with the theological
character of the early literature of
America that the men of the "May-
flower" were religious men, and
those who joined them in the early
settlement were men like-minded
with themselves. To use this Ame-
rican term they "went for " truth,
IN FOR.
Go
T
Idio-
269
Go
- The com-
PILE.
Go OFF.
mencement; beginning.
He is a sailor by trade, and we now have
him out in the country learning the differ-
ence between a coyote and a Hubbard
squash. He may make a few blunders on
the GO-OFF, as he sticks to it that potatoes
ought to grow on trees, and that wheat grows
wrong end to, but he is a hummer, and will
get there by and by. Remember, this de-
partment does not increase the subscription
price at all. We are simply trying to pub-
lish a paper worth roo dollars per year for
2 dollars.--Detroit Free Press, Oct. 13, 1888.
TO GO THROUGH. A phrase
which, when applied to a man, seems
to be equivalent to "turning him
inside out," either by robbing him
of all he possesses, holding him up
to ridicule, or otherwise making it
generally unpleasant for him.
and left beauty to follow as she
could. In yet another sense to go
for is akin to personal castigation.
Costermongers are supposed to go
for their mothers'-in-law; i.c.,
stamp on, and otherwise ill-use
them. This (the meaning not the
practice) is of Southern origin.
To go for also means "to be in
favor of," a variant being to Go
-GOING.
-"The going
is bad," i.e., the travelling.
GOING IN. (In Poker.)-Making
good the ante of the age and
the straddles (if any) for the privi-
lege of drawing cards and playing
for the pool.TO GO IT ALONE.
-In euchre where a player elects
to play independent of his partner.
Scores are thereby doubled, whether
successful or the reverse.
matically the phrase to go it alone
is used of any undertaking in which
man engages without outside
It was a grand sight to see Farnsworth
assistance.- -To GO IT BALD-
go through him; he did not leave him a
HEADED. -See BALDHEADED.
single leg to stand upon.-Baltimore Sun,
1888.
To run all
TO GO IT BLIND.
risks; to engage in an under-
taking without forethought
expression derived from poker.—
See BLIND.— -TO GO IT STRONG.-
A phrase applied to vigorous action,
energetic advocacy, free living,
indeed anything accentuated in
character. Mark Twain's Hea-
then Chinee, who, with his packs
of cards, aces, and bowers, was
thought to be "coming it strong,"
will at once occur to mind.- -To
GO ONE'S DEATH.-Equivalent to
"to lay one's life."
a
an
To GO
ONE'S PILE.-To expend one's for-
tune to the last penny; and idio-
matically to throw one's heart and
soul into an undertaking. This
expression is an allusion to the
pile" [of money] obtained in
mining or trade, which, in many
cases when made was, especially
during the gold fever, dissipated in
riotous living. It was frequently
lightly come; lightly go."-See
"
He was garrotted, and the two robbers
WENT THROUGH him before the police could
reach the spot.-Baltimore Sun, 1888.
To GO UNDER.-To die; the
visible disposal of the body fur-
nishing a simile for the process of
death. Compare with the German
untergehen, to perish.
1
'It's his darter's claim, boys!
Then like an inspiration their leader said
'Men, let's make it so.' And, standing
with hats off, they one and all solemnly
vowed to see that the mine should be worked
solely for the benefit of the girl whether Jim
lived or had GONE UNDER.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, March, 1888.
Also to fail in business; to sink in
the Maelstrom of financial diffi-
culty. To go up.
-TO GO UP.-Like To GO
UNDER; this is a simile for death,
and is based very much on the
same lines. When the victim of
lynch law is enquired after, the
questioner will simply be told that
he has "gone up,"i.e.,hanged.. -Go
TO GRASS! Be off! Go WEST,
YOUNG MAN --At first meaning ex-
actly what it says, the expression
Goad
at length became a mere catch-
phrase, and was used in season and
out of season. The West naturally
offers far more opportunities for
advancement in life than the more
thickly populated Eastern States.
Go West, young man! at last became
synonymous with "quit!" It was
a favorite expression of Horace
Greely.
GOAD (Cant).-A PETER FUNK (q.v.).
GOAT.
The PRONG HORN ANTE-
LOPE (q.v.) is so-called by the fur
traders.
GOATEE.—A tuft of hair worn on the
chin, similar to a goats'-beard,—
hence its name, the rest of the
chin being clean shaved. A fashion
of wearing the beard, once very
common, but now rarely seen.
April 19.-This morning struck into the
region of full GOATEES-sometimes accom-
panied by a mustache, but only occasionally.
It was odd to come upon this thick crop
of an obsolete and uncomely fashion; it was
like running suddenly across a forgotten ac-
quaintance whom you had supposed dead
for a generation.-Mark Twain's Life on the
Mississippi, p. 213.
GOATER. A thief's term for dress.
GOBSTICKS (Cant).-Under this curi-
ous name silver forks and spoons
are known. "Gob" in English
slang signifies the mouth.
very similar derivative is gobstrings
for a bridle.
GO-CART.-A hand-cart.
A
GODFATHERS (Cant).-A flash name
for gentlemen of the jury," be-
cause in giving their verdict they
name the degree of crime, first,
second, third, etc., with which the
accused is charged.-See MURDER
IN FIRST DEGREE.
270
Golly
A
GO-DOWN. Of squatter origin.
go-down is a cutting in the hilly bank
of a stream for enabling animals
to cross it or to get to the water.
GOLDAM.-BY GOLDAM! A Yankee
form of swearing, as also are
GOLDARNED and GOLDASTED.
'Bill, are you hurt?'
'Yes, by gum; I've broke my GOLDARNED
neck.'-American Humorist, 1888.
Finally Deacon Spalding broke out with:
'That GOLDASTED St. Louis mugwump has
made suckers of us again with his cracks
about coming into the league. I move we
adjourn.-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
GOLDEN CIRCLE.-KNIGHTS OF THE
GOLDEN CIRCLE.-An organization
formed among COPPERHEADS (q.v.)
at the North during the Civil
War, to aid in the rescue of
Confederate prisoners held by the
United States. Also one of the
alleged names of the KU KLUX-
KLAN.
GOLDEN CITY.-San Francisco, other-
wise 'Frisco. Gold having been
found in California in large quan-
tities, the sobriquet is not, as
sometimes is the case, altogether
inappropriate.
GOLDEN EYE (Bucephala americana).–
A wild grey duck, which is more
popularly known as the WHISTLER
or WHISTLE-WING.
GOLDEN STATE.-California, from the
large quantities of precious metal
which have been found within its
borders.
GOLDURN IT!-A euphemistic oath.
GOLLATION.-See GOLLY.
GOLLY.
- BY GOLLY! A common
colloquial negroism, being a sub-
Gombo
stitute for an oath. Of these half-
veiled blasphemies there seems to
be no end; indeed, the penal laws
of the Puritans, which made
swearing an offence against the
State, certainly caused men success-
fully to exercise considerable in-
genuity in order to evade them;
and the seed-time of repression
only resulted in a bountiful har-
vest of bastard profanity.-See
DADBINGED. GOLLATION. — A
word which, derived from golly,
literally runs riot in its exuberant
verbosity-" By gollation!"' "O
gollation!" "gollation large," "gol-
lation mean," etc., etc., etc.
GOMBO OF GUMBO (Hibiscus esculentus).–
The pod of this plant, which, in the
North, is called OKRA, is, in the
South, called gombo. These pods
also form one of the chief ingre-
dients for a soup of the same name.
GONE BEAVER, GONE COON, GONE
GANDER, GONE GOOSE, GONER, and
GONEY.-All variants for what, in
England, would be called "a gone
case,"
for.
a man or event past hoping
Before I could even get under cover the
old mother bear charged right by me with
open mouth, fairly taking my breath and
strength all away at my narrow escape.
Fortunately she did not see me, or else I
would have been a GONER.-Cincinnati
Enquirer, 1888.
271
I will make that GONEY a caution to sin-
ners I know. He has fired into the wrong
flock this time. I'll teach him not to do it
again. Sam Slick's Human Nature, p. 107.
GOOBERS (Arachnis hypogwa). — Other-
wise PEA NUTS or EARTH NUTS, the
trade in which is considerable. An
amusing story is told of a witness
who was being examined in an im-
portant case, and whose testimony
was conclusive. So the lawyer for
the other side undertook to make
him an object for ridicule.
"You
are a business man, I believe?"
Goods
"
"The
"Yes, sir." "What is your busi-
ness?" "I deal in pea nuts."
lawyer smiled knowingly at the
jury. "A pea nut vendor, eh! How
many pints did you sell last
month?" "I hardly know. A
million, perhaps." What?" "I
handle about half a million bushels
a year. I am a wholesale dealer."
The lawyer sat down. He had
forgotten that the pea nut crop is
the source of riches to many
Southern farmers, and that the
annual trade in the humble goober
foots up 10,000,000 dols. ! -Goo-
BER GRABBER.-A Georgian is thus
known in the Southern States.
The name comes from the GOOBER
or pea nut, which is very common
in the State of Georgia.
GOOD. TO FEEL GOOD, i.e., jolly,
pleasant, etc., is a distinctively
American manner of speech, which
at times is apt to sound rather odd
to English ears. Mr. Proctor relates
how a proposition was once invit-
ingly made to a friend of his, which,
to say the least, involved no virtuous
self-abnegation, and he was urged
to accept it by the plea that "it
would make him feel good."
(
'I think the beer has something to do with
making men generous." 'Will you explain
how? The saloons are going Saturday
afternoon, and the men feel pretty GOOD
before they come abroad. They don't be-
grudge a little money to the band then.'—
Texas Siftings, September 15, 1888.
GOODS.—(1) This term is applied to
liquid merchandize in just the same
way that English people apply it
in the case of "dry goods."
Strange to relate, saloon supplies are get-
ting short, and if the embargo continues,
plain whiskey and other wet GOODS will
advance in price.—Daily Inter-Ocean, March
14, 1888.
(2) Among the MOLLY
MAGUIRES (q.v.), the signs and
pass-words constituted the goods
Good-Wooled
of the society. The same usage
applies in the case of other secret
organizations.
Without this action it would he impossible
for the division to secure the GOODS for the
current quarter; and Mike eloquently urged
that it was always desirable to keep the body
in fair standing with the State and National
officials. Pinkerton's Molly Maguires and
Detectives.
GOOD-WOOLED (Cant). A man whose
courage can be depended upon
never to fail him is said to be good-
wooled; from which it would appear
that light-fingered gentry can ap-
preciate a good simile.
GOODY BREAD.-Bread in which pieces
of roast rind of pork have been
baked. A negro delicacy.
GOOK.—(Cant).—A low class prosti-
tute.
GOOSE. TO BE SOUND ON THE GOOSE
was, during the exciting times im-
mediately prior to the Civil War,
a synonym for soundness on the
pro-slavery question. It is now
used politically of a man who is
staunch upon party questions, what-
ever these at the moment may be;
to be orthodox in one's political
creed.
Northern religion works wal North, but its
ez suft ez spruce, compar'd to our'n for keep-
in' SOUND, sez she, UPON THE GOOSE.-Big-
low Papers, II.
One of the boys, I reckon? ALL RIGHT
ON THE GOOSE, eh? No highfaluten airs.
here, you know.-Gladstone, Englishman in
Kansas, p. 43.
EVERYTHING IS LOVELY AND
THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH. See
EVERYTHING, etc.
―
GOOSEBERRY. (Cant). - A woman.
GOOSING-SLUM, a brothel.-
GOOSEBERRY-LAYS, stealing clothes
that have been hung out to dry.
272
Gospel-Sharp
GOOSE FISH.-See DEVIL FISH.
GO. P.-Grand Old Party; a sobri-
quet of the Republicans. Applied
contemptuously by the Democrats,
and as a tribute of praise by its own
members. The expression is very
similar to G. O. M. in England for
Mr. Gladstone; indeed it is almost
certain that G. O. P. was suggested
by the latter.
Where was the Republican Party born?
There are persons in Kane County, Illinois,
who claim that the Party was born there in
1854, and some Bloomington people assert
that their city was the birth-place of the
G.O.P. This important question ought to be
settled before all the people who assisted at
the accouchement have passed away.-Chic-
ago Times, 1888.
GOPHER.-Seemingly a generic name
for any animal of mining or bur-
rowing habits. Besides those men-
tioned in the following quotation,
the term is applied in the Middle
States to a species of mole, and in
the South to a land turtle.
Wherever sand streams are covered with
grass, the surface is undermined by a beauti-
ful little animal called the GOPHER (on the
high plains a small striped squirrel; on the
Southern plains, a pouched rat). This
animal feeds on the roots of the grass, on
seeds, etc., which he stores in cavities, dug out
of the soft sand. His labors not only render
travel more difficult, but exceedingly dan-
gerous, especially to a rapidly-moving horse.
It is this animal that gives the danger to
buffalo-hunting. Richard Irvine Dodge's
Plains of the Great West.
GOREE (Cant.)-Gold dust.
GOSH.-See BEGOSH.
GOSHDANG. BY GOSHDANG !—A form
of oath.
GOSPEL-SHARP.-A Western term for
a clergyman.
'I've got it now, so's you can savvy,' he
said. 'What we want is a GOSPEL-SHARP.
See?'
'A what?'
Gossamer
'GOSPEL-SHARP-parson.'
'Oh! Why did you not say so before? I
am a clergyman-a parson.'-Mark Twain's
The Innocents at Home, p. 19.
GOSSAMER. In the Eastern States
In the West
a waterproof cloak.
the same article of attire is called
a RAIN CLOAK.
GOT 'EM BAD.-An emphatic superla-
tive. When anything is being
thoroughly done, if a politician is
very earnest and enthusiastic in
the advocacy of his views, or if a
sick person is very ill, the saying
goes that "he's got 'em bad."
GOTHAM.-New York, the inhabitants
of that city being nicknamed GOT-
HAMITES. First used of New York
by Washington Irving. The story
of the wise men of Gotham is well-
known, and the application of the
term to the American metropolis
was in sarcastic allusion to self-
assumed superiority.
GOTTEN. This old form of the past
participle of the verb "to get" is
colloquial everywhere, more
than the modern "got."
SO
She has now GOTTEN past the use of her
crib, and the wicker-work basket cradle.-
Denver Republican, April 15, 1888.
Last night detectives arrested Martha
Bonman, who at once acknowledged her guilt.
The girl said she had GOTTEN into the pantry
by means of a duplicate key.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, Feb. 4, 1888.
The decorations and illuminations were
GOTTEN up by Mr. J. H. Dressing, plumber,
of 212, Chestnut-street, and were of an un-
usually attractive character. - New York
Weekly.
GOVERNOR'S STIFF (Cant).-A pardon.
GRAB GAME.-Used colloquially for
any form of stealing; and, there-
fore, as much English as Ameri-
273
can.
"(
Grain
What, however, is specifi-
cally known as the grab game is
played somewhat as follows,
though, of course, local circum-
stances are the cause of variation.
Sharpers who practice this mode
of swindling, start by betting
amongst themselves (anything
is good enough for the purpose);
induce bystanders to join in,
whereupon the stakes are de-
posited. One of the confederates
then purposely causes a dispute,
upon which another of the gang
grabs the stakes, and decamps
with them.
GRADE, TO.-(1) On Western ranches,
to grade, in connection with cattle, is
to improve them by mixing the
breeds (2) To grade is also
colloquially common in America
in the sense in which in England
it is only used technically by sur-
veyors, i.e., to change the level of
a road.
GRAFT, TO.-(1) To repair boots by
soleing and heeling.- -(2) (Cant).
To work, but the work in this case
is stealing, i.e., picking pockets.
GRAFTING is also used in the sense
of helping another to steal.
GRAHAM BREAD.-Whole meal bread.
So named from Dr. Silvester
Graham, who introduced it.
GRAIN. (1) In the sense of a little,
this word is curiously misapplied
to distance; and where English
people would say move a little,"
Americans frequently ask one
"to move a grain.'
(2) What
we call corn is, in the States,
universally termed grain, i.e.,
wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc. By
corn is always understood INDIAN
CORN or MAIZE.
35
Grama
274
GRAMA, OF GRAMMA GRASS (Chondro-
sium).-A Spanish name for a fine
grass which, in Texas, grows to
the height of two, and under very
good conditions, of three feet.
Dodge considers that the Buffalo
GRASS (q.v.) of the high plains,
and gramma grass, though entirely
different in growth and appearance,
are really identical. This he
discovered accidently. At Fort
Dodge he had a small piece of
ground covered with sods of buf-
FALO GRASS taken from the high
prairie. It was watered daily, and
otherwise well cared for. To his
great astonishment it appeared to
change its whole nature, grew tall
and rank, and in due time developed
the seed heads of the true gramma
grass. The BUFFALO GRASS is un-
inviting to the eye, being so very
short that an inexperienced man
in search of pasture for animals,
would pass it without consider-
ation. It makes up in thickness
what it lacks in length, and horses
and cattle not only eat it greedily,
but fill themselves much quicker
than would seem possible. The
Arkansas Valley at Fort Lyon, is
covered with tall, fine looking
grass, which the large herds of
domestic cattle will scarcely touch,
preferring to go eight or ten miles
away from the river, to feed upon
the BUFFALO GRASS of the high
plain. Another curious fact in
this connection is, that the cattle
under such circumstances return
to the river for water only on
alternate days.
GRANDACIOUS:
GRANDIFEROUS. Ab-
surd factitious superlatives of
grand."
GRANDMOTHER. - To SHOOT ONE'S
GRANDMOTHER is a New Englander's
way of saying that he has dis-
Grasset
covered a "mare's nest." It is,
therefore, synonymous with the
equally vulgar English expression,
go teach your grannie how to
suck eggs." Man, as an animal
that must shoot something, to
judge from the simile, is in a high
state of development across the
Atlantic.
GRANGERS.
The Patrons of Hus-
bandry." A secret society, nomi-
nally non-political, but really taking
a hand in politics when occasion
offers to favor
to favor agricultural in-
It is numerically strong,
and extends throughout the United
States.
terests.
GRANITE STATE.-The State of New
Hampshire. From the same cause
which might lead an English-
man to apply the same title to
Aberdeenshire, i.e., from the im-
mense quantities of granite found
there.
GRAPE-VINE.-See BLUE GRASS.-
GRAPE-VINE TELEGRAPH.-During
the Civil War exciting news of
battles not fought and victories not
won were said to be received by
grape-vine telegraph.
GRASS.—TO HUNT GRASS, to decamp.
Equivalent also colloquially to the
English football slang "to hunt
leather.'
You're most too many for me, you know.
When you get in with your left I HUNT
GRASS every time.-Mark Twain's The In-
nocents at Home, p. 21.
GRASS CATTLE.-A plainsman's term
for cattle fed on grass. In England
we also speak of "grass lamb."
GRASSET. See CHEWINK
Gravel
GRAVEL, TO.-A Western equivalent
of "to go against the grain";
"to be unwilling"; Shakspeare
uses it in the sense of a quandary in
"As you like it."
It
By long habit, pilots came to put all their
wishes in the form of commands.
GRAVELS me, to this day, to put my will in
the weak shape of a request, instead of
launching it in the crisp language of an
order.-Mark Twain's Mississippi Pilot.
GRAVEN IMAGE. HUNGRY AS A
GRAVEN IMAGE is a New England
metaphor, the meaning of which is
obvious, but not so its derivation.
GRAVESTONE.-COLD AS THE NORTH
SIDE OF A JENOOARY GRAVESTONE
BY STARLIGHT.-A New England
simile, signifying extremity.
GRAVEYARD ISSUES.-A bold and grue-
some metaphor to describe what
can only be carried by extreme
measures, and to obtain which
one would have to fight to the
death.
Sherman
·
1
•
is not up to the demands
of the period. His campaign would be one
of GRAVEYARD ISSUES. The war, the South.
and tissue ballots are dead.-New York
World, February 14, 1888.
GRAY. HE WORE THE GRAY, i.c.,
served in the Confederate armies
during the Civil War. Gray was the
color of the uniform.
One of our most popular preachers tells a
rich one of some of the boys who WORE THE
GRAY.—Missouri Republican, March 3, 1888.
A man who is at the head of one of the
big houses on Wabash Avenue, and who
used To WEAR THE GRAY when there was
thunder in Shenandoah valley, told me this
story yesterday, etc., etc.-Chicago Mail,
1888.
GRAYSLICK.A state of the sea when
275
it has assumed a glassy appear-
ance. The "doldrums" would thus
Great Plenty
be called a grayslick. Peculiar to
the Maine coast.
GREASED
train.
LIGHTNING.
An express
GREASERS.
The lower class of
Mexicans are so called by Western
men from their greasy appearance.
The term originated during the
Mexican War.
To avenge the murder of one of their
number, the cowboys gathered from the
country round about, and fairly stormed the
GREASER that is, Mexican-village where
the murder had been committed, killing
four of the inhabitants.-Century Magazine,
October, 1888.
GREASE-WOOD.-See CHIMISAL.
GREAT.—An adjective more frequently
wrested from its orthodox meaning
in America than in England. As
regards its signification, circum-
stances alter cases, or rather
applications. Thus a great field is
not necessarily one of large extent,
but simply one in which the land is
of good quality; a great cow, one of
good breed and points. A glimmer-
ing of this mis-application of the
word is seen in the phrase, equally
common on both sides the Atlantic,
he is great on so-and-so," e.g., on
books; i.e., he can be considered an
authority. The usage is a survival
of Elizabethan English, and in II.
Kings iv. 8, we read that Elisha
passed to Shunem, where was a
great woman.
GREATLE.-A "great while," of which
it is evidently a corruption.
GREAT PLENTY.-A pleonastic expres-
sion for enough; sufficiency;
abundance. The English boys'
"'lots."
Great Scott!
GREAT SCOTT!-A common exclama-
tion of surprise.
Brown 'Hello, Smith! Heard about
Jones' wife catching him kissing another
woman in a dark alley?' Smith-'GREAT
SCOTT! You don't say so. What did she
do?' Brown-'Sued him for alley-money.'-
New York Mercury, 1888.
GREAT SPIRIT.-The Indian name for
God.
GREAT WEST.-The Western States
of America, from their enormous
extent. The term is well applied.
GREED (Cant).-A flash phrase for
money.
276
GREENBACK.-The term was at first
applied to the issues of United
States notes, which bore on the
reverse side a device printed in
green ink to prevent counterfeiting
by photography. The GREENBACK
LABOR PARTY is one which ad-
vocates a currency based in general
terms upon the National Credit
and authority without the security
of a specie reserve. Greenbacks
are now issued of the value of one
dol., two dols., five dols., ten dols.,
twenty dols., one hundred dols., and
higher amounts. Previous to 1878
greenbacks for smaller amounts
down to ten cents were current.
GREENBACKERS were those
who, previous to the resumption of
specie payment for the smaller
amount just named, opposed the
change.
GREEN-GOODS. Counterfeit green-
backs, and those who utter spurious
money of this kind, are called
GREEN-GOODSMEN. The ways and
methods of conducting their ne-
farious business resemble those
adopted by such craftsmen else-
where.
Green Mountain City
Driscoll was hung, but the GREEN-GOODS-
MAN escaped, for the only proof against him
was that he sold a quantity of paper cut in
the shape of bills and done up in packages
of that size. True, he got four hundred
dols. for what was only worth three cents a
pound, but any man had a right to set his
own price on his goods.-Troy Daily Times,
February 3, 1888.
If recent revelations are to be
credited a regular trade in green-
goods is carried on. Circulars are
issued, quotations given, and
packages of counterfeit bills sent
through the post. Sometimes, how-
ever, the green-goods are not even
genuine of their kind. Only recent-
ly a greenhorn wishing to make
haste to be rich, and not over
particular as to the means of
acquiring his wealth, travelled
three hundred miles to Troy, to
buy four thousand dols. worth of
green-goods, for which he only paid
four hundred dols. Of course, the
green-goods should have been
counterfeit money, but unfortu-
nately they only proved to be pack-
ages of paper cut into the shape of
bank notes. And so the verdant
would-be millionaire found himself
the victim of the old fraud, which
has been exposed year after year.
Generally the loss is, for very
shame's sake, kept secret, and thus
swindlers of this type make money
rapidly.
GREEN Goods GROCER.
greengrocer.
Anglicé, a
Get a good melon, and if you can't tell for
yourself by that intuition which is the best
guide in such matters, then trust to your
GREEN GOODS GROCER'S judgment.-Boston
Transcript, 1888.
GREEN MOUNTAIN CITY. Montpelier,
the capital of Vermont, taking its
title from the popular name of
that State, the GREEN MOUN-
TAIN STATE-French Vert Mont.
Green River
GREEN RIVER.-To send a man up
Green River is, in the expressive
parlance of the South-west, to kill
him. The phrase had its origin in
a once famous factory on Green
River, where a superior kind of
large knife was made, very popu-
lar among hunters and trappers.
On the blade the words "Green River
Works" were engraved, and hence
mountaineers, using the knife to
despatch an adversary, literally
sent his blood up Green River.
This
GREEN SAUCE. Vegetables.
form is found in Gayton, Beaumont
and Fletcher, and elsewhere.
GRIDIRON. A nickname for the "Stars
and Stripes," the United States'
flag; the British sailor's slang term
for the same is GRIDIRON
DOUGHBOYS.
AND
GRIFFE, also GRIFFIN, is among the
descendants of the French settlers
in Louisiana applied to mulattoes,
more especially to women. The
term seems pretty generally given
to anything that is half-and-half.
The fabulous griffin is represented
as half eagle and half lion; and a
cadet, half Indian and half Eng-
lish, is so called. Griffins
in
England is applied to the residue
of a contract feast taken away by
the contractor, half the buyer's
and half the seller's.
"
}}
GRIG, TO. To vex; to irritate. To
grig means to nip or pinch in
provincial English.
GRIM (Cant).-A grim enough name,
indeed, for a skeleton, Death itself
being known under the name of
OLD GRIM. A corpse is, in a simi-
larly graphic fashion, described as
a STIFF.
277
Grocery
GRIP or GRIPSACK.-A handbag or
satchel.
He packed his GRIP and joyfully set out
One day, to buy some green goods in the
city;
He's back again two hundred dollars out,
And no one has for him a spark of pity.
-Boston Courier.
(Cant.)—"The leather was a
grip," i.e., the pocket-book was easy
to get or steal.
When i saw the leather was a GRIP . .
i kept close to her, and when she got out of
the cars, at a way place, I said, 'Mam, have
you lost anything?' and she tumbled her
leather was off.-Mark Twain's Life on the
Mississippi, P. 459.
GRIPE-FIST (Cant.) A miser or
broker; evidently a corruption of
GRIP-FIST, i.e., a hand that squeezes
over-much.
GRIST.-A large number or quantity.
Thus, a lecture-hall would, if filled
to its utmost capacity, be said to
contain a whole grist of people.
GRIT. Because this word is used in
exactly the same manner in
America as in England, Bartlett
gives it as an Americanism. In his
knowledge of English usage, he is
throughout excessively weak.
GRIZZLY. Short for grizzly-bear.
Grizzly meat bear's flesh.
GROANERS (Cant). — Those in the
thieving fraternity who carry out
their depredations against society
at funerals and other church
gatherings.
GROCERY. Though sometimes ap-
plied to a grocery store, the term
is too often, in the South-west
especially, only another name for
a drinking saloon, and " groceries "
then take the form of ardent spirits.
Groggery
GROGGERY.-Literally, a place where
grog is sold. A low drinking
saloon; also corrupted into DOG-
GERY.
GROGHAM (Cant). A horse. The
derivation of this term is lost in
mystery, unless it be from "groggy"
as applied to horses that are over-
worked and unsteady. Even here,
however, it is difficult to under-
stand why thieves should have
applied the term to all horses,
though it is quite possible, by a
process of inversion, that the man
and not the horse is the groggy one,
and that the twisted vision con-
sequent on imbibing too much
liquor causes him to see all horses
unsteady in their gait, he, of course,
good soul, being the only one able
to "walk the chalk." This, how-
ever, is admittedly a trifle far-
fetched.
GROPER (1) (Serranus erythrogaster).
A fish covered with olive colored
irregular spots, and with gills and
gullet of bright red; found in the
waters of Florida. -(2) (Cant).
A blind man; a term the meaning
of which is obvious.
GROUND.-In Virginia always used
instead of "land," e.g., tobacco
grounds, etc.--TO RUN INTO THE
GROUND, i.e., to overdo a thing; to
go to excess. From running a fox
-To WIPE
or other game to earth.-
UP THE GROUND WITH ONE is a
ruffian's way of saying he will
knock a person down.
The Scroggin boy was as tough as a dog-
wood knot; he was a fighter from way back;
he would give that frail-looking city boy,
that dudish grandson of mine, a terrific
trouncing. He'd WIPE UP THE GROUND
WITH HIM; he'd walk all over him.-Detroit
Free Press, August, 1888.
GROUND BRIDGE.-When logs
are laid in the water at the bottom
278
Ground
of a ford, the improved crossing so
obtained is called a ground-bridge.
This is often done in the South.
-GROUND CHERRY.-Otherwise
the WINTER CHERRY (q.v.).
It
grows wild, but the fruit is edible.
GROUND HOG (Arctomys monax).
-Folk-lore in the States centres
round the ground hog, the Southern
name for the woodchuck of the
North. Looked upon with sus-
picion by farmers, on account of
its destructiveness to grass and
growing crops, this little marmot-
like animal, like others of its
species, lies hidden in its burrow
dormant during the winter. Tra-
dition has it that on February
2nd of each year (Candlemas Day),
the ground hog comes from its
subterranean abode for a breath
of fresh air, and if, while upon
his stroll, he sees his shadow, he
immediately returns to his nest,
not to appear again for six weeks,
the supposition being that cold
weather may be expected. If
he does not see his shadow, he
is supposed to remain out for the
entire season, the theory being that
there will be no more cold weather
until the next winter shall have set
in. The negroes of the South are
keen hunters of the poor creature,
who, in winter, a mere ball of fur,
during the summer grows into a
perfect ball of fat, and is considered
a great luxury at the "quarters."
The latter part of woodchuck,
i.e., chuck," is used as hog is
in ground hog, for pigs are almost
universally summoned to the feed-
ing-trough by the word "chuck!
chuck!" repeated several times,
evidently the descendant of the Old
English "sug! sug
sug! sug!" which Grose
says is a word used in Norfolk to
"call pigs to eat their wash.”
GROUND NUT.-See EARTH NUT and
PEA NUT. It is also called the
GROUND PEA.- GROUND PLUM
(Astragalus caryocarpus).-So called
"
Grouty
from its plum-shaped pod.
GROUND SLUICING.-The process,
amongst miners, of washing down
the sides of banks by means of
water. A substitute for shovelling.
GROUND SQUIRREL (Spermo-
philus tridecemlineatus). — A name
erroneously given to the striped
also
prairie squirrel, which is
known as the GOPHER. The ground
squirrel is really the CHIPMUNK
(q.v.).. GROUND SWEAT (Cant).
A grave.
GROUTY.-A grouty woman is, in
the Northern States, a cross, ill-
natured one.
GRUBBY also GRUBLEY and GRUMPY.
Massachusetts names for the TOAD
FISH (q.v.).
BANDED DRUM
GRUNTER. (I) The
(9.0.).— ·(2) (Cant).—A country
constable.
Moon-
G. T. T.-Gone to Texas.
shining gentry in the States used
to leave on the doors of their aban-
doned dwellings the legend G.T.T.,
as a cold consolation for inquiring
creditors.
GUAVA.-A West Indian fruit, much
esteemed for dessert and preserving
purposes. GUAVA JELLY is well
known in England as a West
Indian preserve.
279
GUBERNATORIAL.-Relating to Govern-
ment, e.g., the Gubernatorial man-
sion, i.e., Government House-an
uncouth, outlandish, and pedantic
piece of word-making. Used also
in the States for pertaining to
the powers of the Governor of
a State." Governmental, an adjec-
tive employed in England in a
similar sense, is never used in
America.
"
Guess
I was not equal to the requirements of a
GUBERNATORIAL campaign in the State of
New York, and so I sent in my withdrawal
from the candidacy. Mark Twain's
Screamers.
GUESS. This word has been, per-
haps, more than any other, the
subject of animated discussion.
English purists have unceasingly
twitted Americans upon its use,
who have retaliated by endeavour-
ing to show its orthodoxy. In this
they have without doubt succeeded;
for, in point of fact, guess has been
used in England in every sense in
which it is used in America, where,
however, special applications have
lived on while they have died
out in the Mother Country; only
on this ground, therefore, can it be
counted an Americanism. Shak-
speare, Milton, Selden, and Locke
all use it. Perhaps the only
difference between the English and
the American use of the word is,
that the former denotes a fair,
candid guess, while the Yankee who
guesses is apt to be quite sure of
what he professes to doubt. As he
only calculates" when he has
already solved his problem, so he
also guesses when he has made sure
of his fact. 'I guess I do," is with
him an expression of confident
certainty. He is, however, quite
as prone to go to the other extreme,
and to use the word without any
other meaning than mere
think-
ing," as when he says:
I guess he
is well,, or, "I guess I won't go
to-day."
""
"
C
"
'What is your age?' asked Colonel James
(that dreadful question to a lady).
'I GUESS I am about forty.'
'You GUESS? Don't you know?'
'Well, forty next June.'
-New York Herald, March 27th, 1888.
She walked into the dry goods store
With stately step and proud,
She turn'd the frills and laces o'er,
And pushed aside the crowd.
She asked to see some rich brocade,
Mohairs and grenadines,
Guff
She looked at silk of every shade-
And then at velveteens.
She sampled jackets blue and red,
She tried on nine or ten,
And then she toss'd her head, and said
She GUESS'D she'd call again.
-Texas Siftings, June 23rd, 1888.
GUFF.-Nonsense; balderdash. "Don't
tell me such guff."
GUINEA CORN (Holcus sorghum).—The
millet of the Egyptians.
GUINEA GRASS (Panicum maximum).—
A West Indian grass, largely used
for fodder, and only of late years
introduced into the States.
GUINEA KEET.—The guinea-fowl. Also
KEET; so called from its peculiar
cry.
GUINEA NEGRO.-A full-blooded negro.
'Tain't quite hendy to pass off one o' your
six-foot GUINEAS,
An' git your halves an' quarters back in gals
and pickaninnies.
-Biglow Papers, II.
280
GULCH.-A ravine. This Old English
word is one which, having once
fallen into disuse, has again made
its way into favor.- GULCH MIN-
ING, mining in gulches. The method
adopted is akin to that of PLACER
MINING (q.v.).
GULF CITY.New Orleans.
GULF STATES.-The States bordering
on the Gulf of Mexico. These are
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Texas.
GULLY, TO.From " 'gully," a hollow
channel. To gully, to wear a
hollow channel in the earth.
GULLY PLUM.-A Barbadian name for
the fruit of the Spondia lutea.
Gum
GUM. (1) A name given to various
trees throughout the Union. The
BLACK-GUM of the North and SOUR-
GUM of the South, both belong to
the Nyassa species. The SWEET-
GUM is Liquidambar styraciflua. The
last-named is a favorite resort of
the racoon, and has furnished many
figures of speech. (2) India-
rubber; gums being india-rubber
shoes or goloshes. Every one
has heard the story, told with many
variations, and which, if not true,
ought to be, of the clergyman
who, having just arrived and taken
possession of a little country parish,
had been invited to take charge
of the funeral of a prominent
resident. As he knew nothing
about the career and accomplish-
ments of the deceased, he was to
be assisted by a farmer of the
neighborhood who was some-
thing of an exhorter. The rela-
tives expected that the services
would not begin until Mr. J., the
farmer exhorter, had arrived.
was long in coming for some rea-
son, and the clergyman began to
grow weary. He called one of the
family, and asked him if he knew
where Mr. J. was. "He's come
now," said this person.
is he?" asked
"
He
"Where
asked the clergyman.
Downstairs," came the response,
wiping his gums on the door-mat."
The thought of the reverend agri-
culturist "wiping him gums on the
door-mat" filled the young clergy-
man first with horror, and then
with almost uncontrollable amuse-
ment. It did not occur to him at
first that gums in that part of the
country meant india-rubber over-
shoes. This confusion of language
has also led to gum trees being called
rubber trees. (3) A bee-hive; also
called BEE-GUM. See BEE-GUMS.
GUM-GAME.- "You can't come
the gum-game over me," a trick or
dodge. The simile is drawn from
the preference shown by opossums
Gumbo French
and racoons for gum trees as places
of refuge when hotly pursued. Up
there, in his leafy retreat, the animal
is well hid from dog and hunter
alike, and frequently defies all
their efforts. This is what the
Western man calls "coming the
gum-game," and
and he applies the
phrase with great shrewdness and
force to any case in daily life in
which he thinks he sees a desire
to over-reach him by conceal-
ment.
You can't come that GUM-GAME over me
any more [says a Kansas man to a squatter,
whose farm he wished to purchase, when the
latter claims to have some fictitious title],
I've been to the land-office, and know all
about the place.-Kansas City Advertiser.
The word is not unknown to the
Eastern States, for J. R. Lowell
uses it in the same sense:
"You
can't gum me, I tell ye now, and so
you needn't try."-Biglow Papers, I.
-GUMBO.-See GOMBO.· GUM-
LOG.
A log of a gum-tree.
GUMMO LIMBER (Bursea gummifera).
-A large Florida gum - tree.
SUCKING GUM or CHEWING GUM.-
A preparation of the SWEET GUM,
used for chewing purposes. This
practice is one of the most marked
idiosyncracies of the great Ameri-
can people.
GUMBO FRENCH, OF CREOLE FRENCH.
A dialect or patois, consisting in
the main of strangely disguised and
disfigured French words, with an
admixture of English and a few
genuine African terms. A stanza
of a popular coonjai (congé) or
minuet, well known to Louisiana
planters, runs as follows:-
Mo déjà roulé tout la côte,
Pancor (pas encore) ouar (voir) pareil belle
Layote,
Mo roulé tout la côte.
Mo roulé tout la colonie,
Mo pamor ouar grifforme là,
Qua mo gout comme la belle Layotte.
281
Gunter
GUMMER. TO GUM is to punch out
the teeth of a saw, the machine used
being called a gummer.
GUMMEY (Cant).-A flash term for
medicine.
GUMMY!-A New England exclama-
tion of surprise.
GUMPTIOUS.
"
A derivative from
'gumption," on the same model
as bumptious. A gumptious fellow
is one who has understanding and
discernment.
GUN.-In
In the West a revolver is
generally called a gun.
-To GO
GUNNING is to go out shooting. This
form of gunning for "shooting"
occurs in Drayton.
The Supreme Court has decided that there
is no close season for editors. Persons who
wish TO GO GUNNING for journalists at any
time of the year have only to induce their
game to make some uncomplimentary re-
marks about them in print, and in effect a
license to shoot is issued.-San Francisco
News Letter, 1888.
-TO GUN A STOCK, is, in Wall-
street phrase, to use every art to
produce a "break," when it is
known that a certain house is
heavily supplied, and would be un-
able to resist an attack.
- To
GUN (Cant).To watch; to look
for. GUNNED, examined.
GUN-SHOP.-A gun-smith's shop.
GUNBOATS.-A term used, during the
Civil War, for the heavy, clumsy
footgear served out to the men.
GUNTER, ACCORDING TO.-A variant of
the English "According to Cocker."
Both Gunter and Cocker were
distinguished mathematicians; the
former, however, being a Puritan,
has naturally taken the lead in
36
Gurry
the United States in preference
to the latter. In Canada, also,
the phrase, according to Gunter,
holds its own almost exclusively.
The expression, which was English
before it became naturalized in
America, signifies carefully and
correctly done.
GURRY.-A fisherman's term for the
slime and blood resulting from
handling and curing fish.
GUSH.-A large quantity; abundance;
e.g., a gush of cattle, fruit, etc.
282
Guy
GUTTER (Cant).-A highly descrip-
tive term for porter. In English
slang, "gutter - lane " is
throat.
the
GUTTERSNIPES.-A recent Wall Street
name for "outside brokers."
GUTS.
NOT FIT TO CARRY GUTS
ΤΟ A BEAR. An opprobrious
epithet implying unequalled worth-
lessness.
GUY (Cant).-A dark lantern.



H
ABITAN.
A small
landed proprietor.
The term is French,
but is little heard
nowadays either in
Louisiana or Canada,
HACIANDA. A Spanish name for a
large plantation upon which the
owner resides. This word, with
vancho (shortened into ranch), has
become thoroughly acclimatized in
the States, especially on the Pacific
slope.
HACK.-Cabs are invariably called
hacks. This term is, of course, only
a survival of Old English usage.
HACKAMORE.—A plaited bridle in use
on the plains, made of horse-hair,
and used for breaking-in purposes.
Hackamore is held to be derived
from the Spanish jaquima, a halter.
HACKBERRY (Celtis occidentalis). — A
small but useful tree, another
popular name for which is the
SUGAR-BERRY. Its fruit is edible,
and its dried wood is very desir-
able as fuel.
HACKEE. The lively little CHIPMUNK
(q.v.) is thus named in some of the
Eastern States.
HACKMATACK (Larix americana).-The
American larch or tamarack. The
popular name is that by which
the Indians knew this very useful
tree. Its wood is hard, strong, and
durable, and it is largely found
throughout British America and
the North Eastern States.
HAIL TO RAISE HAIL.-To cause a
disturbance; to kick up a row. A
similar expression is TO RAISE CAIN;
the latter, however, indicating more
heat and passion than the former.
Buckskin Joe says he was largely instru-
mental in getting some five thousand settlers
into Greer county, and he is determined
that they shall have a clear deed to one
hundred and sixty acres of land when the
question is settled, or he will RAISE HAIL.-
Portland Transcript, March 7, 1888.
HAIR. A SUIT OF HAIR, equivalent to
what in England would be called a
head of hair. A Southern phrase.
TO RAISE or LIFT THE HAIR is,
when translated from the rude ver-
nacular of trappers and frontiers-
men, the process of scalping. The
North American Indians, of all
savage races, alone appear to have
practised this form of violation of
the bodies of dead foes; with them,
however, the possession of human
hair is regarded as a kind of charm,
and it is called GOOD or BIG MEDI-
CINE from the supposed lucky
qualities inherent to it. Idiomati-
cally, to raise an opponent's hair is
to defeat him.- -A HAIR OF BLACK
B'AR.-A spice of the devil. A
hunter's expression.
HAIR-PIN.
THAT'S THE KIND OF HAIR-
PIN I AM!-An inane exclamation,
Half-a-Hog
used in season and out of season a
short time ago. Fortunately, catch-
phrases of the gutter are never
long-lived, and speedily give
way to others, which, if equally
meaningless, at all events give
variety. That's the kind of hair-pin I
am originated in New York.
The license procured, the young prospec-
tive bridegroom, with a glowing face, turned
around, folded his sweetheart in his arms,
and gave her a resounding smack.
That's the kind of HAIR-PINS we are,' said
the enthusiastic swain. 'We marry for
love, we do,' and he kissed her again and
left the office.-Detroit Free Press, October 6,
1888.
HALF-A-HOG (Cant).-This flash term,
which among English thieves is
applied to a sixpenny-bit, is in
America given to a five-cent-piece.
-HALF-A-HED is a five-dollar-
gold-piece.
284
HALF-BREEDS.-Originally, in its poli-
tical sense, a derisive nickname
applied to certain Republicans of
New York, who wavered in their
party allegiance during the fight
over the United States' Senator-
ship in 1881.
HALF-COCKED.-TO GO OFF HALF-
COCKED. - He who does things
hastily without due preparation,
and who, therefore, fails to attain
what is otherwise within his reach, is
said to go off half-cocked. The meta-
phor is borrowed from sporting
phraseology.
Now don't GO OFF HALF-COCK; folks never
gains
By usin' pepper-sarse instid o' brains.
Come, neighbor, you don't understand.
-Biglow Papers.
HALF-SAVED.-A half-saved person is a
weak-minded, or shallow-brained
individual. A New England phrase,
which is provincial in England.
Hamfatter
HALF-WIDOW.This term is, in New
England and New York, applied to
a woman whose husband is shiftless,
and fails in his duty to properly
provide for her necessities.
HALVES, TO THE HALVES.-Lowell
says, concerning this New England
colloquialism, that it still survives
in America though it is obsolete in
England. It means either to let or
to hire a piece of land, the lessee
and lessor receiving half the profit
in money and half in kind (partibus
locare).
"
HALL. GO! HIRE A HALL!-A some-
what peremptory slang injunction
Begone!" Generally addressed
to loquacious bores, being in fact a
roundabout way of informing such
persons that their room is preferable
to their company.
HAM.-Sporting slang for a loafer.
Connelly is a cockney, has but one eye, and
is very comical in make-up and address. He
is a good fighter, but will allow the veriest
HAM to whip him if there is any money to
be made by it.-Missouri Republican,
March 27, 1888.
HAMS (Cant).-Trousers.
NO HAM AND ALL HOMINY.-Equiva-
lent to "all work and no pay."
You see the fact is, Squire (said the Hoo-
sier), they had a mighty deal to say up in
our parts about Orleans, and how all-fired
easy it is to make money in it; but it's No
HAM AND ALL HOMINY, I reckon.-Pickings
from the Picayune, p. 67.
HAMFATTER. - A recent name, in
some quarters of New York, for a
second-rate dude or masher, and
more especially applied to the
habitués of the Rialto in that city.
I'll warrant that these ladies who com-
plain have, if the truth were known, strolled
after many a matinée up and down Broad-
way by the Fifth Avenue Hotel and the
Hoffman, and, were they so fortunate as to
receive an admiring glance from the well-
dressed and more prosperous professional
Hamlet
brother of the HAMFATTER, they were not
offended, forsooth. New York Herald,
July 29, 1888.
HAMLET (Cant).-In New York a
term given to a sergeant of police.
HAMMOCK. This word, applied to
land, must not be confounded
with hummock, a rounded hillock
or floating piece of ice. The ham-
mock land of the South is undula-
ting country, thickly wooded with
oak, hickory, and magnolia. The
soil, when cleared, is preferred to
any other kind.
Mr. Christopher owns a farm one mile
south-west of the hotel. Within the past
six months he has had cleared about six
acres of the richest HAMMOCK land, which
is now planted in vegetables.-Florida
Times Union, February 8, 1888.
The word hammock, thus applied, is
probably the same in derivation to
the swinging bed known by that
name, and comes from the Carib
amaca, to undulate.
HAND. TO HAVE A HAND LIKE A FOOT
OUTFIT, is a vulgar way of stating
that the hands are large. HANDS
UP or THROW UP YOUR HANDS! is
an expression used by highwaymen
and desperadoes, the meaning being
that those thus accosted shall hold
up their hands to show that they
have no weapons, or, if they have,
to prevent their being used. The
request is invariably backed up
with a full-cocked revolver or other
C
deadly weapon, and resistance
means instant death, unless the one
assailed is quick enough to turn the
tables upon his assailant.
Drop the knife?' thundered the stranger,
at the same time laying his hand upon his
pistol pocket.
The bully noticed the last action, and letting
go the boy, yelled, with added oaths, 'Curse
you, shut up! Who are you anyhow?' The
large man was evidently very angry, He
held the knife in his left hand, and with his
right drew a heavy revolver, which he pro-
ceeded to level at the stranger.
285
Handle
'THROW UP YOUR HANDS quick!'shouted
the latter. But the fellow did not hear this
warning. Click! went the hammers of the
pistols. It was a question of quarter-seconds
now. Bang! went one revolver-the stran-
ger's-and the big man fell-dead.-Portland
Transcript, March 14th, 1888.
HAND-DOGS.-In New England the
term used instead of fire-dogs.
-
and
HAND-GLASSES. — Eye-glasses
spectacles are so called in New
York.
HANDLE, TO.-A peculiar meaning
attaches to this verb in Connecti-
cut. There, it is an equivalent of
"to trouble" or "to distress," and
a troublesome cough would be said
to handle the person so afflicted.
To FLY OFF THE HANDLE.—To
lose all patience; to become ex-
cited; to fail to fulfil a promise.
A phrase borrowed from pioneer
life in which a sound and service-
able axe is of equal importance with
a trusty rifle. Thus, for an axe to
part company with its handle, as
badly made tools are apt to do, is
a serious trouble and trial to the
temper and patience-synonymous
with the keenest disappointment.
Like most idioms of its kind, its
meaning is occasionally extended
to signify death. Usually, how-
ever, in the last named sense the
phrase runs to SLIP OFF THE
HANDLE.
There are men who, under the most aggra-
vating circumstances, are as cool as a cu-
cumber on ice. There are other men who FLY
OFF THE HANDLE for the most trivial causes,
and become furious if their integrity is im-
peached.-Texas Siftings, 1888.
You never see such a crotchical old critter
as he is. He FLIES right OFF THE HANDLE
for nothing.-Sam Slick in England.
'I can't say that I'm stuck on Sue Fitz-
percy,' remarked Amy. She is liable ro
FLY OFF THE HANDLE.
'Yes,' replied Mildred, mildly correcting
her friends slang. I too have observed her
tendency to disassociate herself from the hilt
with winged celerity.'-Pittsburg Chronicle,
1888.
Hand-Me-Downs
HAND - ME - DOWNS. Second hand
clothes; from being handed down
from one person to another; also
ready-made clothing.
Independence in the matter of personal
decoration is one of the advantages of being
rich. Russell Sage, it is said, walked into
a Broadway clothing store the other day and
tried on and purchased a twelve-dollar suit
of HAND-ME-DOWNS. New York World,
March 5, 1888.
This phrase, which is slang in Eng-
land, is colloquial in the States.
HAND-ROUND. A social gathering,
whether for tea, dancing, or other
amusements, where the refresh-
ments are handed round.
We do dance, of course, but a HAND-ROUND,
out here, is where we don't sit at table, but
hand round the vittels. The table can't be
set, you know, on 'count of its clutterin' up
the dancin' room.-Putnam's Magazine.
HAND RUNNING.-So many times hand
running, i.e.,“consecutively"-an ex-
pression which is not infrequently
heard in the North of England,-
is colloquial in the States.
HAND-SHAKE.-A compound noun of
obvious meaning. Colloquial every-
where.
((
HANDSOME THING.-TO DO THE HAND-
SOME THING is a Yankee's effusive
way of saying that he will be gene-
rous, or very polite. Perhaps the
English nearest equivalent is being
civil." HANDSOMELY.
Among American sailors handsomely
is used in the sense of carefully
or steadily, so had the sailors in
the " Little Midshipmite" song
been Yankee salts their chorus
would have run, "Handsomely my
lads, yo ho," etc.
HANDWRITE.-A Southern corruption
for handwriting; thus, an indifferent
writer would be said to have a bad
286
Hanging Bee
handwrite, or, as in English slang,
a bad" fist."
HANDY.-HANDY AS A POCKET IN A
SHIRT. A New England simile for
convenient.
HANG. TO GET THE HANG OF.-To
understand; to enter into the idea
of; to see the drift of an argument,
or the result of an action.
I passed through an open door leading
into a back room, where were a small party
of men and women betting at monté. Í
lost a couple of dollars, just TO GET THE
HANG OF the game, as the facetious Sam
Slick would say, and then retired to my
lodgings. - Kendall, Santa Fé Expedition,
vol. i., p. 46.
HANG BIRD (Icterus baltimore).-The
Baltimore oriole; the popular name
being taken from its hanging nest.
The six old willows at the causey's end,
Striped here and there with many a long-
drawn thread.
Where streamed, through leafy chinks, the
trembling red,
Past which, in one bright trail, the HANG-
BIRD'S flashes blend.
-J. R. Lowell in an Indian Summer Reverie.
HANGING BEE.—A gathering of people
to execute lynch law by hanging
(see BEE). An event of this kind is
always a most exciting event in a
frontier settlement. When it be-
comes known that Judge Lynch
is holding court, all the people
take to the streets in order to
follow the subsequent proceedings.
Mines, saloons, mills, gambling-
rooms, law offices, and mercantile
establishments are emptied, and
business of all kinds, save what
is in the hands of Judge Lynch,
is for the time suspended. The
gamblers and roughs of a Western
community can kill each other
at will, and the decent people
never interfere, but whenever a
rough kills a working man, a busi-
ness man, or any man known to
Hang It Up
be respectable in his mode of
life, Judge Lynch is called in to
adjudicate.
HANG IT UP (Cant).-An injunction
not to forget; "bear it in mind!"
HANGMAN'S DAY (Cant).-Friday be-
ing the day usually chosen in
America for carrying out the ex-
treme penalty of the law, it has,
the
amongst
criminal classes,
come to be thus known. In Eng-
land, Monday is the usual day.
HANK, TO. To hank a man is to
know something of him to his
detriment.
HANNA Н. THAT'S WHAT'S THE
MATTER WITH HANNAH.-A street
catch-phrase with no especial
meaning. For a time it rounded
off every statement of fact or
expression of opinion amongst the
vulgar.
HANNAHILL (Centropristes nigricans).—
The black sea-bass; black harry
is another popular name for this
fish. Large quantities are sent to
market from May to July; it is
much esteemed, its flesh being very
delicate.
HAPPEN IN, TO.-Used colloquially
in the sense of to make an unin-
tentional call.
I HAPPENED IN one fine day, and found
them all fast asleep before ten o'clock.-
7. P. Kennnedy, Swallow Barn.
HAPPENINGS.-Occurrences; events;
circumstances. Newspapers often
have the head-line, Happenings
of Interest."
"
People since then have got a clearer
insight into the situation, and see now that
Germany's course, wedged in as it is
between hostile Powers, must be mapped
287
Happy Hunting Grounds
out for her by external HAPPENINGS and not
by her Own initiative.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, 1888.
HAPPIFY, TO. A factitious form
derived from happy. Also in a
similar sense HAPPYFYING.
HAPPYGRAM. A spurious word,
partially moulded on a much-dis-
cussed pattern, i.e.," telegram,” and
signifying a witticism or happy
saying; a bon mot.
Whoever wrote this will kindly accept our
congratulations on his HAPPYGRAM:
The bells are all ringing for parsons to
preach-
How delightful to Christians the fact is!
Oh! when will the peals my sad tympanum
reach,
Of bells for the parson to practice?
-American Humorist, August 11, 1888.
HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS.-The future
state, according to the belief of the
Indian, whose chief business in
life, apart from the war-path, is
hunting. In it he found (the past
tense must be used, because the
buffalo, his chief game, is almost
extinct) his greatest pleasure and
means of subsistence-hence his
idea of heaven naturally pictured
a place where these necessities of
his existence would be perpetuated
without stint. The phrase has
passed into popular language.
Jackson Craw is a desperado who has
sent more than one man to the HAPPY HUNT-
ING GROUNDS during his life in the wilds
of the Indian Territory.-St. Louis Daily
Globe Democrat, 1888.
as
Dodge says that the Indian's idea
of the future life in the happy
hunting grounds is as vague, con-
fused, indefinite, and inconsistent,
can well be imagined. He
believes that he will be happy,
perfectly happy; but of the how,
why, or wherefore, he pretends to
know nothing. His creed is a
wide one; for all persons, of all
Happy Land
ages, sexes, colors, or beliefs, who
die unscalped or unstrangled, will
meet in that final haven of bliss.
He goes there just as he was here,
with the same passions, feelings,
wishes, and needs. His favorite
pony is killed at his burying-place,
to enjoy an eternity of beautiful
pasture, and to bear his master in
war or in the chase. He will need
arms to defend himself against
enemies (man or beast): his rifle,
pistol, bow, and quiver, are buried
with him. He will need fire: so
flint and steel, or a box of matches
go towards the outfit for his final
journey. There is no death in
that life, but wounds and pain,
hunger and thirst, love, revenge,
ambition, all the passions or incen-
tives to action are there. The
Indian knows no happiness in this
life, except in the gratification of
his natural appetites. His future
life will develop greater capacity
and wider opportunities for the
enjoyment of such appetites. He
will meet enemies, whom, however,
he strives to make as few as possi-
ble in that world, by scalping as
many as possible in this. He will
encounter dangerous beasts, for
the spirits or phantoms of all ani-
mals, reptiles, birds, insects, and
fishes, go also to the happy hunting
grounds. In short the next world
is to be simply an intensified
continuation of this-death alone
overcome.
HAPPY LAND.-TO CHECK A FELLOW
CITIZEN THROUGH TO THE HAPPY
LAND. This operation is in the
West generally performed with a
common derringer or a Georgia
bowie.
HARD (Cant).-A term applied to all
metals. When it is wished to
distinguish silver and gold money,
they are called HARD COLE. On the
288
Hard Pan
other hand, counterfeit money is
called HARDWARE.
HARD CIDER CAMPAIGN. See TIPPE-
CANOE.
HARD COAL, SOFT COAL.-Anthracite
and bituminous coal are respec-
tively so called.
If you live in the East and strike Chicago
on a Sunday, you find the atmosphere and
sky like those familiar to you; when you
go out upon the street on a Monday morning,
if the day should be damp and lowery, you
see smoke and steam that cloud the air and
close the vistas at half a mile or a mile. Of
course, you know they burn more SOFT
COAL than HARD COAL in Chicago, as they do
in all the West, but still the effect seems
new to you. In bright, clear weather, the
effect is much less marked, but it didn't
strike me as unpleasant any way. Seen
from the lake front on a cloudy day the city
seemed like a great fire.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
March 9, 1888.
A
HARDHACK (Spiraea tomentosa).
small unassuming plant found in
New England.
Our narrow New England lanes, shut in
by bleak stone walls on either hand, and
where no better flowers are to be gathered
than golden rod and HARDIIACK.-J. Russell
Lowell.
HARD HEAD. The popular name in
Maine for the MENHADEN Or BONY-
FISH (q.v.).
HARD MONEY. Bullion as distin-
guished from greenbacks or paper-
money.
HARD PAN.-When prices are at hard
pan, it means that they are at the
lowest point. The simile in this
case is drawn from a term used in
geology, to designate the lowest
stratum of earth.
Another [telegram] received yesterday,
reported that Liverpool cables noted a good
business in Manchester with prospects that
it would continue; that futures were being
absorbed, and prices were at HARD PAN.—
Missouri Republican, March 2, 1888.
Hard Row
HARD ROW.-A HARD ROW TO HOE.—
This simile is drawn from the
cutivation of Indian corn-and is
synonymous with what is difficult
of accomplishment.
You'll find courting Sallie a pretty HARD
ROW TO HOE, and when you have got her,
it's likely you'll wish you had never taken
the job. The Hunter and the Squatter.
-TO HOE ONE'S OWN ROW is to
attend to one's own business.
Now that I have HOED MY OWN ROW and
rumor gives me a false condition, they
deluge me with congratulations.-Prentice
Mulford, San Francisco Chronicle, 1871.
HARD RUN.-TO BE HARD RUN or
HARD PUSHED, is an American's
way of translating "hard up," or
of stating that difficulties are
crowding upon him, which may
arise either from trouble or poverty.
-Compare with RUN.
-
HARDS.-HARDS and SOFTS, or HARD-
SHELLS and SOFT SHELLS, are
terms which are freely used in
a variety of political connections,
but the earliest conspicuous in-
stance was in 1854, when the
Hunkers took the name of "Hards,"
and their opponents, the Barn-
burners, that of Softs. Origi-
nally sects of the Baptist denomi-
nation were termed Hard-shells
and Soft-shells, by their unre-
generate critics, the simile being
drawn from the crab in its different
states of existence. The views of
the Hard-shell Baptists were of
a very strict and rigid character,
the Soft-shell Baptists being of a
more liberal turn of mind as
regards worldly practices. - See
SHELL.
He is, said Mr. E., a regular member of
the HARD-SHELL Baptist church, a very
pious man, not of very eminent ability, but
just the man to pray for such a crowd as
this.-Baltimore Sun, 1888.
289
Hash
HARD WOOD.-This term is used of
woods which, though of solid
texture, are not durable. Among
these may be mentioned beech,
birch, maple, ash, etc.
HARE IT! (Cant).-To hare it is to
return to come back. This ex-
pression is obviously borrowed
from the doubling of a hare when
hotly pursued.
HARM.-In Georgia harm is used in
the sense of unkind; thus unkind.
words would be harm words, and
in speaking well of a person it
might be said that "he never did a
harm thing to anyone." This
adjective is probably but a con-
traction of "harmful."
HARMAN (Cant). This old term for
a policeman still retains its hold on
the criminal classes in America,
though in England it has long since
given way to other appellations.
Lord Lytton, in speaking of gipsey
thieves in The Disowned, said that
"The worst have an awe of the
harman's claw,
And the best will avoid the trap."
It is also curious to note that
the same class of the community
designate a sheriff as a HARMAN-
BEAK.
HARP (Cant).-A woman.
HARVEST LICE is a misnomer; the
term is applied to the adhesive
seeds of plants of the Bidens
species.
HASH. TO GO BACK ON ONE'S HASH,
i.e., having put one's hand to the
plough to turn back; or, as the same
racy vernacular of the West some-
times puts it, TO WEAKEN in face of
unexpected difficulties and hard-
37
Hat
ships.- -HASH HOUSE is an old
piece of Boston slang for what in
England would be called a refresh-
ment room. It originated some
forty years ago.-
-TO HASH is, in
thieves' parlance, "to vomit," and
is probably a variant of the English
slang "to hash up.”
HAT. In the Northern States ladies
wear hats and not bonnets; or
rather they give the name of hat
to both kinds of headgear. Only
in sun-bonnet is any distinction
made. WELL, YOU CAN TAKE
MY HAT! A slang expression
equivalent to "well that beat's
me!"-"that's past belief."
Sa.'
out!
'What's yer name?'
name?' 'Name Grief, mans-
'Name what?' 'Name Grief.'
'Get
Yew're jokin'! What's yer name,
anyhow? 'Name GRIEF, manssa.' WAL,
YEW KIN TAKE MY HAT,- A Yankee in a
Planters' House, 1873.
SHOOT THAT HAT! is a street
catch-phrase current some short
time since-about as pregnant with
meaning as "who's your hatter?
-TO TALK THROUGH ONE'S HAT.
-To bluff; to bluster.
Dis is only a bluff dey're makin'-see?
Did y'ever
Dey're TALKIN' TRU DEIR HATS.
see a kid when his old woman wanted to
make him wear gloves fer de fust time?
He'll beef an' kick like a steer an' let on he
won't never wear 'em, an' all de time he's
ded stuck on 'em. Dat's der way wit' dem
blokies.-New York World, May 13, 1888.
HATCHES.-When in trouble or dis-
tress thieves report themselves as
being under hatches. The simile is
drawn from sea-faring life.
HATCHET. Amongst Indian tribes
certain symbolic ceremonies are
connected with the war-hatchet or
tomahawk, which are equivalent
to a declaration of war, or to a
compact of peace.TO BURY THE
HATCHET is the emblem of the put-
ting away of strife and enmity; on
290
Havey Cavey
the other hand, before he com-
mences hostilities the red skin
digs up afresh the fateful symbol.
Buried was the BLOODY HATCHET;
Buried was the dreadful war-club
Buried were all warlike weapons,
And the war-cry was forgotten;
Then was peace among the nations.
-Longfellow, Hiawatha, xiii.
This picturesque imagery has
passed into the colloquial inheri-
tance of the American people, and
the expressions of burying or digging
up the hatchet are frequently applied
to the affairs of everyday life.
I don't know what you'll think, sir-I didn't
come to inquire-
But I picked up that agreement and stuffed
it in the fire;
And I told her we'd BURY THE HATCHET
alongside of the cow;
And we struck an agreement never to have
another row.
-Will Carleton's Farm Ballads.
-A HATCHET is likewise the
name of the grease" used in
lubricating the palms of dishonest
Customs officials.
HATE. A bit, the "haet" of Low-
land Scotch. "There was not a
hate of truth about the news.
To HATE OUT is the signifi-
cant term given by the Western
man to a practice very much akin
to boycotting. Is a member of the
community objectionable to his
neighbors, he has either to acquiesce
in gently persuasive hints concern-
ing the error of his ways, or he
has to make himself scarce.
If so
dense as to fail to discern "the
signs of the times," things are
made a little warm, and influences
brought to bear upon him which,
in the long run, rarely fail in bring-
ing about his banishment. This
is called hating out a man.
HAVEY CAVEY (Cant).—That which
is uncertain; doubtful; or wavering;
probably of mongrel descent from
Havil
English "have," and Latin "cave,"
take care! the idea conveyed by
this admonition being one of sus-
pense and doubt.
HAVIL (Cant).—A sheep.
HAVVERS.-In Pennsylvania, "going
halves" is corrupted into going
havvers.
HAWK (Cant).-A not inappropriate
name for a swindler, more especially
one who works the confidence
trick.
-
HAWK-EYE STATE. Iowa. Hawkeye
was the name of a notorious Indian
chief, whose depredations were
once the terror of the inhabitants
of this State.
HAWKIN'S WHETSTONE.-Inferior rum.
Mr. Hawkins, a one time zealous
temperance advocate, having
roused the ire of some Western
men, thirsty souls, who loved their
liquor, if not wisely, but too well,
they, in retaliation, sought to
turn the tables on the temperance
reformer, by branding a low-class
rum with his name. This cheap
retort served for a time amongst
these boon companions, but the
expression is rarely used nowadays.
HAY, TO.—To make hay.
The men who have been out among the
horses and cattle come riding in, to be
joined by their fellows-if any there be-
who have been hunting, or HAYING,
chopping wood.—Ranch Life in the Far
West.
or
HAY BARRACK.-In the State of New
York, a kind of adjustable hayrick
is so named. From the Dutch
hooi-berg, hay-mountain.
291
Haze
HAY-PITCHER.-A countryman; one
not accustomed to the wiles of city
life. Puck, the chief American
comic paper, has personified such
a character under the title of
"Uncle Hayseed.”
'I'll be consarned if I kin see whar thet
business is wuth any six dols., and I
wouldn't hev come into his shop if I had
known it,' protested the imitation HAY-
PITCHER.
The museum man said the countryman
ought to know what he was about before he
had people go to great trouble on his
account.-New York World, 1888.
Al (to HAYSEED)'Ever read Ouida?'
H.-'No, but by golly I must get his
books. The weeds in my garden are raisin'
eternal tarnation.'
(Exit Al.)
-Detroit Free Press, September 29, 1888.
HAY-WARD Oor HAY-WARDEN.-A town-
ship officer, whose duty it is to
impound stray cattle and feed
them until they are redeemed by
their owners. The word undoubt-
edly went over with the early
colonists, since it is found in
old English records, and is allied
to "hedge-ward, fence-ward,"
etc. It sometimes occurs as "ha-
ward." An absurd derivation has
obtained some currency to the
effect, that this official gets his
title from driving
driving the cattle
hay-ward, i.e., in the direction of
hay.
"}
HAZE, TO.- (1) To frolic; to play
practical jokes. The term 1S
applied either to the harmless fun
and nonsense of school girls, or
euphemistically in describing a
drunken spree.
The deeply-rooted custom of HAZING the
new cadets has been successfully suppressed,
and no instance of ill-treatment has been
brought to the knowledge of the superinten-
dent.-Official Report of West Point Academy.
So woman is completing her conquest of
the planet. She rows. She smokes. She
preaches. She HAZES. She shoots. She
rides. And now she has lassoed the iron
grasshopper [the bicycle] that man has
Head
hitherto exclusively bestridden, and has
fearlessly mounted it. For myself, I can only
sympathetically exclaim, 'More power to
the elbow of her lower extremities l'—Phil-
adelphia Bulletin, February 27, 1888.
(2) Amongst sailors to haze is
used when work is being carried
out at high pressure.
HEAD. TO PUT A HEAD ON an adver-
sary is a slang phrase of nearly
twenty years' standing. By it is
conveyed a purpose to annihilate ;
to get quite the better of an
opponent.
But all his jargon was surpassed, in wild
absurdity,
By threats, profanely emphasized, to Put a
HEAD on me!
No son of Belial, said I, that miracle can do!
Whereat he fell upon me with blows and
curses, too;
But failed to work that miracle-if such was
his design-
Instead of PUTTING ON A HEAD, he strove to
smite off mine.
-Words and Their Uses. Galveston News.
-To SWELL THE HEAD.-Young
people are said to get their head
swelled by imbibing strange ideas.
•
Anna Kelly, the pretty-eighteen-year old
daughter of Squire P. J. Kelly, is missing
from her home in Newport.
She did
not return home yesterday, and her parents
are very anxious as to her whereabouts.
Somebody has been swELLING HER HEAD.
and it is sincerely trusted that she will
regret her unwise, rash act, and return home.
-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
My
HEAD-CHEESE. The flesh of pig's
head and feet minced, and when
cooked, pressed-very similar to
brawn. This compound is also
known as SOUSE, and in Maryland,
as HOG'S-HEAD CHEESE.
HEADER.-A New York term for a
joint.
HEAD OFF, TO.-Used idiomatically in
the sense of to turn from a pur-
pose; or, "to put off,"—to distract
attention.
292
Heater Piece
He was always HEADED OFF in this way.
He never could see one of those good little
boys on account of his always dying in the
last chapter.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
HEADQUARTERS.-MY HEADQUARTERS
ARE IN THE SADDLE.-This saying
is attributed to
to General Pope.
Appealing to the public taste, it
soon became synonymous with
close attention to duty and un-
wearying vigilance.
HEAD-RIGHTS.-A title to certain of
the public lands, which every citi-
zen of the United States, being the
head of a family, can claim if he
desires so to do. These rights
are also enjoyed by women within
certain limits.
HEAR.-YOU HEAR ME!-A pleonas-
tic ejaculation of Californian origin.
Used to emphasize a statement
already made, and to which assent
has been given. "Will you go
to-night? "Yes! that's so."
"Wa'al! you hear me!" To
HEAR TO.-Colloquially perverted in
some localities, especially Connec-
ticut, to signify consent-a corrup-
tion of " to hear of." The judge
would not hear to anything of the
kind."
"
"
HEARN. The old participle form of
heard," and which, like most Old
English survivals, is more current
in New England than elsewhere.
'It's thinkin' everythin' you ever knew,
Or ever HEARN to make your feelin's blue."
-J. R. Lowell's Biglow Papers.
HEATER PIECE.-As applied to land, a
triangular or wedge-shaped piece
of ground. This New England
phrase is thought to be derived
from the similarity of shape to the
"heaters " of box irons used by
housewives.
Heathen Chinee
HEATHEN CHINEE.-Bret Harte's in-
imitable poem of Truthful James
is the source from which this so-
briquet for a Chinaman is derived.
The picture there drawn of the
Heathen Chinee, "with his ways that
are dark and tricks that are vain,"
took and still retains the public
fancy to such a degree that, without
doubt, the nickname is now as
permanent a one as Brother Jona-
than or John Bull.
HEAVE, TO (Cant).-To steal, to rob.
-HEAVER (1) The bosom or
breast, a slang term, obvious in its
derivation. (2) A person in love.
HE-BIDDY.-A male fowl. A product
of prudery and squeamishness.
HEEL, TO. (1) In cowboy vernacular
TO HEEL is to lariat or secure an
animal by the hind leg.- (2) In
the West, TO BE OF GO HEELED is to
be armed with deadly weapons, and
hence, metaphorically, a man well
heeled is regarded as secure from
attack.
The
HEELERS. The followers or hench-
men of a politician or party.
term always carries a contemptuous
significance.-See Box.
Some political wiseacres express the
opinion that Gorman and Barnum only
desired to bring to the undivided attention.
of the president that the HEELERS and
strikers, bummers and stuffers, otherwise
known as practical politicians, who do the
work at the Democratic polls and manipu-
late the primaries and local conventions,
and against whose calling and claims the
Administration professes to set its face, are
very important factors and of paramount
necessity in the ensuing Democratic can-
vass.-Denver Republican, February 29, 1888.
-Colloquially the expression is
also applied to loafers and idlers of
every description, and especially
those frequenting
frequenting drinking
saloons, and who are on the look
out for shady work of any kind.
to
293
Hell
'Where'd yer say dis rat of yours was?'
asked Jimmy, coming close up to the
stranger's chair.
The stranger
looked downward-the rat had vanished.
The gang gathered about him.
'Why, right there
'Did he think he seen rats, Jimmy?' con-
fidentially asked the head HEELER.
'Yes; de poor devil's got 'em bad, I
reckon. He oughter see a doctor and get
some medicine. If he gits de jams dey'll
hustle him up to de hospital and kill um.
Dey kills um all at de hospital, for dey
shuts off de booze too sudden.'-Denver
Republican, March 4, 1888.
Among thieves the heeler gets
his name from a practice when
acting as an accomplice in what is
called the " pocket-book racket."
This consists in drawing attention,
by touching the victim's heels, to
a pocket-book, containing counter-
feit money, dropped by his com-
panion. The object then is to
induce the finder to part with
genuine coin in dividing the spoils.
HEEL FLY.-An insect pest which in-
fests cattle on Western ranches.
HEIFER. A term which, in the West,
does the same duty as the kindly, if
rough, "old woman" of the English
lower classes. Old heifer, like “old
woman," is in point of fact a pet
name amongst those who use it.
HEIR, TO. To inherit. This strange
corruption is common to
New
Jersey and Pennsylvania.
A little boy is now the sole survivor, and
HEIRS an estate which, a gentleman informs
us, is worth some five or six thousand
dollars.-New York Times, 1888.
HELL.
Many are the expressive
similes which the Yankee draws
from the place where, as he says,
'they don't rake out their fires
nights." Perhaps among the most
forcible are those by which he
expresses rapidity of motion and
extreme heat," quicker than hell
Hell Bender
a beatin' tan bark"; and "hot as
the Devil's kitchen."
HELL BENDER (1) (Menopoma alle-
ghaniensis.) - The American sala-
mander, and so-called from its
extreme ugliness. (2) A pro-
tracted and intensified drunken
frolic-the superlative of BENDER
(q.v.).
HELL-BOX.-American printers' slang,
the hell-box being the counterpart
of the "batter-slipper of their
fellow craftsmen in England. Also
HELL-MATTER.-
BAALAM BOX.
Broken and battered type, the
destination of which is the hell-box.
I swept out his office; I picked up his
type from under his stand; and, if he was
there to see, I put the good type in his case
and the broken ones among the HELL-
MATTER, and if he wasn't there to see, I
dumped it all with the pi on the imposing
stone-for that was the furtive fashion of the
cub, and I was a cub.-Mark Twain as a
Printer in the New York Sun.
HELL-DIVER. The DIPPER (q.v.).
HELL-HOUNDS.-A name by which the
Confederates spoke of the Northern
gun-boats.
HELLO SONNY! HELLO SIS!-In Ameri-
can cities every boy and girl is
thus familiarly addressed.
HELP. A domestic servant is so called
in America. The term itself is an
outcome of New England social
equality, and has recently found
some footing in England.
They had two English servants and some
other American HELP; but they called the
Americans by their last names, which Angli-
fied them to some extent. They had a
servants' hall, and a butlers' pantry, and a
page in buttons, and they were unreasonably
proud of the fact that one of their Tory
ancestors had been obliged to leave New
York for Halifax, in 1784, having only the
alternative of a more tropical residence.-
Puck, 1888.
294
Heptasophs
HEMP, TO (Cant).-To choke; in this
manner, gentlemen of the craft
manage to keep in lively remem-
brance the possible future adorn-
ment of their own necks with a
"
' hempen cravat."
HEN. A cant term for a woman. In
use amongst thieves and their
associates.
HEN-BIDDY.A familiar term for a
hen.
HEN-CLAM (Mactra gigantea).-A name
given in New England to a species
of clam.
HEN FRUIT.-A vulgarism for eggs.
We don't profess to know much about
hens, and a man who buys his eggs in town,
isn't supposed to know anything about eggs;
but we do know that after eating an egg that
was born some time during the war, a man
is apt to lay down and dream something like
Dr. Jekyll and Henry Hyde, whereas if he
confines his HEN FRUIT to the vintage of
'87 he has a clear approving conscience, and
wants to sit at a sunny window and sing
hymns. Boston Globe, 1887.
HEN-HAWK (Falco lineaties).-The red-
shouldered hawk.
HEN PARTY. A gathering consisting
only of women. Compare with
BUCK-PARTY, STAG-PARTY.
The bride and bridegroom meet first on the
marriage platform. After they are married
the woman associates chiefly with women
and the man with men, and the parties of
Corea are, I judge, all HEN PARTIES or all
STAG PARTIES.-American Humorist, May
26, 1888.
HEPTASOPHS.-A masonic order of
been
Louisiana origin, having
founded before the Civil War. It
was chartered and attained con-
siderable property, owning some
valuable real estate. The vicissi-
tudes of war, however, dissolved
many of the conclaves, until finally
Hermit Thrush
only one remained. Within the
past year it has revived and now
numbers several hundred members.
HERMIT THRUSH (Turdus palassi).-
A bird of passage with sweetly
plaintive notes. It is called the
hermit-thrush because of its shy and
mysterious habits.
HERRING (Cant).-When anything is
described as herring it means that
it is all bad; or, if in bulk that all
are alike.
HERRING POND, THE.-The
Atlantic.
This expression is of Yankee ori-
gin.
295
Hickory
very much concerning this insect;
some entomologists assert that it is
indigenous to America, while
others profess to trace its existence
in Europe over a very extended
period.
Thus in
HETCH, TO. To wonder.
reply to "What are you doing?
might come, "Hetchin' some.'
"
Dawson took me to the main trail by a
short cut, and as we sat down on a rock to
have a last smoke together, he said: 'I've
been HETCHIN'.' What about?' Wall,
we saw you comin' up the trail that day
behind us an' took you fur a spy.' 'You did?'
'Did you hev any pecooliar feelin' jist
then?' 'No.' 'No tremblin' or shakin ?'
'No.'-Detroit Free Press, September 15,
1888.
The Atlantic is also some-
times called the BIG DRINK.
HERRING SALMON (Coregonus clupei-
formis).-A namelocal to Lake Erie
and Lewistown for the SHAD
SALMON or WHITE FISH.
HESSIAN.-Primarily, a name given
to soldiers, from the principality of
that name, who were engaged as
mercenaries on the side of the
British, in the War of the Revo-
lution. These men were so disliked
on that account that their very
name became synonymous with all
that is detestable in partizanship.
Generally speaking, a Hessian is`a
mercenary politician; one who will
sell his principles for gold; but,
during the Civil War, the title
given contemptuously by
the Southerners to the Federal
soldiers.
was
HESSIAN FLY (Cecidomyia destructor).-
An insect pest, whose ravages on
wheat are notorious.
It is sup-
posed to have been introduced into
America in the straw beds used by
Hessian soldiers engaged in the
War of Independence, hence its
popular name. Authorities differ
HICKEY (Cant).-A degree or two
short of being drunk, the good-
tempered roseate stage.
HICKJOP (Cant).-A fool, as also is
-HICKSAM which, in addition, is
also the term for a countryman, on
the principle, it would appear, that
all such are, from a thief's point
of view, simpletons.
HICKORY.-Carya of several species
have received this name, all of
which are indigenous to the New
World. Hickory timber is exceed-
ingly tough and strong, besides
being flexible to an unusual degree.
Its name is of Indian origin; by
them it was called the Pawcohic-
cora. Colloquially hickory has been
employed as a nickname for per-
sons and objects partaking of the
qualities of the wood of this tree.
Hence a Catholic, free from bigotry
and of yielding theology, would be
called a HICKORY CATHOLIC; and
the HICKORY UNIONIST of the Bor-
der States, who deprecated but
consented to the imprisonment of
Confederate prisoners, will readily
occur to mind.
So also HICKORY
Hicksites
SHIRTS for their strength.Poli-
tically, the hickory was adopted
as the emblematic tree of the
Democratic Party during the Jack-
son Campaign of 1828. Jackson's
military and political nickname
was Old Hickory," from his
toughness and tenacity at the
Battle of New Orleans, and for
many years no flagpole was recog-
nized as truly Democratic unless it
was of hickory.— HICKORY NUT.—
The fruit of the hickory. These
nuts are also erroneonsly called
walnuts in the North, especially in
New York.
HICKSITES.—A sect of Quakers; from
Mr. Hicks, their founder.
HIFER, TO.-In Northern Pennsyl-
vania, to loiter.
HIGH.-HOW IS THAT FOR HIGH.-A
modern slang expression, which
has to a large extent taken the
place of BULLY. How is that for
high? is borrowed from a low game,
known as Old Sledge, where the
high depends, not on the card itself,
but on the adversary's hand.
Hence the phrase means, "What
kind of an attempt is that at a
great achievement? What do you
think of it?" It is of Western
origin, having made its appearance
in some of the North-western
journals, but has spread, as weeds
do, rapidly all over the Union, and
has found its way to England also.
A familiar nursery-rhyme is thus
altered to suit the times
"
"
Mary had a little lamb,
It jumped up to the sky,
And when it landed on its feet,
Cried, 'How is that for high?'"'
while an editor, overcome with
difficulties, made this touching
though indirect appeal to his sub-
scribers :-
296
High Coloring
"I had a dream the other night,
When everything was still;
I dreamed that each advertiser
Came up and paid his bill;
Each wore a look of honesty,
And smiles were round each eye,
And as they handed over the stamps,
They yelled, 'How's that for
high?
-HIGH OLD TIME.-This is a
Westerner's equivalent for what his
Eastern compatriot would designate
"a GOOD TIME (See GOOD), such,
for instance, as had the Prodigal
Son, "way down Judee."
}}
HIGHBELIA.See LOWBELIA.
HIGHBINDER. This word has two
meanings:-(1) A rowdy or roysterer
(2) It is the name given to men
employed as spies upon the Chinese.
This is specially the case in Cali-
fornia where the Chinese trouble
has been most acute.
Wong Chin Foo, the young Chinese
interpreter and writer, has secured a warrant
for the arrest of a countryman who had tried
to assassinate him on Monday. The man
has not yet been arrested. Wong says that
he suddenly stumbled upon a club of HIGH-
BINDERS who were
who were evidently in secret
session in the room where Joss reigns
supreme. With hardly a warning several
of them fell upon him. The grudge held
against Wong by the HIGHBINDERS is said to
be of long standing, having sprung up in
St. Louis, where in certain HIGHBINDERS'
murder trials Wong Foo acted as State's
interpreter.-Kingston (Canada) Daily Whig,
March 9, 1888.
HIGH BLACKBERRY.-The American
name for the fruit of the Rubus
villosus.
HIGH BLOKE (Cant). By this elegant
term, a judge is known amongst
the American criminals.
HIGH COLORING.-A pugilistic phrase,
synonymous with the free drawing
of blood.
High Dutchers
HIGH DUTCHERS.-Skates, the blades
of which are ornamentally curled
in front; those without this orna-
mentation are called DUMPS. The
Dutch are well known as the best
skaters in the world-hence the
name as given to a superior kind
of skate.
HIGHFALUTIN.- An American word,
which fitly describes the exagge-
rated bombastic speech of a certain
class of Americans. These are
they who, being good, unfortunately
know it; who, living admittedly in
a fine country, think to enhance
its greatness by somewhat ques-
tionable and certainly extravagant
praise; who, in short, are ready to
go anywhere, meet anybody, and
are prepared, as they put it, "to
whip all creation." Heavy public
dinners are apt to generate high
falutin'-sometimes to a very re-
markable degree. At one such
gathering, Daniel Webster is re-
ported to have delivered himself of
the following remarkable effusion:
-"Men of Rochester, I am glad to
see you, and I am glad to see your
noble city. Gentlemen, I saw your
falls, which, I am told, are a hundred
and fifty feet high. Gentlemen,
Rome had her Cæsar, her Scipio, her
Brutus; but Rome, in her proudest
day, had never a waterfall a hun-
dred and fifty feet high! Gentle-
men, Greece had her Demosthenes,
her Pericles, her Socrates, but
Greece, in her palmiest days, had
never a waterfall a hundred and
fifty feet high! Men of Rochester,
go on! No people ever lost their
liberties, who had a waterfall a
hundred and fifty feet high." It
would not be difficult to quote many
such passages redolent with the
most outrageous high-sounding
nonsense, which, whether known as
American SPREAD EAGLEISM
British bunkum, merits only the
severest deprecation. The deriva-
or
297
High-Muck-a-Muck
(
tion of the word itself has been
variously derived — from high
flighting,' 'high floating," and, by
Hotten from verlooten, to flay
by whipping. The first source,
however, is the most probable.
The term has now become natural-
ised in England.
In your travels through the country, you
are constantly running across two classes of
people, the HIFALUTIN' boasters, who think
they can whip all creation, and the apish
imitators of European ways, who spend their
time in apologising for their country. But it
is only fair to say that the vast majority of
the people belong to neither of these classes.
-New York Tribune, 1888.
HIGH GAG (Cant).-To TELL HIGH
GAG is to reveal that which is
secret.
HIGH HOLE (Picus amatus).-The New
York popular name for the YELLOW
HAMMER OF FLICKER (q.v.).
HIGH JINKS is a thief's term for a
petty gambler.
HIGH LIVER.-A thief who lives in a
garret a literal translation into
the cant of this class of a common
fact.
HIGH-MINDED FEDERALISTS.-A deri-
sive term applied in 1820 to a few
Federalists who supported Go-
vernor Clinton, and were laughed
at for their frequent use of the
phrase "high-minded."
HIGH-MUCK-A-MUCK.-Overbearing in
presence; possessed of inordinate
self-esteem.
It isn't every day that a great HIGH-MUCK-
A-MUCK United States senator, with lisle-
thread socks and 10-dollar underclothes, goes
calling on a little 10 by 12 western printing
office; and it isn't every country editor who
could have retained his usual equilibrium
under such trying circumstances; and we
would have been somewhat rattled ourself
38
High Studded
if the senator had not adapted himself to our
circumstances instead of forcing us to adapt
ourselves to his.-Troy Daily Times, Feb. 8,
1888.
HIGH STUDDED. To be high
studded is to assume dignity or an
airiness of manner.
HIGH TIDE (Cant).—It is high tide with
thieves when money is plentiful;
rarely, however, does it carry them
on to fortune.
HIGH TOBER (Cant).-A member of
the aristocracy of thiefdom — the
counterpart of the English swell
mobsman.
HIGH-TONED SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN.
A cant phrase of Southern origin.
HIKE, TO (Cant).—To run away; to
decamp.
HIND LEGS. TO SIT UP ON ONE'S
HIND LEGS AND HOWL.-A back-
woodsman's picturesque
picturesque phrase
synonymous with "to raise a hulla-
baloo"; to create a disturbance.
nil.
298
HINDOOS.-A nickname given in 1856
to the KNOW NOTHINGS (q.v.). The
president of the party in that year,
Daniel Ulman by name, was rightly
or wrongly supposed to have been
born in Calcutta-hence the al-
lusive sobriquet.
"
HINDSIGHT.In its much restricted
meaning the backsight" of a
gun; but colloquially hindsight is
the popular antithesis of "fore-
sight." The Americans have
a shrewd and pithy saying, that
"an ounce of foresight is worth
a pound of hindsight."
HIP INSIDE (Cant).—The inside pocket
of a coat.- HIP OUTSIDE.-The
outside pocket.
Hoarse Up
HIRED MAN.-A man servant.
'Who first found the body?'
'His HIRED MAN, who was in the habit of
coming in the morning to make the fire and
do chores.'-Police News, 1888.
HIST.-A Corruption of "hoist."
HISTORY OF THE FOUR KINGS (Cant).—
A pack of cards
HIT-EM-HARDS.
scurrilous order.
Valentines of the
Anyone having a spite to wreck can give a
neat little pinch to his supposed enemy by
sending him one of the elite comics, as they
are called. They are of general application,
are free from vulgarity, but are warranted
to hit hard. There are changeable comics,
long jokers, fault finders, HIT-'EM-HARDS
and sharp darts.-Florida Times Union,
February 10, 1888.
HITHER AND YON. A quaint New
Englandism for "here and there,"
which is also provincial in the
North of England.
HITY-TITY, TO.-Americans, with their
verb-making propensities, have not
even left the familiar "hoity-toity!
alone. De Vere humorously re-
marks that this verb transitive im-
plies the doing of that which calls
forth the exclamation, as the Greek
ἐλέγη meant ἐ λέγειν, to say ε,
alas! It may be here remarked
that there is an obsolete Old English
verb "to hoist," to leap or caper.
HO. THERE'S NO HO TO THE MATTER,
i.e., it exceeds all bounds. This
curious word is given by Webster,
and is said to be also current in
Ireland for stop; moderation;
bounds. It is thought to be a
contraction of "whoa," used by
teamsters.
HOARSE UP. TO BE HOARSED UP is
to suffer from hoarseness produced
by a severe cold.
Hoary Titmouse
HOARY TITMOUSE (Parus atricapillus).–
Otherwise the CHICKADEE (q.v.).
HOB AND HOBNAIL (Cant).-Country
joskins. HOBINOL. A country
clown.
HOBBLE, TO.-When, on ranches, it
is found necessary to secure horses
or cattle in some manner short of
absolute tethering to a stake or post,
they are hobbled. This is done by
fastening the two fore-feet together
by a lariat or hobble in such a
manner that the animal cannot take
steps of more than six or ten inches
at a time. Crafty mules, however,
find means of overcoming this im-
pediment to swift locomotion, so,
for greater safety, they are SIDE
LINED (q.v.).
HOBBLE BUSH (Viburnum lantanoides).
A long, trailing bush, found in the
Northern States. Other popular
names are TANGLE-LEGS and WAY-
FARING.
Ho-Boy or HAUT BOY.-A New York
night scavenger.
Hock.-TO BE CAUGHT IN HOCK is
a fate which befalls simpletons
who venture into the toils of card
sharpers; i.e., they are fleeced. The
odds are invariably largely in favor
of the operator, and the victim has
hearty cause for congratulation if
he escapes loss. Amongst the
fraternity, to be in hock signifies
that a grateful country is provid-
ing free board and lodging.
HOE-CAKE. A roughly prepared cake
of Indian meal, either baked
before the fire, or on a hoe-hence
the name.
Snake baked a HOE-CAKE,
Left a frog to watch it;
Frog went to sleep,
Lizard come and cotch it.
-Virginia Negro Song,
299
Hog
HOE-DOWN.-A noisy, riotous dance,
peculiar to negro entertainments
and gatherings.
HOG is invariably used in the States
in preference to "pig" or "swine,"
as in England.- -To HOG is to
appropriate greedily and selfishly,
after the manner in which swine
feed. In England an excessively
greedy person is said to be
'hoggish."
On the other hand, however, if the crook
is obstinate enough To HOG it all, or, as
sometimes happens, he goes on a bender
and blows in all the money, gets drunk and
loses it, or is in turn robbed of it, as, by the
irony of fate has sometimes happened, or
lets the object of his affections coax it all
out of him, the agent will pounce on him
and turn him over to the police.-Orange
Journal, April 16, 1887.
No quantity is left in Illinois but Senator
Cullum, and the public has not taken favor-
ably to his name ever since his railroad bill
turned out to be a rather selfish scheme of
the railroads, TO HOG whatever there was in
the business for themselves.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, March 13, 1888.
HOGG (Cant). A ten cent
piece (about 5d.); in Old English
cant a hog is a shilling.- HOG-
AGE. The period between boy-
hood and manhood. HOG
BACKS.-The use of this term for
long, flat-ridged hills is not un-
known in England, as, e.g., the Hog's
Back which extends from Guildford
to Farnham, in Surrey; in the
Western States, however, the term
is applied generically to such
elevations, and in that respect
the usage is peculiarly American.
HOG CHOKE.-In North Caro-
lina a species of flounder.
HOG FISH (Etheostoma caprodes).-
A denizen of the waters of Western
rivers.- HOG GUESSING.-Guess-
ing the weight of a selected hog,
the nearest guesser taking the
animal as a prize. The sport is
conducted like a raffle. Peculiar
to Long Island.
HOG AND
Hog
HOMINY.—A dish of pork and Indian
corn. (See HOMINY.) Hog and
hominy is an alliterative Southern-
ism. -HOG IN ARMOUR (Cant).-
A Jack-in-office; one who blusters.
-HOG IN TOGS.-A well-dressed
loafer. HOG MINDER.-A swine-
herd.
HOG PLUM (Ximenia
americana).-A tall growing bush
found in South Florida, the fruit
of which is in size and shape like a
plum, and pleasant to the palate.
300
-HOG RANCH.-A ranch where
special attention is given to the
raising of swine.--HOG REEVE.—
This is the title given in New
England to the local officer, whose
duty it is to impound stray pigs.
The raising of swine is far more
prevalent in America among small
holders than is the case among
English agricultural laborers.
HOG TIGHT AND HORSE HIGH.-This
phrase, applied to fencing, explains
itself.
It is a Southern expression,
and is generally used as printed,
in the same way that in England a
thing would be said to be sound,
"
lock, stock, and barrel," and not
"lock and stock," or "lock and
barrel" alone.--HOG WALLOW.-
Very similar to BUFFALO WALLOW
(q.v.). These depressions of the
Western and South-western prai-
ries have every appearance of
having been formed by the wallow-
ing of swine. In reality they are
caused by the heavy torrential
rains falling on land parched and
cracked by long drought, and
which form a rapid succession of
little hillocks and valleys about a
foot high and deep.
-
By Villa Franca, Tonnere, venerable Sens,
Melun, Fontainebleau, and scores of other
beautiful cities, we swept, always noting
the absence of HOG
HOG WALLOWS, broken
fences, cowlots, unpainted houses, and
mud; and always noting, as well, the
presence of cleanliness, grace, taste in
adorning and beautifying, even to the dis-
position of a tree or the turning of a hedge.
-Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad.
Holden
HOG WASH.-A New Orleans
term for bad whiskey and spirits
generally.
HOISTING (Cant).-Holding a man up
by his heels, so that his money,
watch, and valuables fall to the
ground upon which the operators
take," but do not steal" it-
at least so these gentry aver.
"
HOLDEN. The old participle holden
for "held," like "gotten" for got,
is still colloquial in the States.-
TO HOLD FOR.-" To hold for trial,"
i.e., to detain in custody while
awaiting trial.
The cause came up, was heard on an
application for a writ of habeas corpus, before
Judge Kline, one of the Associates of
Schuylkill County; and all the defendants
were HELD FOR and sent to Columbia
County jail to await trial.—Pinkerton's Mollie
Maguires.
-HOLD OVER.—A place of de-
tention for prisoners awaiting trial.
This is also sometimes called the
HOLD-OVER CELL.
The bulk of the testimony showed that
Irwin had fired first, and that Wilson was
on the defence when he mortally wounded
his assailant. When Mr. Dierkes reached
this conclusion Wilson was released from
the HOLD OVER, where he has been held
since Irwin's death.-Missouri Republican,
Feb. 24, 1888.
TO HOLD OVER ONE is to have
an advantage in some way or other.
This particular usage probably
comes from poker phraseology.
You ruther HOLD OVER me, pard. I reck-
on I can't call that hand. Ante and pass
the buck.-Mark Twain's The Innocents at
Home, p. 18.
-To HOLD UP.-A man or
train is held up when stopped and
robbed. The term is new, and is
probably derived from the "Hold
up your hands" of Western bri-
gands, who became known
HOLD-UPS, the transition to the
as
Hole in the Wall
verb to hold up to signify violent
robbery being easy enough.
W. R. Shotwell, formerly well known in
Ouray, and a member of the lodge here, was
mortally shot by HOLD-UPS, Tuesday night.
The following dispatch to Rev. O. E. Osten-
soo, secretary of I.O.O.F., of Ouray, explains
itself: El Paso, Tex., February 14, 1888.-
Bro. W. R. Shotwell was mortally wounded
by robbers to-night. Can you give us any of
his relatives' address. He is in the hands of
I.O.O.F. Wire me if any information.-Z. F.
Terrell, N.G.'-The Solid Muldoon (Ouray),
Colorado.
It then dawned upon the passengers that
the train had been HELD UP. One of the
two men who had boarded the baggage-car
appeared on the tender of the engine when
three miles out of Stein's Pass.—Missouri
Republican, February 24, 1888.
Martin Murphy was held to the Criminal
Court, by Justice C. J. White, yesterday
morning for robbery. Murphy HELD UP Frank
Jones, on the corner of Harrison and Des-
plaines streets, two weeks ago, and got his
watch.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 23, 1888.
HOLE IN THE WALL. A resort in
Washington of bibulously inclined
M.C.'s (Members of Congress). At
one time it became necessary to
prohibit "guzzling" at the Capitol,
and the hole in the wall near by
furnished thirsty souls with
convenient trysting place. Later,
however, the favorite appellation
was THE HOLE IN THE SKY.
a
HOLIBUT.-The Halibut. American
usage is more correct than the
English, the real name being Holy
But. Refer to Phillips' World of
Words.
HOLLOO, TO.-A perverted significa-
tion attaches to this verb in Western
districts, where it is employed as
the equivalent of to abandon; to
leave; to quit. For example, a
man hollers on vice, when he aban-
dons its practice. The term has
been traced to the prize-ring, where
a fallen adversary crying out, by
so doing yields or gives up the
fight.
301
Home
The last-
named is the old participle of
'help." This, however, is less
frequently heard than the other
archaic forms. Amongst Southern
negroes the corruption holped, itself
the preterite of the mongrel "holp,"
is frequent.
HOLP, HOLPED, HOLPEN.
HOME. (1) In the West Indies,
British America, and indeed all
English-speaking Colonies, home is
used familiarly in referring to the
Mother Country. When Colonists
speak of going home, they invariably
mean taking a trip to England.
This of course does not apply so
much to the people of the United
States, save in those cases where
the change of residence from one
country to another has been com-
paratively recent. The expression
is a very old one, and probably
dates back to the earliest days
of English colonization. (2)
In such expressions as "at home,"
the preposition is often omitted,
and one would say in asking after
friends, "How's all home." A
similar curiosity is the way " to "
is used for "at;" e.g., "How's all
to home."
Slocomb recalled now, that when she said.
she lived To HUм there was really a very
Scribner's
pleasant sparkle in her eye. -
Magazine, 1887.
I know wy sentinuls air sot; you ain't agoin'
to eat us;
Caleb hain't no monopoly to court the
seenoreetas;
My folks тO HUм air full ez good ez hisn be,
by golly!
-Biglow Papers.
Conversely the proposition is often
inserted where no necessity exists
for its presence. A very good
example of this occurs in Irwin
Russell's inimitable poem, Christ-
mas Night in the Quarters, a medley
which laughed its way across the
continent.
Homestead Law
Git yo' pardners, fust kwattillion!
Stomp yo' feet, an' raise 'em high;
Tune is: 'Oh, dat water-million!'
Gwine to git to HOME bime-by.
S'lute yo' pardners! scrape perlitely-
Don't be bumpin' 'gin de res';
Balance all! now, step out rightly;
Allus dunce yo' lebbel bes'.
HOMESTEAD LAW.-The Homestead
Act of 1862 was, perhaps, the most
beneficial and far-reaching in its
wisdom ever passed by Congress.
By it every citizen, native or natu-
ralized, is able to acquire a
home farm of 160 acres, the sole
condition being five years' residence
upon the property, subject, of
course, to something being done in
the way of improvement, i.e., culti-
vation. The most important pro-
vision of this Act, however, is the
absolute exemption of the home-
stead from forced sale for debt save
the purchase-money. As the latter
merely consists of certain moderate
registration and other fees, the ex-
emption is practically absolute;
and after five years' residence the
General Land Office in Washington
will grant a title. Experience has
shown that in the majority of cases
-always, of course, ruling out of
court speculative holders-so rapid
is the advance in value of land,
when once settled on, that from
forty to fifty per cent. of those
who enter under the provisions of
the Homestead Law, expecting to
receive a gratuitous deed, prefer
to pay for the land, rather than
wait the five years necessary for the
consummation of their titles. By
this measure, and more particularly
its exemption clause, the people of
the United States have recognised,
and, as far as possible given effect
to, what have been called the three
fundamental rights of every man,
woman, and child born into this
world, viz. good food, good cloth-
ing, good homes. To their honor
be it said, the American people
302
Hommock
have for ever put behind their backs
the possible recurrence, in the New
World, of the evils of landlordism
as exemplified in the Old. The prin-
ciple of the Homestead Law is that
the family being the unit of society,
the basis of civilization and the
foundation of the Republic, it
becomes necessary as a matter of
policy, and for the good order of
society, as well as a matter of public
economy, to save as far as possible
the homes of the people from be-
coming broken up and destroyed,
either by debt or by taxation. It
is further held that the obligation
resulting from the contract of mar-
riage, wherein the man agrees to
support his wife and his children,
and to furnish to them a shelter, is
not only prior in point of time to
the debts of creditors, but it is an
obligation more sacred than any
other which a man can assume;
and, therefore, the law, as well as
the courts who administer it, should
always maintain the priority and
the superior equity and sacredness
of the contract of marriage over and
above all other contracts which
may be entered into. The limit of
exemption varies in different States.
By the laws of Illinois a homestead
is exempted from forced sale for
debt to the value of 1,000 dols.,
while in Wisconsin, by the consti-
tution and laws of that State, the
homestead is exempted to the value
of 5,000 dols. In connection with
this subject, see PRE-EMPTION.
HOMINY. A Staple preparation of
Indian corn, the grains of which
are coarsely ground and boiled,
though sometimes they are cooked
whole. Hominy seems to be of
Indian derivation from ahuminea.
HOMMOCK.-In the everlades or fresh
water swamps of Florida, hommock
is the name given to small eleva-
Hondou
tions or islands. This word must
not be confounded with HAMMOCK
(q.v.).
HONDOU.-The slip-knot of a lariat.
This is probably from the Spanish
honda, the eye of a needle.
"
"
HONEST INJUN!-An exclamation of
address, employed very much as
old man
is familiarly used in
England when the person addressed
is by no means of mature age.
Though the reference to Indian
honesty was at first a sarcastic
allusion to the red man's thievish
propensities, now, when used as
a form of address, nothing deroga-
tory is implied.
HONEY.-A good fellow; one who
commands admiration and respect.
(Cant). A generic name for
money.
'It's a great day for Dave,' said one en-
thusiastic Democrat, 'and I've got money
that no one can name the man that will beat
him in the race for the governorship. He
has driven a long spike in his political oppo-
nent's coffin, whoever he may be. Dave is a
HONEY.'-Missouri Republican, February 24,
1888.
TO HONEY.-To cajole with
soft words or promises.
Notice Persons indebted to the Tusca-
loosa bookstore are respectfully solicited to
pay their last year's account forthwith. It
is of no use TO HONEY; payments must be
made at least once a year, or I shall run
down at the heels. I have not spare change
enough to buy myself a shirt or a pair of
breeches. My wife is now actually engaged
in turning an old pair wrongside-out, and
trying to make a new shirt out of two old
ones. Come, come, pay up, my friends!
keep peace in the family, and enable me to
wear my breeches right-side-out.-Tuscaloosa
News, 1888.
TO HONEY-FUGGLE or HONEY-
FOGLE.-To swindle; to cheat;
or to humbug.
Just as the hilarity was at its best, an
admirer of Judge Noonan, also somewhat
303
Hoople
under the domination of the rosy, caught
sight of that eminent jurist, and coming to
him wreathed himself lovingly about his
honor. Noonan's companion objected to
this public HONEY-FUGLING by knocking the
demonstrative stranger down. - Missouri
Republican, January 26, 1888.
HONEY LOCUST (Gleditschia tria-
canthus).-The THORNY LOCUST of
the West and South, the latter
name being given on account of
its numerous and large thorns.
HONEYSUCKLE.
This plant
(the Azalea viscosa) is far removed
from kinship with the English
honeysuckle.
HONORABLE. This title in America
is given to Members of Congress,
and American representatives at
foreign courts, and
and a few other
Government officials.
HOODLUM.-A young rough. The
term originated in San Francisco,
but is now general throughout the
Union.
They were met by three young HOODLUMS,
who jostled against the young lady, and
made the most disgusting remarks concern-
ing her.-Missouri Republican, April 1, 1888.
John Mulroy was arrested yesterday on a
warrant charging him with assault to kill his
father, Patrick Mulroy. The boy is a нOOD-
LUM, who had often threatened that he
would kill his father should that parent ever
attempt to punish him.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, February 15, 1888.
-Hence also HOODLUMISM.
An exhibition of HOODLUMISM of the most
aggravated type was given last evening on
car No. 61 of the Market Street line.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, April 2, 1888.
(Cant). — A
HOODY-DOODY
stumpy person.
short
HOOK JACK, To. -A New England
boy's term for playing truant.
HOOPLE.-A hoop as used by children.
This name is of Dutch descent, and
is still used in New York.
Hoosier
HOOSIER, HOOSIER STATE.
Hoosier
A hoosier
is a native of the State of Indiana.
The origin of this, as of many nick-
names, is lost in mystery. One
account is that the citizens of this
State are proverbially inquisitive,
and gruff in speech, and that their
nickname was bestowed on them
because they never could pass a
house without pulling the latch-
string, and crying out, "Who's
here?" This fanciful derivation,
however, may probably be dis-
missed with scant consideration,
although Kentuckians insist that it
is a true one. Another account is
that given by a correspondent of
the Providence Journal; he says:—
Throughout all the Western
settlements were men who rejoiced
in their physical strength, and on
numerous occasions, at log-rollings
and house-raisings, demonstrated
this to their entire satisfaction.
They were styled by their fellow-
citizens hushers, from their primary
capacity to still their opponents.
It was a common term for a bully
throughout the West. The boat-
men of Indiana were formerly
as rude and as primitive a set as
could well belong to a civilized
country, and they were often
in the habit of displaying their
pugilistic accomplishments upon
the levee at New Orleans.
Upon a certain occasion there,
one of these rustic professors
of the 'noble art' very adroitly
and successfully practised the
'fancy' upon several individuals
at one time. Not being a native
of the Western world, in the
exuberance of his exultation he
sprang up, exclaiming, in foreign
accent, 'I'm a hoosier, I'm a hoosier.
Some of the New Orleans papers
reported the case, and afterwards
transferred the corruption of the
epithet 'husher' (hoosier) to all
the boatmen from Indiana, and
from thence to all citizens." This
304
Hoosier
"
explanation, it is possible, may
be regarded as hardly more
satisfactory. When, however, we
come to deal with the hoosier's
manner of speech we pitch upon
less debatable ground. J. H.
Beadle, in his Western Wilds,
furnishes data in respect to what
he calls the hoosier language, which
he says he spoke in his childhood,
and of which no grammar has ever
been published. Before it becomes
extinct, therefore, it may be as well
to fix a few of its idioms. It
abounds in negatives held to
strengthen the sentence. Don't
know nothing" is common.
" See
here," says a native, looking for
work, to the farmer, "You don't
know o' nobody what don't want to
hire nobody to do nothin' around
here don't you." But it is in the
verb to do that the hoosier tongue is
most effective. Here is the ordi-
nary conjugation. Present tense:
regular as in English. Imperfect :
I, you, he done it; we, you, they
uns done it. Perfect I, you, he
gone done it; we, you, they uns
gone done it.
Pluperfect I, you,
he, etc., bin gone done it, etc.
First future: I, you, he, etc., gwine
to do it. Second future: I gwine
to gone done it, etc. Plural: We,
you, they uns gwine to gone done
it, etc. Philologically this langu-
age is the result of a union between
the rude translations of "Pennsyl-
vania Dutch," the negroisms of
Kentucky and Virginia, and certain
phrases native to the Ohio valley.
-HOOSIER CAKE.-A coarse kind
of gingerbread, so called, say the
Kentuckians (between whom and
Hoosiers a friendly rivalry has
always existed), because the inhabi-
tants of Indiana-the Hoosier State
-are very partial to it. Therefore,
say they, if you want to catch a
Hoosier give the biped hoosier-cake.
-HOOSIERDOM.-The State of
Indiana.
Hooter
"not
HOOTER. When a thing is
worth a hooter," the meaning is that
it is of no account; not worth an
iota. Hooter is probably a corrup-
tion of "iota."
HOPINE. A name given to malt-
liquor, which, for all practical pur-
poses, is genuine beer, but which
is so called to evade the provisions
of the Prohibition Act. Iowa
is one of the so-called Prohibition
States, a fact which will explain
the following quotation :-
We don't get beer, precisely, but they sell
a drink out there called HOPINE, which ex-
perts can't tell from beer, but the sale of
which is not a violation of the liquor law,
so the jury of which I was foreman de-
cided one day last month, so you needn't
waste any sympathy on us Iowa teetotalers.
-Texas Siftings, 1888.
305
HOPKINS. DON'T HURRY, HOPKINS!
-Used ironically in the West in
speaking to persons who are very
slow in their work, or tardy in
meeting an obligation. It is said
to have originated from the case of
one Hopkins, who, having given one
of his creditors a promissory note
in regular form, added to it this ex-
traordinary memorandum :—It is
expressly agreed, that the said
Hopkins is not to be hurried in
paying the above note.
HOPPER. (1) A railway coach of par-
ticular shape. -(2) A contracted
form of " grasshopper."
HOPPING JOHN.-A South Carolinan
dish of bacon and peas stewed with
red pepper.
HOPPING-MAD.-Very angry.
HOP TREE (Ptelia trifoliata).—A name
given in the Eastern States to a
shrub, the seed clusters of which
are used as a bitter.
Horse
"to
HORK, TO (Cant).—To listen; to hear.
Evidently a corruption of
hearken.
"
"
HORN.-A measure for spirits, as
horn of whiskey," i.e., a dram
or "nip."
a
I don't know whether Mark took a drop or
not; but they generally keep a barrel of old
rye in the lumber shanties, and my opinion
is that he was invited to take a HORN.-
IIammond's Wild Northern Scenes, p. 198.
HORN BUG.-The stag beetle.
IN A HORN.—A slang phrase
equivalent to the English "over
the left shoulder"; both are sotte
voce saving clauses to false asser-
tions, Plain folk call such mis-
statements by a severe name-
lies.--THE LITTLE END OF THE
- The mountain bringing
forth a mouse is the prototype
of those who come out at the
little end of the horn; who make
much ado about nothing, and
whose vast endeavors
endeavors end in
failure. The allusion is to the
"Horn of Plenty," one end of
which tapers to a point.
HORN.
HORNED GREBE.-A species of dipper.
HORNED POUT.-The CATFISH (q.v.).
HORNED SUCKER (Catostomus storer).—
A fish which is also called the
CHUB SUCKER.
HORNESS (Cant).-A watchman.
HORNSWOGGLE.-A Western creation,
signifying nonsense, foolery, or
chaffing deception. Variants are
SKULDUGGERY and SHENANIGAN.
HORSE. That, of all the dumb crea-
tion, the horse is par excellence the
friend of man, no one recognizes
more fully than the Western back-
woodsman. Some of the boldest
39
Horse
of his metaphors, and the most
touching tributes of praise, are
drawn from this source. These
expressions, originating for the
most part in frontier life, have
quickly spread throughout the
Union, and become part and parcel
of the every-day speech of all
classes, more especially as there
exists, among Americans as a
people, a passionate love of horses.
A near and dear friend, an old
companion, or men and women,
whose traits of character command
respect and homage, are familiarly
horses. It is related that a distin-
guished Kentuckian on one occa-
sion, when carried away by enthu-
siasm at Miss Kemble's acting,
started abruptly to his feet,
and with tremendous energy roared
out, By heaven she's a horse."
Far from this being considered a
rude thing to say of a lady, it is
the highest compliment that can be
paid her; inasmuch as, a fine horse
being one of the grandest and most
beautiful objects on earth, so, in
comparison, more genuine praise or
a higher appreciation of personal
qualities cannot be expressed.
Amongst the ruder sort, the phrase
affectionately becomes OLD HOSS,
and a man is apt to speak of him-
self as THIS HORSE.
C
Here, boys, drink. Liquors, captain, for
the crowd. Step up this way, OLD HOSS, and
liquor.-Gladstone's Englishman in Kansas,
P. 43.
Thar was old Sam Owins,-him as got
rubbed out by the Spaniards at Sacramento
or Chihuahua, THIS HOSS doesn't know
which, but he went under any how.-Rux-
ton's Life in the Far West.
In the same connection of meta-
phor we get HORSE-SENSE, and he
who possesses it is regarded by his
fellows as sound in judgment and
practical in method.
He wasn't loony on a bargain, sir, no in-
deed; and he had plenty of hard Horse-
SENSE, and took good care of his property.-
Putnam's Magazine.
306
Horse
Combined with this love of
horses is another prominent quality
of the American. He regards
driving a single horse as poor fun
indeed; on the contrary, he likes
to drive a whole team. Hence
anything strikingly small or mean
he characterizes as ONE HORSE, and
so dubs anything and anybody from
a church to a bank, and from a
governor to a bailiff, of which or
of whom he has but a poor opinion.
Thus we get one-horse towns, one-
horse lawyers, and one-horse oaths
-the "euphemistic" blasphemies,
which do duty for really genuine
and honest outbursts.
Ah, it was a great loss-it was a powerful
loss to this poor little ONE-HORSE town.-
Mark Twain's Screamers.
HORSE is also current in the
Old English sense of a plank
support or trestle.
A long table was now spread, eked out by
boards laid upon carpenter's HORSES, and
this was covered by a variety of table cloths,
all shining clean, however, and carefully
disposed.-A. Quilting, 1873.
HORSE AND HORSE, a variant
of "neck and neck," i.e., even.
HORSE-BARN.-A stable.--HORSE-
BOAT.—A kind of ferry-boat some-
times met with in Western waters,
the propelling power of which is
a horse; sometimes also called a
HORSE-CARS.
HORSE-FOOT (Li-
HORSE-FERRY.
Tram-cars.
mulus polyphemus).-The king crab
of England; the popular name
is derived from its supposed re-
semblance to a horse-shoe. This
crustacean is very plentiful in
American waters.- -HOLD YOUR
HORSES? isa slang phrase signifying
willingness to undertake a task or
commission for another.---HORSE-
MACKEREL.—This is the popular
name in Massachusetts for the
BLUE-FISH (q.v.). HORSE MIL-
LINER.
maker.
A saddler and harness
This odd name can, in
Horse-Cappers
reality, claim ancient usage, dating
back as far as the sixteenth century.
Sir W. Scott also, in his Heart of Mid-
lothian (ch. xii.), makes Bartoline
Saddletree say:
Whereas, in my
wretched occupation of a saddler,
horse-milliner and harness maker."
"
-HORSE-MINT (Monarda punc-
tata).—This is given by Webster as
a large species of mint found from
New York southward.- HORSE-
NETTLE (Solanum carolinense).—A
poisonous weed with orange-yel-
low berries. HORSE-RAILROAD, a
tramway.
HORSE-SHOE. See
HORSE-FOOT, for which this is but
another name.
HORSE-CAPPERS.
Horse swindlers,
whose trick is generally to dispose of
a worthless animal at a price far
above its value.
HOSTILES.
enemies.
A Western term for
HOT (Cant). When a thief gets too
well known in any locality, he
says it is getting hot for him. An
English equivalent is high-
rented."
#
HOT-SLAW.-Minced cabbage, pickled
in vinegar and made hot.-See
KOOL-SLAA.
HOUNDS. (1) In the old slavery days,
men who hunted for and caught
runaway negroes. (2) A gang
of San Franciscan ruffians. Also
called REGULATORS.
HOURLY.-An old obsolete Boston
term for an omnibus-probably
from the vehicles making a journey
at intervals of an hour.
HOUSE.-In the sense of a store
place, house is more frequently
compounded with other words than
307
Ноге
in England. Thus a larder
becomes a MEAT-HOUSE, a laundry
WASH-HOUSE, and a dairy a
MILK-HOUSE, etc.-HOUSE-CAR.
-A closed car; a BOX-CAR (q.v.).
a
-To HOUSE-KEEP. To keep
house, a form of comparatively
recent introduction. HOUSEN
STUFF, i.e., household furniture.
THE HOUSE.-A shortened
form for The House of Repre-
sentatives, just as "The House "
in England always means the
House of Commons.- -HOUSE-
HOLDRY.-Household employment.
A new form. HOUSEN.-An old
form for the plural of "house."
This is still heard in some parts,
notably the Southern States.
HOUSE TO LET.—A slang expression
for a widow's weeds. -HOUSE
RAISING.-A BEE (q.v.), or gather-
ing of people in a thinly settled
part, to enable new comers to
build a house. These working
parties, when the task was finished,
usually wound up with feasting
and merrymaking.
Drunkenness has greatly decreased in this
country during the last fifty years. Any of
my hearers who are as old as I, will remem-
ber that time when almost everyone drank,
from Maine to Louisiana. Church members,
deacons, and even preachers drank; that no
business or social gathering took place at
which the bottle was not passed round.
That HOUSE-RAISINGS, log-rollings, and corn-
huskings usually ended in drunken frolics,
and militia musters were nearly always
finished in the same way. -Missouri
Republican, March 8, 1888.
-HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Generally shortened to THE
HOUSE. See under HOUSE.
HOVE. The old preterite of "to
heave." Like most of these old
forms, it is mainly heard in New
England and the South.
How?—A New Englander's equiva-
lent for What? and used very much
as a Frenchman would employ
Hub
comment? when asking for a repeti-
tion of what he has failed to under-
stand, or it may be of what he
wishes to hear once more before
he gives an answer.
How
COME? A negroism for "How
did it occur?" How came that
about?"
How Is THAT FOR
HIGH? See HIGH. HOW YOU
TALK. A New England exclama-
tion which may mean surprise,
approbation, or, indeed, any emo-
tion whatsoever. HOW ARE YOU,
JOHNNIE?-A familiar mode of
address, first used by soldiers during
the Civil War.
HUB. A heap on a road, or a
projection on a mountain. In this
sense hub is specially American.
-THE HUB or THE HUB OF THE
UNIVERSE is the grandiloquent title
given by Oliver Wendall Holmes
to the City of Boston.-See also
CLASSIC CITY. Bostonians are
called HUBBITES.
The Boston Girl is the subject of yet
another special feature of The Sunday Globe
to-morrow. The typical girl of THE HUB
has been much written about in the novels of
the period, and without doubt she is worth
all the attention bestowed upon her.-Boston
Daily Globe, 1888.
HUBBUB (Cant). — A pain in the
stomach.
HUCKLEBERRY.-A kind of blackberry.
Formerly the popular name for
this fruit was whortleberry.To
BE A HUCKLEBERRY ABOVE ONE'S
PERSIMMON is a quaint Southern
phrase, meaning that something
apparently simple and easy, is far
above the ability of the person
making the attempt.
HUE. "Hue him," i.e., lash him! A
thief's term.
HUEY.—In American pugilistic slang
Huey represents the National Police
Gazette published in New York.
308
Hum
-HUG-
HUG, TO (Cant).—-To choke.-
GING THE HOOKER, i.e., choking
the thief.
HUGGER-MUGGER, TO.-(1) To hush
up; to smother.
Come, Mr. Cleveland, order your Secre-
tary of State to make public that British
extradition treaty which he and the Senate
have so carefully HUGGER-MUGGERED for
more than eighteen months. If it is all right,
publicity can do no harm. If it is wrong,
publicity is necessary. Publicity is Demo-
cratic. Secrecy about the people's business
is aristocratic. This is a Democratic ad-
ministration. Give the people a sight of the
British treaty.-New York Herald, Ind., 1888.
(2) To take secret counsels;
to act clandestinely; secretly.
Hugger-mugger was used by Shak-
speare in this sense.
HULLED CORN.-Indian corn, which is
husked by being scalded. It then
enters into the composition of many
palatable dishes.
HULY.-A New England term for a
noise or uproar.
HUM. TO MAKE THINGS HUM is to be
expert in one's affairs; "to look
alive." The metaphor is from the
bee, that insect being regarded as
the emblem of untiring activity
and restless industry.
Young Mr. Hearst studied at Harvard and
is gifted with a great deal of ability. He is
tall, fair and well formed, and exceedingly
gentle and modest in his manners. Ever
since he has taken the newspaper reins in
San Francisco he has MADE THINGS HUM.-
-San Francisco Weekly Examiner, February
23, 1888.
-In another sense TO HUM
AROUND is to "call over the
coals"; "to bring to account.".
HUMMER. A lively, industrious
worker; one who does not let the
grass grow under his feet. Other
slang equivalents are RUSTLER;
M
LALA; ONE WHO HAS NO FLIES ON
Human
HIM. (See FLIES.) In thieves' par-
lance a hummer is a big lie.
HUMAN.—A human for a human being,
and its plural humans are forms
over which many battles philolo-
gical have been waged. Though
colloquial in America they have
not made much headway in Eng-
land, and, it is to be hoped, never
will. It must be remarked, how-
ever, that Chapman and other
writers of his period (xvi and xvii
centuries) use them.
A familiar figure is gone from the streets
of Glenwood Springs. The figure walked
on four legs and didn't talk politics. He was
only a dog, but he knew more than some
men and was much more useful to society than
many HUMANS.-Denver Republican, 1888.
HUM BIRD OF HUMMER. Popular
names of the humming bird,
chiefly the Trochilus colubris.
HUM BOX. This term, which in
England has for a very long time
stood for a pulpit amongst thieves
and their associates, is, in America,
applied by the same class of people
to an auctioneer's desk.
HUMILITY.-The marbled godwit-a
frequenter of the fens and river
banks of New England.
HUMMOCK.-See HOMMOCK.
Номмоск.
HUMPHREY (Cant).-A coat with false
pockets; the better to facilitate
thieving operations.
HUMP ONESELF, TO.-To bestir one-
self; to be expeditious.
It was curious to see the stenographer be-
gin to HUMP himself as the flood of Senator
Jones' wild, untrammelled oratory came
thicker and faster, and tumbled over itself
until the writer's body was out of his chair.
At last Senator Jones closed his verbal gat-
ling-gun practice with a last word, like a last
bullet, and two seconds later the shorthand
309
Hurra's Nest
man sank back in his chair exhausted but
triumphant. He had got there. It will
take something worse even than Jones, if that
is possible, to beat a Congressional steno-
grapher.-Detroit Free Press, May, 1888.
Society is HUMPING itself in anticipation
of Lent. It is to be sincerely hoped it will
not be laid out by the effort.-Ömaħa Journal,
1888.
"
HUMP YOURSELF is a frequently
heard injunction to be sharp!'
"look alive!" In England, "got
the hump" bears an entirely differ-
ent meaning.
HUNG BEEF.-Dried beef; so named
from its being cured by hanging.
Also called CHIP BEEF.
HUNK. TO BE HUNK, i.e., all safe.
From the Dutch honk, a home, a
place.- HUNKERS or OLD HUN-
KERS. Also derived from the Dutch
honk. A local political term,
originating in New York in 1844,
to designate the Conservative
Democrats as opposed to the
YOUNG DEMOCRACY or BARN BUR-
NERS (q.v.). The Hunkers them-
selves clung to the homestead or
old principles, but unkind critics.
insisted that it rather meant a
clinging to a large hunk of the spoils
of office.-Hence HUNKERISM.
S
HUNKEY, HUNKIDORI. Both these
strange words stand in The Great
American Language" for
for "super-
latively good."
I am truly glad to hear from my young
friend. I suppose Robert has entirely re-
gained his health?'
{
Robert is all HUNKY, but he had a mighty
close call the week before last.'- Texas
Siftings, October 20, 1888.
HUNTING SHIRT.-A deerskin, blouse-
like
use
garment, in
amongst
trappers and frontiersmen. It is
very durable, and is sometimes
very ornamental.
HURRA'S NEST.-A state of confusion.
Hurrygraph
HURRYGRAPH. A hastily written
letter. From "to hurry," and
grapho, I write.
HURRYMENT.-A Southern phrase for
hurry or confusion.
HUSBANDHOOD.-The state of being a
husband. Compare with wifehood.
HUSH (Cant).—A murder.
HUSKING BEE, OT HUSKING.-Farmers
in New England, when the harvest.
had been gathered, were in the
habit of inviting neighbors and
friends to help in husking the corn.
The work was quickly executed by
the many willing hands, and was
followed by merry-making, dancing,
etc.
I have seen enough boldness used by a
parcel of girls at one HUSKIN' or apple-cut,
to supply four presidential elections.-Betsy
Bobbet, p. 290.
To this 'ere time, to put it nice,
There was nothin' wuth declarin',
'Cept I'd kissed her onct or twice,
At a HUSKIN' or a parin'.
--Century Magazine, 1888.
In the South and West the
same process is called "shucking."
HUSS-BRAN.-An Indiana name for a
COB.
HUSTLE, TO.-Used actively and pas-
sively. To be active in movement,
quick in speech, and generally alive
at all points. A Snapping Shoals
(Ga.) colored preacher, is reported
to have once said from the pulpit:
"I was once young; I is now old.
I hab neber seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging ob
bread. But," he said, laying the
book down, and raising his specs,
"I've seen them hustle like the
debble for meat.'
As illus-
trating the meaning of hustle, the
following graphic picture of the
310
Hustle
"Hustling Shopper" may, perhaps,
be quoted:
Tramp, tramp, tramp!
With the morning clocks at ten,
She skimmed the street, with foot-
steps fleet,
And hustled the timid men;
Tramp, tramp, tramp
She entered
store,
the dry-goods'
And with echoing tread the dance
she led
All over the crowded floor.
She charged the throng where the
bargains were,
And everybody made way for her;
Wherever she saw a painted sign
She made for that spot a prompt
bee line;
Whatever was old, or whatever was
new,
She had it down, and she looked it
through;
Whatever it was that caught her
eye,
She'd stop and price, and pretend
to buy.
But 'twas either too bad, too com-
mon, or good,
So she did, and she wouldn't, and
didn't, and would,
And round the counters and up the
stairs,
In attic and basement and every-
wheres;
The salesmen fainted, and cash
boys dropped,
But still she shopped, and shopped,
and shopped,
And round, and round, and round,
and round,
Like a winding toy, with a key that's
wound,
She'd weave and wriggle, and twist
about,
One way in and the other way
out,
Till men grew giddy to see her
go,
And by-and-bye, when the sun was
low,
Hustle
Homeward she dragged her weary
way,
And had sent home the spoils of
the day-
A spool of silk and a hank of
thread-
Eight hours-ten cents-and a
dame half dead.
}}
From the verb is derived the
noun HUSTLER, an active busy
individual; one who, in American
slang, 'has no flies on him."
Among the innumerable synonyms
may be mentioned, "rustler,'
to make it clearer, a lala," still
further interpreted, a "daisy," or
to use other language, a "hummer,'
or just about as smart as they
make 'em."
or,
31I
Hyst
HYPANTOL.-The complaint of the
malade imaginaire.
HYPER, TO.To bustle.
HYPO.-A contraction of hypochron-
driac; and hence HYPOEY,
suffering from melancholy. In
England, the equivalent is hypped.
HYST.-A severely rapid fall. Said
to come from "hoist," in which
case an inversion of meaning has
taken place, and the elevation is
'downwards."



CE. A BIG THING ON
ICE.-This frequently
heard catch-phrase is
synonymous with
magnitude of size
combined, in cases
where human voli-
tion forms a factor,
with calm coolness of action. It
is generally curtailed in writing
and speaking to B.T.I. (q.v.).
ICE-BOAT.-Ice-boating is an exhila-
rating winter pastime, which, of
necessity, can only be enjoyed by
those who live in Northern regions,
and upon stretches of water such
as are furnished by the St. Law-
rence and other large rivers.
The ICE-BOAT is a kind of yacht on skates.
In construction it is a mere skeleton, weigh-
ing pounds where an ordinary yacht would
weigh tons. The main timbers in an ICE-
BOAT are arranged in the form of the letter
T, the perpendicular line of the letter repre-
senting the centre timber, which runs from
the foot of the mast to the stern of the boat.
The horizontal line of the letter may stand
for the runner plank, on each end of which
is a large skate, called a runner. At the
junction of the centre timber and the runner
plank is the mast bench, which acts as a
socket for the mast. From the aftermost
end of the centre timber side-rails run dia-
gonally to points about half-way between the
masts and the ends of the runner plank.
One or two braces cross the centre timber
from one side-rail to the other. Mortised
into the forward end of the centre timber is
the heel of the bowsprit. The outlines of
the boat when completed are diamond
shaped. The correct proportions of a typical
ICE-BOAT are as follows:-Centre timber,
26 feet 9 inches; length over all, including
bowsprit, 50 feet 10 inches; runner planks,
19 feet 3 1-2 inches; sail area, 538 1-2 square
feet; cost, slightly less than £100.
(
centuries, but on the inland lakes and streams
of the Northern United States and Canada,
Maine, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Michigan
and Illinois, the pastime has become so
popular, and has attained such dimensions, as
to substantiate its claim to rank as a dis-
tinctively American sport. On the Hudson
the speed attained is marvellous.
In 1879
the Lucile' sailed from Poughkeepsie to
New Hamburg, a distance of nine miles, in
seven minutes and ten seconds. The 'Snow
Flake' has made the same distance in seven
minutes. In 1882 the Haze' accomplished
the same feat, and at one time in her flight
made two miles in one minute. In 1879 the
'Comet,' 'Phantom,' ' Zephyr,' and 'Magic
sailed together ten miles in ten minutes, and
most of the time with their windward
runners elevated at an angle of 45 degrees,
on account of the brisk wind. It is said
that a gentleman residing at Poughkeepsie
wished to speak to his brother who had
started on a train for New York. He sprang
into his ICE-BOAT, passed the train, and was
on the platform of the station at Newburg
when it drew up.
1
ICKEN.-In the patter of low life in
New York icken means oak, the tree
itself being called ICKEN BAUM.
This is evidently a corruption of
the German eiche, an oak, icken
baum being pleonastic.
I DAD.-An exclamation of Western
birth and common usage. A variant
of "begad."
IDEA-POT (Cant).-An odd word for
a man's head.
ILE. " TO STRIKE ILE," is to make
a hit; to be successful. The meta-
phor has passed into general speech
from the vast wealth which sudden-
the
ly and unexpectedly became
Ice sail-
inheritance of the owners of sterile
ing has been known in Europe for several
Ill
land in Pennsylvania upon the
discovery of the oil regions in that
State. The industry has attained
enormous proportions and the
capacity of some of the wells
appears well nigh inexhaustible.
Oil wells have since then been
discovered in many other parts.
Mr. Harte has STRUCK ILE in Chicago. At
a dinner given in his honor, each guest
brought five thousand dollars as his contri-
bution to Bret Harte's new magazine.-
Philadelphia Ledger.
"
ILL. Two distinct perversions of
meaning occur in America in con-
nection with this word. (1) In
some parts of the South-west it is
used as synonymous with" vicious"
or 'immoral," and if a man were
said to be ill, the idea, not of sick-
ness, but of immorality or other
vice would be conveyed; possibly
on the lines that evil practices if
persisted in lead more or less to
sickness.- (2) In certain parts of
Arkansas ill bears the meaning of
cross or ill-tempered.
Bulah war mighty long-sufferin' with him,
tendin' on him night'n day, an' runnin' the
boat, too; an', in course, the baby mus' come
in the thick er it! An't made me mad,
seein' him so ILL with her.-Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
ILLY.-Randomly used by some writers
who forget that "ill" is itself an
adverb. One might with equal
reason say "welly"; it is to be re-
marked, however, that some of the
older English writers employ it.
Should I hear a member ILLY spoken of, I
will espouse his cause, and convey the infor-
mation to him as soon as possible for me so
to do. I will obey my superior officers in
everything lawful, and not otherwise. All
this I do solemnly swear.-Pinkerton's Mollie
Maguires and Detectives.
Lowell, too, has some interesting
remarks anent this word.
The objection to ILLY is not an etymo-
logical one, but simply that it is contrary to
313
In
good usage-a very sufficient reason. Ill as
an adverb was at first a vulgarism, precisely
like the rustic's when he says, 'I was treated
bad.' May not the reason of this excep-
tional form be looked for in that tendency
to dodge what is hard to pronounce? If the
letters were distinctly uttered, as they should
be, it would take too much time to say ILL-LY,
well-ly, and it is to be observed that we have
avoided smally and tally in the same way,
though we add ish to them in the same way
without hesitation in smallish and tallish.
We have to be sure, dully and fully, but for
the one we prefer stupidly, and the other
(though this may have come from eliding the
y before as) is giving way to full. The un-
educated, whose utterance is slower, still
make adverbs when they will by adding like
to all manner of adjectives.-Biglow Papers.
IMMENSE. A thing is immense when
very good, which can hardly be
said of the form of speech itself.
A vulgar perversion of language,
which has gained some acceptance
in England also.
The afterpiece is said to be IMMENSE, and
is called 'Scenes in Africa, or She-who-
Must-be-Disobeyed,' and never fails to send
all home in a good humor.-Florida Times
Union, February 8, 1888.
IMPORT-TAKER (Cant).-A gambler's
and black-leg's money lender. A
Shylock of Shylocks. In this term
cant almost touches the classical;
at any rate it seems odd for men
of this class to know anything
about tax-paying.
IMPUDENT (Cant).-With some show
of grace the professional appro-
priator of other people's property
admits it to be an impudent thing
to cut off the tails of a man's coat
in order to possess himself of their
contents; at least this is a thief's
translation of the word.
IN. FOR ALL THERE'S IN
IN IT. TO
the utmost capacity of a person or
thing.
Usually the watch passes off without inci-
dent, but on rare occasions the cattle become
restless and prone to stampede. Anything
may then start them-the plunge of a horse,
40
Inca
the sudden approach of a coyote, or the
arrival of some outside steers or cows that
have smelt them and come up. Every animal
in the herd will be on its feet in an instant,
as if by an electric shock, and off with a rush,
horns and tail up. Then, no matter how
rough the ground, nor how pitchy black the
night, the cowboys must ride FOR ALL THERE
IS IN THEM, and spare neither their own nor
their horses' necks.-Roosevelt's Ranch Life
in the Far West.
INCA. The chief ruler of Peru prior
to the Spanish conquest.
INCREASED.—Explained by quotation.
'He'un had no call (business) to be jined!'
sobbed Deb.
314
'Pore chile!' sighed the mother. 'Deb's
INCREASED (very smart) fur her aige, stran-
ger. She's lookin' higher'n most gals fur a
husband. She doan' keer two twinkles fur
nobody 'round yere.'-Detroit Free Press,
September 15, 1888.
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
"The glorious
4th of July," as Americans are
fond of calling it. On this date
(1776) Congress declared the Ameri-
can colonies independent of king-
craft, and laid the foundations of
what in the future (if it is not
exactly now) may prove the true
form of human Government.
INDIAN. A brief account of the in-
fluence of the aborigines on the
language will be found in the "His-
torical and Critical Introduction.
-INDIAN BED. See CLAM-BAKE.
-INDIAN BREAD.-Bread com-
posed of Indian corn and rye meal.
Also known as BOSTON BREAD.
INDIAN CORN. Maize; a
cereal with a large ear. The first
colonist so named it because culti-
vated by the aborigines.- -INDIAN
CURRANT (Symphoricarpus vulgaris).
-A native of Missouri, and also
called the CORAL BERRY.- -INDIAN-
DAB. A Pennsylvanian batter-
cake. INDIAN FIG.-By this is
generally understood the prickly
pear, although the name is also
Indian
given to the barberry fig, and to a
large cactus (Cereus giganteus), the
fruit of which in taste is not
unlike the fig. -INDIAN FILE.-
Cautious and wary in warfare and
when in chase of game, the Indian
in the first case effectually pre-
vents any estimate being formed
of the number comprising his
band by creeping along in single
file, thus leaving behind only a
single trail. So characteristic is
this of the aborigines that the
practice has come to be known as
Indian file.-INDIAN FORTS.—In-
closures, found in large numbers in
New York and Pennsylvania, and
less frequently in New England,
Canada, and Virginia, occupying
high bluff points or headlands,
scarped on two or more sides and
naturally easy of defence. When
found on lower ground, they are
generally raised on some dry knoll
or little hill in the midst of a
swamp, or where a bend in the
river lends security to the position,
but they stand invariably near an
The
unfailing supply of water.
embankments are seldom over four
feet high, pierced by one or more
gateways, and surrounded by a
ditch of some depth. It has been
questioned, however, whether these
fortifications belong to the present
race of Indians.. INDIAN GIFT.—
The cupidity and want of generosity
of the white man when dealing
with savage races have, in the
case of the Indian, given rise to
this term to express a gift, a
return for which
which is
is expected.
The so-called presents made to
red-skins have involved a return,
in some cases, a hundred fold in
value. Indian gifts and INDIAN
GIVERS have hence passed into
the proverbial sayings of the
American people. -INDIAN HEMP.
-This is quoted by Bartlett and
De Vere as a medicinal plant,
the botanical name of which is
Indian
Apocynum cannabinum.
-INDIAN-
LADDER.-In the South a tree, the
branches of which are trimmed to
a few inches of the main stem,
which thus form projecting sub-
stitutes for the rungs of a ladder.
-INDIAN-LIQUOR.-Colloquially,
whiskey of the vilest description.
The spirit supplied to Indians by
traders and Government agents
was, and is, invariably adulterated
to the last degree, not alone with
water, but with red-pepper, tobacco,
and other noxious condiments.
[A correspondent of the National
Intelligencer, once stated that] A barrel of
the pure Cincinnati, even after it has run
the gauntlet of railroad and lake travel,
is a sufficient basis upon which to manu-
facture one hundred
of good
barrels
INDIAN LIQUOR! He says a small bucketful
of the Cincinnati article is poured into a
wash-tub almost full of rain water; a large
quantity of dog-leg tobacco and red-pepper
is thrown into the tub; a bitter species of
root, common in the land of the Dakota, is
then cut up and added; burnt sugar or some
article is used to restore something like the
original color of whiskey. The compound
has to be kept on hand a few days before it
is fit for use. It is then administered to the
aborigines ad libitum.
INDIAN MEAL.-Ground maize.
-INDIAN MILLET (Oryzopsis cuspi-
data).-This is a perennial BUNCH-
GRASS (q.v.), growing from one to two
feet high, or higher in moist situa-
tions. It is found through the Rocky
Mountain region, where it thrives
on soil too sandy for other valuable
grasses. It is one of the most
prominent of the native grasses
in the arid parts of the country,
but no efforts of importance
have yet been made for its culti-
vation. The seeds are abun-
dant, and as they do not readily
shell out when ripe, they can
be easily gathered.
MOUNDS. These are mainly the
burial-places of the red man, but
in some parts the name is given to
any unusual contour of rising
ground. INDIAN ORCHARDS.-
Plantations of wild trees are
www.
INDIAN
315
Indian
erroneously so named in New York
and Massachusetts, the popular
idea being that such spaces were
originally planted by Indians.-
INDIAN PEACH.-A wild peach.
INDIAN PHYSIC (Gillenia trifoliata),
otherwise called BOWMAN'S ROOT
(q.v.).- -INDIAN PIPE (Monotropa
uniflora)-A wax-like plant, the
head of which bends over before
maturity. INDIAN PUDDING.-
This is made of maize-meal and
molasses.- INDIAN RESERVATION.
Gradually the aboriginal races
of America have, by the advance of
the white man's civilization, been
pushed farther and farther afield.
This in reality has been the main
cause of the many Indian wars
with which the United States
Government have had to deal from
time to time. To obviate the conflict
of races as far as possible, Congress
set apart certain tracts of country
throughout the Union for the
special benefit and use of red
men, and these are called Indian
Reservations. With the extinction.
of the buffalo, however, the
Indian's chief means of subsistence
has disappeared, and to prevent
absolute starvation, the Govern-
ment have been compelled in many
cases to issue rations of food and
other supplies. In consequence,
there is now some talk of abolish-
ing the Reservations, opening them
up to white enterprize, and, in
return, planting such of the
aborigines as still survive, and are
capable, on small homesteads,
starting them in a manner warran-
ted by circumstances. Even a
protective measure of this kind,
however, will, it is feared by those
who know, only prove a stop-gap
on the road to an extinction which
is inevitable.
INDIAN RICE
(Zizania aquatica). - The "folles
avoines of the early settlers,
but which derives its popular name
from the fact of certain Indian
Indorser
tribes depending upon it as part of
their food supply.- INDIAN SIGN.
-Tracks or traces of the passage of
red men; a trail. INDIAN SUM-
MER. The St. Martin's Summer
of Europe, and, like it, a short spell
of fine weather which usually sets
in at the end of autumn. Indian
tradition says that this brief inter-
val is a special gift of the Great
Spirit. With regard to the specific
origin of its popular name among
the early settlers, Kercheval, in his
History of the Valley of Virginia, re-
lates that it sometimes happened
that after the apparent onset of
winter, the weather became warm;
the "smoky time" commenced, and
lasted for a considerable number
of days. This was the Indian sum-
mer, because it afforded the Indians
-who, during the severe winter,
never made any incursions into the
settlements—another opportunity
of visiting them with their destruc-
tive warfare. The melting of the
snow saddened every countenance,
and the genial warmth of the sun
chilled every heart with horror.
The apprehension of another visit
from the Indians, and of being
driven back to the detested fort,
were painful in the highest degree.
Also
INDIAN TOBACCO (Lobelia inflata).
-A plant, the leaves of which were
sometimes used by the aborigines
as a substitute for tobacco. IN-
DIAN TURNIP (Arum triphyllum).—
A poisonous, acrid root.
called WAKE-ROBIN in New England,
and JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT in Rhode
Island. The name is also applied
to the Psoralea esculenta, known
popularly as POMME-BLANCHE and
POMME DE PRAIRIE, a root which,
in the West, serves as food for the
Sioux Indians.— INDIAN WEED.
-Tobacco.
INDORSER (Cant).—A quasi-legal flash
term for one who flogs another on
316
Innocent
the back; this is endorsing with a
vengeance!
INFAIR OF INFARE. - A wedding
festival.
INFORMATORY.-This unorthodox form
for giving information or informing
is frequently heard.
INGLER (Cant). A horse cheat or
swindler.
IN INTEREST.-For "interested in " is a
vulgarism of the most unpardon-
able type, because without object,
necessity, or brevity.
Some Western freight rates are still high
enough to allow them to be still further re-
duced, and the several roads IN INTEREST
are making the most of this.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, February 14th, 1888.
INJUNCT, TO. -To command; from
"injunction." This is one of a
numerous class of new forms,
which, however much may be
justly said against them, both as
regards formation and purity, are
largely in colloquial use, and to all
appearance are the outcome of a
tendency to brevity in speech.
INKLE-A thief's term for "let him
know"; "warn him!
INK-SLINGER. A professional writer
for the press; generally applied
contemptuously to raw hands.
INLAID (Cant).-A man is said to be
inlaid when he has been able to
save and invest his ill-gotten gains.
INNOCENT (Cant).- An innocent is
either a corpse or an idiot. A
dead body is also called a STIFF
(q.v.). INNOCENTS.-Convicted
criminals. The suggested deriva-
tion of this term is, that convicts,
Ins
while guiltless, according to their
own account, of wrong doing in
the past, are certainly innocent of
power to commit fresh crimes
whilst in durance vile.
Ins.—The ins are persons in office;
those hoping to get in are the OUTS.
Civil service reform received no aid from
any public man to amount to anything until
the advent of Mr. Cleveland. But it is the
civil service that turns out all the INS and
puts in the outs.-Boston Daily Globe, 1888.
INSIDE. When used for "reliable,"
as, e.g., inside facts, the usage is
particularly American. Inside, in
this connection, is a variant of
BOTTOM (q.v.).
A secret service officer, who has just ar-
rived from Washington on important busi-
ness, claims to have INSIDE information as to
the facts in the case.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
February 20, 1888.
INSIDE OF.-A common collo-
quialism for "within";
within"; "in less
time than."
I now believe that he is the murderer. He
is very desperate, and INSIDE of thirty days
shot at four men. Missouri Republican,
February 22, 1888.
INSIDE TRACK. —" To be on
the inside track" of a scheme or
undertaking is to be on the safe
side; to be in a position to derive
advantage therefrom.- INSIDER
(Cant). One who knows.
INSURRECT, To.-To rise in insurrec-
tion; to revolt.-See To INJUNCT.
INTERIOR. It is the custom to speak
of the region of the Mississippi
Valley as the interior.
INTERMENT.-American for funeral or
burying, both of them much too
simple words for everyday use. In
like manner, a coffin is always a
"casket." Even the slang phrase,
317
Inwardness
"That's not my funeral," under-
goes transformation in this respect.
We are sorry to learn that some of the
newsdealers did not order enough copies to
meet the increased demand. But that is,
after all, rather THEIR INTERMENT THAN
OURS. The entire edition of the Christmas
Puck was sold out within three days, and we
can supply no more copies.-Puck, 1887.
INTERVALE.-An old New England
form for alluvial land on the margin
of a river.-See BOTTOM. Both
intervale and meadow, which are
common enough in New England,
pass out of use altogether in the
West except in books and news-
papers.
INTIMATE (Cant).—A shirt.
INTO. With the exception of; short
of a qualifying contraction used
in Connecticut of number or quan-
tity. Thus, a given distance may
be referred to as six miles into a
quarter; or one might be willing to
give a dollar into ten cents for a
particular article. A publisher's
paper dealer also assures the pub-
lic that his stock has only rags
into it.
IN-TY.-An obsolete corruption (of
the French entier), meaning cer-
tainly; indeed. Professor Allen,
in Slave Songs of the United States,
reports the use of enty? in the Sea
Islands, used like our "Is that
so"? in reply to a statement that
surprises one. The same author
suggests a Huguenot origin for
some other negro corruptions, but
does not propose entier for this.
INWARDNESS.-The true inwardness of
a thing is its true purpose; the
real object aimed at; its exact
drift. This is one of the canting
fashionable phrases of the day.
Irish American
The committee has nothing to occupy its
time during the legislative adjournment, and
could have very profitably employed this
week in'getting at the true INWARDNESS of
the executive mansion business. Does it
need shoring up as well as the assembly
ceiling? An inquiring public thinks so.-
Troy Daily Times, Feb. 20, 1888.
IRISH AMERICAN.-The Irish American
Party in the United States is a
very powerful one, in some parts
dominating the elections. The
term is given to naturalized citizens
originally from Ireland, or to a
man born in the Union of Irish
parents.
IRISH POTATO (Solanum tuberosum).
The popular name serves to dis-
tinguish the ordinary potato-the
tuber which is alone known in
England-from the SWEET POTATO
of the tropics, the Convolvulus batatas.
IRON CITY. Pittsburg, from its nu-
merous iron works.
IRON-CLAD OATH.-See AMNESTY OATH.
IRONED (Cant).-Handcuffed.
IRON WEED (Vernonia noveboracensis).—
The Western name for the FLAT-
TOP of the North-eastern States.
A tall weed.
IRRIGATE, TO.-To take a drink; a
flash phrase, the equivalent of
which is, in English slang, "to
liquor up."
IRRUPT, TO.-To put in an appear-
ance; to come from. A new form
of the same stamp as INJUNCT,
EXCURT, etc.-See ExcURSH.
Mr. Pulizer IRRUPTED from the West,
found the New York World sedate and
scholarly, and having perhaps a ten or
twelve thousand circulation. To-day the
World prints ever
so many hundreds of
thousands, and has the revenue of a kingdoin.
318
Is That So
The man who has achieved this miracle, in
a field to which he was a stranger, is not yet
forty.-San Francisco Weckly Examiner, 1888.
ISLAND. A grove or cluster of trees
surrounded by prairie on every side.
In Illinois, the Prairie State, the
early settlers were careful to plant
themselves not far from woods.
As a consequence many of the
towns and villages in that State
contain open spaces amply shaded
by noble old forest trees, survivors
of the grove that once formed the
island, near which the rude cabins
of the old pioneers were built.
•
The village had been planted in what is
called an ISLAND. .
As it stands to-day,
the pretty town is arranged about a large
public square, neatly fenced, and with long
hitching rails on all four sides of it.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
The same remarks apply to most
towns and villages situated on
what was once prairie land.
It is not necessary that prairies should be
entirely destitute of trees; for there are tim-
ber prairies, where trees grow in mottes or
groves, sometimes termed ISLANDS, from
their resemblance to wooded ISLANDS in the
sea.-Mayne Reid's The Boy Hunters.
ISSUANCE.-The act of publication,
sending out, or delivering.
The President shall be authorized and
directed to make proclamation directing that
such products of the foreign state, as he may
deem proper, shall be excluded from impor-
tation to the United States; this proclama-
tion to take effect sixty days after its
ISSUANCE.-St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat,
March 30, 1888.
ISSUES.-TO POOL ONE'S ISSUES.-
To come to an understanding for
mutual advantage.
IS THAT SO ?—This expression, the
use of which almost borders on
slang, serves the true-born Ameri-
can as a pendant to whatever
observations may be addressed to
him. It is both affirmative and
Item
negative, according to the tone of
the speaker's voice; in the former
case it takes the place of "indeed!"
or "really!" in the latter, it does.
duty for "not really!" surely
not!"
ITEM.-Intelligence; news. The term is
singularly employed, as, "I got item
of," etc., i.e., "I got intimation of."
GIVING ITEMS.-Among gam-
blers, confederates give items or hints
by looking at the players' hands, and
signalling their value. A complete
code of secret signs is employed
for the purpose.
To make a list of; to prepare; to
collect; to write an account of a
transaction.
To ITEMIZE.-
The prisoner's clothes were all pockets.
Every time Officer Barry put his hand into
these pockets he drew forth a handful of
319
"
Ivy Bush
jewellery. After Meyer had been thoroughly
searched, the articles were ITEMIZED.-
Missouri Republican, February 22, 1888.
-ITEMIZER.-One who makes
an abstract; a précis writer.
IVORY NUT (Phytelephas macrocarpa).-
The Corosso nut of commerce.
From the ripe fruit exudes a fluid
largely used in the manufacture of
vegetable ivory-hence its name.
to
Ivy.-A name erroneously given in
the South
the laurel.
AMERICAN IVY.-The Virginian
creeper; this is equally a mis-
nomer.
IVY BUSH (Cant).-A hairy-faced man,
one with thick hair, long and
bushy beard and moustache.



J
AB, TO, To strike;
stab; or thrust;
to handle roughly.
A Western
term,
which, popularized
by pugilists, has
now passed into
familiar usage.
I tried hard to JAB her in the eye, but you
might as well try to poke a fencing-master in
the eye with a stick as a bear, even if it only
has one paw at liberty.-American Humorist,
May 19, 1888.
Ellen Terry doesn't take good care of her
hair. She twists it into a rough-and-tumble
knot, and when it don't twist easily she's as
like to JAB at it with her scissors and shorten
it herself as trust it to anybody who knows
how.-Denver Republican, May 6, 1888.
JACAL. A rough hut built of stakes
driven into the ground, and made
weather-tight by the chinks being
filled in with clay. Facal (pro-
nounced hah-cal) is from the Mexi-
can xacalli, a straw hat. These
dwellings are common in Texas and
States once Mexican.
The supposition is that the man was mur-
dered while asleep in one of the neighbour-
ing JACALS and his body carried out to where
it was found.-St. Louis Globe Democrat,
March 30, 1888.
JACK.-An abbreviated form of JACK-
ASS RABBIT (q.v.).—TO JACK.—
Amongst ranchmen, to brand an
unmarked yearling or maverick.
-Sec BRAND and MAVERICK.
MADE HIS JACK.-A term borrowed
from poker, and used collo-
quially as an affirmation of
success; of having carried one's
point. -JACK (Cant). - A low
mean fellow, andJACK DANDY.
-An impertinent one, who be-
sides is short in stature, while
-JACK GAGGER is a man whose
wife or companion supports him
by prostitution. JACK IN THE
PULPIT (Arisama triphyllum).—The
Indian turnip. In Connecticut it
is called the ONE-BERRY. New
England house-wives regard this
root as medicinally valuable, when
boiled in milk, in the case of
coughs.JACK-LEG. This term
is equivalent to black-leg; thus, a
jack-leg, a lawyer, whose record
would not be regarded in a desir-
able light.
It seems that the State Bar Association
is disposed to draw the line between
attorneys and JACK-LEG LAWYERS, and be-
tween justices and jackasses of the peace.
These lines should be very closely drawn.-
Florida Times Union.-February 11, 1888.
JACK OAK (Quercus nigra), other-
wise the black-jack, the barren
oak of botanists.
The Southern part of Illinois, popularly
known as Egypt, is full of sand-hills and
JACK OAK, neither being very profitable to
anybody.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, January
20, 1888.
JACK-OF-LEGS. A tall man.
-JACK POTS.-A Western modi-
fication, introduced in the game
of poker, admitting of very high
play. See JACK POTS in The Ameri-
can Hoyle.
In all my experience on the sea I never
saw such a big game as that was. It proved
too heavy for the mate, who soon drew out
Jackass Rabbit
and left the two captains to play against
each other.
They played tremendous JACK-POTS, and
I wondered where in the world all the
money came from.-St. Louis Globe Demo-
crat, February 27, 1888.
-JACK RABBIT. See JACKASS
RABBIT. -JACK RUN.-A licence.
JACK STONES.-The old Eng-
lish game of dibbs. JACK
WRIGHT.-A fat man.
JACKASS RABBIT (Lepus callotis).—Why
this animal is called a rabbit is
open to conjecture, as it has both the
appearance and habits of the
English hare, its ears being long
and its legs long and slender. Its
range is from Kansas to the Pacific,
it being known also as the TEXAS
HARE and the MULE Rabbit. Mark
Twain, who claims to speak from
knowledge of the animal, says it
is well named, and as Americans
somehow manage to get a good
deal of fun out of the little
"
beastie," the famous humorist's
description of it may not be out of
place, especially as the facts are
there, though the lights and shades
may be a little heightened or
subdued.
[He says] The JACKASS RABBIT is just like
any other rabbit, except that he is from one-
third to twice as large, has longer legs in
proportion to his size, and has the most
preposterous ears that ever were mounted on
any creature but a jackass. When he ..
starts for home, he now and then makes a
marvellous spring with his long legs, high
over the stunted sage-brush, and scores a
leap that would make a horse envious.
•
One must shoot at this creature once, if he
wishes to see him throw his heart into his
heels, and do the best he knows how. He
straightens himself out like a yard-stick
every spring he makes, and scatters miles
behind him with an easy indifference that is
enchanting.
JACKET." He proceeded home by a
jacket way," is a peculiar usage and
essentially American, the meaning
being that the road is round-about.
It is difficult to imagine what con-
321
Fag
nection there is in this case between
the word and the idea conveyed by
it, except it be that a jacket sur-
rounds or goes about the body,
the transition being then little
more than a hop, step, and a jump.
TO JACKET-In Government
offices, to jacket a document is, after
scheduling, to enclose it with other
papers referring to the
subject.
same
When it reached the Postmaster General's
Office it was referred by the Third Assistant
Postmaster General to the Finance Division.
Another record was made in the book of
the office of letters received and JACKETED.-
The American, May 16th, 1888.
JACKSON CRACKER S.-A South-
western term for firework crackers.
JACOBITE.—A shirt collar.
JADE (Cant).-In the patter of the
criminal classes, a long term of
imprisonment. In England a
"stretch" does duty for the same
idea.
JAG.-In New England a parcel;
bundle; or load. An old English
provincialism which has held its
ground colloquially across the
Atlantic.
Cleveland was forced up 7 cents by the
persistent bidding of one broker buying on
a heavy order. He occasionally caught a
JAG of 2,000 or 3,000 shares, but kept on
bidding as if Cleveland were the only thing
dear to him on earth. The action of the
directors in deciding to continue work also
had a stimulating effect.-Missouri Republi-
can, 1888.
Jag is also a slang term for an
umbrella, possibly from that article
being so constantly carried.
He came in very late (after an unsuccessful
effort to unlock the front door with his um-
brella) through an unfastened coal hole in
the sidewalk. Coming to himself toward
daylight, he found himself-spring overcoat,
silk hat, JAG and all-stretched out in the
bath tub.-Albany Journal, 1888.
4I
Fail
JAIL, TO.-To put in prison. A new
form, bad from every point of
view, but coined no doubt for
brevity's sake, though the gain
on "to imprison" is hardly worth
consideration.
Maryland has JAILED a seven-wife
man. He says any man who would live a
bachelor life is an idiot.-Detroit Free Press,
August, 1888.
JAIL-DELIVERY.-When
prisoners are rescued from con-
finement the jail is said to have been
delivered-hence, jail-delivery. In
thinly-settled regions the arm of
the law is neither long nor strong
enough to prevent jail-breaking.
News has just been received by the
authorities in Nueva Laredo, Mexico, that a
JAIL-DELIVERY Occurred at the town of Hi-
dalgo.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 30,
1888.
or
322
JAM (Cant).-A gold ring. Also JEM.
JAMMED (Cant). (1) One
who meets with a violent death
either by accident, murder,
hanging, is said to be jammed. The
expression certainly lacks nothing
in coarseness or brutality.
(2) Potatoes, fruit, and such-like
are jammed when mashed.- -JAM
UP. The pink of perfection; be-
yond comparison. Equivalents in
English slang are "slap up" and
'bang up."
JAMAICA PEPPER (Eugenia pimenta).—
ALLSPICE (q.v.).
JAMBOREE.-A noisy frolic; a merry-
making bordering upon a disturb-
ance of the peace.
Us folks in the country sees
Lots o' fun-take spellin'-school;
Er ole hoe-down JAMBOREES.
-Scribner's Magazine, 1888.
JAMESTOWN WEED.-Also APPLE
OF
PERU (q.v.), and bearing other
popular names, that of Jamestown
Fargon
(pronounced Fimson) weed being
traceable to the fact that it was first
noticed in Jamestown, in Virginia.
JAMS.-A contraction of JIM-JAMS
(q.v.); delirium tremens.
'Well, now, lookit here,' said Patsey, as he
pushed up toward the trembling man and
took his hand with a professional air, 'my
fader's de best doctor in Boston, an' has lots
of dese cases. He keeps de medicine to
stave off de JAMS already mixed. It fetches
de snakes or de rats every time.'
'Dat's so, Patsey; I've seen many a bloke
saved by dat stuff,' put in Jimmy.-Boston
Daily Globe, March, 4, 1888.
JANAZARIES (Cant).-This title of a
celebrated Turkish militia corps,
is, in the lingo of American thieves,
applied to a gang of pickpockets.
In the sense of thieves being
soldiers who war against society,
the term is not altogether inapplic-
able.
JANUSMUG (Cant). An intermediary
between the thief and the receiver;
like the two-faced mythical deity
"Janus," the Fanusmug turns first to
the one side, and then to the other.
JAPANNED (Cant). In the patter of
his class, a thief is said to be
japanned, when a prison chaplain re-
ports him as converted, a phrase full
of subtle cynicism. Compare with
"whitewashed." In English Uni-
versity slang, "to japan
"to japan" is to
ordain, the allusion in this case
being to the black garb usually
worn by the clergy.
JAQUIMA.-The head-stall of a halter.
From the Spanish, and pronounced
hak-ke-ma. The jaquima is used in
Texas and California for breaking
in wild horses. Also HACKAMORE
(q.v.).
JARGON.-A trade language in use on
the North-west coast and in Ore-
gon. Also called CHINOOK (q.v.).
Farkman
JARKMAN.-A begging letter writer,
whose accomplishments in this
respect are varied by the produc-
tion of false characters for servants,
and other documents of a kindred
nature. This is a case, like many
others, in which old English cant
terms have, across the Atlantic,
been invested with a new meaning.
Formerly a jarkman was equivalent
to an "Abram-man," i.e., a licensed
beggar. "Jark means a seal,
and in Oxford slang a "safe-con-
duct pass"; in the former sense it
is retained in the patter of modern
American thieves, a synonym
being JASKER.
JASKER. See JARKMAN.
JAY.-A New York synonym for the
genus dude or masher; also HAM-
FATTER. Jay is obviously allusive
to the plumage of the biped.
For fully a half dozen years my occupation
required me to pass through Fourteenth-
street twice a day between Broadway and
the third avenue L station. Never during
that period, nor since, have I been annoyed
in the slightest way by any of the so-called
JAYS.-New York Herald, September, 1888.
JAYHAWKERS.-During the trouble-
some times of the FREE SOIL AGITA-
TION, itself an avant coureur of the
still more deadly strife which was
looming in the future, the Jay-
hawkers, taking advantage thereof,
waged war against both parties
alike. They were little else than
lawless bands of murderous ma-
rauders. Their name is identified
with Kansas, that State having
been the scene of the thickest of
the strife. (See BLEEDING KANSAS.)
Two derivations are given for Jay-
hawker; one, that it is a corruption
of Gay Yorker, which is rather un-
likely; the other, that it came from
Australia by way of California,
and was a coinage of the convicts
of the Southern Continent.
323
Ferks
Swinney has had a most eventful career of
crime, as he has from boyhood been identi-
fied continuously with some kind of lawless-
ness. When only a youth he was connected
with what is known as the JAYHAWKER war
that raged on the borders of Kansas about
twenty-five years since. From that time to
the present he has been associated with
the bandits and outlaws.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, January 20, 1888.
JEFF. To gamble with quads, these
being used like dice. A printer's
term of uncertain derivation.
No, he is possessed of the spirit of Job,
and will JEFF with quads for hours, if the
editor does not happen to awaken from the
profound editorial on which he is engaged
with a view of saving the nation.-Mark
Twain.
JEFF DAVIS BOXES.-Also called MUSI-
CAL BOXES, both being facetious
names given by the Confederates to
creaking, ill-built army-wagons.
JEFFY.-A slang term amongst thieves
for lightning. It is probable that
"in a jiffy," i.e., in a moment, may
have originated in this connection,
or vice verså.
JERKED.—This term applied to meat
refers to that which has been cut in
thin strips and dried over a fire
or in the sun. Whether derived
from the English to jerk," or
from charqui a native word is an
open question.
เ
The hobbled horses were turned loose for
the night, and a fire was made, around
which the men stretched themselves,
munching some JERKED beef and some cold
tortillas.-The American Cultivator, 1888.
JERKS and JERKY EXERCISE. Con-
vulsive paroxysms, into which per-
sons and sometimes whole meetings
are thrown at seasons of so-called
religious revival. Regarded with
suspicious incredulity by the
curiously sceptical, or as
"the
working of the Holy Spirit" by the
religious enthusiast, the true expla-
nation of these phenomena must in
Ferky
all probability be sought in the
direction of unconscious mesmeric
volition. See on this subject
Gregory's Animal Magnetism. This
phenomenon has been noticeably
apparent in America at many mon-
ster gatherings of religionists, a fact
partly explainable no doubt by the
more nervous temperament of the
people.
JERKY.-A roughly made vehicle; as
its name implies, a bone-shaker."
"
The appearance of the two skiffs on wheels,
loaded with provisions and camp equipage,
with the company following, some on foot
and some in a JERKY, was by no means heroic.
Nevertheless, the people of the town, accus-
tomed to seeing all sorts of queer outfits,
witnessed our departure without any voci-
ferous demonstrations of hilarity.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
JERSEY LIGHTNING.
LIGHTNING.-A fruit brandy,
otherwise known as APPLE JOHN in
New England, and APPLE BRANDY
(q.v.) in Virginia.
324
Dr. Hawley says that Perpente was over-
come by the use of too much chloral and
JERSEY LIGHTNING, and, between them and
the exposure he underwent lying out all
night, he was so much prostrated that he
became paralysed. - New York Herald,
July 29, 1888.
JERSEY TEA (Ceanothus americana).
A herbal decoction, known, as im-
plied by the name, in New Jersey.
JERUSALEM !-An exclamation of sur-
prise current in New England,
whence have come many of the
perversions of language which now
do swearing duty in the Union.
JESSANY (Cant).-A well-dressed man.
JESSE, JESSIE.-TO GIVE ONE JESSE.
-Toadminister a physical or moral
castigation. The intensified forms
-particular jessie, or d― parti-
cular jessie-are also American.
Figamaree
'As I don't know this fellar, and never seed
him afore in my life, it's the best proof that he
ain't Judge Eddards [the speaker, a rival
candidate for office, was pretending not to
know him]; so you'll oblige me by taking him
off the ground, and keeping from disturbing
the meeting.' Expostulation was useless;
without any ceremony he was carried into
the hotel boiling with indignation. There,
however, he had to stay, at a convenient
distance, to hear that Allen was GIVING HIM
PARTICULAR JESSE.-Sam Slick's Americans
at Home, P. 19.
It appears certain that this phrase is a
remnant of the days when the language of
falconry was as familiar among the youths as
that of horse racing now is. The JESS was a
thong by which the bird was attached to the
wrist, and when it retrieved badly it appears
to have been the custom to punish it
by the application of the thong. It is not
unlikely that this convenient bit of leather
may also have been used from time to time
in arguments with boys.-Journal of Ameri-
can Folk Lore, 1888.
JEWHILLIKENS! An exclamation in
the West which does fatigue duty
in the literal sense of the word; a
kind of safety-valve expression.
JIB. .-LET'S UP JIB. A signal of
departure; or more familiarly, to
cease talking. A phrase derived
from the hoisting of the jib sail
of a vessel when about to make a
start.
JIBE, TO. To agree with; to har-
monise; to go well with.
Don't you notice that sometimes last night
the piece you happened to be playing was a
little rough on the proprietors, so to speak-
didn't seem to JIBE with the general gait
of the picture that was passing at the time,
as it were.-Mark Twain's Screamers.
JIG.-(1) In New England this is the
name of a kind of spoon-bait.
(2) (Cant). A trick, possibly a
contraction of
JIGAMAREE,
same
which has the
meaning primarily. Colloquially
the word is applied to any triviality
or piece of nonsense.
I
Figger
JIGGER. (1) A local name in New
England for a small fishing-vessel,
which is also applied to the sail with
which it is rigged, and the fisher-
man who mans it.
The owner of the JIGGER said that his
name was Catlin, and that he lived in St.
Louis several years, working at his trade of
a machinist. He was bound for Jupiter
Inlet. St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 10,
1888.
A small boat with a JIGGER sail put into
the river on Monday.-Ibid.
Herman Zenk was reported to have a
large sum of money hidden in the house.
Zenk was a queer JIGGER, and caught lots
of fish.-Ibid.
(2) A corrupted form of CHIGOE
(q.v.). To JIGGER. To move
uneasily; to fidget; so used in the
South-west.
After an incredible amount of pulling and
JIGGERING about, they [cows] are gotten
into the team.-Overland Monthly, 1888.
Here to jigger is obviously an
amplified form of "to jig," to
dance in a lively manner.
JIGGLING-BOARD.-A spring-board,
such as is used for diving and
athletics; jiggling from "jig" in
the sense of quick motion.
JIGLETS. HIS JIGLETS!—A derisively
contemptuous form of address.
Ain't his JIGLETS pretty near ready to see
de rat, Jimmy ?-Boston Globe, March 4,
1888.
JIG-WATER.-Bad whiskey.
A middle-aged countryman had just tot-
tered away from the counter, over which
fusil oil (JIG-WATER) is dispensed.-Boston
Globe, March 4, 1888.
JILT (Cant).-A woman accomplice
of a thief who entices the victim
and occupies his attention whilst
he is being robbed. In English
slang a jilt is a crowbar.
JIMBERJAW.—A protruding lower jaw.
325
Joe
JIM-DANDY.-Superfine; flashy.
George C. Ball came upon the floor yester-
day arrayed in a JIM-DANDY suit of clothes,
silk hat, English walking-stick, and button-
hole bouquet. This was too much for the
crowd, and George was hustled about until
he had to retire to save his nice things.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 14, 1888.
This
JIM-JAMS.-Delirium tremens.
term, said to have originated in
Kentucky, is now common every-
where.
Burbridge came to the city on Saturday,
and began to drink very excessively. He
was a witness in a case in the Mayor's
Court yesterday morning, but he was too
drunk to testify, and was locked up for
contempt. He had the JIM-JAMS yesterday
evening, and last night he raved like a
madman.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, Feb.
16, 1888.
Also applied idiomatically to dis-
torted views of men and things.
We are glad to see Harper's Weekly
suffering the JIM-JAMS of distortion on the
envenomed pencil of an extraordinary artist.
Such art has never before been exhibited in
this country. The immense artist draws,
we should think, with his thumb.-The
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, July 22, 1888.
JIMPSON or JIMSON WEED. The
popular pronunciation of JAmes-
TOWN WEED (q.v.).
JINGLE-BRAINS.-A wild, harum-
scarum kind of fellow.
JOBBER-NUT (Cant).—A tall ungainly
fellow.
JOB'S DOCK (Cant).-A hospital. Here
again Bill Sykes shows his appre-
ciation of dry humor. The juxta-
position of the prophet of patience
with the bête noir of the criminal
is very curious,
JOCK, TO (Cant).-To enjoy oneself.
JOE or JOSEPH.-NOT FOR JOSEPH !-
An exclamation of dissent; equi-
Joe-Pye Weed
valent to "not if I know myself."
Both phrases are American, not for
Joe having made its appearance
since the War; the other is much
older and
and may
may be traced
Chicago.
to
JOE-PYE WEED (Eupatorium purpureum).
-Joe Pye was an Indian who used
this herb largely in treating cases
of typhus fever. Maine.
JOG.-A contracted form of "joggle,"
a piece of projecting stone intro-
duced into a joint. In the States,
jog is used to signify any deviation
from a straight line or even surface.
JOHN DAVIS, otherwise the READY JOHN.
-A sample of the thousand-and-
one nicknames for money.
JOHNNY CAKE.-A maize-meal cake.
-A delicacy much esteemed in
past years.
If I don't make a JOHNNY-CAKE every day,
Kier says,Ma, why don't you make some
Indian bread?'-Widow Bedott Papers, p. 70.
heart's-ease.
JOHNNY-JUMP-UP-AND-KISS-ME.-The
Also called JOHNNY-
JUMP-UP and JOHNNY-JUMPER.
She set a heap o' store by flowers, too, an'
when the JOHNNY-JUMP-UPS an' dandylions
begun to come out an' the weather 'uz a
gittin' warm, she'd go up in the woods an'
gether all she could carry.—Boston Sunday
Budget, 1888.
JOHNS, JOHNNIES, Or JOHN CHINAMAN,
are all generic Californian names
for the Chinese; now common
everywhere; also in England.
JOHNNIES.-Johnnies, or, more fully,
the JOHNNY REBS, was one of the
names by which the soldiers of the
Confederacy were known to those
of the North.
JOHN THE BAPTIST.-A one cent piece.
326
Josey
Come hyar, you
'Ef a gentleman says:
black scamp, en' black mer boots, en' do hit
quick, too, I know's dat man's frum down
souf, en' he gwine to gimme sompen, en'
mos' likely a quartah.' Thus a darky boy
on a Mississippi steamboat was explaining
his position as to sectional proclivities. He
went on further to say: 'Ef anuther gentle-
man say to me, My dear young cullud
frien', will you be so kine ez to black my
boots? dat man's from Greenlan's icy
mountains, er sommers in dat direction
En' mebbe he gwine ter gimme a JOHN DE
BAPTIST'-dat's one cent-but mos' likely he
gwineter jis' give thanks.' - Arkansaw
Traveler, October, 1888.
JORDAIN (Cant).—A blow.
JORDAN (Cant).-A thing is said to be
jordan when difficult of accomplish-
ment. In English slang a jordan
stands for what Max O'Rell wittily
characterizes as "It."
JORNADA.-A Spanish name given to
dreary wastes in the West.
Literally, jornada (pronounced hor-
nah-da) means a day's journey,
but, needless to say, many of these
arid tracts of country are of far
greater extent.
All the so-called mesa formations and
JORNADAS of this district belong to a dis-
tinct system of basin deposits, tertiary or
post-tertiary in age.
The mesa, or
table-land character, is exhibited only
along the line of river valleys, as high
bluffs, the result of denuding forces,
subsequent to the original basin depositions.
-Reports of the Pacific Railroad, vol. i., p. 84.
JOSEPH (Cant)-(1) A patched coat.
From Joseph's coat of many colors.
(2) A sheepish, bashful fellow;
also a biblical allusion of a more
sarcastic type.
To WEAR
JOSEPH'S COAT. TO be proof
against temptation, as Joseph is
recorded to have withstood the
wiles of Potiphar's wife.
JOSEY.-A light wrap used by women.
Josh
JOSH.-An inhabitant of Arkansas
was thus known in the rebel army
during the Civil War.
JOUR. Or JUR.-Short for journeyman.
A
JUDAS TREE (Cercis canadensis).
small tree with peach-like flowers;
also called red bud.
JUDGES OF THE PLAINS.-Men appoint-
ed by law in cattle raising dis-
tricts, who are armed with full
power to settle all disputes which
may crop up at ROUND-UPS, or
other gatherings of cattlemen and
stock.
JUDY.-A fool; simpleton; or, more
forcibly, an ass.
a
JUG (Cant). This word, which, in
England, stands for a prison of any
kind, in America represents
bank; while to jug money is to
hide it, possibly the nearest ap-
proach to banking known to the
majority of thieves. -JUG-BREAK-
ING. To commit a burglary at a
bank.
JUGFUL.-NOT BY A JUGFUL.-A phrase
limiting application and action; by
no means; an equivalent in English
slang is "not by a long shot.'
JULEP.—An American drink. Brandy
or whiskey, sugar, pounded ice, and
a sprig of mint are its components.
Bartlett erroneously states that the
word itself is of transatlantic origin.
It in reality comes from the Arabic
gul, rose; ab, water.
Did we spare our brandy cocktails, stint thee
of our whiskey-grogs ?
Half the JULEPS that we gave thee would
have floored a Newman Noggs.
-Book of Ballads.
JUMMIXED. A factitious word signify-
ing jumbled up or mixed together.
327
Jump
JUMP (Cant). A widow.
To
JUMP.(1) To decamp surrepti-
tiously, as when a prisoner jumps
his bail, i.e., absconds; or when
a dishonest person jumps his bill
at an hotel by leaving without
payment.
Slumbering lightly, he arose at early dawn,
and JUMPED his bill like a true American.-
Chicago Herald, 1888.
(2) To take forcible possession;
to defraud. In this sense to jump is
very common in new districts
where by right the first occupant
is, in squatter law and custom,
entitled to a first claim on the land.
When wrongfully deprived of such
rights the settler is said to have had
his claim jumped, the perpetrator of
the wrong being called a CLAIM-
JUMPER (q.v.). Such action often
leads to terrible feuds.
It is remarkable the swift and terrific
retribution which has followed every man
closely connected with the JUMPING of the
Cottonwoods ranch and the murder of Ike
Ellinger.-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
-FROM THE JUMP.-From the
commencement; of athletic origin.
There is not the slightest doubt that a
meeting between the English and American
champions will be arranged as soon as the
former arrives here, and should Wannop
consent to wrestle in Chicago he can depend
upon a big crowd and fair play FROM THE
JŪMP.-Daily Inter-Occan, February 3, 1888.
JUMPING-OFF PLACE. For-
merly the confines of civilization;
the temporary and ever shifting
termini of the trunk lines of railway
across the continent being thus typi-
cally known; now, a jump off has
simply come to mean a destination.
It is a sort of JUMPING-OFF place. None
of the park guides, I think I am correct in
saying, know how to get out of it unless by
returning as they came, at least they did not
two or three years ago.-Scribner's Magazine,
1887.
They were both born in Bedford County,
Va., came to Indiana about 1820, and to
Missouri in 1839. So in following the Star
Jumper
of Empire they kept ahead of the iron horse
until he overtook them at the JUMPING-OFF
place.-Portland Oregonian, 1888.
TO BE ESSENTIALLY JUMPED
UP.-An intensitive calculated to
convey an idea of extreme pertur-
bation.
JUMPER.-A rude kind of sleigh, con-
sisting merely of a box fastened
to two poles.
Here two voyageurs were waiting for us
with their jumpers, and, uninviting as the
frail structures looked at first sight, we soon
found that they were quite comfortable, and
admirably adapted to the mode of travelling
in this howling wilderness.-A Winter in
Canada, p. 137.
JUNE, TO (Texas).-To go. Probably
from the German gehen.
JUNK-BOTTLE. The common, dark
bottle used for beer and malt liquors
generally-hence JUNK-DEALER and
328
Just Paralysed
JUNK-STORE, for what in England
are known as marine stores and
marine store dealers; the terms
are also applied to any second-hand
dealer and his place of business.
A JUNK STORE RIFLed.
The second-hand store of Joseph Lasch-
kowtz, 13, North Levee, was rifled of a large
lot of goods early yesterday morning.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, March 10, 1888.
Those morning bells! Those JUNKMEN'S
bells!
How many a tale their jangling tells
Of missing clothes and that sad time
When sleep's destroyed by their harsh
chime. American Paper.
JUST PARALYSED.-Overcome; a slang
synonym for intense surprise.
Mr. Claus Spreckels is the great sugar
king of the Pacific coast, and may be much
more correctly spoken of as made of shekels
than of sugar. He deposited a check in a bank
there the other day, that JUST PARALYSED
the officials of the bank he honored with his
patronage. It was for 400,000 dols. odd.-
American Humorist, August, 1888.

5)


K
AMAS ROOT (Camassia
esculenta).-A variety
of INDIAN TURNIP
also called POMME
DES PRAIRIES, and
POMME BLANCHE by
French Canadians.
This root is a food-
staple of the DIGGER INDIANS (q.v.).
KANACKA. A Sandwich Island term
for a man; introduced into Cali-
fornia by immigrants from the
Pacific.
KANTICOY.-Sec CANTICO.
KANUCK-A Canadian. A variant of
CANACK (9.v.).
One was a short, square-built, good-
humored KANUCK, always laughing and
talking, who interlarded his conversation
with a singularly original mixture of the
most villainous French and English pro-
fanity.-Century Magazine, Oct. 1888.
KARIMPTION.-Western for a body of
people; a crowd.
KARPLUNK!—An onomatopoetic word,
invented to imitate the sound of
a falling body into water. These
philological curiosities are
numerous. See CACHUNK.
very
The bar'l kep' in the road 'til it got to the
bridge at the bottom o' the hill, an' then it
squeejeed to the right an' dropped KAR-
PLUNK! in the creek, ten feet below.-Chicago
Herald, 1888.
KATE (Cant). A generic name for a
bold, brazen-faced woman; what
is now generally understood in
England as a "hussy."
KATEY (Cant).-A burglar's tool for
picking locks. Cracksmen's imple-
ments are mainly known under the
guise of male and female Christian
names, e.g., "jemmy," "billy," etc.
KATOOSE, KATOWSE.-A New England
corruption, it is said, of the Ger-
man getöse, and signifying a din or
clatter.
KATYDID and KATYDIDN'T (Cyrtophyl-
lum concavum). The popular name
of this grasshopper is derived from
an attempt of children to vocalise
the sound made by its wings.
KAY, CAY, KEY. A low, flat, rocky
island, or ridge of rock, is so-
called throughout the West Indies.
From the Spanish cayo; Key West
in Florida, however, is a corruption
of Cayo Hueso, or Bone Island.
KEARNYITES.-Followers of one,
Dennis Kearny, a Communist, who
some years since commanded quite
a strong faction among discon-
tented working men. For a time he
made his headquarters in what were
known as the Sand Lots," near
San Francisco.
KECHUG! Or KERCHUG!-An onomato-
poetic word, similar in type and
application to CACHUNK (q.v.).
42
Kedge
KEDGE.-This old English provincial-
ism for brisk or lively, in relation
to the health and spirits, long
survived in New England.
is, however, rarely heard now.
It
KEEL-BOAT.-A type of boat of shallow
draught, which has now practi-
cally disappeared from Mississippi
waters, on which it was once a
familiar object.
KEELER TUB.-A pan or tub for culi-
nary purposes. New England.
KEEL OVER, TO.-Colloquially, to col-
lapse. Of nautical origin; as also
is TO KEEL UP.-To succumb to
sickness or old age.
KEENER.-A Western synonym for a
shrewd, sharp man. "He's a
keener," i.e., one of whom no advan-
tage can be taken.
KEEP, To, for to live, to subsist, with its
variants (such as KEEPING ROOM,
for living room; HOUSEKEEP, for
keeping house; and ROOM-KEEP),
still retains a great hold on popular
speech in America, especially in
the New England States. In the
Mother Country, these forms are
regarded as provincial.
KEET. The domestic guinea-fowl;
also GUINEA-KEET.
KEFFEL (Cant).-A horse.
KE-KEYA (Cant).-A nickname for the
devil; Satan.
KELLOCK, KELLICK, KILLOCK.—A small
anchor in use on fishing smacks.
Provincial in England, but collo-
quial in the Eastern States.
KELTER, KILTER-To be in or out of
kelter is to be in or out of con-
330
Kerchunk!
dition, good trim, or order. The
same term in English slang signi-
fies gold, or money generally,
probably because a thief only
regards himself as in good con-
dition when money is plentiful
with him. The word kilter is pro-
vincial in England, from the
Danish kilter, order, though Hotten
affects to trace it, in its slang usage,
to gelt money. New England
and Pennsylvania.
=
KELUMPUS !—An onomatopoeticism.
Kelumpus is supposed to be an
imitation of the sound made by
the falling of one heavy body upon
another. See CACHUNK.
KENIPTION FIT.-
FIT.
-See CONNIPTION
KENTUCKY COFEEE (Gymnocladus cana-
densis). Also KENTUCKY LOCUST.
The berries serve as a substitute
for coffee, and the wood has a
marketable value
value for cabinet-
making.
KENTUCKY FLAT.-See FLAT-BOAT.
KERBOODLE.-A variant of CABOODLle
(q.v.).
KERCHUNK ! The sound made by
anything falling heavily. Kerchunk,
or CACHUNK (9.v.), belongs to a class
which grammarians call onomato-
poetic; ie., vocables formed in
imitation of sounds. These words
are very popular, and of almost
infinite variety.
I was leaning on the rail looking at the
moon when the fence broke down, and
KERCHUNK! I went right through the ice
all under. I made a jump, you'd better
believe, and started for the house on the
dog-trot.-Fostoria Democrat, March 8, 1888.
The same remarks apply to
Kerplunk!
KERPLUNK ! An exclamation of the
same order as CACHUNK-the noise
made by the falling of a body.
Kind old lady (to little boy, who has just
fallen down)-'Where did you hurt yourself,
little boy?'
Little boy (crying)'Wh-where d'ye
s'pose a f-f-feller hurts hisself when he sets
down KERPLUNK!—1888.
KERTHUMP!-Another of the same
class of words.
He's always a-gittin' into a bad crowd, an'
tryin' some deviltry 'r nuther; out uv one
scrape an' into t'other, kinduh keerless like;
head up an' never ketchin' sight 'v a stump
tell he's fell over it, KERTHUMP! head over
heels.-Century Magazine, 1888.
KESHAW. A pumpkin-like fruit.-
See CASHAW.
KESLOSH! KESWOSH! KEWOSH!-Ono-
matopoetic exclamations intended
to imitate the sound of a body
falling, splash! into the water.—
See CACHUNK and KERCHUNK.
KESOUSE-A vocable, representing
the sousing of a body in
----See KESLOSH.
To souse in water.
water.
-To KESOUSE.-
See CACHUNK and
KESWOLLOP ! — See
KESLOSH.
KETTLE. (1) In New England, a tin
pail.- (2) In the sugar-growing
districts, a kettle is an antiquated,
open boiling pan.
A great deal of sugar is still made in Loui-
siana by the old open-KETTLE process, waste-
ful as it is, for the simple reason that the
planters cannot afford to buy new apparatus.
This old process is substantially the same as
was in use at the beginning of the century.
Five or six big cast iron KETTLES of gradu-
ated size are arranged in line over a brick
furnace. At one end is the fire of cypress
wood; at the other the tall chimney. The
cane-juice runs into the largest KETTLE,
called the grand, which is farthest from the
fire, and in the course of the boiling is ladled
successively into the others, called, in order,
331
Kick
the prop or proy, the flambeau, the sirop,
and the battery. Often there are SIX
KETTLES, a first and a second grand. I have
not been able to learn the derivation of the
prop. The grand is so called because of its
size, the flambeau because the flames of the
furnace strike it with most force; sirop is
French for syrup, and battery is the French
word for batir, to build, the syrup being
granulated or built up into sugar in this
KETTLE. From the battery the thick sugary
mass goes to wooden tanks to cool. Much
of the molasses is here drained off. The
rest drifts from the hogsheads placed above
troughs after the sugar is packed.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
KEYSTONE STATE.-Pennsylvania
a
tribute to its importance, its wealth,
and its industries. The sobriquet
dates back to the time of the Rêvo-
lution, and was suggested by the
position of the name, when, with
those of the other States, they were
arranged according to geographi-
cal order. It was then found that
it occupied the centre or keystone
position.
KIBBLING. Small fish, used for bait.
Newfoundland.
KICK, TO. (1) To jilt or discard a
lover. A Southern elegancy! In
the North, TO GIVE THE MITTEN is
at all events a more graceful
synonym. (2) To object to, to
find fault with. Colloquial every-
where, and employed in numerous
combinations.
As Canada is already KICKING at the new
fishery treaty, it is probably safe to assume
that Secretary Bayard in this matter has
acquitted himself rather creditably.-Chicago
Herald, 1888.
The colored man is not a producer, but a
laborer, and the tariff is of no good to him.
But that is not what he KICKS about. He
feels that if he leaves the party with which
he has always been identified, the Democrats
may give him better treatment.-New York
Herald, July 29, 1888.
-KICKER. One who
against party discipline
over the traces, as it were.
revolts
N
kicks
Kid
The chronic KICKER is always on hand
when any improvement is proposed. Men
experienced in public affairs learn to expect
and disregard these grumblers and obstruc-
tionists. A great objector is invariably a
great bore.-Rochester Herald, 1888.
KICKER in America is one who objects to
anything. You will see in the American
press such items as these: 'Citizen Jones
KICKS against being assessed so high for his
Fourth Street property;' 'Anson raised a
double-jointed gilt-edged KICK when the
umpire gave him out in the second innings
yesterday;' 'The High School girls KICK
against long study hours.' etc.-Detroit Free
Press, August 4, 1888.
KID.
-
"}
The receptacle on fishing
smacks, into which the "catches
are thrown. A New England
localism.
KILL, TO. (1) A political term, sig-
nifying to neutralize votes, or to
defeat a measure through counter-
votes or opposition. Also, in
colloquial use, with the meaning
of to defeat; to nullify; to obstruct.
Reports reached Denver yesterday of
trouble at McCook. It was stated that strik-
ing engineers had taken a non-brotherhood
man off a locomotive and had assaulted him,
after which they had run the engine away
from the train to which it was attached and
had KILLED it; that subsequently some men
had been arrested and fined by a magistrate.
-Denver Republican, February 29, 1888.
(2) To do a thing thoroughly;
e.g., to dress to kill," etc.
KILL (from Dutch kil).—A piece of
water, river, stream, or arm of the
Preserved in names of locali-
ties, as, e.g., Catskill.
sea.
The new Baltimore and Ohio bridge
across the KILLS, below Elizabethpoot, com-
mences to assume imposing proportions.
The Jersey pier is finished and the Staten
Island pier is completed to the surface of
the water; the big centre pier in the middle
of the stream is nearly built. Over one
hundred men are employed on the bridge.-
Newark Advertiser, 1888.
KILLDEER OF KILLDEE (Oxiechus voci-
ferus). A bird of the plover species
332
King
with a plaintive note, which has
given rise to its popular name.
KILL-DEVIL.-New rum.
KILL-HAG.-The Indian name of a
trap for game.
KILLING TIME.-A Southern term for
the early winter; literally the
killing-time for swine.
KILL-LAMB.-See CALF-KILL.
KILLOCK-KILLICK.-See KELLOCK.
KILLY-FISH OF KILLY.
A small bait
fish, found in the Kills between
Staten Island and Bergen, from
which it derives its name. In
appearance the killy-fish is very
similar to whitebait.
KINDER SORTER.-A corrupted form
of a pleonastic vulgarism-" a kind
of sort of," i.e., somehow; rather.
Bartlett erroneously quotes kinder,
or kind o', as American, in spite of
an authoritative quotation to the
contrary from Forby. Kinder sorter,
however, is a combination that
possibly comes within the category.
People who like to be singular
reverse the order, and say sorter
kinder.
KINDLERS, KINDLINGS. Sticks and
small wood for lighting fires. New
England. Resinous pine chips are
technically known as kindlings.
This morning I watched a man chopping
wood; I give it up; there is a science even
in wood chopping, and that man certainly
had not found it out. I have seen a Yankee
woman hold the axe in just about that way
when she had KINDLINGS to split. But for a
man to be so awkward! Why, I verily
believe I could do better myself. Labour is
cheap, and no wonder.-New York World,
1888.
KING.-A large-employer of capital
(his own), and labor (other
King-Bird
people's). Here the relation of one
to the other often ends.
They heard of CATTLE KINGS and WHEAT
KINGS, and IRON KINGS and COTTON KINGS,
and RAILROAD KINGS.-Troy Daily Times,
February 7, 1888.
KING-BIRD (Tyrannus carolinensis).
in-
Also called the SCISSOR TAIL. This
bird is found at times throughout
the Union, and is well named, being
exceedingly courageous and
trepid, not even hesitating to attack
hawks and eagles in defence of its
young. In the South it is known as
the FIELD-MARTIN, whilst amongst
the Indians it receives the name
of SACHEM, in acknowledgment of
its prowess.
KING CAKE DAY.-A Mexican equiva-
lent for the English Twelfth Cake
Day, the 6th of January. It is
customary then to invite one's
friends to dinner, and for dessert
a large cake resembling a crown is
served. It is cut into as many
slices as there are persons at the
table. In the cake, before baking,
a large bean is placed, and who-
ever gets the slice containing the
bean has to give a party within a
few weeks. There is always much
merriment at the cutting of the
king cake.
KINK. From the legitimate meaning
of kink, a twist in a rope, etc.,
Americans have derived an idio-
matic usage in the sense of moral
obliquity, perverseness, etc. A plan
or undertaking that does not run
smoothly, or work out as expected,
is said to have a kink in it.
A KINK arose in the non-payment of rent
by Samuels, and Strauss wished to compel
him to pay it.-Missouri Republican, Feb. 11,
1888.
This word is mostly written kinkle.
KINKY. Queer; eccentric;
crotchetty; thus views of an uncer-
333
Ki-Yi
tain nature would be said to be
kinky, while another shade of mean-
ing is conveyed in the following:-
Cows' hair, which hitherto has been of
little use except in mortar for walls and ceil-
ings, is now made into a heavy felt, which is
used for the soles of slippers, farmers' snow
boots, wrapping for steam pipes, etc., but it
has to be mixed with something KINKY to
hold it together.-Springfield Republican,
1888.
"
a
KINNI KINNICK. Indian tobacco.
This Algonkin word signifies
mixture, the article itself being
a compound of sumac, willow, and
genuine tobacco leaves.
KINY. A New Hampshire corruption
for about; perhaps.
KIP (Cant).—(1) A bed.- -(2) "He's a
kip," i.e., half a fool; dull witted.
KISKITOMAS NUT.-The Indian name
of the hickory nut.
KISS-ME. See THANK-YOU-MA'AM.
KITCHEN PHYSIC (Cant). Victuals;
food of any kind.
KITE (Cant).-Chief of a gang of
thieves.-KITE-FLYING.-To lead
a mob or party.
KIUSE. See CAYUSE.
KI-YI. A negro expletive; chiefly
amongst children.
It is the chief work of the pickaninnies
(children) of the plantation to keep the
plants free from worms. Two or three
times a week they go up one row and down
another, carefully looking under every leaf
in the hunt. Now and then you will hear a
joyous KI-YI come from the direction of some
woolly-headed worker, and you may know
that it sounds the death knell of an un-
usually large pest.-Detroit Free Press, Aug.
4, 1888.
Knee High to a Mosquito
KNEE HIGH TO A MOSQUITO.—Insigni-
ficant; of little account. Generally
applied in relation to stature. The
phrase varies in different parts of
the country; in New England it
runs knee high to a toad, while in
Maryland, the standard of measure-
ment is a grasshopper. Other
variants have been introduced;
such as, knee high to a chaw of
tobaccer.
KNICKERBOCKER FAMILIES. Descen-
dants of the old Dutch settlers in
New York state and city.
When the Bowling Green, as it is still
called, was the only park New York possessed
except the Battery, there lived in the town a
pretty girl of one of the oldest KNICKER-
BOCKER FAMILIES (all families were old
KNICKERBOCKER FAMILIES then-there were
no others) called Katrina Van Worst.-
New York Mercury, 1888.
KNICKNACKERY. Knicknacks, when
spoken of in bulk.
KNIFE, TO. To stab; and, meta-
phorically, to conduct a contest
with vigor.
This threat to KNIFE any other candidate
is based on the highest authority, for it was,
with characteristic audacity, put by Blaine
himself.-New York Evening Post, February
24, 1888.
KNIFING PROCESS.-The cut-
ting down of rates; economization.
The demoralization which has paralyzed
Western rates has extended to Texas in spite
of all efforts to maintain prices there. The
KNIFING PROCESS in the South-west has been
carried to such extreme lengths that mere
re-adjustment of Texas schedules is out of
the question, and the Texas managers have
been compelled to work with the other
associations for a settlement of the entire
question. Missouri Republican, February
22, 1888.
KNIGHTS OF LABOR.-A most power-
ful organization of working-men,
similar to an English Trades' Union,
334
Knock Down
but infinitely stronger, both as
regards membership and finance.
It possesses branches connected
with every known trade, and is
affiliated with kindred societies in
England and on the Continent,
besides having sections comprised
of female members only.
It is reported that the KNIGHTS OF LABOR
will do their utmost to defeat the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers in their threatened
strike on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy.
The company's managers not only depend
upon using every man in their employ who
can manage a locomotive, but it is expected
that at least two hundred men will be
secured from among the KNIGHTS OF LABOR
at Philadelphia and at Reading.-Philadel-
phia Bulletin, February 27, 1888.
Another large organization of
the kind is the KNIGHTS OF
PYTHIAS.
KNOB.-Primarily a Kentuckian term
for the rounded hills or knolls fre-
quently met with in some portions
of that State, and caused by atmos-
pheric influences on the sandstone
formation. Now applied to smooth
mounds or hills throughout the
Union hence (1) KNOBBY for
hilly. (2) In New York KNOBBY is
synonymous with bully; capital;
first-rate-a perversion of nobby.
KNOBITE.-An inhabitant of
the knob region of Kentucky. It
is said that these people exhibit
peculiar characteristics, and are
easily discernible from the other
denizens of the State.-KNOB-
LICKS. Salt formations in the knob
district, which constitute favorite
resorts for domestic, and, in past
times, for
for wild animals. See
LICK.
KNOCK DOWN, TO.-To embezzle; to
appropriate surreptitiously. This
is in addition to its ordinary
English slang significations.
KNOCK-DOWN AND DRAG OUT.-In
pugilistic circles, a fight carried to
Knocker
extremities-till one man is so
thoroughly exhausted that he has
to be carried out.. -To KNOCK
OUT THE WEDGES.-To leave in an
embarrassed condition; to desert.
An expression probably borrowed
from the phraseology of building
operatives.
When the wedges
are knocked out scaffolding loses
all its strength.- -KNOCKED-UP.
-Enceinte. De Vere says this is a
characteristic mode of speech on
the part of his countrymen and
women, and, he might also have
added, a coarse one. An amusing
story is told of an English traveller
who, enquiring after a lady's health,
was told by her sister that she was
knocked-up.
He insisted upon
knowing what had brought on the
excessive fatigue-for so he under-
stood the term-and was only more
embarrassed than the lady, whom
he fairly put to flight, by learning
afterwards that the phrase was used
in speaking of ladies when in an
interesting condition.
KNOCKER.-Probably the curtailment
of the English slang phrase "up
to the knocker"; when a person
or thing is said to be a knocker the
highest praise is intended.
Mrs. was looking just too scrumptious
for anything. Neat, clean-cut, effective and
plump, and so gracefully rounded, her figure
was a KNOCKER, and the wind catching her
veil blew it aside from her pretty features,
and made the coyest and most winning pic-
ture that you ever saw.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, April 29, 1888.
KNOW NOTHINGS.-A secondary desig-
nation of the AMERICAN PARTY
organized in New York in 1853 by
E. Z. C. Judson, better known as
Ned Buntline. Members of the party
answered all questions concerning
it with the response, "I don't
know," whence the popular name.
The secret name is said to have been
"The Sons of '76." The cardinal
principle of the society was that
335
Kone
"Americans must rule America."
After some notable successes at
the polls, the society went to pieces,
owing to the extreme measures
These
proposed by its leaders.
declared war to the hilt against
Roman Catholics, advocated the
repeal of all naturalization laws,
and reserved all offices for native-
born Americans. It did not alto-
gether disappear from national
politics until 1860. A curious local
meaning is found in Massachusetts,
where the crossing of two railroads
at grade is termed a know nothing.
The name is applied in consequence
of a railroad accident which
occurred just before the election
of Governor Gardner in 1854. He
was the know nothing candidate,
and his first official act was
secure the passage of a law requiring
all trains to stop before reaching
such a crossing.
to
Shakespeare Caldwell, Miss Caldwell's
father, was also of the Presbyterian faith,
and during the days of KNOW NOTHING
excitement was an active sympathizer with
that party. Mrs. Caldwell was also of the
same faith, but late in life Mr. and Mrs.
Caldwell embraced the Catholic religion.-
New York World, May, 1888.
'I suppose you know he was a KNOW NOTH-
ING?' He was, eh? That settles his hash
with the German settlement in Crosby
Creek, and Pat Malloy, who is going to start
a saloon, will be down on him. I suppose Har-
rison will poll a single one of the nineteen
Irish votes in this county. All the Catholics
will vote against him on his KNOW NOTHING
record. I reckon I can manage to throw a
little life into the campaign, after all.'-Texas
Siftings, 1888.
A derivative is know nothingism,
with similar meaning.
-(2)
KNUCK (Cant).—(1) A thief.-
A contraction of CANUCK. Sce
CANACK.
KONCK. A wrecker.
KONE.-Spurious money, either paper
or specie.
KONIACKER. A
coiner of counterfeit money.
Kool Slaa
KOOL SLAA.-A cabbage salad; from
the Dutch kool salade. Vulgarly
called COLD SLAW.
Коотоо, To. To bow; to
bow; to make
courteous obeisance. Kootoo or
ketow is the exact Chinese synonym
of the Hindoo "Salaam."
KOOYAH ROOT.-(Valeriana officinalis or
edulis). A poisonous root, which,
however, prepared like the CASSAVA
(q.v.), is made into bread by Indians
in Oregon and elsewhere.
KU-KLUX-KLAN.-A secret association
of Southerners formed shortly after
the war.
It was otherwise known
as "The Invisible Empire," "The
Knights of the White Camellia,"
The Knights of the Golden
Circle," and by a Score of
other names. It is said on good
authority (see Century Magazine,
July, 1884) to have been origin-
ally organized by a few young
men for amusement during the
period of stagnation after the close
of hostilities. It soon, however,
outgrew the design of its founders,
branches being established all over
the South, and its political influence
becoming almost absolute. That it
was directly and indirectly charge-
able with outrages against settlers
from the North, and against negroes,
336
Ku-Klux-Klan
is not to be denied, but it is also
believed that it was largely instru-
mental in preserving order during
a period when lawlessness was rife
at the South. The name was an
alliterative corruption of the Greek
KUKλog (a circle), the Klan being
added to enhance the strange jingle
of consonants. The Southern
negroes, who lived in mortal terror
of the Klan, believed that the name
was associated with certain audible
"clucks," by means of which signals
were supposed to be interchanged
during midnight raids. The Ku-
Klux-Klan was founded in June
1866, and it was nominally dis-
banded by its presiding
Grand
Wizard" in February, 1869. Ku-
Klux raids were common, however,
for several years after that date.
"
With the police departments and the
courts of justice managed in the interests of
the whites, to have opened a race war would
have been to expose the negroes to the old
misrepresentations, impositions and perso-
nal insecurity with which the KU-KLUX era
made the country so sadly familiar.-Phil-
adelphia Bulletin, February 27, 1888.
The Republicans of this State denounce
and condemn such acts on the part of the
Northern Republican leaders. They have
no patience with the men who deserted the
Republicans of the South in 1876 and 1877
and turned them over to the tender mercies
of the KU-KLUX, the Red Shirts, the Mag-
nolia Clubs, and other organizations of like
nature, and left them to work out their own
salvation amid fear and trembling, or perish
from off the face of the earth.-New York
Weekly Times, March 21, 1888.


S
ABRADOR
TEA (Ledum
palustre and lati-
folium).
A substi-
tute in the North-
west for tea; other
make-shifts are also
known in the States.
LACEHORSE. (Texas.) A trig, smirk
little horse.
LADY.-The misuse of this word in
America is notorious; perhaps, how-
ever, no perversion of language has
been so scathingly satirized. As
J. R. Lowell admits, the abuse of
the word is villainous, and the
causes are laid deep down in the
roots of Democracy. But, how-
ever excusable, and indeed praise-
worthy, may be the underlying
principle, for "when Adam delved
and Eve span, who was then the
gentleman," the results are none
the less deplorable. Americans,
in seeking to avoid the Scylla of
aristocratic snobbery, have by
undue emphasis, floundered into
the Charybdis of republican sans
cullottism. The author of the
Biglow Papers further points out
that the Italian donna has been
treated in the same way by a whole
nation, and not as lady, among the
Americans, by the uncultivated
only. He seeks to mitigate the
enormity by pointing out that
similar sins were committed in the
Mother Country in the seventeenth
century, and cites examples. Two
wrongs, however, do not make one
right; and it would be difficult to
find instances which surpass in
glaring atrociousness and magni-
tude the colloquial perversion in
question. It is only since the war,
however, that this abuse of terms
has become so marked. Shortly
after the close of the Rebellion, the
negroes began to call each other

"
"
11
lady and "gentleman," but in
speaking of the whites, they gener-
ally referred to them as that "man
and that "woman." An instance
occurred a few years ago in which
Gen. W. T. Sherman played a part.
The general was sitting in front of
his house one pleasant evening with
some friends, smoking and talking,
when a fellow as black as the ace
of spades sidled up, and, address-
ing the general, said: Is de a lady
here named Johnson?' 'No,"
said the general. Well," said the
darky, "I think there must be a
lady of that name living here,
because she is my wife, and she is
working for a woman named Sher-
man." Now, lady is either deri-
sively applied to, or (and here lies
the gist of the whole matter) vain-
gloriously insisted upon by those
acting in a menial or dependent
capacity. Ridiculous as is the
picture presented by the following
quotation, it is gratifying to think
that it has its reverse side, and
that the honorable title of "wo-
man has a better chance of taking
its true place in the noble English
tongue. To such lengths is prudery
of this stamp carried, that accord-
ing to some they were not women
who stood around the cross, but
43
Ladies' Tresses
ladies, and the tender loving title
in "Woman! what have I to do
with thee?" gives place to the
emasculated " Lady! what have I
to do with thee?'
All Ladies-'Ah, Mrs. Genteel, how do you
do to-day? It is an age since I have seen
you. How is your daughter Katie? I haven't
seen her for a long time.'
She is
'She's quite well, thank you.
SALES-LADY now at Plush and Silk's stores.
'Indeed? And your daughter Mamie?
'Oh, Mamie is FORE-LADY in the new
tomato canning establishment.'
'I hadn't heard that.
now?'
Is Lulu at home
'No, she has gone to Hartford as WAITING-
LADY to a very wealthy and aristocratic
woman living there.'
'Oh, has she? Then you have only Lena
at home, I presume?'
'Oh, no; Lena has just accepted a situation
as a NURSE-LADY in the family of Judge K.
She has an elegant place.'
'So you are living alone?'
'No, we have given up our house for the
winter, and I am now cOOK-LADY at Mrs.
Blank's boarding-house.'-Tid Bits, 1888.
(Scene up stairs.) Servant-Missus! mis-
sus! the BEGGAR LADY is down stairs, and I
hare the ash gintleman knockin' at the gate.
-Philadelphia Times, 1888.
-A sarcastic comment may be
fitly introduced here in the thief's
definition of lady. In the jargon of
his class it means a humped-back
woman. -We find also that the
feminine branch of the Knights
of Labor, style themselves LADY
KNIGHTS Of Labor.
An assembly of LADY KNIGHTS OF LABOR
was organized as No. 3, or Sunfield Lodge,
last night, Hon. Robert Linn, member of the
National District Assembly, No. 135, officiat-
ing in the organization, and afterwards
installing the officers for the ensuing year.
Some twenty or twenty-five LADIES were
organized as charter members.-St. Louis
Globe Democrat, February 16, 1888.
LADIES' TRESSES (Neotti atortillis).—A
Southern name for this herb, from
the flowers bearing a supposed
resemblance to curls.
LAFAYETTE FISH (Leistormus obliquus).
-So named in New York, it is said,
338
Lagniappe
in honor of General Lafayette,
from the fact that this delicious
sea-fish one summer arrived in the
waters of New York harbor pre-
cisely at the same time when
General Lafayette paid his last
visit to America. It abounds
mainly on the coast of New Jersey,
and, as people there appreciate the
delicacy fully, it is also called cape
MAY GOODY.
LAGER BEER. TO THINK NO LAGER
BEER OF ONESELF, i.e., to be self-
opinionated--a mere variant of the
English slang, "to think no small
beer, etc."
John Ruskin thinks no LAGER BEER of him-
self. He knows something about pictures
and Venice stones. He is boss on these
points; but when he breaks out in bursts of
opinion on railroads and other modern in-
ventions that make life in this fag end of the
nineteenth century somewhat different to
that of the ancient Britons, his knowledge of
the spirit of the present age turns out to be
mighty small pumpkins. - Texas Siftings,
June 23, 1880.
LAGNIAPPE.-Something thrown in;
over and above; good measure.
BROTUS (q.v.) is a synonym.
We picked up one excellent word-a word
worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a
nice limber, expressive, handy word-
LAGNIAPPE. They pronounce it lanny-yap.
It is Spanish-so they said. We discovered
it at the head of a column of odds and ends
in the Picayune the first day; heard twenty
people use it the second; inquired what it
meant the third; adopted it and got facility
in swinging it the fourth. It has a restricted
meaning, but I think the people spread it
out a little when they choose. It is the
equivalent of the thirteenth roll in a baker's
dozen. It is something thrown in, gratis,
for good measure. The custom originated
in the Spanish quarter of the city. When a
child or a servant buys something in a shop
-or even the mayor or the governor, for
aught I know-he finishes the operation by
saying, 'Give me something for LAGNIAPPE.'
The shopman always responds; gives the
child a bit of liquorice-root, gives the servant
a cheap cigar or a spool of thread, gives the
governor-I don't know what he gives the
governor; support, likely. When you are
invited to drink, and this does occur now
and then in New Orleans-and you say,
Lagranged
'What again?-no, I've had enough,' the
other party says, 'But just this one time
more-this is for LAGNIAPPE.' When the
beau perceives that he is stacking his
compliments a trifle too high, and sees
by the young lady's countenance that the
edifice would have been better with
the top compliment left off, he puts his 'I
beg pardon-no harm intended,' into the
briefer form of 'Oh, that's for LAGNIAPPE.'
If the waiter in the restaurant stumbles and
spills a gill of coffee down the back of your
neck, he says, 'For LAGNIAPPE, sah,' and
gets you another cup without extra charge.
Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, pp.
404, 405.
LAGRANGED.—TO BE LAGRANGED.-To
experience chagrin. A Southern
general, more conspicuous for
courage than culture, wishing to
reprimand his old regiment"
for riotous conduct in a town in
Tennessee, commenced by saying
that he "felt deeply lagranged. The
word thus accidentally coined has
become a common expression for
chagrined.
LAKE LAWYER.-The DOG-FISH (q.v.).
LAKE STATE.-Michigan. From its
being surrounded by four of the
large Northern lakes-Michigan,
Huron, Superior, and Erie. This
State is also called the WOL-
VERINE STATE (q.v.).
LAM, TO.-To beat; to thrash; to
drub. This word, partially collo-
quial in America, is provincial in
Yorkshire. Few words have been
the subject of more dispute.
Bartlett quotes it as derived from
the Belg. (sic.) lamen; but both this
and Scott's derivation from a
Dr. Lamb, are equally faulty.
Lam is probably a direct descen-
dant of the old Norse and Gaelic
lam, a hand. The term lamming
for a beating is quoted in the
Slang Dictionary; these expres-
sions, however, as far as America
is concerned, are colloquial, and
may be regarded as survivals of
339
Land
Old English usage.-
A derivative
is LAMBASTING, a beating; also To
LAMBAST. These also are slang in
the Mother Country, Hotten de-
"lumb-
riving the word from
basting" from the lumber regions.
More likely, however, it is a
pleonasm formed by uniting to lam,
and "to baste."
LAMANTIN.-The SEA Cow or MANATEE.
This cetacean is regarded as fur-
nishing the small basis of fact for
the mermaid myth. In this case
the original is a long way after
the ideal.
"
LAMAS.-In the slang of the gaming-
table lamas are chips or tokens
representing in value about £5, £10,
and £25 each.
LAMB-KILL.-See CALF-KILL.
LAMB'S QUARTER (Chenopodium album).
-A popular Southern name for a
well-known herbage.
LAND. In the United States terms
connected with the land vary but
slightly from English usage. The
principles, however, upon which it
is dealt with cause a slight varia-
tion in meaning, the chief of which
are appended. LAND.-A road
fenced on both sides. A Carolina
usage. LAND BROKER (Cant).-
An undertaker.-LAND GRABBERS.
-These gentry are not peculiar to
the States, though Uncle Sam has
had to keep his weather eye open
to check the impudence and perti-
nacity with which men, under the
pretence of carrying out works of
national importance, sought in a
measure to create in the New
World a new monopoly, of the land,
and thus perpetrate one of the
crying evils of the English social
system. In other directions, too,
checks have been applied to pre-
Landlady
vent English capitalists from
acquiring an undue proportion
of what, coming down to first
principles, is the very life-source
of national existence. -LAND
GRANTS. Grants of public land,
usually made to companies and
corporate bodies, ostensibly for
the carrying out of important
improvements, such as building
railways, constructing telegraphs,
etc. Commendable enough in
theory, in practice this course
has opened the door for
for all
kinds of public jobbery. LAND
OFFICE. The disposal and con-
trol of public lands is vested in a
General Land Office at Washington,
branch offices having been estab-
lished in other places.-LAND
SCRIP. A receipt for monies paid
on account of land..
340
LAND WAR-
RANTS.-Authorizations issued by
the General Land Office at Washing-
ton, entitling the possessor to take
up new and uncultivated land.-
LAND CRAB.-A variant of land-
lubber, both being sea terms for a
landsman.- LAND JUMPER.- See
JUMP. LAND YARD (Cant).—A
cemetery.
LANDLADY.—TO HANG THE LANDLADY
is to decamp without payment;
applied to "moonshining" practices
of all descriptions. An equivalent
is "to stand off the tailor.'
LAND OF
STEADY HABITS, Connec-
ticut ; a tribute, it cannot be
doubted, to the personal qualities
of its inhabitants.
LAND-SAKES-An exclamation of sur-
prise. Probably a corruption of
"for the Lord's sake "-LAUD'S
SAKE, and then by erroneous writ-
ing or printing the substitution of
n "for "u" in the first-word.
$
Well, poor Smith! He is rid of that
talkative wife of his.'
Lariat
'LAND SAKES! Did she drown? '—Ascola
Democrat, 1888.
'LAND SAKES! Ben Dixon!' came in con-
temptuous tones from Aunt Ann's secluded
corner. 'That poor cretur never had the
spunk to kill himself. I knew 'twa'n't so
when I saw it in the paper, and Almiry
Freeman heard that 'twas an accident, and
he was doin' well.' - Harper's Weekly,
January 21, 1888.
LANDSCAPIST.-An artist, whose forte
is to depict landscapes. A hybrid
form.
LAP, TO. (1) The boy who "throws
candy, papers, etc., to passengers in
the cars is said to lap them.- (2)
In sport, to pass; to get ahead.-
LAP-TEA.-An informal afternoon
meal, where sitting at table is dis-
pensed with. Although the meaning
of lap-tea is obviously literal, it
proved a sad stumbling block to De
Vere, who defined it as " the quaint
name given in New England to tea-
parties, where the guests sit in each
other's laps for want of room."
Bartlett, too, seemed disinclined to
risk committing himself, for he is
contented with quoting Lowell, who
had called attention to its omission
from the first edition-" where the
guests are too many to sit at table."
LARIAT.-A twisted or braided raw hide
or horse-hair rope, used for catching
and tethering cattle and horses.
Also called a LASSO (q.v.). Lariat
is from the Spanish la reàta.- To
LARIAT OUT.-To stake out or tether
with a lariat.
You see a feller peekin' out, an fust you know,
a LARIAT
Is round your throat an' you a copse 'fore you
can say, 'Wut air ye at?'
-Biglow Papers.
Tracks seen early in the evening, just
before camping, had shown that wild horses
were in the vicinity, and this made us keep
our own horses close to the picket-line;
otherwise they would be LARIATED OUT.-
Century Magazine, 1888.
Frequently
Larigo
used idiomatically ;
thus, land lariatted out is that bought
from the Government, but not yet
occupied.
LARIGO.-A ring forming part of the
huge Mexican saddle of the South-
west. Through it are passed the
latigos or thongs which connect the
cinches with the saddle.
This is
LARREY (Cant).-Cunning.
probably a corruption of "leary."
LASSO.-A long rope with a running
noose, made either of plaited raw-
hide, twisted horsehair, or other
equally suitable substance.
On
the Western plains the lasso forms
the chief means by which horses,
mules, and cattle are caught, and
plainsmen exhibit considerable
skill in the art of using it. From
the Spanish lazo, a noose. Hence
TO LASSO.-See LARIAT.
The earliest suggestion of rope-making is
to be found pictured in some of the tombs of
the ancient Egyptians. It was flax, and not
hemp, that these people used for making
twines and the smaller ropes or cordage, by
twisting the fibres continuously together.
For what we know as rope, they used the
fibres of the date-tree, which are applied even
at the present day to the same purpose. They
also took narrow strings of leather, produced
in an elongated form by the circular cut
and twined or twisted these into ropes. In
like manner, the hunters on the Pampas
plains and in Mexico thus make the LASSO
with which they so adroitly catch wild horses
and other animals.-Troy Daily Times, Feb.
4, 1888.
LATE UNPLEASANTNESS.-A euphemism
for the late Civil War.
It is reported that he was a Colonel in Jeff
Davis' recruits, and is suspected of being the
same redoubtable Colonel Liddell who
figured prominently in the Louisiana
Tigers, a corps of Confederate sharp-
shooters during the LATE UNPLEASANTNESS.
-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
LATHY.-Thin; slim; lath-like.
341
Laws
LATITAT (Cant). A lawyer; an
attorney.
LATTER DAY SAINTS.-The Mormons.
A self-applied appellation: saints
in name, but far from saints in
practice.
Worthy of being
LAURELISTIC.
crowned with laurel.
LAVE! A corruption of the French
lêve (imperative), i.e., Get up!——
A morning summons amongst
plainsmen. In the early morning
a camp will be aroused by cries of
lave! lave! and, in a twinkling,
all will be bustle and preparation
for a start.
How I hated the slow, steady LAVE! LAVE!
of our old trapper, when his moccasined
foot touched my side, and I had to rouse
myself for another day's tramp through the
endless wilderness!-Scenes in the Far West.
LAW, To. To go to law; a Western
colloquialism. LAW-DAY, the
day on which, in thinly-populated
districts, an itinerant magistrate
administers the law.- STABBING
THE LAW.-A slang phrase mean-
ing to rail against any duly author-
ised authority, or the "powers that
be."
The Anarchists of Chicago are once more
at large. The 18th inst. was the anniver-
sary of the Paris Commune, and the rag-tag
of socialism, anarchism, and communism
turned out in large numbers with red flags,
and marched to a chosen spot to hear their
favorite orators. These speakers were as
violent as ever, and gave no evidence of
having relinquished their favorite plan of
STABBING THE LAW.-Nevada City Journal,
February, 1888.
LAWS! LAWS-A-ME! LAW-SAKES! LAW
SAKES ALIVE!
LAW SUDS! — All
corruptions of "For the Lord's
sake," or "The Lord save us." In
England the equivalent phrase is
"Lawk's a mercy," i.e., "The Lord
have mercy."
Lawyer
LAWYER. (1) (Himantopus nigricolus).
-A small bird which bears other
popular names tilt and long
shanks. It is said that the people
of New Jersey have facetiously
called it the lawyer, "on account of
its long bill." (2) In Canada a
fish of the genus Lota is also so-
called. (3) In the States no dis-
tinction is made, as in England,
between a solicitor and a barrister ;
all legal advisers are lawyers.
LAY.-TO LAY ON THICK, to flatter.
This usage has extended to and
become colloquial in England.-
TO LAY ONE OUT.-To get the better
of one; to secure an advantage; to
defeat a simile derived from the
"laying out of a corpse.
How they came to be his antagonists is
neither here nor there for the present pur-
pose, but they had staked a good deal on
LAYING HIM OUT, and were moving heaven
and earth, as the phrase goes, to accomplish
their purpose.
-LAY OUT.-A party; company;
an OUTFIT (q.v.).
Several persons in our LAY OUT in New
Mexico swapped good American horses for
mustangs, for some little boot of onions or
sech like truck, and made about as good
bargains as Moses Primrose, when he
exchanged a horse for a lot of old green
spectacles.-Overland Monthly.
342
LAZE, TO. This, in the sense of to act
lazily, to idle about, is not com-
mon; indeed, it is doubtful whether
it is more than an individualism.
LEADER. The length of fine hair or
gut connecting a fishing line with
the hook. Another name for it is
a SNELL.
LEAF (Cant).-Autumn. In this, as
in many cant terms, there seems
to exist a certain kind of perverted
correspondence.
Leather
LEAGUE OF THE ROSE. The League
of the Rose, which is yet in
its infancy, is a national society,
modelled after the Primrose League
of England, and was started at
Ottawa, Canada, last summer. Its
object is "to maintain religion,
liberty, and the British Empire,'
so the prospectus says. It includes
men and women of every class in
its ranks.
LEAP THE BOOK (Cant). - A bogus
marriage.
LEATHER (Cant).--A pocket book-
TO PULL OFF LEATHER is, there-
fore, to steal pocket-books or purses.
When we got to Chicago on the cars from
there to here, i PULLED OFF an old woman's
leather: i hadn't no more than got it off when
i wished i hadn't donn it, for awhile before
that i made up my mind to be a square bloke.
-Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi,
P. 459.
LEATHERHEADS.
J
The nick-
name given of old to policemen or
watchmen.
Here the old police or LEATHERHEADS tried
to restrain them, but in vain. Hostilities
took place, several of the police were killed
and several mortally wounded.-New York
Mercury, July 21, 1888.
Garsight, who had keen ears and eyes, was
to keep watch for the terrible LEATHERHEADS
or watchmen.—Ibid.
-TO GO TO LEATHER.-A ranch-
man's term used when, in riding a
plunging horse, a man grasps the
saddle to avoid being thrown.
Up rises the broncho's back into an arch;
his head, the ears laid straight back, goes
down between his fore feet, and, squealing
savagely, he makes a succession of rapid,
stift-legged, jarring bounds. . . . . After a few
jumps, however, the average man grasps
hold of the horn of the saddle-the delight-
ful onlookers meanwhile earnestly advising
him not To GO TO LEATHER-and is contented
TO
to get through the affair in any shape, pro-
vided he can escape without being thrown
off.-Ranch Life in the Far West.
Left Bower
-Leather wood (Dirca palustris).
-Also called MOOSE WOOD; and, in
New England, WICOPY (q.v.).
LEFT BOWER.-See Bower.
*
J
LEGADEROS. — A Spanish
A Spanish Mexican
term for stirrup straps. Legaderos
is probably not Castilian; it looks
as if it might have been derived
from the root of the noun legadura,
ligature, but it is not. It seems to
be the solitary instance of an Eng-
lish word passing into the Spanish
or Mexican, and coming back to us,
disguised as a fine Spanish change-
ling. The straps which hold the
stirrups on many of the large
Mexican saddles are, in fact,
leg-guards, and this seems to be
the homely Cinderella whom the
Spanish tongue, like a true prince,
transformed into its legaderos.
LEGAL SKULL AND CROSSBONES.-TO
provide against misadventure, the
law regulating the sale of poisons
in America, enacts that a label,
bearing the device of a death's
head and crossbones, shall be at-
tached to each bottle or packet.
In England, a similar label with the
word 'Poison" printed in red
letters is used.
In the centre of the flag-bottomed chair
was a clot of congealed blood. The razor,
although more off the chair than on it, was
held fast by the dried blood. Upon the
bottle was a label Laudanum, and, as if in
glee at the stern corollary of its deadly mis-
sion, there were the LEGAL SKULL AND
CROSSBONES, printed in red ink.-New York
Morning Journal, 1888.
LEG DRAMA.-A ballet. Theatres,
where stage dancing forms a pro-
minent feature of the entertain-
ment, are similarly called
SHOPS.
LEG-
'Nothing, sir,' was the reply; only they're
playing Undine' at the Opera House, and
some folks call it the LEG SHOP, and I didn't
343
Let
know but what, being a stranger here, you
didn't like to ask right out for it.'-Mark
Twain's Screamers.
LEG STRETCHER.-TO TAKE A LEG
STRETCHER is to take a drink. Ob-
viously from the fact that "to
stretch one's legs" more
often
than not, is synonymous with walk-
ing to the refreshment bar and
back again. Somewhat akin is the
excuse of " going out to see a
man"
when leaving one's seat
between the acts at a theatre.
Both these, and many other phrases,
are now regarded as "an excuse for
a glass."
LENGTHY, LENGTHILY, LENGTHINESS.-
These words, now quite orthodox,
were of American origin. J. Russell
Lowell says America has given
back to England the excellent ad-
jective lengthy, formed honestly like
earthy, droughty, and others, thus
enabling journalists to characterize
the President's messages by a
word civilly compromising between
"long" and "tedious," so as not
to endanger the peace of the two
countries by wounding national
sensitiveness to British criticism.
LENTEN. TO BE LENTEN, i.e., starv-
ing; to have nothing to eat. The
allusion is obviously to the fasting
observed during Lent.
LET, TO. This verb has entered into
many slang combinations on both
sides of the Atlantic. Among
American colloquialisms of the
kind are -To LET DOWN, and A
LET DOWN—the former to express
the giving of a rebuff, the latter
the rebuff itself. This idiom,
however, is indefinitely extended.
As it seems pretty evident that the
sovereigns of Europe, instead of occupying
or sharing thrones, are predestined to the
walks of private life, it would be highly
proper to cultivate in them a spirit of self-
Let
abnegation and humility.
If the royal
parents wish to see their offsprings LET
DOWN EASY from their high estate, they will
adopt this course. Keel over they must, and
a gradual careen would be much better than
a sudden capsize. Now that the people are
assuming the rights and privileges of
sovereignty, we trust that they will have
some consideration for princes in distress.-
New York Sunday Despatch.
LET HER RIP is varied by
LET HER WENT, which Bartlett
erroneously thinks "had its origin
in steam-boating." In reality this
most vulgar of vulgarisms doubt-
less originated in the expression
of a tender desire for the repose
It
of some departed loved one.
has most probably been adopted
from a monumental inscription
frequently to be found in English
and Continental cemeteries by
some one not an active member of
the "
Academy of Inscriptions."
It should be written R.I.P. (Requi-
escat in pace-May he rest in peace).
Its present signification has, of
course, undergone that curious
transition of meaning so often
found in slang. The idea it now
conveys is one of intensity of action
or of extreme emphasis of language,
borrowed, no doubt, in part from
the quasi-orthodox signification of
to rip.
We just set there, and watched him RIP
and tear around till he drowned.-Mark
Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
TO LET ON.—To pretend. The
American usage varies a little,
though slightly, from English slang
and the Scotch colloquialism. In
the last two instances it denotes
the giving an intimation of hav-
ing some knowledge of a subject,
and in this sense was employed by
Ramsay in The Gentle Shepherd. In
America, however, it is a mere
pretence.
In order to get a chance to fly his kite on
Sunday, he used to hang a key on the string,
and LET ON to be fishing for lightning.-
Mark Twain's Bad Boy.
344
Levée
With a malevolence, which is without
parallel in history, he would work all day,
and then sit up nights, and LET ON to be
studying algebra by the light of a smoulder-
ing fire, so that all other boys might have to
do that also, or else have Benjamin Franklin
thrown up to them.-Ibid.
TO LET OUT.-To commence;
to begin; or to make a statement
or explanation.-TO LET SLIDE
is, of course, a very old English
expression, which, however, has
obtained a new life from General
N. P. Banks' famous remark made
at the beginning of the late Civil
War, "Let the Union slide.".
LETTING THE FINGER RIDE
THUMB TOO OFTEN is a delicate.
allusion, in the figurative language
of the South-west, to intemperance,
the result being, as it is truly
though vulgarly said, that the
'eyesight weakens on it.".
"
THE
-To
LET UP.—To release, and similarly,
A LET UP is a relief; a break; both
expressions are taken from pugilis-
tic slang.
It was a rainy day on which the third bat-
talion of the First Massachusetts Cavalry
arrived at Warrenton, Va. It rained for
three days, almost without a LET UP, after
we reached our destination.-Troy Daily
Times, 1888.
The indications are that the racing will
approach the first-class order from now until
the close of the regular meeting in April.
There will be a LET UP of a few days, maybe
a week, between the close of the Winter
Meeting and the opening of the Spring
Meeting. The Spirit of the Times, 1888.
When every rabbit is killed, the coyotes sit
down on their haunches to a very comfortable
banquet, and never LET UP until they have
taken aboard so much rabbit-meat that they
can hardly stir.-San Francisco Weekly
Examiner, March 22, 1888.
LETCHED (Cant).-When a house-
breaker's progress is barred by
unexpected fastenings, he says
the door or window is letched.
LEVÉE.-An embankment. From the
French levée; this term is common
throughout Louisiana, especially in
Level
the lower part of that State, which
has been gradually reclaimed from
the sea. So also To LEVEE. The
lower reaches of the Mississippi
are leveed for hundreds of miles.
We go ashore at Belair, a plantation cele-
brated for its careful and systematic field
work. The planter is waiting upon the
LEVEE for his guests.-Scribner's Magazine,
1887.
A group of steam-boats lie with their
noses against the bank. These are the
sugar-boats, and this particular portion of
the city's protecting embankment is called
the sugar LEVEE.—Ïbid.
LEVEL. TO DO ONE'S LEVEL BEst,
i.e., to perform to the full extent of
one's ability.-LEVEL HEADED is
applied to men with well-balanced
minds-practical, shrewd, and pos-
sessing common sense. -TO DO
THINGS ON A BROAD LEVEL implies
stability and fixedness; thus, a
broad level price is the fixed price
-one that will neither be raised
nor lowered. The common origin
of all these phrases is to be found
in mining phraseology. "Now,
pardner, I feel that I can't drift no
further on this level, and I guess
I've got to go down lower."
LEVY.-A local name in some States
now
for a Spanish silver coin of the
value of twelve and a half cents-
a contraction of " elevenpence."
Both term and coin are
obsolete in America. According
to Hotten, a levy is a Liverpool
word for a shilling, and among
labourers a levy is a sum obtained
before it is due; something to keep
a man going till Saturday night
comes, or his task is finished.
LEWISITES.-A local New York term
applied to the supporters of
Morgan Lewis, who was Governor
in 1804. It was the "swell" party
of the day.
345
Lie
LIB (Cant). Sleep is so named.
LIBBEGE. A bed.. LIBBEN.-
A private house.- LIBKEN.-A
lodging house. It is curious to
note that a house, whether private
or semi-public, is here regarded as
merely a sleeping-place-a forcible
commentary on the habits of the
class in question.
LIBERAL. This term acquired a
renewed significance from a move-
ment headed by Carl Schurz in
Missouri, in 1870, which resulted in
a division of the local Republi-
cans into Liberals and Radicals,"
the latter being equivalent to
STALWART as more recently used.
It is also used in combination with
other party names.
LIBERTY POLE.-A flagstaff surmoun-
ted by a Cap of Liberty-an
emblem of American institutions
frequently found in the cities of
the Republic of the West.
LICK. The fondness of both wild and
domesticated animals for salt has
resulted in saline deposits, and
springs, being called licks. A famous
resort of this kind in Kentucky is
called the BIG BONE LICK (q.v.),
from the immense quantities of
bones found
found there.-
there. TO LICK
(Cant).—To coax.
LICKETY SPLIT.-TO GO LICKETY SPLIT,
i.e., with violent exertion-probably
a variation formed on the ancient
cant lycke, to excel, to overcome.
LIE, TO. To bear examination; or
"to hold water."
The court held also that there was no
proof that the girl was convinced that she
was about to die when she made a dying
declaration, and expressed belief that no
conviction of murder in the first degree
would LIE. A new trial was granted.-New
York Evening Post, February 24, 1888.
44
Life Everlasting
-To LIE AROUND LOOSE.-A
man of loafing habits is said to lie
around loose.
ANOTHER LIE
NAILED TO THE COUNTER !-A col-
loquialism, the meaning of which
is obvious-a detected slander.
'Who employed you last?' 'A Republican
speaker, who had me back up his declara-
tion that Cleveland was in the habit of
beating his wife. 'But that LIE was nailed
a good while ago.' 'I know it,' chuckled
the C. L., 'but it is easy enough to pull out
the nail.'-Texas Siftings, October 20, 1888.
The La Junta Tribune has scooped all the
papers in the State by nailing the first
compaign LIE this season.-Denver Repub-
lican, May 6, 1888.
A LIE MADE OUT OF WHOLE
CLOTH, i.e., an out-and-out false-
hood.
LIFE EVERLASTING.-A plant, the blos-
som of which, when dried, is like
the French " Immortelle," very
durable.
LIFT. TO LIFT HAIR.-To scalp. A
frequent colloquialism in the West.
This, like to scalp, is often used
idiomatically in the sense of to
annihilate. ON THE LIFT.-On
the move.
I can conceive but of one extenuation;
Bolus was ON THE LIFT for Texas, and the
desire was natural to qualify himself for
citizenship.-Flush Times of Alabama.
LIFTERS (Cant).—Crutches.
LIGHT-HOUSE (Cant).—A man with a
very red nose-a warning signal in
every sense of the word.
LIGHTNING EXPRESS.-A sobriquet ap-
plied on many railways to a quick
travelling train. The American
is nothing if not graphic in his
phraseology; to wit, a Western
variant for the same,
same, GREASED
LIGHTNING.
Ye're 'bleest ter keep a steady han' an' a
keen eye; but mo'n that, ye're 'bleesten ter
346
Limb
b'lieve thar's somebody bigger'n the presi-
dent o' the road or the gen'al supe'intendent
a-backin' of ye up. Ef ye don't, ye ain't no
fittin' man fur ter run a LIGHTNIN' EXPRESS
on that division.-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
When the locomotive was introduced into
this country it was soon pressed into the
service of the newspapers. The New York
journals make a great fuss about their
special trains, and their LIGHTNING TRAINS,
and all that, but the truth is that years and
years ago old Horace Greely ran a faster
special than has ever been run since, and
on a poor railroad at that.-New York Mer-
cury, 1888.
LIGHT OUT, TO.—To decamp hastily.
Her successor [one of Chip's nurses by
John Happy], secured after a long and pain-
ful search, only remained with us a couple
of hours. Remarking, incidentally, to another
of the domestic retainers of the undersigned,
as she was building a fire, 'Ef this warn't a
d-d lonely ole hole.' It was considered
that such a familiarity with the choicest
expletives of our chaste language fitted her,
perhaps, for a livelier sphere. She was,
therefore, assisted TO LIGHT OUT, or else
she would be thrown out of a two-storey
window by the scruff of the neck or the
seat of her pantaloons-if she had any.-
Oddities of Southern Life, 1883.
LIKELY. In addition to the ordinary
English signification,
signification, likely in
America is used for estimable,
sensible, etc. Webster, in his
Unabridged, says: "Such as may
be liked; of honorable or excellent
qualities or character; as a likely
man or woman, that is, of good
character or accomplishments that
render him pleasing or respectable.
It also has the general sense of
promising."
LILYWHITE (Cant).-By a strange,
though not unusual perversion,
this term is applied to a negro and
a chimney-sweep-both, one would
think, of anything but a lily-white
complexion.
LIMB. Some Americans, especially
women, with a mock-modesty,
which is notorious, decline to call a
leg a leg; they call it a limb
Limekill
instead. This tendency is the
more remarkable when the greater
freedom extended to American
girls and women is borne in mind,
unless, indeed, it arises from guilty
knowledge. White, who, perhaps,
was rather given to excessive
incisiveness of speech, remarked
that perhaps such persons think
that it is indelicate for women
to have legs, and that there-
fore they are concealed by
and should be con-
garments
cealed in speech. Professor Geikie,
during one of his Canadian tours,
also found out that both sexes had
limbs of some sort; the difficulty
was to discover whether they were
used to stand on or to hold by.
Sensible people everywhere, how-
ever, have little part in such
prudery.
LIMEKILL-A New Englandism for
limekiln. So used by Gayton,
and therefore, a survival.
LIMIT (in Poker).-A condition made
at the beginning of a game, limit-
ing the amount of any single bet
or raise.
LIMSY. This is current in
in New
England for weak or flexible.
LINCOLN SKINS.-In South Carolina,
a term signifying fractional cur-
rency.
LINE, TO. See SIDE-LINE.
Το
LINE BEES.-To track these insects
to their haunts.
The Indian, he could circumvent and out-
manœuvre at his own games, and at killing
every kind of animal known in the woods or
on the prairies; at fishing and at LINING BEES,
the oldest and best hunters acknowledged
Tom's supremacy.-Santa Fe Expedition, I..
P. 53.
LINEMEN.-An American rail-
way term for plate-layers.
347
Liquor
A force of LINEMEN, which arrived here
from Philadelphia to-day, removed 700 poles
from the track between Philadelphia and
Washington.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 14,
1888.
-To HANDLE THE LINES.-An
equivalent of to handle the ribbons
or reins. -FIGHT IT OUT ON THIS
LINE, is a phrase which, originating
with General Grant during the
Civil War, became proverbial.
LINE RIDING.-A plainsman's
term for patrolling. In the winter
the tract of country on which cattle.
are stationed is apportioned into
lines or beats, to watch which men
are set apart and made responsible.
In riding over the beat each man drives
any cattle that have come near it back into
the Bad Lands, and if he sees by the hoof-
marks that a few have strayed out over the
line very recently, he will follow and fetch
them home. They must be shoved well back
into the Bad Lands before a great storm
strikes them; for if they once begin to drift
in masses before an icy gale it is impossible
for a small number of men to hold them, and
the only thing is to let them go, and then to
organize an expedition to follow them as
soon as possible. LINE RIDING is very cold
work, and dangerous too, when the men have
to be out in a blinding snowstorm, or in a
savage blizzard that takes the spirit in the
thermometer far down below zero. In the
worst storms it is impossible for any man to
be out.-Ranch Life in the Far West.
LINGUISTER (pronounced linkinster).—
A talkative busy body. This New
England phrase is doubtless derived
from sailor usage; amongst this
class a linguister is an interpreter.
LINTER.-A Massachusetts term for a
cattle feeding-trough.
LIQUOR, To, Or To Liquor UP. To
partake of drink. Although un-
doubtedly coming within the cate-
gory of Americanisms by reason of
more extended usage, this phrase
was yet well known to the English
people two hundred years ago.
LIST, TO, LISTING.
List
- Terms used in
cotton cultivation, and signifying
to make ready plots of land.-
LISTER. One who schedules or
makes out lists. Not common,
Bartlett affirming that he had
heard it nowhere but in Connec-
ticut.
LITTLE. As a sobriquet little has been
applied to many famous Americans;
also to one State at least in the
Union. Among those specially so
known may be mentioned
LITTLE GIANT.-A nickname for
Stephen A. Douglas, who was
small of stature, but of great
intellect. When he was nomina-
ted for the Presidency in 1859,
campaign clubs, calling them-
selves Little Giants," were or-
ganized and uniformed after the
manner of the WIDE AWAKES (q.v.).
"
LITTLE MAC.-The army nick-
name of General George B.
McClelland. It became conspicu-
ous, politically, when he was the
Democratic candidate for the Presi-
dency in 1864. -LITTLE VAN.-
Martin Van Buren, eighth Presi-
dent of the United States.
LITTLE RHODY. - Rhode Island,
from its diminutive size as com-
pared with other States in the
Union, it being the smallest. Its
acreage is only 1,306 square miles,
whilst Texas contains 274,356
square miles, and is larger than
Sweden and Norway together.
LIVE.-Quick, active.-An all-round
commendatory adjective. Thus a
live business man is one whose
qualities in that respect are of the
keenest description.-See BEAT.-
LIVE OAK (Quercus virens).— The
evergreen oak.
LIVE OUT, TO.-In New England this
is applied to those in service, and
who reside with their employers.
348
Lobby
LIVER. TO CURL ONE'S LIVER.-To
experience intensity of feeling,
enjoyable or otherwise.
I think that much the most enjoyable of all
races is a steamboat race; but, next to that,
I prefer the gay and joyous mule-rush. Two
red-hot steamboats raging along, neck-and-
neck, straining every nerve-that is to say,
every rivet in the boilers-quaking and
shaking and groaning from stem to stern,
spouting white steam from the pipes, pouring
black smoke from the chimneys, raining
down sparks, parting the river into long
breaks of hissing foam-this is sport that
MAKES A BODY'S VERY LIVER CURL with en-
joyment. A horse-race is pretty tame and
colorless in comparison.-Mark Twain's
Life on the Mississippi, PP. 414-415.
LLANO. A Spanish-Mexican term for
a plain or prairie, and still current
in the South-western States.
LOAN, TO.-Loan, says R. G. White,
is a noun and not a verb; it is the
thing lent; but it may sound larger
to some people to say they have
loaned a thousand dollars when they
mean that they have lent that
amount. Lowell, always anxious to
defend the " American Language,"
points out that it was used long
ago in Albion's "England." Never-
theless, it must still continue to be
classed as an Americanism if wide,
exclusive, and almost universal
usage can make it so.
'That five dollar I LOANED you some time
ago, Fledgely,' observed Robinson, 'sets a
good example to Christians.' 'Er-yes,' re-
plied Fledgely, with an embarrassed laugh.
How-how's that?' 'It keeps lent so well.'
-New York Sun, 1888.
In order to facilitate a more careful
study of the spectra of the brighest stars Mrs.
Draper has LOANED to the Observatory the
11 inch photographic telescope employed by
her husband.-Nation, April 7, 1887.
LOBBY, LOBBYIST.-Lobbyists are per-
sons who frequent the approaches
to legislative halls, and seek to in-
fluence legislation by lobbying, which
may mean argument or absolute
bribery. The lobby is also called
the "Third House."
Loblolly Bay
His enemies-and what man has no
enemies?-say that he doesn't want the bill
to pass, and that he talks it to death on pur-
pose to keep his job of professional pro-
moter of legislation. This title is sometimes
pronounced LOBBYIST for short.-Troy Daily
Times, January 31, 1888.
LOBLOLLY BAY (Gordonia lasyanthus).
A maritime tree flourishing in the
Southern States; it also bears the
name of the HOLLY-BAY. Its foli-
age is very ornamental, and the
tree is consequently esteemed on
this account.
LOBLOLLY PINE.-This pine in the
South is named the OLD
PINE, and in Virginia the WHITE
PINE.
FIELD
LOCALS. A newspaper term for
items of local interest.- The
preparation of such news for press
is called LOCALIZING.
LOCATE, TO. To place; to settle in
a particular spot or position. After
long discussion this verb (which is
still more frequently used in America
than in England, and with much
greater latitude of meaning) has
forced its way into general use.
Mrs. Blanche Woods, of 200, Broadway,
Quincy, Ill., has written to Chief Huebler
with the hope of LOCATING her husband,
Nathan Woods, a railroad man, whom she
has not heard from for a year or more.-
Missouri Republican, February 24, 1888.
Hence LOCATOR, one who
selects places or settles in a partic-
ular spot. Also LOCATION,
particular place.
a
By the laws of the district, the LOCATORS
or claimants of a ledge were obliged to do a
fair and reasonable amount of work on their
new property within ten days after the date
of the LOCATION, or the property was forfeited,
and any body could go and seize it that
chose.-Mark Twain's Roughing It.
The settlement was one of the prettiest
places on the Mississippi, - a perfect
LOCATION; it had some defects, until the river
made the cut-off at Shirt Tail Bend, which
349
Loco-Foco
remedied the evil.-Thorpe's Big Bear of
Arkansas.
LOCKRUMS.A factitious word for
oddities of manner; or eccentri-
cities.
I'd say to the members, don't come down
here to Halifax with your LOCKRUMS about
politics-Sam Slick's Clockmaker.
Loco. The history of this word is
rather singular. In the Spanish it
is an adjective, meaning mad,
crack-brained. There is a plant
on the plains which poisons cattle,
and produces all the ordinary
symptoms of insanity; and some-
one observing this called it loco-
weed. From the substantive a
verb sprang into use; cattle show-
ing signs of madness were said to be
locoed, and so finally the word ex-
tended to human beings. Some have
derived these meanings from the
plant itself, as if it had originally
borne the name loco; but this is
incorrect, the real process having
been just the reverse.
Loco-Foco.-Thirty years ago the
Democrats were quite generally
nicknamed loco-focos. Originally
the term was invented as an adver-
tising "catch" by a New York
dealer in matches and cigars. Its
political application came about in
this wise. In 1835 there was a
split in Tammany Hall over the
nomination of a candidate for Con-
The friends of each at-
gress.
tempted to pack a meeting, and in
the scene of confusion which
ensued, the gas was turned off by
connivance of one faction. The
other faction, however, had, in
anticipation of such a crisis, come
provided with loco-foco matches and
candles, and the room was at once
relighted. The Courier and Enquirer
dubbed the anti-monopolists who
had used the matches loco-focus,
Log
and the name was shortly affixed
to the whole party.
When the LOCO-FOCOS take you round a
corner, and try to honey-fogle you, as they
say in Kentucky, ask them what are Cass's
civil qualities.-Speech of F. Smith at a
Taylor Meeting, Washington.
LOG, TO.-Literally to fell trees and
convert them into logs. The lum-
ber industry, as woodcutting is
called in America, has been, and
perhaps is still, one of the most
important on the continent.
LOG CABIN.-As the word implies,
a cabin made of logs, generally un-
hewn. LOG CABIN AND HARD
CIDER!-A catch phrase of the
Presidential Campaign of 1839, in
allusion to the antecedents of the
candidates. Miniature log cabins
and cider barrels were drawn in
procession through the streets.
LOG CANOE.-A canoe hollowed
out of the trunk of a tree; also
called DUG OUT (q.v.).— -LOGGER.
-
A lumberman or woodcutter.-
LOGGING BEE.-See To LOG and
BEE.
LOGGING CAMP. The
place where trees are cut; also
applied to the cabin or hut occu-
pied by those engaged in LOGGING
operations.—LOGGING SWAMP.—
The spot where trees are being cut
down for lumber; the word is often
a misnomer, but, as the finest trees
grow in swampy places, the term
has passed into general use to
designate any spot where trees are
being felled.- ·LOG ROLLING.-In
addition to the primary meaning
of this term in connection with the
operations of lumbermen, it also
possesses a widely spread political
signification. The hardest part
of the woodcutter's
woodcutter's task com-
mences when the trees have been
felled and prepared for market.
He then has to draw, drag, or
otherwise convey them to the
water's edge. As the time for transit
approaches, the lumbermen of the
350
Lone Star State
different camps, within a certain
radius, join their forces, and by
this means overcome every diffi-
culty. This is called log-rolling.
The process in politics is very
similar. For example, two mem-
bers of Congress, A and B, each
have Bills which they wish to pass.
A may have no real interest in B's
measure, nor vice versa, but, as a
matter of self interest, they both
agree to support and vote for each
other. It need hardly be said that
thereby a door is opened for mal-
practice of all kinds.
LOGIC CHOPPER.-One given to meta-
physical reasoning; or, as Brother
Jonathan's vigorous vernacular
expresses it, "one who would talk
the hind leg off a cow.'
LOGICISE, TO.-To reason. A spurious
word.
LOGIE. (1) In the West Indies, and
more especially in Demarara, the
name for an open shed, in which
the refuse of the sugar-cane is
stored, previous to consumption as
fuel.. (2) Inferior fish are called
logies among cod-fishermen.
LOGY.-Dull; slow; prosy. Applied
mainly to persons of Dutch de-
scent, from log, with much the
same meaning.
LOMA. A Spanish-Mexican term for
a flat-topped hill or ridge. The
diminutive LOMITA is also met with
in the regions once under Spanish
rule.
LONE STAR STATE. The State of
Texas. The fact of the standard
of this State bearing a single star
in its centre is the origin of the
nickname Lone Star State.
Long Bit
LONG BIT. A defaced twenty-cent
piece was once so called.- -LONG
KNIVES.-An Indian term for white
men, in allusion to their swords.
The origin of the term was as fol-
lows:-In the year 1764, a Colonel
Gibson, of Fort Pitt, came acci-
dentally upon a party of Mingoes,
encamped on Cross Creek, a tribu-
tary of the Ohio. Little Eagle, a
distinguished chief, commanded
the party, and upon discovering the
whites, gave a fearful whoop and at
the same time discharged his gun
at the colonel. The ball passed
through Gibson's coat without
injuring him. With the quickness
of a tiger he sprang upon his foe,
and with one sweep of his sword,
severed the head of Little Eagle
from his body. Two other Indians
were killed by the whites, but the
others escaped and reported that
the white captain had cut off the
head of their chief with his long
knife. This was the origin of the
celebrated and fearfully significant
term long knives. It was applied
throughout the war to Virginians,
and even to this day has not been
forgotten by some of the Western
tribes.- -LONG MOSS (Tillandsia
usneoides).-A vegetable parasite,
which is erroneously called a moss;
it grows like the mistletoe on cer-
tain trees, but derives no sus-
tenance from them. It specially
favors the cypress and the acacia.
-LONG SAUCE.-The vernacular
of the New England States has
preserved the old English usage in
speaking of vegetables as "sauce."
Long sauce is the name applied to
beets, parsnips, carrots, and such
shaped vegetables; whilst roots, like
turnips, onions, etc., are called
SHORT SAUCE (q.v.). · LONG
SHANKS. One of the popular names
of the black-necked stilt, otherwise.
called the LAWYER (q.v.). -LONG
SUGAR.-A North Carolinan term
for molasses; in New England, the
351
Lope
same product was formerly named
LONG SWEETENING.
LONG TOM.
—An apparatus used by miners in
the washing of gold.
'LONG ON. A colloquialism fre-
quently met with in New England,
and meaning "'occasioned by."
This is a survival of Old English
usage, as it has been traced back
to Middleton.
"}
LOOED.-To
TO BE
BE LOOED, i.e., to be
defeated or "worsted' in an
undertaking, a simile derived from
the card table. The same meaning
applies to EUCHRE (9.V.).
LOOK-OUT.-An attendant who, at the
gaming-table, is supposed to see
that matters are conducted fairly;
that no mistakes are made; and
that money won goes to the right
person.
Inspector Steer arraigned_thirty-three
gamblers, whom he arrested at No. 208, West
Thirtieth Street last evening, before Justice
Welde, at Jefferson Market Police Court
this morning. The LOOK-OUTS were held in
700 dols. bail each for examination to-mor-
row. The other prisoners were discharged.
-New York Evening Post, February 24, 1888.
LOON (Colymbus torquatus). Also
called the BLACK SWIMMER and
the NORTHERN DIVER.
As
STRAIGHT AS
AS A LOON'S LEG is a
frequently heard figure of speech,
derived from the bird in question.
LOOSENESS.-Without restraint; with
perfect freedom. TO GO IT WITH
A LOOSENESS, i.c., without check,
is often heard. In English slang
we get "on the loose,'
on the loose," which, how-
ever, is more restricted in meaning.
—
LOPE. To leap, or to run. Authorities
differ concerning the derivation of
lope, and but little pre-eminence
seems possible to any of the con-
flicting theories, which are (1) that
Lost Cause
it is a contraction of "gallop"; (2)
that the Dutch loopen, to run or
leap, is responsible for the modern
form; and (3) that it is the same
as lope, to run away, an English
províncialism.
We made quick work of saddling, and the
second each man was ready, away he LOPED
through the dusk, splashing and slipping in
the pools of water that studded the muddy
plain.-Roosevelt's Ranch Life in the Far
West.
The
LOST CAUSE.-With mournful pathos
the Southerner refers to the cause
for which he fought and was
defeated as the lost cause.
principle involved was not only
the existence of slavery within the
borders of the Union, but also the
far more widely-reaching doctrine
of States' Rights.
In May, 1886, in Atlanta, Henry W. Grady
delivered what Mr. Ingalls characterizes as
a eulogy, coming near to the frontier of sac-
rilege and the line of blasphemy, on Jefferson
Davis, the uncrowned king of the LOST
CAUSE.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
LOT.-Applied to land, lot is equi-
valent to the English plot; the term
is applied to any piece, portion, or
division of land; thus city-lots,
town-lots, cemetery-lots, water-lots,
house-lots, etc., etc. The term
seems to have been used from the
earliest times, and Webster suggests
that its origin may be sought in a
practice of casting lots for the
choicer portions-hence the collo-
quialism, TO GO ACROSS LOTS.-
See ACROSS LOTS.
LOUISIANA TIGERS.-A corps of Con-
federate sharpshooters was SO
called in the late Civil War.
The
first-
LOWBELIA, HIGHBELIA,
named is a corruption of Lobelia in-
flata; and a similar plant of vigorous
trailing growth was, by a species
of correspondence, termed highbelia
352
Lumber
by the quack medicine vendors
who use these plants in their
decoctions.
LOW BLACKBERRY.-The DEWBERRY.
LOW-DOWNER.—-In North Carolina, a
wrecker.
LOWER HOUSE.-The House of Repre-
sentatives as distinguished from
the Senate.
LOW GROUND.-A Virginian term for
BOTTOM LANDS (q.v.)
LUCIVEE (Lynx canadensis).—Lucivee is
a corruption of the French loup
cervier.
LUGS.-(1) Ground leaves of tobacco
when prepared for market.- -(2)
Airs; style. "To put on lugs."
Pretty carpets and furniture came from
Denver, and the boys began to think that the
parson was putting on LUGS. But they ex-
cused a good deal in the parson, and really
vied with one another in paying homage in
their rough way to the parson's ward.-Port-
land Transcript, March 14, 1888.
LUMBER,-Sawn timber. The lumber
industry, as may be imagined, is a
very important one, and has given
rise to many terms, most of which
are self-explanatory; such are
LUMBERER and LUMBERMAN, those
who procure and bring down tim-
ber from the backwoods to the
centres of population; LUMBER-
MERCHANT, LUMBERING, LUMBER-
YARD.
'Illinois may be the Prairie State, but we
go there for walnut logs and LUMBER,' said a
representative of M. J. Osgood, the LUMBER-
MAN, in discussing the log situation with a
Journal reporter.-Indianapolis Journal, 1888.
LUMBER STATE. Maine is
thus known on account of its ex-
tensive pine forests; for which
Lummox
reason it is also known as the PINE
TREE STATE.- LUMBER WAGON.
-A farmer's produce cart.
LUMMOX.-This English provincial-
ism is colloquial in America for a
heavy, stupid fellow; so also is
LUNK-HEAD, with the same mean-
ing.
LYCEUM.-Where Academy, Associa-
tion, or Society would be used in
England Lyceum is frequently em-
ployed in America. The word may
signify either the building in which
the society meets or the society
itself.
LYNCH, TO. LYNCHER. LYNCH LAW.
-To lynch is defined as to inflict
353
Lynch
punishment without the form of
law; a lyncher is one who per-
forms such punishment; and lynch
law is the practice of punishing
for crime by private un-
authorized persons without legal
trial ; mob law. Though, of
men
course, lynch law might lend itself
to wrong-doing, it yet, in lawless,
wild communities, furnishes a
certain kind of rough-and-ready
justice. The origin of the term
is wrapped in mystery; many ex-
planations have been put forward,
none, however, are conclusive.
LYNCH LAW is an outbreak of the reforma-
tory spirit among people of low or recent
civilization. Like other movements for re-
form, it is often carried by its own momen-
tum into unforeseen excesses. - Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.

45


M
"
A'AM. A familiar New
England corruption
of Madam,' and
which, following the
pronunciation pecu-
liar to that part of the
Union, commonly
appears both in
speaking and writing as Marm. It
is (1) A contraction for MADAM (q.v.),
and (2) An alternative for "mother."
In some parts of the country it was
once customary to speak of one's
parents as Sir" and Marm.-
MARM SCHOOL.-Formerly, what
in England and also in Connecticut,
was known as a dame school."
Since, however, women have very
properly, in the public school
system of America, assumed
large a share of the duties connected
with the education of the young,
the title of Marm School has been
perpetuated in cases where the idea
of inefficiency, usually connected
in popular opinion with dame
schools, no longer applies. The
colloquial designation of the
teachers is SCHOOL-MARM.
MAB (Cant).-A harlot.
SO
MACHINE. (1) A fire-engine. In New
York and other large centres this
term is especially affected by the
B'HOYS (q.v.), who make themselves
conspicuous at fires, and who, like
their English congeners, revel in
the excitement caused thereby.-
(2) A synonym for any undertaking
or enterprize; thus a man fretting
at interference will ask whether he
or the person meddling is running
this or that machine. In this con-
nection Mr. Lincoln's reply to a
busybody, who offered a liberal
amount of advice and admonition
about his administration, will occur
to mind. Now look here! If I
have to run this machine I shall run
it my own way, and be accountable
to God, my conscience, and the
people, but not to you!". (3) A
railway official's term for a
locomotive.- -A MACHINE POLI-
TICIAN is one who yields implicit
obedience to the lead of his party.
In this sense the phrase has been
generally colloquial for upwards of
half a century, but a special signi-
ficance attached to it in connection
with the Republican party when
owning allegiance to Mr. Conkling,
a leader who chafed under any
indication of independent voting.
MACKINAW BLANKET.-See BLANKET.
The
MADAM. (1) In many parts of the
Union, especially in Boston and the
South, a mother-in-law is desig-
nated as "Madam so-and-so" to
distinguish her from a daughter-
in-law of the same surname.
latter then takes the title of
Mrs." Thus, in the case of two
Mrs. Jones, instead of speaking
of them as Mrs. Jones, and
Mrs. Jones, senior, or even old
Mrs. Jones, the latter is called
Madam Jones, and the former Mrs.
Jones. (2) Among negroes a
"
Mad Dog
common name, in slavery days, for
a master's wife; the term is still
in use, though slightly changed in
meaning since the abolition of
slavery. (3) In parts of the
New England States Madam is used
instead of "mother," in which
case the term is very respectful.
MAD
DOG (Scutellaria lateriflora).
This weed was once thought to be
a specific cure for hydrophobia.
It is also known as SKULLCAP,
from the shape of its flowers.
MADSTONE.—A round stone of dark
color, to which is attached a
superstition that, if applied to the
part bitten, it is a specific cure for
hydrophobia. This belief obtains
mainly in the South.
Dr. Walker, who is the owner of two MAD-
STONES, is now at Walker. He says that
one was taken from the stomach of an elk,
and the other from a white deer.-Nevada
Press, 1888.
A genuine case of hydrophobia has de-
veloped in the village of Mastersville, a few
miles south of this city. On February 9 a
dog of Dr. McAuley bit Mr. Martin Robinson,
his nephew, and Miss McAuley, his daughter.
A MADSTONE, which was kept in the vicinity,
and which had a legendary indorsement,
was applied, and adhered so well that no
fear of any subsequent result was held.-
St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat, March 30,
1888.
MAGG (Cant). This term, which
in England is now applied to a
halfpenny (formerly megs
guineas), is in the States the name
of a half-cent.
were
MAGUEY (Agave americana).—A species
of aloe, and otherwise called CEN-
TURY PLANT. These abound in the
South-western States, and, accord-
ing to species, furnish sisal, hemp,
bagging, and in one or two cases an
intoxicating drink called ruLQUE
(q.v.)
355
Maine Law
MAHALA. A term in use in California
for an Indian squaw, and thought
to be a corruption of the Spanish
muger(pronounced mu-her), a woman.
MAHOGANY (Swietenia mahogani).—The
mahogany of commerce; no further
reference is requisite here.To
MAHOGANIZE.-To paint wood in
imitation of mahogany.
MAHONIST.-In 1878, a General
Mahone of West Virginia, once an
officer in the service of the Con-
federate States, seceded from the
ranks of the Bourbon democrats.
His followers were thereupon called
Mahonists.
MAIDENLAND.-When the dower of a
wife takes the form of land, the
right to which reverts to her family
at death, it receives the name of
maidenland. A Virginian usage.
-
MAIL, TO. As
a noun, mail is
applied to postal matter generally,
and is now quite common in Eng-
land. Where, however, in Eng-
land we post letters, it is common
in America to speak of mailing
them. Hence variants like MAIL-
ABLE, MAIL-RIDER (post-boy), and
MAIL-STAGE. The MAIL-CAR
American railways is equivalent to
the English Post Office travelling
van.
on
MAIL comes here from all foreign countries
and Europe also, It is distributed at once,
and one is permitted To MAIL a letter at any
time, day or night. In tall buildings now
there is an arrangement by which one may
shoot his letters into a runway or flume, and
they will be carried into a United States.
MAIL box on the ground floor.-American
Humorist, Aug. 11, 1888.
II,
MAINE LAW. An enactment, passed
about the year 1844 in the State of
Maine, which provided that no
one, save an officially licensed
agent, should engage in the sale of
Maize
intoxicating liquors. This was per-
haps the first attempt made in
America in the direction of regu-
lating the drink traffic.—Hence
MAINE LAWITE. An advocate of
the principle of the Maine law.
ture.
MAIZE. The original name for Indian
corn, which, like wheat in England,
is a staple of American agricul-
This product, however, is
more generally known as
(q.v.). Maize is of Carib origin,
having come down from mahiz or
mahis, through the Spanish and
the French maïs.
MAKE.
CORN
WE MAKE 'EM OURSELVES.-
A street catch-phrase, which quickly
spread throughout the Union, and
was quickly supplanted in public
favor by other slang expressions.
We make 'em ourselves implies readi-
ness to follow another's lead; or
capacity to perform what others
have done.
MAKING GOOD (in Poker).-Depositing
in the pool an amount equal to any
bet previously made. This is done
previous to raising or calling a
player, and is sometimes called
seeing a bet.-The American Hoyle.
MALAHACK.To cut up hastily or
awkwardly. This is an English
provincialism, which, however, is
colloquial in America.
MAMMA OF MAMMEE APPLE (Mammea
americana). A well-known West
Indian fruit. MAMMEE SAPOTA
(Lucuma mammosa).-See SAPOTE.
MAMMOXED.-A doubtful word, cur-
rent in the South and West. It
seems to bear a meaning of serious
personal injury, and may, perhaps,
be compared with flummuxed"
in the sense of great mental per-
turbation.
"
356
Man
MAMMY.-An affectionate name given
by children to negro nurses, and
old servants.. In the extreme
South it is pronounced as if written
maumer. In Old English usage
the word was synonymous with
grandmother, and the same signi-
cation also attaches to the gipsy
mami.
MAN. This word naturally enters
into combination with many slang
and other phrases.-MAN-EATER.
-The man-eater of Pennsylvania
and the Eastern States is nothing
more formidable than the so-called
salamander, or as they are popu-
larly called in other localities
water-dogs, spring-keepers, water-
puppies, and ground-puppies.-
MAN OF THE EARTH (Convolvulus
panduratus).-This is also known as
the Mechoacan and wild potato-
vine. The root of this plant, which
grows in sandy places, is used
medicinally. MAN-FASHION.-A
long established Americanism sig-
nifying after the manner of men.
ANOTHER MAN [or GOOD MAN]
GONE WRONG. This street catch-
phrase has had as wide a vogue in
England as in America; indeed,
slang nowadays is thoroughly cos-
mopolitan, and once started, gene-
rally makes a tour of the globe. At
first another good man gone wrong was
applied to cases where disgrace of
any kind had fallen upon an indi-
dividual; latterly, however, no more
serious meaning is imputed than
that of following a given lead.
GOING OUT TO MEET A MAN, is a
New York phrase for taking a
drink." It arose in connection with
the excuse given on leaving a place
of entertainment during an entr'acte
for the purpose of refreshment.
THE MAN AT THE OTHER END OF THE
AVENUE. This phrase originated
with Thaddeus Stevens, and had
reference to President Johnson.
Another famous political expression
was-
Manada
-THE MAN ON HORSEBACK-
of Caleb Cushing.
MANADA. This term, which, in
California is specially applied to
breeding mares, is elsewhere more
generally used of a herd of cattle
or drove of horses. It comes from
the Spanish.
MANANOSAY.-The Indian name of the
SOFT CLAM (q.v.).
MANATEE.-The sea-cow or lamantin.
MANDERER (Cant).— A cadger; a
beggar.
MANGO.-A musk-melon, stuffed with
various condiments and then
pickled.- MANGO HUMMING BIRD
(Trochitus colubris), also called the
HUM-BIRD OF HUMMER (q.v.).
MANGOSTEEN.-A variety of the East
Indian mango, which flourishes in
the West Indies.
"}
MANIFEST DESTINY.-Like "the right
divine of kings to govern wrong,
the manifest destiny of a nation is too
often a mere cloak for violence and
oppression; or, as J. R. Lowell
puts it," a national recklessness as
to right or wrong." The phrase
manifest destiny, as specially applied
to American politics, originated
with Mr. Webster, who asserted
that God intended America should
be a Republic.
MANIOC. The plant from which
TAPIOCA (q.v.) is derived.
357
MANITOU.-An Algonkin word signi-
fying spirit. It is applied by
Indian tribes to spirits of all kinds,
whether of the woods, of the wind,
or any natural object, and these
may be either good or bad.
Maple
MANNERS. TO MAKE ONE S MANNERS.
-Children were formerly said to
make their manners when bowing
or curtseying to visitors or elders.
This mode of speech is in reality
a very old English usage. The
motto of Winchester school, "man-
ners makyth man," is of somewhat
similar import, manners in both
cases being synonymous with cour-
tesy and good breeding.
MANSARD ROOF.-A roof with a double
set of rafters, the upper sloping at a
greater angle than the under. From
the French architect, Mansard.
I've worked up a business here that would
satisfy any man, don't care who he is.
Five years ago lodged in an attic; live in a
swell house now, with a MANSARD ROOF, and
all the modern inconveniences.-Life on the
Mississippi by Mark Twain.
One also hears the phrase
"to put
a mansard roof on him," or
put a mansard over his eyes."
or "to
MANTLE-PLACE.-A Southern corrup-
tion for " mantelpiece" or mantel-
board.
You have a very singular ornament for
your MANTEL-PLACE.-W. G. Simms' The
Last Wager.
MAN-TRAP (Cant).—A widow.
MAPLE, A variety of tree which,
though not peculiar to the Ameri-
can continent, is yet a distinct.
feature of it. Among the more
prominent of the species may
be mentioned the SUGAR-MAPLE.
MAPLE-HONEY.-A product of
the sugar-maple tree, being the
molasses-like residuum of the sap
after boiling. This is also called
MAPLE-
MAPLE MOLASSES.
SUGAR.-A sugar obtained from the
MAPLE-
SUGAR-MAPLE TREE.
SYRUP. The same as maple-
honey.
Marabou
MARABOU. A negro cross between a
mulatto and a griffe, i.e., in the
proportion of five-eights black
blood and three-eights white. Ex-
perts profess to be able to distin-
guish the various grades of color
resulting from the admixture of the
two races. See MULATTO.
MARBLE, or MARVEL, TO. A Penn-
sylvanian term, signifying to de-
part, or move away with alacrity-
the result of persuasive argument,
moral or physical.
"
MARBLE-HEAD TURKEY.—A Massachu-
setts term for a cod-fish. Also
called CAPE-COD TURKEY. There
are many instances of fish being
spoken of as meat, e.g., the stur-
geon is known in America as
ALBANY BEEF; while in England
herrings are nicknamed 'digby
chicks" when dried, or Billings-
gate pheasants" when fresh; and a
Yarmouth bloater rejoices in the
euphonious name of "two-eyed
steak." Many other examples will
occur to mind as colloquial on both
sides of the Atlantic.
MARK (Cant).To hit one in the
mark is to deliver a blow in the pit
of the stomach.
MARKET TRUCK, also GARDEN TRUCK.
Vegetables grown for market.--See
TRUCK.
MARM. See MA'AM.
MAROON. It is extremely doubtful
whether this term for a runaway
negro can be classed as an
Americanism. This remark also
applies to MAROONER.
-To GO
MAROONING, however, i.e., picnicing
for several days at a stretch,
genuinely finds a place in these
pages. Marooning is peculiar to
358
Marsh Hen
the Southern States, and is very
similar to what is known in Eng-
land as camping out. This sense is
obviously an indirect derivative of
the verb "to maroon."
MARRIAGE INTENTION.-A betrothal.
It is customary in America to pub-
licly announce betrothals as well
as births, deaths, and marriages.
MARRIAGE INTENTIONS.
Daniel G. Denehy, 22, Honora V. Twomey,
20; James Phelan, 37, Hannah F. Landers,
34; Walter H. Osborne, 26, Mary A. Kelley,
26; Daniel Coleman, 30, Catherine M.
Thomas, 30; Thomas Dee, 25, Mary Doyle,
23; John C. McDougall, 36, Annie McDonald,
35-Boston Daily Globe, 1888.
MARRIAGE LICENSE.- Marriage being
a civil contract in America, details
of all licenses issued are periodi-
cally advertised in the daily
papers.
MARRIAGE LICENSES.
The following is the list of MARRIAGE
LICENSES issued up to two p.m. to-day, with
the name, residence (when outside the city),
and age of the licensees:
124,198-Harry L. Wells, Hortense Dalton
22-20
124,199-John A. Peterson, Frida Oliv
124,200-Wilhelm Tuck, Johanna Behrens
etc., etc., etc.
23-22
22-18
-Chicago Mail, 1888.
Marriage licenses, however, are
not required in Arizona, Dakota,
Idaho, Michigan, Montana, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
South Carolina, Utah and Wis-
consin.
MARRIED. TO BE MARRIED.-Said of
two men when handcuffed to-
gether.
MARSH HEN (Rallus crepitans and vir-
ginianus).-This popular name is
borne both by the Virginia-rail
and also by the Clapper-rail. A
variant is MUD HEN.
Marvel
MARVEL, TO. To move away expedi-
tiously. See To MARBLE.
MARYLAND END. - A curious name
given to the hock end of a ham,
the thick part being called the
VIRGINIA END. These colloquialisms
are current in both the States con-
cerned, and are thought by some
to allude to a supposed rough
resemblance between the contour
line of these States and a ham;
ordinary people, however, will
scarcely be able thus to impose
upon their imagination.
MARY WALKERS.-Trousers; derived
from Dr. Mary Walker adopting
as part of her dress a modified
form of this article of male attire.
MASH, TO.-English slang is indebted
to America (California to be exact)
for mash, MASHER, and other
variants. It is difficult to say
whether the word, or the idea en-
shrined in it, is the more contemp-
tible and odious. Primarily, to mash
might have been translated to ogle in
a mistaken belief that one's charms
are irresistible; or "to be spoons
on
where the object of such
attention is an unwilling victim.
Since, however, the word has be-
come so generally colloquial, its
meaning has been considerably
softened, and now signifies merely
to make oneself agreeable.-
MASHER. This word, like MASH,
has been purified in meaning,
since its advent on this side of the
water; but even now little enough
can be said in its favor. A masher
may be either a noxious animal of
the genus Catulus who rudely ogles
women on public thoroughfares;
or he may be a comparatively
harmless, if vacuous biped in
trousers. The last named variety
wears a collar and eyeglass, and
his mission in life is-well, prob-
359
Mason and Dixon's Line
ably not even he himself could
name it. The masher or dude (a
later name) is the successor of the
fops, swells, beaux, bloods, and
bucks of former times.- -MASH
TEA.-A herbal decoction of the
North-west, very similar to LABRA-
DOR TEA (q.v.). MASH TRAP.—
As the name indicates, a trap that
kills by crushing the victim
entangled in it.
The
MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.
boundary line between Pennsyl-
vania on the south and the ad-
joining states of Maryland and
West Virginia. This boundary,
which follows the 40th parallel
of N. latitude, was surveyed in
1763-6 by two Englishmen of the
names of Mason and Dixon, in
order to settle a dispute between
the states in question. Mason
and Dixon's Line was origin-
ally marked by mile-stones; on
the Pennsylvania side these land
marks were inscribed with the
armorial bearings of Penn, and on
the other with those of Lord Balti-
more. The phrase, however, de-
rives its chief importance from the
fact, that for a long period it was
looked upon as representing
roughly the dividing line between
the Free and Slave States.
as far back as 1820, when Congress
was the scene of fierce debate as
to the exclusion of slavery from
Missouri, the expression was popu-
larized through its frequent use by
John Randolph, and during the
recent rebellion it again figured in
newspapers and dispatches. "Hang
your clothes to dry on Mason and
Dixon's Line,” was one of the
numerous sayings current in the
early days of
the anti-slavery
agitation.
Even
Living in the Middle States, I have had
occasion to observe how vigorously a man
on either side of MASON AND DIXON'S LINE
Masoness
resents being mistaken for a man living on
the other side.-American Humorist, 1888.
MASONESS.-Androgynous masonry,
finding little acceptance in England,
has met with scarcely more favor
in America. There are, however, a
number of spurious degrees to
which women have been admitted,
and to describe these the word
masoness has been invented.
MASSA. A negro term for master,
and a common mode of address to
white men on all occasions.
MASS MEETING. This term, for a
large meeting of citizens for any
purpose whatsoever, was first used
in the electoral contest of 1840-
the HARD CIDER CAMPAIGN as it
was called, when General Harrison
and Mr. Tyler were candidates for
the Presidency. Mass Meeting has
now passed into general use not only
in England and America, but also
in France and Germany.
MATCH, TO.-To light a fire, candle,
etc., by the application of a match.
Match that fire," i.c., light it.
"
MATERIALIZE, TO, MATERIALIZATION.-
"
(1) To become visible; an ap-
pearance. Among spiritualists, the
act by which a spirit is supposed to
make itself visible to mortal sight,
is called materialization. Little
is known concerning the modus
operandi; all that is certain is, that
under certain conditions. forms "
independent of any person visibly
present are evolved, sometimes in
full view, through the instrumen-
tality of certain individuals called
psychics. Authorities in psychical
research admit that the terms to
materialize and materialization are
unsatisfactory and misleading, and
for the latter, pending further know-
ledge, "form manifestation" has
360
Matter
been suggested.- (2) So wonder-
ful were the records of phenomena
of the kind just mentioned, that a
sceptical, unbelieving generation,
jumped to a conclusion that the
whole thing was fraudulent. The
wise and learned," as usual, pitted
their want of knowledge of a mys-
terious and abstruse subject against
the matter-of-fact statements of
hundreds of witnesses who, in many
cases, had made the question a scien-
tific life-study. Thus ridiculed, to
materialize became associated in the
public mind with putting in an
appearance of any kind, and a
person failing to keep an appoint-
ment, or so on, would be said not
to have materialized. Materialize is
perhaps the most popularly collo-
quial of recent Americanisms—an
indirect tribute, may-be, to the
extent to which the teachings of
spiritualism have unconscionsly
permeated the popular mind. The
following extracts will illustrate the
various shades of meaning which
attach to the popular use of the
word.
The branch line to connect Pensacola with
the main stem of the Birmingham and Navy
Cove Railway at, or near, Mobile, is rapidly
MATERIALIZING.-The Pensacola Commercial,
1888.
One day last week I spent three-quarters
of an hour on an East River pier waiting for
an excursion boat to MATERIALIZE.-Texas
Siftings, September 8, 1888.
An invitation to President Cleveland was
sent to Fire Island this afternoon, and the
ladies were in a flutter of excitement, but up
to a late hour he had not MATERIALIZED. The
probability is that Mr. Cleveland has not got
his dress suit on board the yacht, and would
not like to wear his fishing clothes on this
occasion.-New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
But Barbara was averse to building any
castles in the air which she had small chance
of being able to MATERIALIZE. - Century
Magazine, 1888.
MATTER. AND THAT'S WHAT'S THE
MATTER WITH HANNAH.-A slang
catch phrase, generally tailed on to
a statement or remark without the
Maul
It
slightest sense of congruity.
means nothing in particular; and
as much may be said of it here.
MAUL, TO.-Bartlett gives this as, to
prepare; to make; current in the
Southern States. If this be so it
is probably derived from the maul,
a woodcutter's tool or mallet for
preparing wood. MAUL AND
WEDGES. These tools of the
woodman are used in popular
speech very much as their equi-
valent "
bag and baggage "~ is
employed in England.
He went across lots, MAUL AND WEDGES,
and we never seen nor hearn of him
sence. Western Scenes.
MAULD (Cant).—A man is said to be
mauld when very drunk; probably
in more senses than one.
MAUMER.-See MAMMY.
MAUVAISES TERRES.-The name given
by the early French settlers to the
BAD LANDS (q.v.).
MAVERICK. Unbranded cattle are
called mavericks. The derivation
of the term is given under BRAND
(q.v.).
MAWKS (Cant).—A slatternly woman.
MAX, To.-Max is an abbreviation of
"maximum"; hence at the United
States Military Academy at West
Point, to max signifies to do well.
MAYBE is invariably used for "per-
haps."
MAY BIRD. One of the numerous.
names for the BOBOLINK (q.v.).
MAY BLOB.-In New England the cow-
slip is so called.
361
Mean
MAY POP.-A Southern name for the
passion flower.
MAZZARD (Cant).—The face.
M. C. An abbreviation for Member
of Congress.
MC FLIMSY.-MISS FLORA MC FLIMSY,
OF MADISON SQUARE.-A facetious
nickname given to the reigning
American belle. It was taken from
a very popular poem entitled
Nothing to Wear." Madison
Square is in the fashionable quarter
of New York.
#
MISS FLORA MC FLIMSY, OF MADISON
SQUARE, must have had a hard time getting
along in swell society with so few clothes,
but they say she always managed to keep
well supplied with Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup.
-Troy Daily Times, February 20, 1888.
MEADOW. A distinction is made
between the coarse grass of swampy
lands and the finer sorts which
grow elsewhere. The former is
called MEADOW-HAY, whilst the
latter is distinguished as English-
MEADOW BIRD. The
HAY.
BOBOLINK (q.v.).
MEAN. (1) This is often used as the
singular of " means "-" the mean
by which he undertook to circum-
vent the enemy was unique of its
kind.". -(2) As an adjective mean
is commonly used where an English-
man would employ poor" with
the meaning of little value, or
worthless.
"
There can be no greater provocation than
is given by a MEAN horse or a refractory
steer.-Century Magazine, October, 1888.
Hence MEAN CROWD. - An
opprobrious term for people of
whom not much is thought,
whether morally or physically.
The expression is sometimes varied
by LOW MOB or LOW CROWD; and
it is applied to a single individual
46
Measure
as well as to gatherings of people.
MEAN ENOUGH ΤΟ STEAL
ACORNS FROM A BLIND HOG.-A
Yankee's idea of consummate
meanness. Like most phrases of
the kind, the flavor is rough and
racy. -MEAN WHITES or POOR
WHITES or WHITE TRASH.-Under
the slavery régime of the Southern
States, these were contemptuous
terms applied by the negroes to
the indigent white population of
the South, i.e., those who lacked
alike landed property and slaves to
work for them, who eschewed
labor of all kinds, were intemperate
and improvident, and are to-day
more or less a stumbling block in
the arduous task of Reconstruc-
tion, or the building up again of
the body politic, under the changed
conditions brought about by the
collapse of the Southern or pro-
slavery cause. A similar state
of affairs exists to a certain extent
in the West Indies, and, indeed,
in any tropical climate where the
environment of life precludes
manual labor for those of European
descent. Whites have no locus
standi side by side with other
races, unless possessed of property
or mental aptitude, which is often
synonymous with wealth, because
by it wealth is secured.
MEASURE.--TO TAKE ONE'S MEASURE.
-To reckon one up; to form an
estimate of one's character, ability,
or the length of one's purse, i.e.,
one's social position. A variant is
TO SIZE ONE UP.
MEAT (pronounced mate).-A general
term for animal food of all kinds.
For instance, BAR-MEAT, or GRIZZLY-
MEAT as it is more often called,
BUFFALO-MEAT, DEER-MEAT, and
BEEF-MEAT, are frequently heard;
while even SHEEP-MEAT for mutton
is not uncommon.- -MEAT-BIS-
362
Medicine
CUITS.—These, as the name implies,
are compounds of animal food
(generally beef) and flour baked in
the form of a biscuit.- -MEAT-
CHAMBER. A refrigerating room
on board ocean-going steamers,
used to convey carcases from port
to port. To CHEW ONE'S OWN
MEAT, ie., to do a thing oneself.
-To HUNT FOR MEAT.-A hun-
ter's phrase, used when he sets
forth to replenish his larder.-
TO MAKE MEAT, is the term by
which the frontiersman denotes
the process of drying thin slices
of animal flesh for future use.
MEAT IN THE POT. A Texan
term for a revolver. The phrase
is not altogether inappropriate,
because on the plains of the
Great Lone Star State, a man's
rifle or revolver is often the only
means by which he can provide
and literally put meat in the pot.
Texas, perhaps, more than any
other State in the Union, stands
pre-eminent and unique in the pro-
duction of slang terms. These are
often startling enough in originality
and sententiousness; nor is the
moral ingenuity revealed by the
vernacular less striking, as, e.g., in
such phrases as "revolvers make
all men equal," and "if a man can't
curse his friends whom can he
curse?"
MECATE.-Mexican for a rope, made
either of hair or the fibre of the
agave or MAGUEY.
MECHOACAN. THE WILD
THE WILD POTATO
VINE (q.v.). Mechoacan is the Indian
name for this plant.
MEDICINE.
GOOD MEDICINE; BAD
MEDICINE. The word medicine is of
universal application among the
Indians. Everything supposed
lucky, or healthful, or indicative
in any way of the presence or
Medium
pleasure of the good God, is
"
good medicine." Everything the
reverse is "bad medicine.'
Some special virtue or value seems to be
attached to hair-covered skin. The Indian
has no hair on his face or person, and con-
sequently scalps only the heads of other
Indians. The full-bearded white man offers
peculiar attractions to the scalper. Every
portion of skin to which hair is attached,
even to the small bit under the arms, is
scalped off. I once saw in an Indian camp
a scalp consisting of almost the entire skin
of the head, face, breast, and belly to the
crutch, in one piece. It had been carefully
cured, and peculiar value was set upon it as
BIG MEDICINE.-Dodge's Plains of the Great
West, p. 399.
MEDIUM. A person who, by organi-
zation, is capable of acting as an
intermediary or connecting link
between the spiritual forces of
nature and the world of matter.
This word, like much of the
terminology of spiritualism, is
confessedly obscure, and borders
upon jargon. A much better term
is" psychic."
MEDLAR (Cant).-One whose personal
aroma suggests the reflection that
cleanliness comes neither before
nor after Godliness.
—
MEECHING OF MICHING. This word,
obsolete in England, still survives
in New York and New England for
skulking or mean, in which sense
it was used by Shakspeare,
meech " was employed by Beau-
"To
363
mont and Fletcher in the sense of
to pilfer; and also to lay in wait
for; to lurk.
But I ain't of the MEECHIN' kind, that sets
and thinks for weeks,
The bottoms out o' th' Universe, 'cos their
own gillpot leaks.
-J. R. Lowell.
МЕЕТ. -ТО МЕЕТ UP WITH. - A
Georgian synonym for to overtake.
TO MEET WITH A CHANGE.-
To be struck under conviction.
-See CONVICTION.
MEETING.
Mem. Check
as-
MEETING-HOUSE.—An
sembly, and also the building in
which it meets for divine worship.
The Puritans, who largely impressed
the stamp of their influence on
matters connected with religion in
America, held that a church was a
body of Christians, and not a build-
ing-hence they refused the name
of church to the latter, calling it
instead a meeting-house.
Wut's the use o' MEETIN'-goin'
Every Sabbath, wet or dry,
Ef it's right to go amowin'
Feller-men like oats an rye?
-Biglow Papers.
The young people were all gibberin' and
talkin' and laughin', as if they had been to a
corn-shuckin' more'n to a MEETIN'-HOUSE.-
Major Jones.
In the OLD COLONY (q.v.), meeting
house is frequently contracted into
MEETIN'-US. MEETIN' SEED.-
Carraway seed; that condiment
being used as a supposed specific
against drowsiness during church
service-a startling comment upon
both minister and congregation.
MELON FRUIT (Carica papaya).-The
papaw; a West Indian fruit which
is also called the TREE MELON.
MELT, TO (Cant).-To spend money
-an axiom literatim et verbatim.
MEM. CHECK Or MEMORANDUM CHECK.
—When a draft bears upon its face
either of these terms it is under-
stood that it shall not be presented
for payment before the date marked
upon it, although the courts of the
United States have decided that
the holders of these documents are
legally entitled to negotiate such a
draft for immediate payment. In
England the equivalent is a "post-
dated cheque," the operation being
called "dating forward."
Memorial Day
MEMORIAL DAY.-See DECORATION
DAY.
MENHADEN (Alosa menhaden). The
BONY FISH (q.v.). This fish has
many other aliases.
MEN OF THE BLUE and THE GRAY.-The
soldiers of the Federal and Con-
federate armies respectively.-See
BLUE BELLIES.
If designing Democratic politicians had
kept their hands off, and let the MEN OF THE
BLUE and THE GRAY settle things, there
would not be to-day one-half the bad blood
that exists.-Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1888.
MERCHANDISE, TO, To engage in
trade; to transact business. It
matters little whether the trade is
carried on in a Broadway store,
or whether the goods for sale are
contained in a pedlar's pack; both
the storekeeper and the pedlar
devote themselves to merchandising.
MERCHANT. Any trader from a whole-
sale dealer to a petty shopkeeper
or hawker. Everyone who engages
in trade in America is a merchant.
MERKIN (Cant). This term, which in
English cant possesses an extremely
esoteric meaning, is in America
applied to hair-dye. There is,
however, a slight connection be-
tween the two usages, which the
curious will, no doubt, discover for
themselves.
MERRY CAIN.-TO RAISE MERRY CAIN.
-A sarcastic variant of TO RAISE
CAIN (see CAIN); to anger;
enrage.
to
But in our spirit of imitation do we not go
too far when we talk of uniforming the
shop girls in the big dry goods store? The
suggestion of such an innovation has RAISED
MERRY CAIN in the bosoms of the indignant
saleswomen of Macy's, Stern's, Altman's, and
other large bazaars of this city.-Long
Branch News, April 7, 1888.
364
Mexican Mysteries
MESA.-A table-land. Spanish in
descent, and in use in the Mexican-
Spanish States. The diminutive
is MESILLA.
MESQUIT OF MUSKEET (Algarobia glan-
dulosa).-A tree of the locust family
which abounds in the South and
South-west. The pods are much
liked by cattle and horses; and
Indians use the beans as an article
of food.- -Mesquit grass (Stipa
spata). A nutritious grass found on
the Western plains. Also called
LEWIS GRASS. Maskeht is the
Indian word
word for grass. Other
varieties are BARBED MESQUIT and
HOG WALLOW MESQUIT.
MESSAGE. An official communication
from the President to Congress;
equivalent to the Queen's Speech
of English politics.
MESTEE, METIS or METIF.-The pro-
geny of
of quadroon and white
parents, the proportion being one-
eighth black.-See MULATTO.
used
METATE (from Mexican metal).
hollow oblong stone,
grinding purposes.
METHEGLIN. A spiritous beverage.
A
for
The friends of the new-married couple did
nothing for a whole month but smoke and
drink METHEGLIN during the bender they
called the honeymoon.-Sam Slick's Human
Nature, P, 276.
METHY (Lota maculosa)-.The burbot.
This fish is called LA ROCHE by the
Canadians.
METIS. See MULATTO.
MEXICAN MYSTERIES (Masonic).—The
Mexicans (Aztecs) had religious
orders and secret ceremonies like
other nations. Dedicating them-
Micky
selves to the worship of some special
deity, such as Quetzalcoatl (the
Mexican Saviour), they secluded
themselves in monasteries, and
practised secret rites. This order
was called Tlamacazcajotl, and the
members Tlamacazque. Another
order was called Telpochtliztli, or
"the youths," being composed of
youths dedicated to Tezcatlipoca.
There was an order for men over
sixty taking vows of chastity, de-
voted to the Goddess Centcotl.
They were men of extreme learn-
ing, and anything uttered by them
was deemed oracular. The number
was limited, and they passed their
time making historical paintings for
the instruction of the people. The
North American Indians had similar
societies. Among the Algonkins
there were three degrees:-1. Wau-
beno; 2. Meda; and 3. Jossakeed.
Humboldt speaks of the Order of
the Botuto, or Holy Trumpet,
among the Orinoco Indians.
Collahuayas, of Peru, also practised
secret ceremonies.
The
MICKY. One of the innumerable
sobriquets current in the States
for a rowdy; a rough.
Here once, when the MICKS got to throw-
ing stones through the Methodie's Sunday
School windows, Buck Fanshaw, all of his
own notion, shut up his saloon and took a
couple of six-shooters, and mounted guard
over the Sunday School.-Mark Twain's The
Innocents at Home, p. 22.
MIDDLE STATES.
New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, and Columbia District.
365
MIDDLING INTEREST. The middle
classes in the social scale of society.
MIDDLINGS.-A technical term in the
pork-packing trade for that portion
of the animal between the hams
and shoulders.
Mileage
MIDGET. The sand-fly is so-called in
Canada and the North-west.
MID-WESTERN STATES.-W. Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri,
Kansas, and Arkansas.
MILEAGE. A Government allowance
to Members of Congress and others.
While in Congress members re-
ceive, besides their regular salary,
mileage, a somewhat extravagant
compensation for their travelling
expenses from home to Washington
and back again. CONSTRUCTIVE
MILEAGE is paid when the members
are only supposed to have gone
home, and to have returned to the
seat of Government without having
actually been absent. This is the
case, for instance, when one Con-
gress, as it is called, expires on the
3rd of March, and the next Congress
begins its session on the 4th of that
month; all the members who hold
over, i.e., are re-elected for a new
Congress, are paid their full mileage
as if they had gone to their home
and then returned to Washington.
The matter is trifling as far as
the majority is concerned, but in
the cases of members from distant
States, as from the Pacific coast or
New Mexico, the sum assumes
gigantic proportions. One member,
who only sat four days in Congress,
was once allowed 14,000 dollars
back pay on this account. Many
honorable men have refused to
take advantage of the allowance,
regarding it as an imposition upon
the public.- MILEAGE TICKETS.
-Among the many needful reforms
in railway traffic, introduced by
Americans, perhaps the most con-
spicuous is that which provides for
payment according to the distance
travelled. These tickets can be
bought to cover as much as 2,000
miles at a time, the companies
giving facilities for transfer from
Military Lands
For
one line of railway to another. If,
from any cause, the holder of such a
ticket finds himself unable to avail
himself to the full extent of his
purchase, he is at liberty to dispose
of the unused portion, or the com-
panies will refund a proportional
amount of the sum paid.
example, if a 2,000 mile ticket has
been purchased, and less than 1,000
miles have been used, it is custom-
ary to charge three cents per mile
for the portion used, and to refund
the difference between the amount
so charged, and the original price
of the ticket to the original pur-
chaser; or the unused portion may
be applied, mile for mile, in part pay-
ment of a new mileage ticket. When
1,000 miles and upwards have been
used, the charge is at the rate of
2 cents per mile. It may also be
remembered that ordinary return
tickets are available till used, another
concession which marks a difference
between the American and English
usage. These privileges have given
rise to a new "industry "in TICKET-
SCALPING, a suggestive name for
speculation in unused railway
tickets.
MILITARY LANDS.-Government lands
set apart for use as rewards to
soldiers or other military servants.
MILK RANCH. A dairy farm. Loose-
ness of speech, and, perhaps, an
idea that milk ranch sounds better
than the proper term, is responsi-
ble for this perversion of the
original word. Even a two-acre
lot has been called a RANCH (q.v.).
MILK SICKNESS.-A disease peculiar to
the saline districts of the West,
and thought to arise from the detri-
mental effects of the soil and water
of these regions. It attacks both
men and cattle, is spasmodic in
action, and rapidly fatal in result.
366
Millerism
MILL.-An American coin, which, how-
ever, has no real existence, of the
value of one thousandth-part of a
dollar. -To MILL.-A weaver's
term. When cloth cockles it is
said to mill. MILL PRIVILEGE.-
Webster defines this as a waterfall
sufficient, when a dam is raised, to
furnish power to work a mill.
MILLER.-A large white moth infest-
ing tobacco plantations. It is ex-
ceedingly prolific, and sometimes
deposits as many as a hundred eggs
in a single night. So destructive
is the tobacco worm, as the pro-
geny of this insect is called, that
planters frequently offer a reward
of five cents for every miller cap-
tured; and on bright moonlight
nights, when they are most nume-
rous, the young darkies move
stealthily about the fields on a still
hunt for scalps.
MILLER BOY OF THE SLASHES.-A nick-
name of Henry Clay, who, in his
youth, tended a mill in a region
known as "the Slashes," near his
birth-place.
MILLERISM.-Dr. William Miller, or,
familiarly, Father Miller, the
founder of this sect,
was the
American counterpart of Dr. Cum-
ming in England. At one time
the doings of the MILLERITES
excited a good deal of public
attention. Their chief tenet was a
belief in the physical second advent
of Jesus Christ. This, Miller
predicted would take place on the
23rd of October, 1844, whereupon
numbers of his followers settled
their earthly accounts, bade fare-
well to their friends, assumed their
white ascension-robes, and pre-
pared for the sounding of the last
trumpet. The highways and bye-
ways were thronged with anxious
crowds of men and women, while
Milling
the trees in the orchards and the
roofs of houses were filled with
the more impatient MILLERites,
who thus hoped to be nearer to
their new home in heaven.
'Do you remember old Jabe Green's wife
up to Wiggletown?' said the widow Bedott.
'She was always carried away with every
new thing. Two or three years ago, when
MILLERISM was makin' such a noise, she
was clear killed up with it. Again, she was
wide awake against Sabbath-breakin'-then
'twas moral reform.'-Widow Bedott Papers,
P. 123.
MILLING. A ranch term explained by
quotation.
The cattle may begin to run, and then get
MILLING that is, all crowd together into a
mass like a ball, wherein they move round
and round, trying to keep their heads to-
wards the centre, and refusing to leave it.—
Roosevelt's Ranch Life in the Far West.
MILLION OF MILYUN.-Corruptions for
melon," very common in the
South, where almost every black
has his water-melon patch.
Yu mer talk 'bout yo' spar-rib, an' yo' back-
bone an' yo' ham,
An' yo' coon, an' yo' 'possum, an' yo' fattes'
yaller yam,
But de ve'y bes' an' sweetes' meat wa’tev'
cross yo' mouf,
Am de WAT'MILYUN, growin' en de patch
down Souf.
O, de WAT'MILYUN time! O, de WAT'MILYUN
fine!
Nuffin run ter sweetness lak' de WAT'MILYUN
vine.
-Detroit Free Press, Aug. 1888.
MILLISH.-A Southern corruption of
"militia.'
"}
MINISTER. A species of cat-fish, from
its dark and sombre colour.-See
CAT.
MINK OF MINX (Putorius vison).— A
kind of water weasel, the fur of
which is much esteemed.
MINT DROPS OF BENTON'S MINT DROPS.
Gold coins. A Missouri Con-
367
Miscegenation
gressman named Benton, one of
the foremost advocates of a gold
currency, chanced on one occasion
to let fall the expression mint drops,
which at once became popular,
and for many years gold coins
were thus nicknamed.
MINT JULEP.-A concoction of brandy,
sugar, and pounded ice, flavored
with mint.
MINT STICK.-A peppermint sweet-
meat.
MISCEGENATION. This barbarous
word was introduced in the
South shortly after the Civil
War to signify the mingling of
the black and white races, and
there were not wanting those
who advocated the expcdiency of
furthering such admixture by every
It
means, lawful and unlawful.
was thought that the negro in
America would be absorbed by the
white race, and history was cited
as furnishing precedents for such a
result. This expectation has been
altogether falsified; for, not only
has miscegenation steadily decreased
since the war, but the color line is
more sharply drawn in society,
church, and politics, between the
black and his lighter-color-race
brother, or miscegene, than it is
between black and white. Indeed,
this has gone so far, that it is the
deepest disgrace of the race, and
marks a jealousy that keeps them
divided, and therefore resists their
advancement. The only absorbing
that these facts prove is, that the
darker miscegenes will be reab-
sorbed into the dark race, while
the lighter will fade away into dark
whites, or be lost altogether.-
Hence, based upon the same idea,
such derivatives as MISCEGENE and
MISCEGENATIONIST.
Misery
MISERY.-A favorite negro synonym
for pain. If a black feels at all
qualmish, he expresses himself as
possessed of a misery in the head,
chest, foot, etc.
MISH TOPPER (Cant).
368
Misunderstanding
Compromise was
A coat or
petticoat. Mish, in English cant,
stands for shirt or chemise, and is
a corrupted form of the French
chemise, Italian camicia.
–
A
MISRECOLLECT, TO.- To forget.
factitious word of common use, as
also are its equivalents MIS-REMEM-
BER and DIS-REMEMBER.
MISREMEMBER, TO.-See the foregoing,
MIS-RECOLLECT.
MISREPRESENTATIVE.-A representa-
tive who fails to be the mouth-piece
of the views of his constituents.
MISSING.
AMONG THE MISSING.-
Absent; (and sometimes) killed. A
quaint perversion of language
characterizes a variant of this
phrase to turn up missing.
'I tell you what, Jake, if this goes on I'll
be AMONG THE MISSING before sundown; it
ain't human nature to stand bein' fired at by
them varmin, and not to have a crack at them
in return.'-Across the Great Desert, 1869.
Antonio was not only lazy but he was
vicious, jealous, and in some of his mad
moments he had often threatened to kill
Marie. Finally Marie TURNED UP MISSING,
and she was no longer seen about the cabin
of the half-breed. Missouri Republican,
February 24, 1888.
MISSION SCHOOL-A ragged school.
MISSIONARYING. Performing
missionary work.-To MISSION-
ATE.-To act as a missionary.
Miss LICK. -A Western backwoods'
term for a false blow of the axe; a
stroke wide of the mark.
MISSOURI COMPROMISE.-Long before
the slavery question came to a head
in the Civil War, it had been a bone
of contention among the component
States of the Union. What is
popularly known as the Missouri
a sort of anti-
climax in the agitation. At the
time when Missouri was seeking
admission to the Union, two great
sections were struggling-one to
promote, the other to hinder, the
extension of slavery.
The pro-
slavery party was the stronger in
Missouri; and, as a compromise
between the conflicting parties, an
Act of Congress was passed ad-
mitting Missouri into the Union as
a slave-holding State, but which
laid down the principle in pro-
spective, that slavery should be
prohibited in any State thenceforth
to be admitted lying north of lat.
36° 30' the northern boundary of
Missouri.
MISSTEP. A false step.
In the crush last night at the Everest-
Hubbard wedding, Miss Sarah Bartram, of
Black Rock, made a MISSTEP in alighting
from her carriage, but was saved from a fall.
-Boston Daily Globe, February 2, 1888.
MISTAKE.
AND NO
MISTAKE! — A
common colloquialism to express
certainty. At one time it rounded
off almost every phrase, but its
place was soon taken by SURE! and
still later catch-word is WHY
CERTAINLY!
MISTRESS. In the South this mode
of address is rarely shortened into
Mrs. In mistress the old English
usage is followed.
MISUNDERSTANDING.—A LITTLE MIS-
UNDERSTANDING ABOUT A MULE.-A
brutally facetious explanation in
the West of the sudden disappear-
ance of a citizen from his dail
Mitten
a
walks and haunts. The writer of
an article entitled The Great
American Language," in the Cornhill
Magazine, remarks that a misun-
derstanding about mule often
leads to a little difference of opin-
ion with six-shooters, which results
at last in a coroner's inquest, with
the modest verdict, "Died from the
effects of having called Washing-
ton Wesley Smithers a liar."
MITTEN.-To
GIVE or GET THE
MITTEN.-A euphemism very com-
monly colloquial throughout the
English-speaking portion of North
America, to signify that a proposal
by marriage is rejected, or that the
attentions of an admirer are dis-
tasteful. The phrase should be
to give the mittens, as both it and the
custom are of French origin, it hav-
ing been usual to present mitaines
to an unsuccessful lover, instead
of the hand to which he aspired.
Once, when I was young as you, and not so
smart perhaps,
For me she MITTENED a lawyer, and several
other chaps;
And all of them was flustered, and fairly
taken down,
And I for a time was counted the luckiest
in town.-Will Carleton's Farm
man
Ballads.
'May I see you safe home?' he asked, as
he had often asked her before, but never
before with trepidation. 'No,' said Rachel
with an evident effort, and without looking
at Tom's face. Such an answer is techni-
cally known as the sack and THE MITTEN,
though it would take a more inventive anti-
quary than I to tell how it got these epithets.
But it was one of the points on which the
rural etiquette of that day was rigorous and
inflexible, that such a refusal closed the con-
versation and annihilated the beau without
allowing him to demand any explanations or
to make any further advances at the time.-
Century Magazine, 1887.
-Also shortened into TO MITTEN.
MIXED TICKET.-See TICKET.
Mizzy.-A Louisianian negro expres-
sion for the stomach-ache.
369
Moccason
MOABITES (Cant).-A term given to
police constables.
MOBEE or MOBBY.-A drink similar
to punch. Southern.
"
MOBOCRACY.-The mob; equivalent to
what in England is called the
great unwashed. -Hence MOBO-
CRAT, similarly used.
After skimming hastily over the Irish news
and some telegraphic intelligence, he came
to an article headed, the MOBOCRATS of
Pennsylvania. This he read carefully aloud
to the old man. It was a scathing blow at
the Mollie Maguires, giving them deserved
condemnation.-Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires
and Detectives,
MOBTOWN.-The city of Baltimore.
This place has always been, and
still is, notorious for the gangs of
roughs and rowdies which infest its
streets.
Baltimore used to be called MOB-TOWN; but
they are a heap better now, and are more
orderly than some of their neighbors.-
Crakett's Tour.
MOCCASON or MOCASSIN.-An Indian
shoe, made of soft leather without
a stiff sole. They are usually
more or less ornamented, and are
very comfortable wearing in win-
ter, giving the feet more freedom
than ordinary foot gear; besides
which frost-bites are less frequent
amongst those who wear them.
This kind of covering for the feet
has, in consequence, been widely
adapted by Western hunters and
woodsmen.
MOCCASONED.
A Carolinian term for intoxicated.
A variant of "to be bitten by the
snake." (See MOCASSON SNAKE
which follows).- MOCASSON FISH.
-In Maryland, the name given to
a species of sun-fish. Moc-
CASSON SNAKE (Toxicophis piscivorus).
-A brown coloured poisonous
snake, the skin of which is marked
with black bars.
47
Mocker Nut
MOCKER NUT (Juglans tomentosa).-The
white heart hickory.
MOCKING BIRD (Mimus polyglottus).—
A native bird deriving its popular
name from the inimitable mimic
qualities with which it is endowed.
Combined with its own notes of
considerable sweetness, it is able
to imitate any sound it may hear.
In some parts the BUTTER-BIRD or
NINE-KILLER is confounded with
the true mocking bird.
MOCK ORANGE, -In England the
syringa is so called, but in the
States by mock orange is understood
the Prunus caroliniana, a small ever-
green which bears a resemblance
to the cherry-laurel of Europe.
MOLASSES. What in England is
called treacle or golden syrup;
terms which are probably utterly
strange to most Americans. Mo-
lasses, as is well known, is a
product of the sugar-cane. In the
West the word is used in the
plural; e.g., those molasses.
MOLLUS. The name of an association
who held commissions during the
war, called the Military Order of
the Loyal Legion. Mollus, as will
be seen, is a word composed of the
initial letters of the words forming
the name of the order, with the
addition of U.S., i.e., United States.
The order itself is an hereditary
institution.
MOLLY COTTON TAIL.-A rabbit.
MOLLYGASHER.- A Madagascar negro.
Mollygasher is obviously a corrup-
tion of "Malagasy."
MOLLY MAGUIRES.-A secret society
which, for a long period, prior to
1877, terrorized the coal regions of
370
Monkey
Pennsylvania. These men exercised
well nigh unlimited power, ruling
the districts involved with a rod
of iron. Even the political senti-
ments of the commonwealth were
in part moulded by them, and they
controlled, in a measure, the
finances of the State, and for many
years spilt human blood without
stint, converting the richest section
of one of the most wealthy and
refined of all the sisterhood of
States into a very Golgotha. The
Pinkerton Agency of Chicago was
ultimately set upon their trail,
with the result that in June, 1877,
the ringleaders were executed.
Since that time little or nothing
has been heard of the order. Its
name of Mollie Maguires arose from
the circumstance that in the accom-
plishment of their designs they
dressed as women.
MOMICKS.-In Pennsylvania, a bad
carver. "To mommick," i.e., to
cut or handle anything awkwardly,
is provincial in various parts of
England; and, in all probability,
momicks is derived therefrom.
MONITOR.-This name, as applied to
war vessels with a revolving turret,
is unquestionably of American
origin, as was also the first vessel
of the type.
MONKEY, TO.--To play tricks, from
the tricky antics of the animal in
question. If one may judge from
the many variants of similar deri-
vation, our American cousins may,
without offence, be said to look
with some degree of favor on the
Darwinian theory concerning the
descent of man. For example,
MONKEYING AROUND, MONKEY-BUSI-
NESS, and MONKEY - SHINES.
MONKEY-SPOON.-This is
This is an old
Americanism, which, from an old
paper quoted by De Vere, appears
Monk Fish
to be the name of a spoon, bearing
the figure of an ape or monkey
carved in solid silver on the ex-
tremity of the handle, and given at
the funerals of great people in the
State of New York to the pall-
bearers. At the death of Philip
Livingston in February, 1719, we
are told "a pipe of wine was
spiced for the occasion, and to
each of the eight bearers, with a
pair of gloves, a mourning ring,
scarf, and handkerchief, and a
With
monkey-spoon was given."
this it is interesting to compare the
old custom of presenting apostle
spoons at christenings, and the
modern practice of presenting
ordinary gold or silver spoons,
etc., on like occasions.
This wasn't the only lesson I ever had that
taught me to be wary about MONKEYING with
cubs. Even after it was thought the mother
had been killed our camp was thrown into a
fine commotion one night over a woolly
little cuss about three months old.-American
Humorist, May 19, 1888.
Around these poles has been deposited
immense piles of ice, for the double pur-
pose of preventing the continual friction
caused by the rapidly revolving sphere,
and also of preventing inquisitive visitors
from MONKEYING with the machinery, and
either pinching their meddlesome fingers,
or whittling chunks from the poles for
souvenirs.-Texas Siftings, June 30, 1888.
MONK FISH.-See DEVIL-FISH.
MONONGAHELA.—A generic name for
American whiskey, just as Usque-
baugh and Inishowen are given to
Scotch and Irish brands respec-
tively. Monongahela is a river in
Pennsylvania.
MONTE. A Spanish-Mexican card
game of pure chance, comparing
favorably in that respect with poker.
MONUMENTAL CHEEK.-Brazen effron-
tery. A simile invented to indicate
371
Moon
impudent boldness of an irrepres-
sibly pertinacious character.
MONUMENTAL CITY. -Baltimore, in the
State of Maryland. This city, one
of the oldest in the Union, was
long distinguished for its superior
monumental trophies; hence its
sobriquet.
MOON (Cant).-A large round sea-
biscuit.
'The afternoon of the third day I spent my
last ten cents for two MOONS and cheese.-
Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, p. 460.
MOON-BLIND. An alleged
malady, in which a man sleeping
exposed to the full rays of the
moon is so affected as to be unable
to see at night. Many stories are
current in the tropics as to the
injurious effects of sleeping in the
light of the moon. A newcomer
is always cautioned against doing
so, the warning sometimes taking
a rather ludicrous form. I once
heard a new arrival in British
Guiana, who had to travel at night
up the Demerara river, at a time
when the moon was full and very
brilliant, cautioned that if, during
sleep, the moonbeams fell on one
side of his face, his mouth would
be so drawn to that side that
the only means of restoring it
to its normal state would be
to turn over and let the moon-
beams draw it back again! Though
somewhat of a traveller's story,
it is evident that a general im-
pression prevails as to the inju-
rious effects of sleeping in the light
of the moon, which in the tropics
shines with a brilliancy rarely
known in northern latitudes.
There is said to be [a] plains malady,
which, however, I cannot vouch for. It is
called MOON-BLIND. The idea is that the full
rays of the moon affect the eyes of a man
sleeping exposed to them, so that he cannot
see at night.-Richard Irvine Dodge's Plains
of the Great West.
Moon
THE DARK MOON.-The period
between the last phase of the
"old" and the first of the "new
moon. A similar colloquialism is
current in some parts of England.
MOONDOWN.-The time of set-
ting of the moon-a word formed
in the same way as sundown, itself
an Americanism, both terms being
invented as antitheses to sunrise.
and moonrise. MOONEYE (Hyo-
don tergisus).-A fish of the herring
kind, being called in some parts the
lake and river herring. MOON-
GLADE.-A track of moonlight.
This Americanism, to which even
the most rigid purist could hardly
take exception, originated in New
England, and was at first poetically
used to describe the silvery line of
light cast by the moon's rays on
water. It has since been extended
in usage to the same phenomenon
on land. -MOONRISE.-The time
of rising of the moon.
By the time it was night I was pretty hun-
gry. So when it was good and dark, I slid
out from shore about MOONRISE, and paddled
over to the Illinois bank-about a quarter of
a mile.—Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
of
-MOONSHINERS.-Distillers
illicit whiskey. The term is probably
Irish or Scotch in origin. In some
districts the United States revenue
officers have considerable trouble
with moonshiners, especially in the
mountainous regions.
This is a small place of perhaps three or
four hundred inhabitants, and was made a
city as a matter of self-protection. Only a
short time ago, the MOONSHINERS and moun-
taincers, of the MOONSHINER clique, were
akin to what is said of the cow-boys. Hogs
and cattle run wild, while settlers who had
taken great pride and pleasure in the thrift
of their gardens and orchards almost ran
wild too, when they beheld the devastation
of a night; so they incorporated a city, with
all the proper officials, a lock-up, stock laws,
etc.-Portland Transcript, 1888.
-MOON-SHOWER.-A fall of rain
while the moon continues to shine.
A similar phenomenon is often
observable during sunshine.
372
Morey Letter
Moose (Alce americanus).—A large
deer, found in northern forests,
especially those of Canada and
New England.
It attains a great
size, some carcases having been
found to weigh upwards of twelve
hundred pounds. They have been
hunted so hard for their skins and
for food, that yearly they are be-
coming scarcer.- Moose BIRD
(Ganulus canadensis).-The Canada.
jay; also called the WHISKEY-JACK.
A native of Maine.
FLY. A venomous fly of a rusty
brown color.—Moose-wood(Dir-
ca palustris).—A favorite shrub upon
which the moose-deer feeds; also
called LEATHER-WOOD from its
tough, leathern bark.-Moose-
YARD. The moose-deer congregate
in families of from fifteen to twenty
members, and the encampment
thus formed is called a moose-yard.
MOOSE-
MOP-BOARD.-A New England term
for the skirting-board used in house
interiors.
MOREY LETTER.-During the candida-
ture of Garfield for the Presidency
in 1880, a letter, purporting to
have been written by Mr. Garfield
to Mr. H. S. Morey, Employer's
Union, Linn., Mass. (subsequently
proved to be a forgery), was pub-
lished by the New York morning
papers. In it Garfield sided with
capital rather than with labor. It
turned out to be nothing more than
an electioneering dodge, the object
of which was, if possible, to jeopar-
dize Garfield's chances of election.
Needless to say no such person
as H. S. Morey was
Morey was ever dis-
covered. Forged letters and such
like tricks unfortunately appear
to form part of the stock-in-
trade of electoral campaigns in
America, for at the very moment of
writing this, what is known as the
Sackville imbroglio has arisen out
of very similar tactics.
Morgan
MORGAN. THAT'S A GOOD ENOUGH
MORGAN.A phrase once much
used in political contests, signifying
a bare-faced imposture. It arose
in this wise:-In 1826 American
masons were accused of having
murdered a man named Morgan, a
renegade mason, in consequence
of his having revealed the secrets
of the order. Popular feeling ran
high, and a violent anti-masonry
crusade resulted. So much was
this the case that national politics
were considerably influenced there-
by. Mr. Thurlow Weed, one of
the chief figures of the episode,
gives in his autobiography (vol. i.,
P. 319) what is probably the only
authentic version of the origin of
the famous saying. Mr. Weed
says: "The election of 1827
elicited an accusation against me,
which assumed proportions not
dreamed of by those with whom it
originated.
Ebenezer Griffin,
Esq., one of the council of the
'kidnappers,' who was going to
Batavia to conduct the examina-
tion, observed laughingly to me,
'After we have proven that the
body found at Oak orchard is
that of Timothy Monroe, what will
you do for a Morgan?' I replied
in the same spirit, 'That is a good
enough Morgan for us until you
bring back the one you carried
off.' On the following day the
Rochester Daily Advertiser gave what
became the popular version of the
story, namely, that Mr. Weed had
declared that, whatever might be
proven, the body
"was a good
enough Morgan until after the
election."
•
•
MORGAN HORSE.-One Justin Morgan
of Randolph, Vermont, a famous
breeder of horses, gave his name
to a "strain" still of great renown
in sporting circles.
Presently a couple of colts, six weeks old,
were brought out for our inspection by one
373
Mormon
of the stable boys. 'Those are、 MORGAN
COLTS,' said the clergyman. 'Why,' I ex-
claimed in surprise and overjoyed at
finding a man of the cloth who seemed to
know something about horses, 'do you know
a MORGAN COLT when you see it?' 'Cer-
tainly,' said the clergyman promptly.
'Well,' continued Beck, it was the first
time I had ever met with a minister who
knew a MORGAN HORSE or any other at sight,
and we have been fast friends ever since.
Why, sir,' added Beck, in a burst of
enthusiasm and admiration for his friend's
knowledge of horse flesh; 'that man could
have a call to any church in Kentucky.'-
Detroit Free Press, October 13, 1888.
4
"
MORMON: MORMONDOM: MORMONISM:
MORMONITES.-All these are terms
connected with one of the most
remarkable politico-religious sys-
tems which has appeared in modern
times. The Mormon people term
themselves LATTER-DAY SAINTS,
and derive the word Mormon from
the name of the pretended author
of the Book of Mormon" from the
Gaelic and Egyptian languages,
alleging it to be compounded of
mor, great; and mon, good, or
great good. A correspondent of
Notes and Queries, however (January,
1858), affirms that, in poetical
justice, they owe it to an imposi-
tion practised some two hundred
years ago.
A very clever French writer, the Abbé de
la Mothe de Vayer, engaged, in 1650, in a
spirited controversy with a famous scholar
and wit, M. de Montmor. In a series of
brilliant but whimsical attacks the Abbé
plays countless variations on the name of
his adversary, and repeatedly pretends to
derive Montmor from MORMON, which he
declares to be the Greek word uopμwv, a
scarecrow! Nor does the curious coinci-
dence stop here; for the fictitious MORMON
of 1643-a book pretending to have been
written by M. de Montmor, but in reality
a scurrilous parody-argued in favor of
polygamy! Hence argues the well-known
Thomas Boys (the correspondent in ques-
tion), this early French work most probably
furnished the author of the new book of
MORMON, whoever he may have been, with
the leading idea and many prominent
features.
Their most characteristic tenet in
the eyes of Gentiles (as they call
Mosey
outsiders) is doubtless that of
polygamy, concerning which the
Government of the Union has
enacted drastic laws with a view
to stamping it out. The moral
condition engendered by such
teaching has become a veritable
plague spot in the life of the
nation. For complete history and
account of the sect, see Fullerton's
Faiths of the World.
an
MOSEY, TO. To depart suddenly and
involuntarily; to sneak away. This,
with some degree of plausibility, is
supposed to be a corruption of
the Spanish VAMOSE (q.v.),
elision of the first syllable having
occurred and the final vowel being
sounded. To mosey is also often
used in the primary simple sense
of to go, and to mosey along with
any one is also employed idiomati-
cally in the sense of to agree
with.
But the bullets and their own fighting
began to tell pretty soon, even on grizzlies.
First one rolled over and stretched out, then
another sat down on his haunches and
dropped his head and finally sprawled out,
a third MOSEYED off Some distance to sit
down and lick his wounds.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, February 6, 1888.
Well, well, well, I hain't got time to be
palavering along here-got to nail on the lid
and MOSEY ALONG with him; and if you'll just
give me a lift we'll skeet him into the
hearse and meander along.-Mark Twain's
Screamers.
MOSEY SUGAR.-In Pennsylvania a
sweetmeat much liked by children.
MOSHAY, A Florida term for a keeper
of bloodhounds.
MOSQUITO (Culex mosquito).-A well-
known insect pest with an insatiable
appetite for blood. MOSQUITO
BAR OF MOSQUITO NET.-As the latter
name infers, a net, placed round a
bed, etc., to protect a sleeper from
the attacks of mosquitoes. Without
374
Mother of Presidents
some such guard, life in Southern
latitudes, at times, would be un-
bearable.MOSQUITO HAWK.
The dragon-fly is so called in
Louisiana.
Moss (Cant).—A generic name for
money. This may either be a
play upon the proverb, "A rolling
stone gathers no moss, or a con-
traction of "mopuses," an English
cant equivalent for the commodity
in question.
MOSSBACKS.-A local term in Ohio
for a section of the Democratic
party.
MOSSBUNKER
(Alosa menhaden).—A
herring-like fish, also known as the
BONY-FISH (q.v.).
MOSSYBANK.-(1) A variation of MOSS-
BUNKER. (2) This name, at the
time of the Civil War, was given to
men, who, to avoid conscription,
fled to the woods and swamps.
The connection between the hid-
ing places thus chosen and mossy
banks is obvious.
MOT OF MOTTE.—A Texan term for a
clump of trees on a prairie. These
oases are also called ISLANDS.
MOTH.-See BUTTERFLY.
MOTH
MILLER. The domestic pest and
the only variety of Lepidoptera
called a moth in the United States,
night flying kinds being erroneously
called butterflies.-See BUG.
MOTHER OF PRESIDENTS.-The State
of Pennsylvania.
This officer was visited by a cousin of his,
a young gentleman of good presence and
manners, who was not only a graduate of an
institution of learning in the MOTHER OF
PRESIDENTS, but had received his diploma
as an M.D. from a medical college in
Mother of States
Philadelphia. Richard Irvine Dodge's Plains
of the Great West.
MOTHER OF STATES.-Virginia. A more
frequent term is the Old Dominion.
MOUGHT. This
""
M
old preterite of
may," now obsolete in England,
has been retained in the South;
and, indeed, is very common in all
parts of the Union. Until of late
years its use was mainly confined
to negroes and people in the interior
of the New England States; latterly,
however, a spirit of change appears
to have revived the popularity of
this form. In North Carolina
"perhaps" is almost invariably
rendered "it mought be."
You know ole Tom Grayson, his father's
brother, seein' 's Tom wuz named for him,
an' wuz promisin' like, an' had the gift of the
gab, he thought's how Tom мOUGHT make
'n all-fired smart lawyer ur doctor, ur the
like.-Century Magazine, 1887.
Mrs. Johnsing. For the Lor', Henry Clay,
Jr., wat's de mattah?'
Henry Clay, Jr. [a young negro as black
as ever was built].-'I doan been scared haf
to def.'
'MOUGHT ha' knowed dat, chile; you's
white as a sheet.'-Texas Siftings, 1888.
Mought is sometimes corrupted into
MOWT.
C
'Hol' on! Hol' on!' interrupted the old
Settler, who could stand it no longer. That
beefin' bee MOWT ha' happened an' it
MOWTN'T ha', for all I know, but wuther it did
or wuther it didn't haint got nuthin' to do
with w'at I'm a gittin' at, b'gosh!'-Chicago
Herald, 1888.
MOUND. A barrow or tumulus.
Supposed to have been used mainly
for sepulchral purposes by the early
inhabitants of the country.-
MOUND BUILDERS. The name
given to the race who built the
mounds found in large numbers in
the valleys of the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers, Mexico, Yucutan, etc.
These people were evidently well
acquainted with some of the minor
375
Mr. Speaker
arts of civilization. MOUND
CITY.-St. Louis; the sobriquet
is in allusion to the numerous
mounds found in its vicinity.
MOURNER.-See ANXIOUS BENCH.
Aimless
MOUSE, TO. —
or fruitless
motion or action is here implied; a
variation of TO MOSEY (q.v.).
The poor blunderer MOUSES among the
sublime creations of the Old Masters, trying
to acquire the elegant proficiency in art-
knowledge which he has a groping sort of
comprehension is a proper thing for the
travelled man to be able to display.-Mark
Twain's Screamers.
MOVING DAY.-The First of May.-A
visitor on May-day to New York
and other large centres might well
imagine that some monster pil-
grimage was on foot, so general is
the custom among all but the
wealthier classes of changing their
habitation, as a matter of course,
at that period of the
the year.
This tendency has been satirized
unmercifully from the time of
Washington Irving downwards.
The memorable emigration [of the people
of Communipaw to New Amsterdam] took
place on the ist of May, and was long cited
in tradition as the grand MOVING. The anni-
versary of it was piously observed among
their sons, by turning their houses topsy-
turvy, and carrying all their furniture into
the streets, etc. And this is the real origin
of the universal agitation and MOVING by
which this most restless of cities is literally
turned out-of-doors on every May-day.-
Knickerbocker, New York.
Mow, To (Cant).—To kiss.
MOWT.
A corruption of MOUGHT
(q.v.).
MOYA MENSINGS.-A band of Phila-
At
delphia rowdies.
another
time they were called SHIFFLERS.
MR. SPEAKER. In the parliamentary
language of Texas, a revolver-a
Much
speaker, against whose rulings
there is usually no appeal.—See
MEAT IN THE POT.
}}
MUCH.-This word, in New England,
is synonymous with good qualities,
moral or physical, and is applied
either to men or things; e.g., "not
much of a mule is an animal whose
good points are of a negative cha-
racter; while " very much of a
book,'
woman," or "idea
veys a high meed of praise in every
case.
แ
con-
MUCKRAKES.-A slang political epi-
thet for those who seek the "small
change" of office-place-mongers,
as they are otherwise called.
MUD CAT. A species of cat-fish
abounding in the waters of the
Mississippi River. They attain an
enormous size, and specimens have
been caught weighing upwards of
fifty-four pounds. They are very
coarse eating, and have a muddy
flavor.
MUD-CAT STATE.
Mississippi, its inhabitants being
sometimes humorously designated
MUD-DABBLER.-A
MUD-
MUD-CATS.
small freshwater fish.
DEVIL.-A species of salamander
is so called in the West; it possesses
many other aliases. MUD-FISH
(Melanura pygmaea).-A mud-bur-
rowing fish of small size, found
on the Atlantic coast. MUD-
HEAD.-A native of the State of
Tennessee. MUD-HEN (I) (Ral-
lus crepitans).-The Virginian rail,
which is also called MARSH-HEN.
(2) IN BUCKET-SHOP (q.v.) phrase-
ology, a woman who dabbles in
stock gambling.- MUD-HOOK.—
An anchor.
MUD-LUMPS.-The
mud-banks which form at the mouth
of the Mississippi are thus desig-
nated. -MUD-POKE (Grus cinerea).
-A crane has received this name
376
Mugwump
from its habit of resting on the
mud at the sides of streams whilst
engaged in catching fish. MUD-
POUT.—A species of CAT (q.v.) ——————
MUD-SCOOP. A water-dredging
MUD-SILL. — The
machine.
lower classes of society. This
phrase was derived from the
name given to the railway-sleepers
which form the foundation upon
which the rails are laid, the idea
being that labor is the mud-sill of
society. This epithet was also
applied contemptuously to South-
erners by Northerners at the period
of the Civil War. -MUD-SILL
CLUBS.-In 1858 associations of
miners and working-men in Cali-
fornia received this name.- -MUD-
TURTLE (Sternothuerus odorata)..
Other names for this reptile, which
is common throughout the States,
are MARSH-TORTOISE and MUD-
TERRAPIN.
MUGWUMP.-A Republican who claims
a right at times to vote indepen-
dently of his party. Mr. Charles
F. Norton, the author of Political
Americans, defines a mugwump as
"
one who sets himself up as better
than his fellows; a Pharisee," the
political bias of which is clear.
Mr. Norton gives the following
interesting account of the origin,
probable derivation, and application
of the term.
On the nomination of the Hon. James G.
Blaine for the Presidency (June 6th, 1884), a
strong opposition developed among disaffec-
ted Republicans, calling themselves Inde-
pendents. The movement originated at a
meeting in Boston (June 7th), and was prompt-
ly taken up in New York and elsewhere. The
supporters of the regular nomination affected
to believe that these Independents set them-
selves up as the superiors of their former
associates. They were called Dudes,
Pharisees and hypocrites, and on June 15th,
1884, The New York Sun called them MUG-
WUMPS. The word was forthwith adopted
by the public as curiously appropriate, though
for a time its meaning was problematical. It
appeared that the term had been in use col-
loquially in some parts of New England,
Mulada
notably on the Massachusetts coast. Thence
it had been carried inland, and was used in
large type as a head-line in The Indianapolis
Sentinel as early as 1872. This, on the
authority of Mr. H. F. Keenan, who was at
the time editor of that journal, and had
picked up the word in New England. In
this instance it was used to emphasize
some local issue. After this the word seems
to have lain perdu until resuscitated by
The Sun, on March 23rd, 1884, when it
applied it in a local issue at Dobb's
Ferry, New York, printing MUGWUMP D.
O. Bradley, in large type, at the top of one of
its prominent columns. After the Indepen-
dent movement was started, the word
was launched on its career of popularity;
but not until September 6th, 1884, was it
authoritatively defined. The Critic of that
date contained a note from Dr. J. Hammond
Trumbull, of Hartford, to the effect that the
word was of Algonquin origin, and occurred
in Elliotts' Indian Bible, being used to trans-
late such titles as lord, high-captain, chief,
great man, leader, or duke. In Matthew vi.
21, it occurs as MUKQUOмP; and again in
Genesis xxxvi. 40-43, and several times in
II. Samuel xxiii. The word aroused wide-
spread philogical discussion, which con-
tinued long after the campaign had ended.
As is frequently the case in American poli-
tics, the word was used as a term of derision
and reproach by one section, and accepted
with a half-humorous sense of its aptness by
the other.
Blaine's letter hurts the MUGWUMPS. They
have no excuse for being Democrats now
save pure cussedness.-Toledo Blade, 1888.
The phrase is often used collo-
quially in a similar sense.
Here Cassius and Brutus meet, and Cas-
sius tries to make a MUGWUMP of Brutus, so
that they can organize a new movement.
Mr. Edwin Booth takes the character of
Brutus, and Mr. Lawrence Barrett takes
that of Cassius.-American Humorist, 1888.
MULADA.—A drove of mules. Spanish.
MULATTO. A name given to the off-
spring of a white and a negro. The
word is Spanish, mulato from mulo
a mule, or, as in this case, a mixed
breed. Generally speaking, all
persons with a "touch of the tar
brush are, in the States, called
mulattoes, although experts draw
very fine distinctions in the amount
of mixedness displayed by any
377
Mule
given example.
as follows:-
The grades are
MULATTO, black, white and negro;
Quarteron [quadroon], 1 black, white
and MULATTO; Métis or métif, black,
white and quarteron; Meamelouc, black,
white and métis; Demi - meamelouc, 32
black, white and meamelouc; Sang-mêle,
black, white and demi - meamelouc;
Griffe, black, negro and MULATTO;
Marabou, black, MULATTO and griffe;
Sacatra, black, griffe and negro.
MULE.—It was hardly to be expected,
nor perhaps as far as humor goes
to be desired, that the mule would
escape the biting wit of transatlan-
tic writers. The tricky nature and
stubborn will of
of this Heathen
Chinee among quadrupeds, have
quite out-Heroded Herod "in ways
that are dark and tricks that are
vain"; hence the thousand-and-
one MULE STORIES Scattered here,
there, and everywhere in the ephe-
meral literature of the day. To
deal with the mass of matter of
this description, which a fun-loving
chief of staff assures a confiding
(too confiding would often be more
accurate) public is daily pouring
in from North, East, South and
West-a Sub is engaged whose
distinctive name of MULE EDITOR
is supposed accurately to describe
his duties. The fun itself passes
current under many names—MULE-
JOKE will serve as a sample, and
MULEBRIETY is supposed to mean-
the exuberance' not of " ver-
bosity" but of nonsense.
A philosopher has just discovered that
large ears indicate mental activity. We
always supposed that they indicated activity
in the heels. (This is the first MULE-JOKE
that we have gotten off in four years, but it
is well disguised.)-Evansville Argus, 1888.
In his latest book, Mr. Bret Harte fre-
quently uses such words as MULEBRIETY.
He has a well-earned reputation as a good
writer. It would be a pity if he degenerated
into a fine writer.Missouri Republican,
1888.
-MULE DEER (Cervus columbia-
nus or macrotis).-The black-tailed
48
ears.
Muley
deer is so called in some parts of
the country from its long, heavy
MULE RABBIT, the JACK-
ASS RABBIT (q.v.). MULE SKIN-
NER. A plain's term for a driver
of mules, in very truth the cogno-
men in some cases would bear
literal translation.
MULEY OF MULLEY.-In Texas muley
always means hornless. In New
England muley simply means a cow,
and in Connecticut distinctly a
hornless cow.
He was evidently in search of strays, for
he asked me if I had seen a red мULLEY COW
with a crop and underbit in the right, and a
marked crop in the left.-Overland Monthly.
Muley is provincial in England.-
MULEY SAW.-A mill saw, from the
German mühlsäge.
MULL, TO. To stir; to bustle; or to
fume. Lowell adds "sometimes in
an underhand, sneaking or sotte
voce manner." It is a metaphor
derived probably from mulling wine,
and the word itself must be a cor-
ruption of mell from Old French
mesler.
MULLIGAN
LETTERS. These letters
formed the subject of a public dis-
pute about the year 1876, when a
Mr. James Mulligan, giving evidence
before an investigating committee
appointed by Congress, produced
them against Mr. J. G. Blaine, a
well-known politician, who has
since (1888) stood for the Presi-
dency of the United States. The
point at issue was whether these
letters were creditable
reverse to Mr. Blaine.
or the
MULTIPLICATION, DIVISION, AND
SILENCE!-William M. Tweed, or,
as he is more familiarly known,
"Boss" Tweed, is generally credited
with this expression. Being asked
378
Munroe Doctrine
what in his view was the proper
qualification for a member of a RING
or TRUST (q.v.), in which all play
into each other's hands for mutual
advantages, he replied, multiplication,
division, and silence! The incident
is reported to have taken place in
Philadelphia, and it is sometimes
given as ADDITION, DIVISION, AND
SILENCE! meaning very much the
same thing.
MUMMACHOG (Fundulus).—A local term
in Long Island for the BARRED
KILLY. Mummachog is the Indian
name for the fish in question.
MUMMICK, TO.-See MUMICKS. "Now
you've mummicked that pie pretty
well"-an old saying.
MUNG.-From Old English "to ming'
(the modern form is mingle); mung
signifies confused; contradictory;
false; or even fictitious. The word
is mostly associated with news;
as mung" news, i.e., intelligence
of an unreliable and contradictory
character.
MUNROE DOCTRINE.-Briefly, this may
be described as a theory that the
American continent is no longer
open to any attempt on the part of
European powers farther to extend
their jurisdiction, whether by
colonization or political inter-
ference. Also, on the same prin-
ciple, the United States decline
to meddle with the political affairs
of the Eastern Hemisphere. This
doctrine, as the name implies, was
originated by Mr. Munroe, the
fifth President of the Republic of
the West, who, in 1820, was elected
without opposition for a second
term of office. In 1823 a discussion
arose between the United States
Government and those of Russia and
Great Britain in regard to the proper
limits of the North-western terri-
Munroe Doctrine
tory. In view of possible develop-
ments which, in the eyes of Ameri-
cans, have since fully justified the
action of their Chief Magistrate,
Mr. Munroe, at the instance of
John Quincy Adams, the real author
of the principle, asserted as an axiom
in which the rights and interests of
the United States were involved,
that the American continents, by
the free and independent condi-
tion which they had assumed and
maintained, were henceforth not to
be considered as subjects for future
colonization by any
by any European
power. The line of argument stated
that the proprietary rights of Spain
had passed over
over to the South
American States and Mexico, and
that since Great Britain and the
United States claimed to extend
their jurisdiction to the Pacific,
and thus over the whole of the
North-western territories, it hence
resulted that both the Northern and
Southern Continents of America
had passed under the civil dominion
of the several States, among which
they were parcelled, and were thus
open to Europeans and each other
only on the footing of so many
independent sovereignties, claiming
and asserting a jurisdiction which
shielded the whole continent from
encroachments under the old and
long-recognized rights of discovery
and settlement. Subsequently, by
a second message, Mr. Munroe
declared, acting in concert with
Great Britain, that the United
States would consider any attempt
on the part of European Powers to
extend their system to any portion
of the Western Hemisphere as
dangerous to the public peace and
safety. The successful effort in
late years to relieve Mexico from a
foreign ruler and French armies.
was a practical illustration of the
Munroe doctrine, and on the same
grounds considerable excitement
prevailed in the States as to the
379
Mush
action Great Britain would take in
the dispute, still unsettled, between
British Guiana and Venezuela con-
cerning the frontier line of those
two countries. The same principle
was involved, though, of course,
quite distinct from American
politics, in the request recently
made by the Government of Vic-
toria to the Home Office for such
action as would prevent a foreign
power (Germany) establishing itself
at the very doors of the future
Republic of the Southern Seas.
MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, SECOND
DEGREE, ETC. A
A distinction is
made in American law between
degrees of crime, both in offences
against the person and against
property.
The jury in the case of Antonio D'Andrea,
on trial for MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE,
for having advised Chiara Cignarale to kill
her husband, retired at 3.30 p.m., and re-
turned at 4.30 with a verdict of not guilty.
The Cignarale woman is under sentence of
death for the crime. D'Andrea was her
alleged paramour, and it is charged that he
agreed to marry her if she would shoot her
husband.-Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 2, 1888.
District Attorney Hamilton said he under-
stood that the defendant wished to with-
draw his plea of not guilty of MURDER IN
THE FIRST DEGREE, and to enter the plea of
guilty of MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGree.
Charlestown News and Courier, Jan. 30,
1888.
To BURGLARY IN THE
THE THIRD DEGREE,
John B. Michael pleaded guilty.
He was
sentenced to Dannemora for two years.
Hosea W. Knowlton, for ASSAULT IN THE
FIRST DEGREE, on his father, William Knowl-
ton, pleaded guilty, and he was sent to Dan-
nemora for two years.-Troy Daily Times,
Jan. 31, 1888.
MURPHIES. A New York term for a
gang of rowdies, mainly composed
of Irishmen-hence the distinc-
tively national patronym.
MUSH. A kind of hasty-pudding or
porridge (being often so called),
made of Indian meal boiled in
Music
OF
water. It is eaten either with
milk or treacle.-A MUSH
CONCESSION.-A woman is said to
be a mush of concession when yield-
ing and clinging in nature.
MUSIC.- Fun; frolic; amusement.
Oliver Wendell Holmes uses the
phrase, "I can't say it's musical,"
meaning amusing. This rendering
is most frequently heard in New
England, but is by no means con-
fined to that part of the country.
My lawful sakes! What be they goin' to
do about it? inquired Lyddy Bangs, flushing
with excitement. Thet be too MUSICAL.-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
(Cant).—The verdict of a jury
when they find Not Guilty—music,
indeed, no doubt.- MUSICAL
BOX.-A Confederate's term, half-
jocose, half-satirical, for a creak-
ing army-waggon in use during the
Civil War. Also called Jeff Davis'
box. To FACE THE MUSIC.-
To show one's hand; to meet an
emergency; or, "to come up to the
scratch." This phrase is sometimes
erroneously quoted as English
slang, but there can be little ques-
tion as to its American origin,
although considerable doubt exists
as to its true derivation. J. Feni-
more Cooper thought it derived
from the stage, and used by actors
in the green-room, when they are
nervously preparing to go on the
boards and literally face the music.
Another explanation traces it back
to militia musters, where every
man is expected to appear fully
equipped and armed, when in rank
and file, facing the music.
I am sure Fred can explain everything
satisfactorily. As soon as I see him I will
go with him to the Chief of Police and have
him make a statement. I hope he hasn't
read the newspaper stories about him, for it
might scare him, and he'd very foolishly
skip out. That would be the worst thing he
could do. He must FACE THE MUSIC.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 20, 1888.
380
Muslin
-MUSICIANER.—A New England
colloquialism, which is, or
provincial in Norfolk for musician.
was
MUSKEET, MUSKETO GRASS.-See
MESQUIT.
MUSKEG. An Indian name for a
bog.
The whole MUSKEG, when a train is pass-
ing, shows a series of short waves five to
six inches deep.-St. Paul and Minneapolis
Pioneer Press, July 22, 1888.
MUSKELUNGE or MUSKALOUNGE (Esox
estor).—An Indian name for a large
pike, found in all Northern lakes.
and rivers. At times it attains a
weight of upwards of eighty
pounds.
MUSK MELON.-See CANtaloupe.
MUSK OX.-An animal found in the
Northern latitudes of the American
continent. It receives its name
from the peculiar odour emitted by
it at times.
MUSK RAT (Fiber zibethicus).— This
animal, which is elsewhere known
as the musqwash (its Indian name),
is in form and habits something
like the beaver. It is only in sum-
mer that the animal is distinguished
by a particular odour.
De
MUSLIN.-In some States muslin is
synonymous with longcloth or
CALICO (q.v.) shirting. This di-
vergence of usage, in different parts
of the Union, leads at times to some
curiously amusing mistakes.
Vere quotes the following:-"A
gentleman in Philadelphia ordered
muslin shirts in Boston, and al-
though reminded of the unsuitable-
ness of that material for the climate
in which he lived, insisted upon
his order, as he had always worn
muslin, meaning cotton - shirting.
Musquash
When his shirts arrived, they were
made of Swiss mull! The term
muslin is, at the North, only used
for thin, clear fabrics."
MUSQUASH.-See MUSK RAT. -Mus-
QUASH ROOT (Cicuta maculata).—A
deadly poisonous plant growing in
swamps.
Muss.-This word is colloquial and
is used with many shades of mean-
ing, the central idea being that of
confusion and disorder. Amongst
other significations, it bears that of
noisy squabbling. In all proba-
bility it is a mere corruption of
mess."- -To MUSS, or MUX.-
To disarrange; cast into disorder;
crumple. There is also the adjec-
tive MUSSY with a similar meaning
and an identical form, i.e., mussy,
from the Dutch morsig, is used for
dirty; smeary; smudgy.
Your reporter visited the rooms and saw
them as they were found. The bed was
neatly made by a woman's hand, not a
spread wrinkled, not a towel MUSSED, not a
drop of water in wash-bowl or bucket in the
bedrooom where they were supposed to have
slept and to have vacated so early Tuesday
morning.-American Paper, 1888.
Country Groom (to waiter)-'Raw oysters
for two, mister.'
Waiter-'Yes, sir-have 'em in the shell?
Groom (to bride)—' That suit you, lovey?
Bride (dubiously)-'Why-er-yes, John, if
you think you kin open 'em 'thout makin' a
MUSS.'-Texas Siftings, August 18, 1888.
Neither of us got two winks of sleep
during the night on the car, and Mr. Bowser
narrowly escaped coming into deadly con-
flict with conductor and porter. We reached
Chicago in a MUSSED up condition.-Detroit
Free Press, 1888.
381
My Unconverted Friend
MUSTAFINA.-A person in whom the
proportion of black blood is one-
sixteenth.-Sce MULATTO.
MUSTANG.-A horse of Spanish and
Indian breed. Large herds of
these wild horses roam the Western
prairies, especially those of South-
western Texas.-See BRONCHO and
CAYUSE. When young and un-
trained plainsmen call them cow-
PONIES.
a MUSTANG
•
•
·
In this event, writes he, do not select
unless you want to be
initiated into the mysteries of bucking,
The MUSTANG is the only animal in the world
that can buck, and it ought to be a source of
thanksgiving that such is the case. The
buck consists of the MUSTANG'S springing
forward with quick, short, plunging leaps,
and coming down stiff-legged, with his head
between his fore-legs, and as near the
ground as possible.-Chicago Tribune.
MUSTANGERS." Men who
catch and train mustangs.
MUSTANG-GRAPE (Vitis rotundiflora).
—A grape indigenous to Texas.
MUSTEE. See MULATTO.
MUSTER OUT, TO.-A curious idiom
for entering the names of troops
on a roll previous to their dis-
charge.
MUTTON-HEAD.-A dull-witted person;
a CHOWDER-HEAD (9.v.).
Mux, To.-See Muss.
MY UNCONVERTED FRIEND.-In Texas
a revolver is thus facetiously des-
cribed. See MEAT IN THE POT.


N
AB (Cant)-A dandy;
coxcomb or dude.
-NABBLER (Cant).
-A thief. NAB-
CHEAT (Cant). — A
hat. -NAB-GIRDER
(Cant).-A bridle.
NACKY (Cant).-Ingenious; evidently
a corruption of "knack" in the
sense of dexterity.
NAIL.
ANOTHER LIE NAILED TO THE
COUNTER.-See LIE.
NAHOO (Ulmus alata).—A
alata).—A common
species of elm.
NAKED POSSESSOR.-Where no title
can be shown to land the occupant
is termed a naked possessor. This
usage is mainly confined to the
South-western States.
NAMASE, TO (Cant). To decamp;
"to bolt; to get clear away."
NAMAYCUSH (Salmo namaycush).—The
well-known trout of the Northern
lakes.
NAMES.-These, in many respects, are
unique and characteristic, though
occasionally exhibiting a sad lack
of the fitness of things. Perhaps
the most prominent instance, and
certainly that which strikes "the
stranger within the gates" most
forcibly, is the tendency to bestow
pet sobriquets on local habitations
and homes. Hardly a state or
town of any considerable size (and
the unconsidered trifles" in the
""
shape of cities are by no
means neglected in this respect)
but has a nickname. Most of
these will be found in their order
throughout this work, and a special
group under CITY (q.v.). They
are for the most part, fairly accu-
rately descriptive. As regards the
slang names given to the citizens
of the various States, the following
list comprises those most popularly
colloquial.
The inhabitants of Maine are called foxes;
those of New Hampshire, granite boys; of
Vermont, Green Mountain boys; Massachu-
setts, Bay State Boys; Rhode Island, gun
flints; Connecticut, wooden nutmegs; New
York, knickerbockers; New Jersey, blues or
clam catchers; Pennsylvania, Penamites or
leather heads; Delaware, blue hen's chickens;
Maryland, clam humpers; Virginia, beagles;
North Carolina, tuckoes; South Carolina,
weasels; Georgia, buzzards; Alabama,
lizards; Mississippi, tadpoles; Florida, fly-
up-the-creeks; Louisiana, Creoles; Texas,
beef heads; Arkansas, toothpicks; Missouri,
pukes; Tennessee, whelps; Kentucky, corn-
crackers; Ohio, buckeyes; Indiana, hoosiers;
Illinois, suckers; Michigan, wolverines;
Wisconsin, badgers; Minnesota, gophers;
Iowa, hawkeyes; California, gold hunters;
Nevada, sage hens; Oregon, hard cases;
Nebraska, bug eaters; Kansas, jay hawkers;
Colorado, rovers; Dakota, squatters; Utah,
polygamists; New Mexico, Spanish Indians;
Idaho, fortune seekers or cut-throats; Nova
Scotia, blue noses; Canada, canucks.
The ordinary geographical nomen-
clature, however, presents a re-
markable want of uniformity in
almost every particular. With
their usual courage, our cousins
across the water have not hesitated
Names
to grapple with the problem thus
set before them, on lines which
certainly lack nothing in force, if
wanting sometimes in originality.
Contrary to expectation, a slavish
imitation controls much of the
naming of new towns in America.
The names of towns, villages, and
other " geographical expressions
seem to have been formulated by
considerations which, though some-
times novel, occasionally unique,
are, in the main, commonplace;
(no offence, Uncle Sam !) The
sources from which Brother Jona-
than has drawn his inspiration are
innumerable. The Old World has
been laid under heavy contri-
bution to supply cognomens for the
newer and freer West. London,
Glasgow, Paris, Lisbon, Rome,
Alexandria, and many another
notable city, find a counter-part
in the Great Republic of the West,
sometimes two, three, and four,
nay a score deep. New Boston
may be found in eight of the
States, New London in fourteen,
Newport in twenty-three, Newtown
in fifteen, New Hope in fifteen,
while there are three New
Philadelphias. Report even speaks
of a man who wanted once
to christen a new village in the
West, New New York. The clas-
sics, too, are "all there." Athens,
Troy, Sparta, Sardis, and Utica
are still breathing entities. On
the other hand the Puritan fathers,
with loyal allegiance to principles,
which if stern, were genuine
enough to cover many short-
comings, reproduced the world-
famed names of the Bible story—
hence Emmaus, Bethlehem,
Salem, Canaan, and Lebanon.
Nor is a comic element wanting.
The Wild West stands pre-eminent
in this respect, and is startling in
its originality. Among the names
of towns in Texas, for example,
may be mentioned.
383
Names
Lick Skillet, Buck Snort, Nip Tuck, Jim-
town, Rake Pocket, Hog Eye, Fairplay,
Seven League, Steal Easy, Possum Trot,
Flat Heel, Frog Level, Short Pone, Gourd
Neck, Shake Rag, Poverty Slant, Black
Ankle, Jim Ned.
Turning from names of locality to
those of individuals, the ingenuity
of the American mind is scarcely
less noticeable. The GIVEN NAMES
(q.v.) go far to exhaust, to use
Mr. Gladstone's phrase, "the re-
sources of civilization." In in-
dexing title-deeds in Maine, the
following curious examples were
scheduled :-
Ledoc, Generous, Passchal, Lupina, Mi-
ghil, Arannah, Squire, Deluva, Barcillai,
Calvary, Hartson, Zophau, Philander, Mories
Axiel, Hopestill, Piram, Jerathmael, Rancil,
Hazareman, Sprout, Demeric, Bana, Angler,
Uzza, Lilia, Cad, Luton, Cyprian, Ivory,
Jacon, Kilah, Orrah, Cadwallader, Galon,
Loven, Diodamia, Grinfil, Mesbach, Liberty,
Autumers, Haddassah, Esek, Sahra, Rispah,
and Zophan.
This list, however, is by no means
exhaustive. In some cases, where
fecundity rules the roost, it has
proved a serious matter to find
suitable appellations wherewith to
designate Young America. So
hopeless has the task occasionally
been, that one Stickney, in one of
the New Londons to be found in
fourteen of the American States,
thinking to perpetuate his honor-
able patronym, hit upon the simple,
though monotonous expedient_of
dubbing his firstborn Stickney No.
I.
This child was not the only
son of his mother; for in due
course "another Richmond held
the field" in Stickney No. 2.
The process continued until Stick-
ney No. I2 scored honors all
round. This is by no means a
solitary instance, as may be gleaned
from the fact, that another citizen
of the Stars and Stripes, thinking
his duty to his country fully
accomplished, labelled his four-
teenth girl Finis." Alas! for
"
Names
11
human hopes; he was not a
prophet in his own country, for
lo and behold! when the time
of his mourning and desolation
was fully accomplished, his quiver
grew more full and overflowing
with yet another hostage to fortune,
whom, in sheer desperation and
shamefacedness, he could only
register as 'Addendum." Nor
must the fourth estate be left
unmentioned. Passing by the more
familiar titles, space will only
permit of a few of the more
remarkable names for newspapers.
Here is a short but confessedly
incomplete list :—
C
"
The Wano Rustler, Chesterville Paralyzer,
Cherokee Cyclone, Cimanon Sod House,
Lake City Prairie Dog, South Center Bazoo,
Valley Falls Lucifer, Garden City Irrigator,
Fargo Springs Prairie Owl, Garden City
Bundle of Sticks, Dodge City Cow Boy,
Greenfield Cap Sheaf. In Iowa is a town
called Woodbine, and when a paper was
started there the editor naturally called it
The Woodbine Twineth. At Oakland, in
the same State, the only journal in the
place is called Oakland Acorn. One in
Spearville is called the Spearville Blade.
Among the papers with alliterative names in
Kansas are:-Lebo Light, Lenora Leader,
Levado Ledger, Kinkaid Knuckle, and Simp-
son Siftings.
384
In short the nomenclature of every
department of American life and
thought will well repay careful
study on the part of the philologist,
curious in the eccentricities of
language.—ALL THAT THE NAME
IMPLIES.-A catch-phrase, which
originated in a chance expression
used during the cause celebre of the
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.-
GIVEN NAME.-A Christian name.
See GIVEN NAME. MY NAME IS
HAINES-A slang intimation of an
intention to depart quickly; to be
off with alacrity. This expression
is similar in character to "There's
the door, and your name is Walker!"
It is said to have originated in an
incident in the life of President
Jefferson.
National Democrats
NARRAGANSETT PACER.—At one time a
breed of horses much esteemed for
their speed and other good points.
As the name implies, Narragansett
Bay, in Rhode Island,
Island, was the
principal breeding centre for these
animals.
NARROW GAUGE MULE -An animal of
no, or little account. The turn-out
which comprises a narrow gauge mule
hitched on to "a mean one-horse
chaise," and driven by "a bad crowd
generally," is one to which no self-
respecting American would care to
own.
"}
"
NARY. As an emphatic negative
nary may be classed as a genuine
Americanism; e.g., "Were you at
Delmonico's last night?' Nary!"
As a contraction of "ne'er a one,"
nary is, of course, quite as much
English as American; but although
generally colloquial, this usage has
not yet passed out of the limbo of
slang. In the United States, how-
ever, both forms of the expression
are in common use. -NARY CENT
or NARY RED.-The man who has
nary cent is impecunious indeed; a
contraction of "ne'er (not) a cent"
or RED CENT (q.v.).
NASEBERRY.-A variety of SAPODILLA
(q.v.).
NASK (Cant).-A House of Detention.
NATIONAL DEMOCRATS.-A section of
the Democratic party, who profess
to deal with American affairs upon
a national basis, and not from the
stand-point of any one State or
group of States. They are, of
course, naturally antagonistic to the
doctrine of STATES' RIGHTS (q.v.),
a question which, perhaps more
than slavery, was the real point at
issue in the Civil War.
Native Americans
NATIVE AMERICANS.-A political party,
which originated about the year
1846, being the outcome of an
attempt on the part of a body of
citizens of foreign birth, to control
municipal affairs. To circumvent
this organization, a native American
party was formed, avowedly to
limit the holding of office, etc., to
citizens of American birth, and to
ensure this they advocated the
extension of the period of residence
before naturalization papers could
be issued from seven to twenty-
one years. Also simply called
AMERICAN PARTY (see AMERICAN),
and in later years, KNOW-NOTHINGS
(q.v.).
NATIVISM. The principles advo-
cated by the American or Native
American Party, otherwise Know-
Nothings. See NATIVE AMERICANS.
NATURAL. (1) The passions and
instincts which connect man with
the brute creation are characterized
as natural. Thus a man prone to sav-
age anger, or otherwise cruel in dis-
position, is stigmatised as a natural
man-one whose actions and im-
pulses are dominated by his lower
or animal nature. (2) Natural is
also used in another sense now pecu-
liar to America, meaning "native,"
e.g., a natural born American signi-
fies nothing more serious than birth
within the precincts of the United
States, and would have no reference,
as in England, to the question of
legitimacy. (Cant). (1) Not
given to squeamishness. (2) In
thieves' parlance a natural is
anything but the dull, stupid
fellow usually meant by the term in
England. On the contrary, he is
clever, quick-witted, and generously
inclined.
NAVAL OFFICER.-This is the title of a
chief or superintendent of depart-
385
Neck-Tie Sociable
ment in the Customs service of the
United States.
NAVY-SHERRY.-The grog served out
to seamen in the United States'
navy.
NAZY (Cant).-Drunken.
NEAP. Used in some parts of New
England for the tongue or pole of
a cart or wagon.-Worcester.
NEB (Cant). The face. Curiously
curt are some of the terms used by
thieves and their associates to
designate parts of the body. The
NIB is the mouth, also NUSH, whilst
NUB signifies the neck, and NUT the
head. Variants for all these are
of course numerous; indeed, there
seems little chance of a thief being
hard up for a term with which to
express his meaning.
west.
Drunk.
NECK. Generally applied, in old
colony days, to land lying between
rivers.- NECK OF THE WOODS.-
A plantation or settlement situated
in woodland districts. This term
is mostly met with in the South-
SHOT IN THE NECK.
Circumlocutions of this
kind are very numerous. -NECK
WEED (Cant).-Hemp; doubtless
so called because of the use to
which that product is put in fur-
cravats "
nishing "hempen
hangman's ropes.
or
NECK - TIE SOCIABLE. A Vigilance
Committee's execution carried out
by hanging. Western.
There was my friend, Will Wylie, who
struck it rich on his first venture in the
mines of Montana; started with teams and
wagons to California, and on the way was
robbed of every ounce of his dust by the
then swarming road agents.
returning to Montana, he joined the Vigi-
lantes, and had the pleasure of presiding at
a NECK-TIE SOCIABLE where two of the men
Finally
49
Neckwear
who had robbed him were hanged.-J. H.
Beadle's Western Wilds.
NECKWEAR. A necktie: compare
with UNDER-WEAR.
Large assortment of fine men's NECKWEAR,
knot scarfs, with silk or satin lining, at
29c., worth 40c.; 49c., worth 75c.-A dot,
in New York Herald, November 4, 1888.
NED (Cant). A ten dollar gold piece.
In English slang, the same term is
synonymous with a guinea.
NEEDCESSITY. A corruption of
"necessity."
NEGRO. A Word which, derived from
the Spanish, simply means a black
man. Since the abolition of slavery
and the subsequent enfranchise-
ment of the negro, this appellation
has, upon occasion, been supplanted
by terms more non-committal in
character. Amongst such may be
mentioned FREEDMEN, COLORED
MEN, CONTRABAND, UNBLEACHED
AMERICANS, or FIFTEENTH AMEND-
MENT PERSUASION.
NEGRO
CLOTH. - A fabric manufactured
exclusively for negro use. It is
light in texture, and is a mixture
of cotton and wool. - NEGRO
CORN. In the West Indies, Indian
millet or durra is so called.-
NEGRO DRIVER.-The overseer of
a gang of negroes.— NEGRO-FEL-
LOW.-An opprobrious term for a
negro, the addition of the word
"
fellow" being supposed to carry
unutterable contumely with it.
NEGRO HATE. The abhorrence
of negroes. NEGRO-HEAD.— (I)
A well-known brand of pre-
pared tobacco; known also as
CAVENDISH. The leaf is soaked
in molasses, and then pressed into
a hard cake. (2) A clump of roots
of trees or ferns in the swamps of
the South. NEGRO-HOUND.—A
breed of dog, formerly used in
386
Negro
tracking escaped slaves. NE-
GROISM. (1) A word or phrase
of negro origin, or peculiar in usage
to negroes. (2) Opinions favorable to
negrois or slavery. NEGROLESS.
A compound word, formerly used
to signify a condition of possessing
no property in the shape of slaves.
NEGROPHILISM. The anti-
NEGRO
slavery movement.
SPEECH and NEGRO PROVERBS.—
Quashie delights in nothing more
than grandiloquent and exuberant
verbosity of speech. This trait of
his character is so well known, and
has been so frequently described,
that it would be superfluous to dwell
upon the subject in detail. Suffice
it to say that he will deliberately
use high sounding words and
phrases without the slightest con-
ception of their meaning. For
example-Sambo, not to be be-
hind the times in the craze of so-
called Estheticism, which a short
time since ran riot as a society fad,
gravely informed the writer that
he "much liked æsthetics;" upon
which, thinking he probably knew
as much about the subject as the
"wat'r milyun' he was con-
tentedly munching at the time,
the inquiry was made, How do
you like them ?" "For breakfast,
massa," was the prompt reply!
Quaintly odd, too, is the no-
menclature of negro societies
political, religious, and otherwise.
In Charleston there are more
societies mainly negro than pro-
bably in any other city of its
size in the world. So much so is
this the case, that it must be a
matter of considerable difficulty to
invent new names for the many
fresh organizations constantly
arising. One of the latest bears
the unique title of "The Sons and
Daughters of I will Arise." As
regards negro proverbs, the follow-
ing are current in Jamaica:—(1)
Soffly catch monkey [there are
Negro
387
no monkeys indigenous to Jamaica,
and therefore this may be of
African origin]. (2) Half crape
carrat neber smart. (3) Crab
nyam creole, creole nyam crab
[this is purely local]. (4) You
nebber yerrie pumpkin bring
water-melon. (5) You no catch
Harry-you catch him pack. (6)
Fowl nyam done wipe mout in a
grass. (7) Pear seed big more
dan cotten tree [an allusion to the
AVOCADO PEAR (q.v.)]. (8) Some-
ting more dan man, make woman
laugh. (9) Any cry do for berrin
[berrin funeral]. (10) Trouble
catch man-pic'ninny frock fit 'im.
(11) No man da house, wife hab
blin' eye fo' pick'ninny. (12) Me no
bread nut-make fig take root on
me [You can't impose upon me].
(13) Heartburn no bring good
pick'ninny. (14) If you
John Crow, guinea hen get vex.
15) Hansom woman no fi one
man [an allusion
frailty; color makes no difference].
(16) If you yerrie buckra
much, you go da court-house [i.e.,
be careful how you listen to white
men]. (17) When rain da fall
hebby, John Crow say, Jus' de
rain done me go make house."
When de rain done, he say,
Chol wherra me do wid house!
[Johnny Crow is the carrion crow,
and the whole proverb is a negro
rendering of-
cross
to woman's
too
"When the devil was sick, the devil
a monk would be;
When the devil got well, the devil
a monk was he."]
(18) Alligator no tongue hab, so
him nyam daag [alligators are
extremely partial to dog flesh;
they will take a dog in preference
to any other prey]. (19) Long
pap make okro 'poil 'pon tree
[pap stir-about; ochra, a vege-
table for making soup]. (20)
When dog hab too much, massa
Nervy
hungry. (21) When dog mangy,
him head big [the less account a
man is the more does he put on
airs. See BIG HEAD]. (22) Him
go dead-him see de seben tar
[negroes believe that when horses
and dogs are killed at night by
falling over ravines, which are
numerous in Jamaica, it is in conse-
quence of their looking up at the
Pleiades] NEGRO-WORSHIPPER.
A sarcastic term applied by
Southerners to the people of the
Northern States; synonymous, in
the Confederate mind, with ABOLI-
TIONIST (q.v.).
NEIGHBORHOOD.
"
The meaning of
near by," or "in the vicinity of,"
attached to this word, is, properly
speaking, confined to places. Ameri-
cans, however, sometimes curiously
misuse it to signify approximation
to a given quantity, e.g., "I walked
in the neighborhood of twenty miles.
this morning." Probably only an
ignorant vulgarism, its occasional
use in journalism notwithstanding.
It is estimated that there are in the
NEIGHBORHOOD of 12,393 young men in Buffalo
with real estate on their hands which they
wish to dispose of at a high figure-a figure
that will enable them to retire from business
and play pool all the rest of their lives.-
Buffalo Courier, May, 1888.
NEMAN (Cant).-Stealing.
NERVY.-Robust; strong; vigorous.
A new form derived from that sense
of nervous," meaning "pithy' "
spirited" as regards, e.g.,
and
style in writing.
(
He was assisting her on with her glove.
It had already taken him five minutes, and he
was trembling in every limb. Perhaps, Mr.
Smith,' she suggested, 'If I should remove
my engagement ring you would find less
difficulty.' This proved, indeed, to be the
case, and Mr. Smith's trembling limbs re-
sumed their normal NERVY condition.-New
York Sun, April, 1888.
Nescio
NESCIO (Cant).-The employment of
this word by American thieves is,
perhaps, one of the most curious
instances of a purely Latin word
being incorporated into their jargon.
A literal translation ne, not, and
scio, I know, exactly gives its cant
meaning.-No! I don't know; can't
say.
NETOP.-A word little heard now,
but once colloquial in Massachu-
setts. Netop is a Narragansett
Indian word, meaning literally
"my friend."
NETTLED (Cant). - Afflicted with
disease.
NEW AMSTERDAM.-The City of New
York was formerly so-named.
NEW ENGLAND OF THE WEST.-The
State of Minnesota, many New
Englanders having settled within
its borders.
NEW ENGLAND STATES.-Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu-
setts, Rhode Island, and Connec-
ticut.
388
NEW JERSEY TEA (Ceanothus america-
nus). When the good people of
Boston dumped the mad king's tea
chests into the sea, their supply of
the article necessarily ran short,
and as a substitute the leaves of
this plant were used during the
Revolution. Popular report said
that it neither cheered nor inebri-
ated, and was at best but a sorry
makeshift.
NEW LIGHT (Cant).-New coin or new
money is so designated.- -NEW
LIGHTS.-An offshoot of the Pres-
byterian Church in America. The
cause of secession lay in disputes
concerning church discipline in
New South
connection with revivals, the Synod
having, in 1801, censured some of
its ministers for sharing in what
were deemed disorderly modes of
Christian propagandism. The New
Lights thereupon, says the Rev.
Mr. Cartright in his Autobiography,
renounced the Westminster Con-
fession of Faith and church discip-
line, and professed to take the New
Testament for their church discip-
line. They established no stand-
ard of doctrine. Every one was to
take the New Testament and read
it, and abide by his own construc-
tion. They also adopted the mode
of immersion, the water-god of all
errorists.
"
NEWSIEST, NEWSY.-Reporter's Eng-
lish for full of news."
A newsy
paper is one that is racy, bold and
sparkling in its reports and com-
ments on men and things, full of
"the thoughts that glow and words
that burn."
When Col. Forney says of his Weekly Press
that it is the NEWSIEST paper in the country,
he shows his familiarity with reporter's
English. The Nation.
NEW SOUTH.-Much used politically
to describe the present condition
of the Southern States. For the
most part, wise and temperate
counsels have prevailed in the atti-
tude of the conquering North to-
wards the conquered South, since
the close of the Civil War, and the
work of Reconstruction has gone on
year by year with ever increasing
momentum. It would perhaps be
difficult to find any considerable
following in the South who now
lament the downfall of slavery;
and though for political purposes
the BLOODY SHIRT (q.v.) of past
hatreds and differences is occasion-
ally flaunted in the face of a now
loyal South, yet for the most part
the desire of North and South alike
Newspaper Sense
is to allow the memory of the
seven years' conflict to sink entirely
into oblivion.
The bill of Mr. Mills is framed in hostility
to American manufacturers, and in hope of
placation of the South; not the NEW SOUTH,
the South which is building furnaces and
mills and cities, and developing mines, but
the Old Soutb, that sits on a fence-rail, and
mourns the days when it could wallop its
niggers. Daily Inter-Ocean, March 2, 1888.
NEWSPAPER SENSE.-The marvellous
development of the modern news-
paper calls for the display of
qualities in a journalist, altogether
unique of their kind and little
dreamt of in the past. To be suc-
cessful he must be able, industrious,
earnest, and independent, interested
in everything that concerns the
welfare of the journal he repre-
sents, have a keen scent for news,
a large capacity for analysis, cap-
able of appreciating fine distinctions
between things that differ, and
power to remember names and
faces. Add to all this a keen in-
terest in persons, geniality of man-
ner, and hosts of acquaintances
and friends-all these combined go
far to make a successful journalist,
and their aggregate is what is
intended by newspaper sense.
N. G.-A slang abbreviation for "no
go," i.e., of no avail; to no purpose.
Hill claims he has the thing down dead to
rights, and that he will make the farmers
sweat who have been asserting that his
claim was N. G.-Cincinnati Weekly Gazette,
February 22, 1888.
NIB (Cant). The mouth.
NIBBLER (Ctenolabrus cœruleus).—This
fish is also known as BLUE PERCH,
BURGALL, CONNOR, etc. Its sobri-
quet of the nibbler is obviously
derived from its tricky habits, from
a fisherman's point of view.
389
Nicknames
NICK.-A cent piece. These coins are
made of nickel, and the term has
naturally been abbreviated to meet
the inexorable demand for brevity
in terms of popular use, and also
to distinguish it from NICKEL (q.v.).
NICKEL.
This
must not be confounded with the
foregoing, a coin of the value of
one cent. Both, however, are made
of the same metal.
A five cent piece.
Gentleman (to tramp)-Why do you ask
for only a penny, my man? Most of you
people want NICKELS and dimes?
Tramp-Yes, sir, but I'm a new hand at
the business, an' I want to begin right; make
it a dime, though, if you like.-Montreal
Herald, February 21, 1888.
NICKEL BANK.- -A gambler's
term. Nickels or five cent pieces
form the unit of operations.
Pierson is a new light in the green-cloth
world, havin' risen like a meteor in three
years. He was a waiter in a Leadville res-
taurant up to 1885, when he started a NICKEL
BANK of his own, and won both fame and
fortune as a gambler.-New York World,
May, 1888.
"
NICKEY. A variation of Old Nick "
-the devil.
NICKNAMES and PSEUDONYMS. - The
following are the most notable
nicknames, pseudonyms, and sobri-
quets of politicians, literary men,
and others.
A LADY-Miss Susan Fenimore Cooper.
ALTER EGO - Robt. E. Strahorn. AMY
LOTHROP-Anna B. Warner. AN AMERICAN
LADY-Henry Wood. ARTEMUS WARD-
Chas. F. Browne. A SOUTHERNER-Sey-
mour R. Duke. BARNWELL-Robt. Barn-
well Roosevelt. BRET HARTE Francis
Bret Harte. BULL OF THE WOODS-Sum-
ner, one of the best known characters of the
Union. CAPTAIN CHATTERS-Duke of Char-
tres. CAPTAIN PERRY-
PERRY Count of Paris.
CARL BENSON-Mr. Charles Astor Bristed.
CHAS. SUMMERFIELD - Theodore Foster.
CHRIS. CROWFIELD-Mrs. H Beecher Stowe.
CHRISTIAN REID Miss Fanny Fischer.
CRACKERS-Early. DICK TINTO-Mr. Frank
B. Goodrich. DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER-
Washington Irving. EDMUND KIRKE-Jas.
Nicknames
Roberts Gilmore. FANNY FERN-Mrs. Jas.
Parton. FANNY FORRESTER - Mrs. Adoni-
ram Judson (née Emily Chudbuck, 1817-
1854). FIGHTING JOE- Hooker. FRANK
FORRESTER - Henry William Herbert.
FRIAR ANTONIO AGAPIDA-Washington Ir-
ving. GAIL HAMILTON Mary Abigail
Dodge, of Hamilton, Mass. GRACE GREEN-
WOOD-Mrs. Sarah Jane Lippincott (née
Clarke). HANS BREITMANN-Chas. G. Le-
land. HARRY OF THE WEST-Henry Clay.
HIBERNICUS - De Witt Clinton. HOSEA
BIGLOW-Jas. Russell Lowell. IANTHE-
Mrs. Embury. IKE MARVEL-Mr. Donald
G. Mitchell. IRENEUS-Rev. S. I. Prime.
JEB Stuart. JEEMES PIPES OF PIPEVILLE—
Stephen C. Massett. JONATHAN OLDSTYLE
-Washington Irving. JOSH BILLINGS-A.
W. Shaw. JUNIOR DOW-Eldridge G. Paige.
KATE PUTNAM-Miss Kate Putnam Osgood.
K. N. PEPPER (pronounced Cayenne pepper)
-Mr. James M. Morris. LITTLE MAC-
General McClellan. LITTLE PHIL-Sheri-
dan. MADAME C—DE LA B.-Madame F. E.
Calderon de la Barca. MAD TOM-Gen. Sher-
man. MAJOR JACK DOWNING-Seba Smith.
MARION HARLAND-Mrs. Virginia Terhune.
MARK TWAIN Mr. Samuel Clemens.
MAS. BOB-General Lee. MAX ADELER-
Chas. Heber Clark. MILLER BOY OF THE
SLASHES-Henry Clay. M. QUAD-C. B.
Lewis. MRS. PARTINGTON Mr. B. P.
Shillaber. NED BUNTLINE-Mr. E. Z. C.
Judson. NEWSMAN DANBURY-J. M. Bailey.
OLD ABE or ABE-President Lincoln. OLD
BULLION-Col. Thos. H. Benton of Mis-
souri. See BULLION STATE. OLD BUR-
CHELL-Elihu Burritt. OLD DAD-General
Price. OLD DRIVER-The Devil. OLD
HUTCH-Hutchinson of Chicago. By work
ing a wheat deal he made 2,000,000 dols.
OLD JOE-Johnston. OLD ROUGH-AND-
READY Major-General Zachary Taylor.
OLD SCRATCH-The Devil. OLD SPLIT-
FOOT The Devil. OLD WHITEY - The
name of Gen. Taylor's horse during the war
with Mexico. OLD ZACH-Major-General
Zachary Taylor. OLIVER OPTIC-Mr. W.
T. Adams. ORPHEUS C. KERR (pronounced
Office Seeker)-Mr. R. H. Newalls.
PATCHED BREECHES-William L. Marcy of
New York. PATHFINDER-Gen. John C.
Fremont. PENHOLDER-Edwd. Eggleston.
PETROLEUM V. NASBY-D. R. Locke.
PORTE CRAYON-D. H. Strother. PETER
PARLEY-Mr. Samuel G. Goodrich (1793-
1860). 2. K. PHILANDER DOESTICKS—
Mortimer Thompson. SAM SLICK-Hon. T.
C. Halliburton. SEVEN-MULE BARNUM-Mr.
Barnum of Connecticut. SPARROWGRASS-
Mr. F. S. Cozzens. STONEWALL-Gen. Jack-
son. TALVI-Mrs. (Theresa Albertine Louisa
von Jacob) Robinson. THE BEEHUNTER—
Col. J. B. Thorpe. THE FLATBOATMAN—
President Lincoln. THE LEARNED BLACK-
SMITH-Elihu Burritt. THE RAIL-SPLITTER
-President Lincoln. THE RANGER-Capt.
Flack. THE WAR-HORSE Longstreet.
390
Nigger
TIMOTHY TITCOMBE-Dr. J. G. Holland.
U. DONOUGH OUTIS (pronounced You don'
know who 'tis)-Mr. Richard Grant White.
UNCLE REMUS-Joe Chandler Harris.
WALTER CLERK BARRETT-J. A. Scoville.
WM. PENN-Jeremiah Everts. YOUNG
NAPOLEON-General McClellan.
NICKNAMES OF CITIES.-See
CITY et
ct passim.
NICKNAMES
OF CITIZENS OF STATES. See
NAMES. NICKNAMES OF STATES.
-Passim.
NICOTIANA. — A tobacco
A tobacco-producing
district.
NICOTIAN LEAF.-Tobacco.
NIFTY is an adjective synonymous
with excellence of style and ap-
pearance; up to the mark.
Obs'quies is good. Yes, that's it that's our
little game. We are going to get the thing up
regardless you know.
know. He was always NIFTY
himself, and so you bet his funeral ain't
going to be no slouch-solid silver door-plate
on his coffin, six plumes on the hearse, and a
nigger on the box in a biled shirt and a plug
hat-How's that for high?-Mark Twain's
The Innocents at Home, p. 20.
NIGGER. By far the most popular
appellation for a negro.
NIGGER
BABIES. An ironically facetious.
name given by General Hardee, of
the Confederate Army, to the huge
projectiles hurled into Charleston
during its siege by General Gil-
more. For those who read be-
tween the lines there will be found
a wealth of
of suggestion in the
curious application of this term to
monster cannon balls; and not less
wanting in sarcastic allusion was
the SWAMP ANGEL, as was called
the gun from which these things
were driven.-NIGGER HEAD.- ·(1)
A tuft of grass or sedge appearing
above the waters of a swamp.
From a fancied resemblance to a
negro's woolly head.
(2) A
contemptuous term applied to those
Northerners who were inclined to
violent measures in dealing with
Nigger
the slavery question.-NIGGER-
HEAD STONE.—-A stone abounding
in the neighborhood of Baltimore
and much used for metalling roads.
Like a nigger's head, it is hard,
report avowing that the stone is
soonest broken; it is also a moot
point as to which is heaviest;
and to do the black man justice, he
would probably not care to give
the stone a single point as regards
color.NIGGERISM.-A word,
habit, custom, etc., peculiar to
negroes.
NIGGER LUCK.-TO
use another slang expression
which best interprets the meaning
#
awfully good luck." The allu-
sion is doubtless to the happy-go-
lucky manner in which the negro
takes life; generally speaking, if
good fortune comes to him, it is
without the slightest effort on his
part.
Sam Hunker, the notorious gambler and
claim-jumper, heard the rumor with avari-
cious ears.
'I am cussed,' he howled to a crowd of his
own stripe, if any darned rebel can have
such NIGGER LUCK and enjoy it while I
live. You can bet I'll soon settle that.'
'The syndicate's expert comes up from
Denver to-morrow, Sam,' said one of his
friends.-The Critic, April 14, 1888.
NIGGER NIGHT.-A New Eng-
land term applied by young white
people to Saturday night courting.
To NIGGER-OUT
LAND. To
exhaust land by improvident work-
ing; to take everything out of it
that can be got, and to return
nothing in the shape of manure or
other fertilising
agents. This
method was often disastrously pur-
sued in the South, and negroes
being the labor employed, the
term is probably as much an allu-
sion to this practice as from its
being a marked characteristic of
purely negro tillage. NIGGER
WORSHIPPER.-An opprobrious term
applied to the anti-slavery party.
-NIGGERY. Like a nigger;
pertaining to a nigger or negro.
391
Nipper
NIGHT.-See AFTER-NIGHT.
NIGHT-KEY.-This is the American
equivalent for a latch-key.
'I am sitting up,' she explained, 'because
there are still four or five of my young men
out, and as I do not give NIGHT-KEYS to any-
one but the doctor, I have to sit up or ask
It
some of my hard-working girls to do so.
is dreary waiting sometimes, but on the
whole they are considerate, and I don't com-
plain.'-Pittsburg Dispatch, July 29, 1888.
NIMENOG (Cant).-A heedless soft-
pated fellow.
NIMSHI.-A booby; a nincompoop;
a conceited fellow. A Connecticut
colloquialism.
NINE BARK (Spiræa opulifolia). —This
dwarf-growing shrub derives its
popular name from its old bark
peeling off readily; "nine," how-
ever, bearing no actual relation to
the number of layers.
NINE KILLER.- -The BUTCHER BIRD
(q.v.).
NIP AND TUCK.-TO GO NIP AND TUCK
is neck and neck; on an equality ;
just able to hold one's own.
From this time on Old Prob and the
ground-hog will have it NIP AND TUCK, with
the chances in favor of the hog.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, February 4th, 1888.
'Yes, sir. During my sojourn here in these
mountain wilds alone I have had it NIP AND
TUCK with the wolves and mountain lions.-
Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
NIPPENT.-Impudent; impertinent.
M
NIPPER.-A dram; a small quantity
of liquor. NIPPERS. Hand-
cuffs. (Cant).-A burglar's in-
strument by which it is possible to
turn an inside key on the outside
of a door. These forceps are mainly
used by hotel thieves, from whom
they also receive the name of
Nique
AMERICAN TWEEZERS
TWEEZERS (9.0.).
NIPPERKIN.-A tumbler.
NIQUE (Cant).-Contemptuous indif-
ference.
NO ACCOUNT.-See ACCOUNT.
NOCAKE.-Parched Indian meal.
An
Indian word, probably never heard
now, but once familiar in New
England.
NOCKY BOY (Cant).—A simpleton.
NOGGIN. A small quantity of drink;
an Old English survival.
NOHOW.NоHOW YOU CAN FIX IT.—
A frequently heard negative collo-
quialism, and used, mutatis mutandis,
in the same way as ANYHOW YOU
CAN FIX IT (see ANYHOW).
NO MAN'S LAND.-No Man's Land is
the strip lying between Colorado
and Kansas on the North, and
Texas on the South. It was ceded
by Texas to the United States, and
has been classed geographically
with Indian Territory for con-
venience. It extends from the
Iooth to the 103rd meridian, and
is about seventy- five miles in
width. The following account has
been given of its condition and
settlement:-
For forty years or more the country has
been without a name and without law. Even
the land laws of the United States do not
cover its nearly 4,000,000 fertile acres. Its
well-watered valleys have been a vast herd-
ing ground. Those who are now living there
enjoy squatter sovereignty to the fullest
extent. In fixing the boundaries of States
during special territorial legislation, this
strip of land, containing 5,761 square miles,
was left out entirely, and from that day has
been absolutely without law. It is one of
the most fertile spots in the United States,
but for the reason that the land and other laws
of the nation do not apply to it, settlers
have been chary about going on to it. Two
392
Nopal
years ago (1886) some adventurous persons.
went in and took up lands. They are simply
squatters. They have no title whatever to
the lands and can get none. The population
has grown to 10,000, who live without law
or lawyers. Several small villages have
grown up. In March, 1887, a provisional
government was established, and the name
of Cimarron, after its principal river,
was given to the territory. A bill for the
organization of this land into a territory
had been brought up at the second
session of the forty-ninth congress, but
failed. Soon after the opening of the fiftieth
congress, a bill for its organization under
the name of Cimarron was brought, and was
referred to the committee on territories.
On March 29, 1888, a bill called the Plumb
Bill extending the boundaries of the State
of Kansas so as to include NO MAN'S LAND
passed the Senate. A measure had pre-
viously passed that body attaching NO MAN'S
LAND to Kansas for judicial and land office
purposes, and the present bill completes the
work of the former by making the territory
in question a portion of the Sunflower State.
Should the Plumb Bill be approved by
Congress it would then devolve upon the
State of Kansas to assent to its provisions
by an act of the State Legislature within two
years from the date of its passage.
NOMENCLATURE.- - See CITY.BROOK-
LYN and NICKNAMES.
NOMOLOGY.-A branch of philosophy,
descriptive of, and pertaining to
laws. The ordinary word is nomo-
graphy. Also NOMOLOGICAL.
NONE OF MY FUNERAL.-See FUNERAL.
NOODLES, NOODLEJEES. · A prepara-
tion of dough and eggs, very similar
to vermicelli. NOODLE SOUP is
soup made of this preparation.
NOONING TIME.-Noon or noontide.
This interval, for rest and refresh-
ment, is also simply called nooning.
NOOSED (Cant).-When people get
married they are said to be noosed.
Sometimes literally true.
NOPAL. The prickly pear.
Nope
NOPE. A negative colloquialism,
formed by pronouncing the word
"no," and then pursing or closing
the lips to emphasize the spoken
word.
'Willie,' said the good pastor, who was
taking dinner with the family, I suppose
you will be a literary man, like your father,
when you grow up."
'NOPE,' said the little boy addressed, as
he looked at the somewhat meagre array of
delicacies on the table with lofty scorn,
'literary nuthin'! I'm goin' to be a 10,000
dollar cook!'-Chicago Tribune, 1888.
—(Cant).—A blow.
A
NORTH.-The Northern and formerly
-NORTH-
the anti-slavery States.
ERNER. A citizen of the Northern
States.- -NORTHERN MUD SILL.-
See MUD SILL.
NORTH AMERICANS.-A political party,
otherwise known as THE AMERICAN
PARTY.-See AMERICAN.
NORTHER. A strongcold north wind,
which blows across the prairies of
the West. Extremely trying to
both man and beast.
393
Until the past year or so a cold snap in
Texas was called a NORTHER, and to most
people the term blizzard meant a wind that
was utterly too cold for anything to live
in this side of Dakota. But the word
NORTHER Seems now to be obsolescent in its
former sense. All the cold snaps of the
present winter have been spoken of as bliz-
zards, and the newspapers have also side-
tracked the word NORTHER. These winds
were just as cold when they were called
NORTHERS as they have been since they have
come to answer to the name of blizzards.
They blow where they list, and as hard and
as cold as they list, regardless of what they
may be called.-Denison News, 1888.
The Texas NORTHER is only the frayed
fringes of the blizzard king's mantle as he
whirls past.-New York Sun, 1888.
Since the storm of January 12, the press of
the East has been united in exaggerating the
reports of the day's storm here, seemingly
forgetful that snow ever fell or wind ever
blew outside the borders of Dakota; if there
Notion
is a NORTHER in Texas it is reported as a
Dakota blizzard, with the mercury 40
degrees below zero.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
February 25, 1888.
NORTHERN NECK.-That district of
Virginia which lies between the
Potomac and Rappahannock rivers.
-See NECK.
NORTH-WESTERN STATES.-Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wis-
consin, Minnesota, Iowa, and
Nebraska.
NO-SEE-UMS (Simulium nocivum). — A
midge or sand-fly.
NOTCH. A gorge or narrow passage
through mountains. Also called
COVE and GAP.
NOTE.-In New York a note is a bon
mot.(Cant).—A singer.
NOTE SHAVER.-See BANK-SHAVING.
NOTICE.
An announcement of a
CLAIM (q.v.) being taken up.
We liked the appearance of the place, and
so we claimed some three hundred acres of it
and stuck our NOTICES on a tree. It was
yellow pine timber land-a dense forest of
trees a hundred feet high, and from one to
five feet through at the butt.-Mark Twain's
Roughing It.
NOTION. I HAVE A NOTION TO, is
equivalent to "I should like.'
NOTIONS.-Small wares of all kinds.
By Yankee notions in England are
understood little nicknacks, small
labor-saving contrivances, etc.
The word notions is also used in
the sense of ideas; it is an old one,
but has been much extended in use.
Gen.-And what kind of characters are the
Count and Countess ?
Doolittle.-Why, I han't been here such a
50
Not Much
despud while as to have larnt myself much
about the matter. But, by hearsay, they are
a topping sort of people, and pretty much
like the Boston folks, full of NOTIONS. At
times he is obstropulous. He may be a
straight-going critter, farzino, manwards;
but in his dealings with t'other sex, he is a
little twistical.-D. Humphreys' Yankee in
England.
Thursday, January 26, regular auction sale of
dry goods, furnishing goods, NOTIONS, hats
and caps, etc. Special offering of a large
line of hosiery, laces, embroideries, pocket-
books, and purses. Also 100 Cloaks and
Newmarkets to close an account. Sale at
9.30 a.m. O. J. Lewis and Co.-Advertise-
ment in St. Louis Globe Democrat, January
21, 1888.
NOTIONAL.-Fanciful or whim-
sical. A New England term, which,
in the West, takes the form of
NOTIONATE.
NOT MUCH I-Not at all. A common
colloquialism. - See example in
quotation following TO FLIP.
NOUSE-BOX (Cant).-The head. Evi-
dently from the Greek-perception
or comprehension.
NOVELETIC.—In a manner peculiar to
novels.
Before the hour for parting had come J.
Angelo had made up his mind that the time
for him to speak had arrived. It is useless
to go into the details of the proposal. It was
done in the usual NOVELETIC way.-Detroit
Free Press, 1888.
No You DON'T!-An exclamation of
dissent frequently heard in the
North.
NUB.-The nub of a story, i.e., the
gist of it.
French newspapers have a strange fashion
of telling a perfectly straight story till you
get to the NUB of it, and then a word drops
in that no man can translate, and that story
is ruined.-Mark Twain's Innocent's Abroad.
NUB (Cant).-The neck.
To be nubbed.-To be hanged.
394
Nullification
NUBBINS.-Imperfectly formed ears
of Indian corn.
Thought to be a
corruption of " nuffin," a negro
pronunciation of "nothing."
Corn will grow as large as a man's finger,
and many stalks will bear a NUBBIN. It is
proposed as an improvement on the above
that a bushel of corn, etc.-Journal of Agri-
culture, 1888.
NUBIBUS.-In the clouds. A literal
translation of the Latin in nubibus.
NUG (Cant).-Dear, e.g., "my nug";
my dear.
"
'NUITY. A word, says De Vere, be-
lieved by some writers to be
derived from annuity, and by others
to be an absurd form of knew."
Nordhoff explains it as meaning
what Americans call go-aheadative-
barbarous word, which
nobody could coin, who did not
find it easier to coin money than
words.
ness
NULL, TO (Cant).—To flog.
NULLIFICATION.-A term which arose
in connection with a desire on the
part of South Carolina to enter
into Free Trade relations with
England and France, especially in
reference to cotton goods. This
of course was utterly opposed to
the high protective policy of the
rest of the Union, and in spite of
the South Carolinan Legislature
passing a measure to that effect,
President Jackson enforced the
authority of Congress and the Act
was subsequently repealed. The
whole question was only another
phase of the doctrine of STATES'
RIGHTS (q.v.).- -NULLIFIER.—One
who favors the theory that the
rights of a State are paramount to
those of the Union.
Nums
NUMS (Cant).-Unreal; sham.
NURLY. A corruption of "gnarly,"
signifying cross-grained and ill-
tempered.
NUSH (Cant). The mouth; probably
a corruption of "hush."
NUT-CAKE. In New England a
dough-nut.
395
Nutmeg State
NUT-CRACKER.-A severe blow on the
head. In English pugilistic slang
nut" signifies the head.
NUTMEG STATE.-The State of Con-
necticut. A creation of Sam Slick's
(Judge Halliburton).
The Empire State is your New York;
I grant it hard to mate her;
Yet still give me the NUTMEG STATE,
Where shall we find a greater?
—Allin Yankce Ballads.



BARRENS.
AK (Cant).-An adjec-
tive signifying
strong; rich; of
good reputation.
This is obviously
drawn from the not-
able qualities of
the tree.
ОАК
Scrubby oak brush,
the stunted growth of which
indicates an extreme poverty of
soil. Usually, however, BARRENS
(q.v.) are destitute of even a vestige
of timber.-—OAK OPENINGS.-
Thinly wooded forest glades, of
park-like appearance, frequently
met with in the North-west. The
soil is of better quality than is the
case with oak barrens, but yet the
timber attains no great size.
After traversing a broad marsh, however
where my horse seemed loath to venture, I
struck a burr-OAK OPENING, and soon found
my way by the blazed trees back to the mail
trail.-Hoffman's Winter in the West.
stout
OAK TOWEL (Cant).—a
oaken stick. There is an allusion
here to " wiping "or" dressing one
down."
OATH. TO TAKE AN OATH.-There
is nothing alarming about this
operation. King Coles and other
thirsty old souls are ever ready to
oblige-in short to take an oath with
one, means in plain English, to take
a drink.
OATS. TO FEEL ONE'S OATS.-A con-
ceited, bumptious man is said to
feel his oats when putting himself en
évidence. The expression is also
applied to any display of self-
importance, and is obviously a
simile derived from the stable.
Horses fed mainly on corn exhibit
far more spirit and mettle than
would otherwise be the case.
The Kentuckians have certainly brought
Little Falls to the front during the past year,
and Little Falls FEELS HER OATS, and will un-
doubtedly expand under her new name of
Falls City.-St. Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer,
July 22, 1888.
OBEAH OF OBI.-A secret species of
witchcraft practised by the negroes
in the West Indies.
OBITUARIST.-A grandiloquent name
for a writer of epitaphs and similar
notices for the press.
OBLIGED TO BE, for "must be." A
modern vulgarism applied to
things, e.g., Judge Allen's house is
obliged to be two or three miles from
the railway station.
"
OBLIGEMENT.—An archaic form for
obligation," which still survives
in some localities.
OBSCUTE, OBSCUTELY.-Pertaining to
indirect action, motion, or practice;
or to obliqueness of moral vision.
Thus, one whose ways are crooked,
is said to be obscute or to act
obscutely. Both forms are factitious.
OBSOLESCENT.-Obsolete.
Obstrep
The word norther seems now to be OBSO-
LESCENT in its former sense.-Denison News,
1888.
OBSTREP, TO.-A corrupt form for
"to be obstreperous."
OBSTROPULOUS.-This, like the pre-
ceding, is a vulgar variant of
obstreperous." It is most common
in New England.
"
OBTUSITY.-A New England variant
of obtuseness.
OCCASION or 'CASION, TO.-A Mary-
land term, signifying to go round
seeking and making application for
employment.
OCCUPY (Cant).—To wear.
OCCUPYING CLAIMANT.-A settler who
bases his title to land upon the fact
of occupation.
OCCURRINGS.-An absurd variant for
occurrences or incidents. A simi-
larly needless equivalent is HAP-
PENINGS (q.v.).
This
OCELOT. The ocelotl of Mexico;
also called the TIGER CAT.
animal is of the feline species,
is carniverous, and beautifully
marked. Though mainly found in
South America, its range extends as
far north as Texas.
OCHIVES (Cant).-A singular term for
bone-handled knives.
OCTOROON.-The offspring of white
and quadroon parents, the pro-
portion being one-eighth black.
Another name is MESTEE (q.v.).
OFFAL. This term is far more collo-
quial in Western America than in
England. It is applied to the same
397
Offset
parts of the carcases of animals;
but whereas in England no one
would think of speaking of calf's
heart, pig's fry, sheep's kidneys,
etc., as dishes of offal, in the States
such phraseology is not at all un-
usual.
OFFEN.-For "off from."
literacy.
fies
An il-
OFFICE-HOLDER.-Only so far as this
is frequently used as a term of
reproach can it be classed as an
Americanism. It invariably signi-
a government official, and
OFFICE-HOLDING is the holding
of an office
office under government.
The system under which, at every
change of President, office-holders
vacate their posts, naturally leads
to keen competition for the sweets
of office. Consequently OFFICE-
HUNTING is quite a business with
the thousand-and-one "hangers-
to the skirts of political
parties; these are sarcastically
on"
termed OFFICE-HUNTERS.
OFF-OX.-Lowell, in his introduction
to the second series of the Biglow
Papers, gives this as an unmanage-
able, cross-grained fellow.
OFFSET. (1) In comparison of quanti-
ties offset is used in America as
equivalent to the English "set-off.
For example, an item on the debit
side of an account may, when equal
in value, be an offset to another on
the credit side. Offset in English
dictionaries is generally confined to
the vegetable kingdom in the sense
of a shoot, sprout, or bulb from
parent plant.- (2) Formerly col-
loquial in New England for a
terrace, i.e., structures, walks, and
plantations, laid out on the side of
a hill or on rising ground.—To
OFFSET.—To set or compare one
sum or quantity against or with
another.
Oil
OIL. TO STRIKE OIL, or more usually
TO STRIKE ILE.
ILE. To meet with a
stroke of good luck; to be success-
ful. This simile is derived from
the immense wealth which accrued
from the discovery of mineral oil,
first in Pennsylvania, and sub-
sequently in other parts of the
Union. -OILDOM. The oil-pro-
ducing districts of Pennsylvania,
the principal centre of this industry.
OIL NUT (Juglans cinerca).—Also
called BUTTER NUT, both names.
being allusive to its oily nature.-
OIL OF BARLEY (Cant).-A fac-
titious term given to strong beer.
OJO.-A Spanish term for an eye
(pronounced o-ho), but which on the
plains in the States formerly under
Spanish rule, is idiomatically em-
ployed as a designation for a spring
of water.
O.K.-All right; all correct. Autho-
rities differ as to the precise
origin of this expression. The
initials O. K., are supposed to stand
for "all correct." The most likely
derivation seems that told by De
Vere, to the effect that General
Jackson, better known in American
history as Old Hickory, was not
much at home in the art of spelling,
and that he employed the letters
O. K. as an endorsement of appli-
cations for office and other papers,
intending them to stand for all
(orl) correct (korrect)."
His express messenger reported himself
after his night ride, assured Allen that all
was o. K., and received his dollar for deliver-
ing the message.—Sam Slick's Americans at
Home.
The Canadian customs-house is required
to stamp an American vessel's paper O. K.,
and there is an end of the matter.-Troy
Daily Times, February 20, 1888.
A gentleman with a fine face, iron-gray
hair, pleasant manners, and everything ap-
parently o. K., walked into Texas Charley's
shooting gallery on Bleecker-street yester-
day, and, after practising at a target for awhile,
398
Old
turned his revolver on himself and blew out
such gray matter as the Lord had endowed
him with.-Boston Weekly Globe, February
29, 1888.
-The initials are also used as
a verb. To o. K.; to endorse with
the sign O. K., to signify that all is
right.
SYNTAX. -The expression, Please O. K.
and hurry return of my account, is gram-
matically correct. The noun account is
governed by the preposition of, and is also
the object of the active transitive verb O, K.
Answer to Correspondent in Missouri
Republican, January 25, 1888.
OKRA (Hibiscus esculentus).—The pods
of this plant are largely used in
gumbo-soup.-See GUMBO.
OLD.- -It seems somewhat of an
anachronism to apply the epithet
old to men and things connected
with the New World, but although
Americans, to their undoubted ad-
vantage, have no such hold upon
the past as have the peoples of the
Old World, more than three hun-
dred years have elapsed since the
first settlement of a permanent
character was made within the
limits of the Union (Florida, 1565);
therefore, those who lay stress on
such matters may, comparatively
speaking, lay reasonable claim
to a kind of bastard anti-
quity. Hence, such terms as
OLD COLONY.-This is per-
haps the oldest historical name
of locality yet surviving in the
United States, It is the name of
the first Plymouth settlement
situated in what, together with
the colony of Massachusetts Bay,
afterwards formed the State of
Massachusetts. OLD COON.-
A sharp, shrewd man, often used
politically, the expression deriving
its significance from the savoir faire,
which usually comes with years,
and the reputation of the raccoon,
or coon, as a wily, cunning animal.
Old
399
-OLD COUNTRY.-In the first
place, this term was applied solely
to England, but since the incursion
of large numbers of the surplus
population of other European
countries into the United States,
the meaning has been enlarged to
include the Old World generally.
It is worthy of mention that the
phrase is now the common property
of all English colonists who, having
found it convenient and expressive,
usually speak thus of the land of their
birth. Hence also OLD COUN-
TRYMEN which, however, has as
yet received no such extension of
meaning, it being confined entirely
to natives of the British Isles, and
never applied to persons on the
Continent of Europe. -OLDER-
MOST. A factitious superlative,
often heard in the West for
oldest, the most advanced in years.
-OLD DOMINION, or sometimes
ANCIENT DOMINION.-The State of
Virginia. A title bestowed by
Charles II. as a reward for the
loyalty of her citizens to the Stuart
dynasty during the Commonwealth.
Distance, no doubt, lent enchant-
ment to the scene of the struggle
for liberty in the Old Country, and
led these early colonists to view in
a lenient manner, the ever-recur-
ing claim of the right divine of
kings to govern wrong.
The colonists on the James River refused
to recognize Cromwell and the Protectorate,
and strenuously maintained their allegiance
to Charles II. who was then in exile on the
Continent. They even wrote to him, through
their governor, Sir William Berkeley, assur-
ing him of their loyalty, and expressing the
most earnest wishes for his health, happiness,
and restoration to the throne They also
invited the king, who was then at Breda, in
Holland, poor in purse and apparently poorer
in prospects, to emigrate to Virginia. Crom-
well sent a fleet to bring them into submission,
and, as Bancroft states it, they refused to
surrender to force, but yielded by a mutual
deed and voluntary compact.'
however, as news was received of Cromwell's
death, Charles II. was solemnly proclaimed
King of Great Britain, Ireland, and Virginia,
and all writs and processes were issued in
As soon,
Old
his name, so that he was virtually King of
Virginia, in fact, before he had begun to reign
at home, de jure. For once the Stuart-king
was not ungrateful; he restored the governor,
deposed by Cromwell's order, to his place,
commanded the arms of Virginia to be
quartered with those of Great Britain on the
royal escutcheon as they appear on coins
struck as late as 1773 by order of George III.,
and authorised-at least by tacit consent-
the use of the words OLD DOMINION.
OLD
OLD DRIVER. The Devil.
-OLD HOSS.-See HORSE.
OLD HUNKER.-See HUNK.
LINE STATE. Maryland. So
called, says De Vere, from the Old-
Line regiments which she contri-
buted to the Continental Army in
the War of the Revolution-the
only State that had regular troops
of 'the line." OLD MAN.-
The skipper of American merchant
ships. Bartlett erroneously writes
this down as an Americanism, when
used for "father.'
father." Employed in
this sense, old man is as much the
heritage of Young England as
of Young America. There is,
however, something distinctively
American in the usage prevalent
in the South and West, where, in
speaking of the elder of two men of
the same name, say Brown, one
would be called old man Brown,
instead of "old Mr. Brown," as is
customary in England. Bartlett
also makes himself indirectly re-
sponsible for the statement that
Yankees in some parts of New
England, carry their respect for
age in petticoats to such an
extent as to speak of an old Mrs.
Brown as OLD WOMAN Brown.-
OLD MAN'S BEARD. A
mossy
parasite of trees in Louisiana
and Texas. Otherwise called NEW
ORLEANS MOSS
NORTH STATE.
(q.v.). OLD
North Carolina.
OLD PLANTERS. - The oldest
and most distinguished families
among the early settlers in New
England were so called. OLD
POD.-An old man.-
OLD POGER
Old
(Cant). The Devil.
OLD PRO-
BABILITIES.-A sarcastic title for
the superintendent of the United
States weather bureau, obviously
from the problematical forecasts
issued daily from the office in
question.
When you come to think of the sort of
weather we have had in New York upon.
the occasions of great popular political
turnouts, the big parades and street pageants
of recent years, you will find that as a rule
OLD PROBABILITIES has been rather kindly
disposed to both parties, and has vouch-
safed tolerable marching weather, and that
when he has turned loose the floods on
enthusiastic paraders, Republicans and
Democrats have had to meet about equal
consequences in the way of wet feet and
mustard plasters. - New York Herald,
November 4, 1888.
OLD RED EYE. Whiskey.
"Red eyes it is, sir," with many
of its devotees.
OLD RYE.-
This is a whiskey distilled from
rye.- -OLD SCRATCH.-The Devil.
OLD SLEDGE. In the South
and West the card game of All
Fours is so called.- OLD SOL-
DIERS. The refuse of tobacco and
ends of cigars collected off the
public streets.OLD SOUTH.—
The converse of the NEW SOUTH
(q.v.); the South before the war,
and previous to the enfranchisement
of the negro.
Grenada is a town where the stranger feels
at home. The people grasp him by the hand
and give him a hearty welcome. They have
enough of the hospitality and friendliness of
the OLD SOUTH to make their town a haven
of rest to the visitor, and enough of the energy
and goaheaditiveness of the new South to
make it one of the liveliest and most pro-
gressive places in all Mississippi.-Mississippi
Valley Lumberman, May, 1888.
-OLD SPLIT-FOOT.-The Devil.
They go it like an Ericsson's ten-hoss-power
coleric ingine,
An make OLE SPLIT-FOOT winch an' squirm,
for all he's used to singein';
Hawkins's whetstone ain't a pinch o' primin'
to the innards
To hearin' on 'em put free grace t' a lot o'
tough old sinhards!
-Biglow Papers.
400
On
-OLD SQUAW.-A New England
name for the brown duck known
to science as Harelda glacialis. Also
called OLD-WIFE, both of which
names are also given in South
Carolina to a species of sea-gull.
-OLD TOAST (Ĉant).—The Devil.
Sometimes OLD TOASTER. The
derivation is obvious. OLD
WHALE. A jocose name for a
Jack Tar.
OLEOMARGARINE.-A substitute for
butter. Both name and product
are of American origin.
OLIVER SKULL (Cant).-The "It" of
Max O'Rell.
OLLI COMPOLLI (Cant).-The leader of
a gang of thieves, or a very smart
cracksman.
OLYCOOK or OLYCOEK.
This word,
from the Dutch, literally signifies
oil-cake. A comestible which is
now more generally known as
DOUGH-NUT (q.v.).
OMNIBUS BILL.-The name of a popu-
lar and comprehensive measure
presented to Congress in the cur-
rent year, which is explained by the
following quotation :—
Representative Springer, in behalf of the
majority of the committee on territories, has
prepared a report which he will present to
the House, recommending the passage of
what is known as the OMNIBUS BILL, to en-
able the people of Dakota, Montana, Wash-
ington territory, and New Mexico to form
State Governments and to be admitted into
the Union on an equality with the other
States. The report, after explaining the
provisions of the Bill, among which, it says,
is a clause allowing the people to decide by
vote on propositions to change the names of
their respective territories, gives a statement
of the population and resources of each of
the proposed States.- Missouri Republican,
March 5th, 1888.
ON. This preposition, in a large
measure, takes the place of "in."
Он
Instead of living in such and such
a street, or being in it, in the sense
of passing through it, an American
would speak of living on or being
on the thoroughfare in question.
The murder was done at about seven
o'clock, on the street, not more than twenty
feet from the store of Henry Williamson.-
Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires.
Similarly Brother Jonathan comes
to Europe on a steamer instead of
in" it, and travels on the cars
instead of in the train. He also
writes on the newspapers and one
divine actually prayed to "Our
Father which art on Heaven," etc.
-TO BE ON A THING.-Here on
is used in the sense of "about."
Sometimes also to be ready for a
fight or brawl.
'Pard, he was ON it! He was on it bigger
than an Injung
'ON it! ON what?'
'ON the shoot. On the shoulder. On the
fight, you understand.'—Mark Twain's The
Innocents at Home.
-ON END.-Or more commonly
ON EEND. When a person is on
eend, he is filled with anger and
astonishment; probably a corrup-
tion of the old saying "to have,”
or "to make one's hair stand on
end.' ON HAND.-This phrase
applied to objects is of
course
commonly colloquial in England;
but, in America, the expression
is extended to persons in a very
strange fashion.
A broker from Wall-street was ON HAND,
and tried to pray, but he broke down half-
way in the Lord's Prayer, and there seemed
to be no one able to assist him.-New York
Express.
ON HERD. OFF HERD.-Cow-
boys' terms for being on or off
duty. The various reliefs during
the day and night speak of being
on herd and off herd, very much as
if they were performing military
duty.
ON THE COAST. - See
401
One-Goat
COAST. ON TIME. — A
- A train
arrives on time when punctual.
'Can you tell me if the 7.30 express from
the city is ON TIME?' he asked of a uniform
official,
'Five minutes late, sir,' was the prompt
answer. The American, August 29, 1888.
As he passed, he called out:
For God's sake, boys! thar's a-gwine ter
be a collision three mile south ef thirteen's
ON TIME. Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
TO BE ON ΤΟ ONE is to be
equal to dealing with a person so
that he may gain no unfair
advantage; to be able to give
blow for blow; to return "tit for
tat."
Where a man is a wife poisoner it is not
right to have him married to an innocent
woman who does not suspect any harm.
He ought to have for his wife a woman who is
ON TO HIM, and who can meet his poison
advances with a kerosene bath. It would
be interesting to watch such a couple. If he
came around her with taffy or gum drops
and sweet words, she would know in a minute
they were loaded, and she would say, 'No,
darling I do not care for candy. Eat them
yourself.'-New York Mercury, July 21, 1888.
ON YESTERDAY.-A turgescent
form, but one which in spite of its
absolute illiteracy is frequently
met with. For example, "I spoke
concerning the measure on yester-
day," "I travelled to hum on
yesterday," etc.
ONCET. AT ONCET.-See ONST.
ONE BERRY.-A Connecticut term for
the Indian turnip, which is also
known in popular parlance as
"Jack-in-the-Pulpit."-See JACK.
ONE-EYED SCRIBE.-A Texan term for
a revolver. Its argument is always
persuasive, and sometimes unan-
swerable.-See MEAT IN THE POT.
ONE-GOAT.-A variant of ONE-HORSE
(q.v.) as applied adjectively. In
one-goat, however, a spice of sug-
51
One-Horse
gestive meaning is apparent quite
absent from ONE-HORSE. Compare
with meaning of " goatish."
Of course, Morocco is a small place. We
could live very comfortably if it were wiped
off the map of the world. But while we have
60,000,000 of people, and are amply able to
care for ourselves, it seems a shame to let a
petty ONE-GOAT power kingdom insult our
citizens. If we had a good navy, ready at
our call, and should anchor a few big ships
off Tangier, the measure, we think, would
have a beneficial result.-Boston Weekly
Globe, March 28, 1888.
ONE-HORSE.
A one-horse affair of
any kind, whether it be a town,
man, church, or entertainment, is
strikingly mean or insignificant in
character. The phrase is a true
Americanism.-See HORse.
Phelps was one of these little ONE-Horse
plantations, and they all look alike. A rail
fence round a two-acre yard; a stile made
out of logs sawed off and up-ended, in steps,
like barrels of a different length, to climb
over the fence with, and for the women to
stand on when they are going to jump on to
a horse; some sickly grass patches in the big
yard, but mostly it was bare and snooth,
like an old hat with the nap rubbed off; big
double log-house for the white folks-hewed
logs, with the chinks stopped up with mud or
mortar, and these mud stripes been white-
washed some time or another; round-log
kitchen, with a big, broad, open but roofed
passage joining it to the house; log smoke-
house back of the kitchen; three little log
nigger-cabins in a row t'other side the smoke-
house; one little hut all by itself away down
against the back fence, and some outbuild-
ings down a piece the other side; ash-hop-
per and big kettle to bile soap in by the little
hut; bench by the kitchen door, with bucket
of water and a gourd; hound asleep there in
the sun; more hounds asleep round about;
about three shade-trees away off in a corner;
some currant bushes and gooseberry bushes
in one place by the fence; outside of the
fence a garden and a water-melon patch;
then the cotton-fields begins; and after the
fields the woods.-The Adventures of Huckle-
berry Finn, p. 328.
SO
The Bell was a measly-looking little ONE-
HORSE Country paper, patent insides and
dead ads. outside. The village was
small that it was impossible to scare up a
column of local news a week. The editor
spaced out by writing imaginary sketches
of town and county happenings, and the news
eventually reached his little place from the
402
Opening
outside world that he was a genius.-Bur-
lington Free Press, January 27, 1888.
ONERY.-See ORNERY.
ONE WHILE.-A long-time.
ONHITCH, TO.-A New Englander's
synonym for drawing the trigger of
a gun; to fire.
So he ONHITCHED-Jerusalem! the middle
of next year
Was right next door compared to where he
kicked the crittur to.
-J. R. Lowell's Biglow Papers.
the Spanish
Compare with
disparar.
ON-PLUSH.-A Southern corruption
of "nonplus."
ONST.-AT ONST.-At once; immedi-
ately. J. Russell Lowell thinks it
is not a corruption, but an erratic
and obsolete superlative "at onst.'
TwYST for "twice" is formed on
the same model. Onst is some-
times spelt onct or oncet, and both
forms are
are commonly colloquial
throughout the Union.
ONTO. A form
-A form which, obsolete in
England, is still retained in the
States. It bears the same relation
to on as "into" does to "in."
OODLES. A Tennessee expression,
signifying abundance.
OPAH (Lampris guttatus).—A Southern
name for the KING-FISH, or what
is known in New Jersey as the
HAKE.
OPENING.-Explained by quotation.
-See OAK-OPENINGS.
The trees, with very few exceptions, were
what is called the burr-oak, a small variety of
a very extensive genus; and the spaces be-
tween them, always irregular and often of
Operate
singular beauty, have obtained the name of
OPENINGS.-Cooper's The Oak Openings.
OPERATE, TO.-To manage; to work;
to carry out; to finesse, etc., etc. A
verb of all work. A broker operates
his stocks and shares, a lawyer his
clients' interests, and for other
examples, see quotations.
For years young men have been riding
about on bicycles, never dreaming that the
little vehicle illustrates a principle which
might be OPERATED on a very much larger
scale. The speed at which a bicycle can be
driven by muscle is twenty-four miles an
hour. It occurred some fifteen years ago to
Mr. E. Moody Boynton, that if the principle
could be applied to the railroad system, far
greater speed and safety could be attained.-
Savannah Morning News, 1888.
Mark Simonton, the well-known pool-
seller, was indicted yesterday in Covington.
Mr. Simonton has his head-quarters in that
city. Yesterday the Grand Jury arose, and
among the many indictments found, was one
against him. He is charged with nuisance,
consisting in OPERATING a pool-room on
Second street, in Covington. At the room,
it is claimed, idle and evil-disposed persons
congregate to watch the result of the races.-
Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
OPINUATED.-Conceited, or opinion-
ated. Sometimes, among negroes
especially, it is synonymous with
obstinate and tricky, e.g., "an
opinuated mule."
OPOSSUM. See 'POSSUM.
ORATE, TO. To make a speech. Com-
pare with DONATE, LOCATE, and
similar forms.
ORDINARY.-In Connecticut a synonym
for plainness and homeliness of
feature; in the West its contracted
form or'nery, is frequently used to
describe anything mean and insig-
nificant.
ORIGINAL HAND (in poker).-The first
five cards dealt to any player.-The
American Hoyle.
403
Orthography
ORIOLE.-See BALTIMORE ORIOLE.
ORLEANS.-A telegraphic form for
New Orleans.
OR'NERY.-A corruption of "ordi-
nary," to the primary meaning of
which is added a spice of contempt
for the man or object so described.
It was pretty oR'NERY preaching-all about
brotherly love and such-like tiresomeness;
but everybody said it was a good sermon,
and they all talked it over going home, and
had such a powerful lot to sav about faith,
and good works, and free grace, and prefore-
ordestination, and I don't know what all,
that it did seem to me to be one of the
roughest Sundays I had run across yet.-
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 167.
Hain't I got religun?' demanded Joe.
'Has a b'ar got wings?' answered one of
the women. 'The Lord wouldn't hev ye,
Joe, an' you know it. You's too ONERY all
through. You's too lazy to hold to religun if
you got it,'—North-western Chronicle, 1888.
ORTHOGRAPHY.-It is not alone in
idiom and pronunciation that the
English of the New differs from
that of the Old World. In
orthography there are important
variations, a few only of which, as
types of their class, it is possible
to give within the limited compass
of this work. In words
words like
"traveller" a single is substi-
tuted for the double consonant,
thus traveler; words ending in tre
as "theatre " change the ter-
mination into ter; the syllable
our in such words as "favour
elides the u and the word appears as
favor, a change which is now not
uncommon in England. This de-
flection is even extended to words
like mould, now written mold, while
plumb appears as plum. These
are examples only of modifications
of orthography a full list of which
will be found in Webster's
Unabridged. The tendency seems
to be to cast out all superfluous
consonants and vowels, and to
adopt as far as possible, without
Ortolan
violent change, a phonetic ortho-
grapical basis.
ORTOLAN.-The BOBOLINK (q.v.). This
is a very different bird to the
European variety.
OSAGE ORANGE.-Otherwise the BOIS
D'ARC or BODOK (q.v.).
The colonel had bought a home on the
edge of the town, with some ten acres of
beautiful ground surrounding. A high
OSAGE-ORANGE hedge shut it in, and forest
trees, chiefly maples and elms, gave to the
lawn and house abundant shade.-Century
Magazine, 1888.
OSTLER (Cant).-A horse thief.
404
OSWEGO TEA (Monarda didyma).-A
Shaker preparation.
In
OTTOMISED (Cant).—Dissected.
English slang "ottomy," a skele-
ton, is derived through a mispro-
nunciation of anatomy.
OUCH!-A Southern exclamation of
pain. It appears to be a survival,
for it is quoted in ancient glos-
saries.
OUGHTNESS. From ought, to be ne-
cessary; to be obliged; a creation of
the Rev. Joseph Cook, who defines
the office of conscience to be "the
determination of rightness and
oughtness in human affairs."
OUT.-(1) In Connecticut a curious
usage of out is colloquial. The
wind is out, i.e., comes from the
outward-the sea.- -(2) Out is
sometimes used substantively, to
signify a member of the political
party not in power whether local
or national. These are collectively
called the outs, the opposite side
being the INS (q.v.). Thus if the
Republicans have a majority in the
Government they represent the ins,
Out
in which case the Democrats would
be the outs. (3) (Cant). A
discarded mistress. Out is occa-
sionally used to signify out of
humor or temper.- -To OUT.-
Southern for "to put out," e.g.,
out the fire! OUTCRY.-Until
recently this old Saxon synonym
for
'public auction " was current
in some of the remoter districts.
OUTER. A negro corruption for
"out of.". -OUTFIT.-A compre-
hensive term variously applied. An
expedition of any sort, large or
small, is an outfit; so, also, a
hanging or a lumbering party,
etc. Likewise a person in a buggy;
or one pushing a wheelbarrow;
and the term is indifferently ap-
plied to a party as a whole, or to
its means of travel, its subsistence,
etc. There is also the verb To
OUTFIT, i.e., to fit out for any pur-
pose whatsoever.
"We outfitted at
St. Paul."
When Mac and I looked carelessly into
that long hole after the smoke had cleared
away you could have knocked either of us
over with a feather. The fortune we had
longed for lay at our feet. The last blast had
disclosed one of the finest bodies of ore we
had ever seen. We made no outcry, and the
miners paying no attention to the hole, we
covered it up and went back to camp. That
night we let three of the most reckless devils
in the OUTFIT into the secret, and the next
morning I started for San Francisco. No
man was to leave that camp until I returned.
-St. Louis Globe Democrat, February 16,
1888.
I returned to Las Vegas with a freighter,
whose OUTFIT consisted of six horses and
two wagons, one of the latter being a trail
vehicle.-Missouri Republican, April 1, 1888.
A young lady who holds a responsible posi-
tion in the Detroit post-office wore a dress
one summer which was the admiration of all
her friends. It was suitable for a company
OUTFIT, and the material cost just sixty-five
cents.-Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia,
1888.
If low in purse [the miner], traverses the
mountains on foot; but if able to own an
animal, he has a broncho (native or Califor-
nian) pony, mule, or jack, on which he carries
his OUTFIT, Consisting of grub, pan, spade,
blanket, and revolver.—McClure's The Rocky
Mountains, p. 319.
Oven
To get competent guides is the chief diffi-
culty. The men who can or will take an
OUTFIT through a mountainous country,
where they have never been before, are
few and far between.-Scribner's Magazine,
1887.
What do you suppose I saw? A camp of
four red-skins not over 200 feet away! They
had come into the cove through a ravine at
the upper end, probably arriving the evening
before, and were now just awakening from
their night's sleep. They were out for a
hunt as their OUTFIT showed, and as soon as
they began to move about they must discover
the tracks of the mule and suspect my
presence.-Mobile Register, 1888.
in
-Worcester also gives outfit as
an allowance to a public minister
of the United States, on going
to a foreign country, which can-
not exceed a year's salary.
OUT OF FIX. Disarranged;
a state of disorder; the reverse
of being fixed."-See Fix.
OUT OF WHACK. In Virginia
machinery is said to be out of whack
when out of repair.-TO OUT-
QUASH. A superlative form of to
quash in the sense of to upset.
Those were quashing times, and they were
the OUTQUASHINGEST set of fellows ever
known. In one court, forthcoming bonds to
the amount of some hundred thousand dol-
lars were quashed, because the execution
was written State of Mississippi, instead of
The State of Mississippi-the constitution
requiring the style of process to be, The
State of Mississippi-an OUTQUASHING pro-
cess, which vindicated the constitution at
the expense of foreign creditors.—Flush
Times of Alabama.
OUTSIDE.-A vulgarism for
beside or except; its most frequent
and worst form is when applied to
persons, e.g., "Outside of the trades-
men there was no one at the meet-
ing.". TO GET OUTSIDE A THING
is to understand it, or to use an
expression very common in the
West Indies, to get to the wind-
ward of it; to have the whip hand
over it. OUT WEST, i.e., simply
West.
OVEN (Cant).-A large mouth.
405
OVER.
Over
OVERBIT.-A cattle mark.-
See BRAND.
ОАК.
-
OVERCUT WHITE
OVER-
See BURR-OAK.
HACK. A ranchman's mark for
cattle. See BRAND.- OVERHALF-
CROSS.-One of the many marks
used in branding cattle. See
BRAND. OVERLY.-Very. Gene-
rally used negatively as not overly
presentable.
He is awful conceited, and not OVERLY
polite.-Lippincott's Magazine.
OVERSEER.
M
A manager's
deputy on a sugar plantation.
The estates [of the planters] were managed
by OVERSEERS, who directed the agricultural
operations and managed the slaves through
colored deputies called
called drivers.
drivers. South
Carolina Society Atlantic Monthly, 1877, p. 671.
-Overslaugh.-This, says De
Vere, is from the Dutch term
overslaan, to skip, to pretermit,
which still survives in a few local
names, where sand-bars suddenly
interrupt the free navigation of
rivers, as in the overslaugh in the
Hudson below Albany, the dread
of all skippers. The same verb,
it is well known, has given the
familiar term overslaughing, for the
act of rewarding an outsider at
the expense of the person entitled
to the preferment by seniority in
office. -OVER-SLOPE.-A techni-
cal brand for cattle used on the
ranches of the West.-See BRAND.
TO OVERTURE.-To propose.
A subject is overtured in the Presby-
terian Church when presented to
the ruling body for consideration.
OWL-CAR. A tram-car plying late
into the night.
OYSTER-FISH (Batrachus tau).—A New
Jersey name for the toad - fish.
In New England it is called.
the GRUBBLY. This fish is not
pleasing to look upon.- -OYSTER
SHUCKER.
In the South an
oyster-opener. SHUCK (q.v.
SHUCK (q.v.) is a
synonym of shell.


อ
AAS. This old Dutch
term for Easter is
still retained in some
parts of the State
of New York.
Hence PAAS BLOOM-
ACHEES, Easter flow-
ers, by which the
common yellow daffodil (Narcissus
pseudo-narcissus) is generally under-
stood. See BLUMMIE.
EGGS.-Easter eggs.
PAAS
PACIFIC STATES.-California, Nevada,
and Oregon.
PACK, TO. In transporting merchan-
dize and stores overland, the goods
are, for convenience, made up into
bundles or packs, and hence is
derived the verb to pack, i.e., to
convey; or to carry, e.g., will you
pack this letter for me?
To
PADDLE.-A paddle- (or oar-) shaped
rod used at one time in punishing
negroes. The blade of the instru-
ment, which was of wood, had
holes bored through it.
PADDLE. To punish or beat with
the aforesaid instrument. To
PADDLE ONE'S OWN CANOE.-To
rely upon personal effort for
advancement; to be self-reliant.
Like TO BAIL ONE'S OWN BOAT,
this
England by a song entitled "Paddle
your own canoe.'
} }
PAINT. A Spotted horse or other
animal is, in the South or South-
west, thus designated.-TO PAINT
THE TOWN RED.-See Town.
PAINTED Box.—A coffin.
We give such creatures timely and due
notice to have a PAINTED BOX prepared, if
they ever intend to apply such insulting
epithets to us, for if they do they will go up
the spout, as surely as there is virtue in
powder.-Point Pleasant Register, Va.
PAINTER.-The corrupted but popular
name of the panther or puma.—See
COUGAR.
PAIR-OFF, To. This
- This expression to
signify an agreement on the part of
two members of differing parties
in a legislative or other body, to
absent themselves from voting,
the one thus neutralizing the other,
is generally understood to have
originated in America. Pairing off
was first practised there in 1839,
and though in the beginning looked
upon with disfavor, is now regarded
as a thoroughly legitimate arrange-
ment; indeed the practice has
been adopted by all legislative
bodies throughout the civilized
world.
phrase is of Western origin, and is
derived from the extensive use of
water communication. The French
have a very similar saying: in_ il
conduit bien
CAR.
sa barque, and the
expression has been familiarized in
PALACE CAR. A railway carriage
fitted up in luxurious style.-See
Steamers,
the
too, in
Yankee's efforts to "whip creation
Pale Faces
all round," when of a superior
class, are termed PALACE STEAMERS,
and prominent citizens occupy
PALATIAL residences. Referring to
this American love of big names,
De Vere remarks, it is to be hoped
that the introduction of Stock
Palace Cars on some of the Nor-
thern roads will speedily lead to
the adoption of more appropriate
names, for surely all the sensible
and most praiseworthy improve-
ments in cattle-trains would not
justify the name of palaces for
their stalls!
PALE FACES.-It is more than doubt-
ful whether this term for white
men ever originated, as it is alleged,
with the aborigines; and it is far
more likely to have been a simply
natural outcome of poetic license.
It is, however, very commonly
colloquial.
PALM, TO.
or
To smear; blot;
smudge with the hands. A New
England idiom. Pronounced paum.
PALMATEER. Frequently written and
pronounced PARMATEER (q.v.).
PALM CABBAGE.-Otherwise cabbage-
tree or cabbage-palm.-See CAbbage.
The young shoots are used as a
vegetable.
PALMETTO (Chamarops palmetto).—A
miniature palm-like tree. The
large fan-shaped leaves are exten-
sively employed for thatching pur-
poses. PALMETTO HATS are also
manufactured from its fibrous
fronds. PALMETTO CITY.--
Augusta, the capital of South
Carolina, The armorial bearings
of this State consist of a palmetto,
that useful and valuable tree being
very abundant within its borders.
The State itself is hence called
the PALMETTO STATE.
407
Panel-Crib
PALMILLA (Chlorogalum pomeridianum).
-The soap plant or amole of
California and New Mexico.-See
AMOLE.
PANDOWDY.
England as
under APPLE.
Also known in New
APPLE SLUMP. - See
more
all
PANEL-CRIB, PANEL-DEN, PANEL-HOUSE.
-A brothel, the interior arrange-
ments of which are specially fitted
up to facilitate robbery. The modus
operandi, though varied sometimes
in detail, is generally as follows. A
woman of the town having picked
up a stranger, and induced him to
accompany her home, takes him to
one of these panel-houses, known also
as BADGER-CRIBS, SHAKE-DOWNS,
and TOUCH-CRIBS. The room to
which he is conducted has several
means of ingress, one or
being secret. False door frames,
movable panels, and even the backs
of what appear to be ordinary
wardrobes against a wall
swinging noiselessly on well-oiled
hinges, and apparently well
secured by lock and bolt-are
some of the methods of securing
secret admission. While the
woman is engaged with her victim
--having first, quite unusually,
made sure that the lights are
not too high an accomplice,
generally a man who lives upon her
earnings, enters the room, rifles the
victim's pockets, and then retires.
The next move is to cause the
man to leave in haste, so, coming
to the genuine door of the apart-
ment, the accomplice knocks, de-
mands admission, using such
language as to lead the woman's
companion to suppose that her
husband is outside. Naturally
alarmed, and with visions of out-
raged conjugality, and perhaps, as
he thinks, public exposure before
his eyes, he hastily dresses and
Panhandle
a
leaves by another door, thinking
himself fortunate to have escaped
the clutches of the angry pseudo-
husband. Too late he discovers
that the whole thing
thing is
"plant," and that he has been
duped. The prostitutes who act
as decoys generally aim at in-
veigling passing strangers, so as
to reduce to a minimum the
chances, few enough in any case,
of prosecution.-PANEL THIEF.
-A thief who commits his depre-
dations in the manner described.
PANHANDLE. The Panhandle is a
fanciful name for the most north-
erly portion of the state of West
Virginia. It is a long, narrow,
wedge-shaped projection between
the Ohio river and the western
boundary of Pennsylvania, Texas,
and Nevada.-Texas and Nevada
also have panhandles.
The PANHANDLE of Texas offers desirable
homes to a million of people, at a nominal
price, on terms which place them within the
reach of the poorest, and that the surplus
population of the country may be absorbed
in happy, hospitable, and prosperous com-
munities without breaking the plighted faith
of the nation, which should be held equally
sacred with prince and savage.-Missouri
Republican, February 24, 1889.
PAN MILL. - A
miner's apparatus
used in separating gold from the
alloy of earth, with which it is
found mingled.
A San Francisco lady and gentleman
were walking by the campoodie, on their
way to inspect the California PAN MILL.
After they had passed about a rod beyond
the dusky old muser, he suddenly recalled
himself, and vociferated a hearty, rousing,
Good morning, madam!-Daily Inter-Ocean,
March 8, 1888.
Hence To PAN OUT, in the
idiomatic sense of to turn out, from
the process of panning in mining
operations to ascertain the out-turn
of gold or other mining products.
408
Papabotte
They got to blows, but things didn't PAN
OUT as I thought they would. That Scroggin
boy crawled home the worst whipped boy
you ever saw. His nose was split like a
peach, his left eye was in mourning, there
was a lump on his forehead as large as a
goose egg, and his off-leg limped painfully
after its mate.-Rocky Mountain News, 1888.
The sober business men of the town
refused to believe that a penniless young
man, with nothing to back him but a dream,
had secured almost unlimited credit and a
rich heiress in the bargain. 'Dreams don't
PAN OUT that way,' said one of them, and
this was the general opinion.-Providence
(R.I.) Journal, 1888.
PAN PIE.-Apple slump.-See under
APPLE.
PANSCIOLOGY.-From pan, all, scio, I
know, and logos, discourse. A new
but regular formation to describe
a pretentious smattering of uni-
versal knowledge.
Dr. Jean Roemer's work on the origins of
the English people and language (D. Apple-
ton & Co.) will be found valuable by all
students of language. It is a scholarly book,
tracing the growth of modern English under
the Roman, Saxon, Danish and French.
influences. Naturally, it is most largely
devoted to Anglo-Saxon, and no one inter-
ested in English literature who follows the
author can fail to admire the painstaking
care with which he walks along the lines
of broad ideas. Much of what has been
published on this subject in America is the
result of PANSCIOLOGY, but people who hate.
smatterers, will experience nothing but
pleasure in Dr. Roemer's acquaintance.-
Missouri Republican, March 2, 1888.
PANTALOONERY.
J
A prices current
term for fabrics of which pants or
trousers are made. The English
term is "trouserings."
PANTS, PANTIES. Trousers; the
Americans never speak of this
article of attire but as pants or
panties. The term is an abbrevia-
tion of "pantaloons."
PAPABOTTE.-A delicious specimen,
from the epicure's point of view, of
the plover family. It visits the
Western prairies in large numbers,
Papaw
semi-annually; early in the spring
and late in the summer. In the
latter season, it is so fat that it flies
heavily, and if "killed dead," to
use a sportsman's phrase, when
more then ten feet from the ground,
it often bursts by concussion with
the earth.
PAPAW (Asimina triloba).-This is no
relation of the genuine papaw of
the tropics, but the same name has
been applied to it on account of a
fancied resemblance, in the taste
of its fruit, to the Simon pure.
It
is largely used by the Indians as
food; and its young branches being
supple and tough, they are occa-
sionally employed as a substitute
for the willow.
PAPER CITY.-Literally "a city on
paper "-only this and nothing
more, as Poe's Raven would have
said. Speculation in land has, at
times, run to such lengths in the
United States, that unprincipled
adventurers have been known to
issue plans of a thriving city in
some little known locality, and to
induce greenhorn emigrants to
repair thither, only to find that
sometimes not even a log shanty
was erected on a spot which,
on paper, had been represented
with houses, banks, manufactories,
and other resources of civilization.
In other cases LOTS (q.v.) have
been marked out and sold which,
to the vendors' disgust and chagrin,
have been found to be situated in
the Pacific, some hundreds of yards
from the shore.-See LOT.
PAPER GARMENTS.-A recent inven-
tion. The idea contains the germ
of untold possibilities!
When black underclothes were introduced
I was ready for almost any other innovation,
I knew not what and could not conjecture
what it would be. It has come, and with it,
409
Parlor
to my mind, an awful danger. PAPER GAR-
MENTS for ladies is the very latest. A friend
has just received an outfit - for his wife
showed them to me. They are built of the same
paper apparently of which the Chinese nap-
kins are made. Their peculiarity is the same,
too; the more they are wrinkled and crushed
the softer they become; the more they are used
the more pliable are they. Only one danger
that I can see lurks in them, but that is a
terrific danger. Suppose all the button-holes
moisten at the same moment, what is to
spare the nakedness of the charming wearer?
-New York Mercury, July 21, 1888.
PAPPOOSE.-The derivation of this
word has much exercised the minds
of philologists. Its suggested origin
in an Indian dialect was manifestly
fanciful; now, however, it is a
pretty generally received opinion,
that pappoose is an imperfect at-
tempt at the pronunciation of the
English word "babies," somewhat
in the same way that the word
YANKEE (q.v.) is the outcome of a
similar attempt to pronounce the
word English." PAPPOOSE
ROOT (Caulophyllum thalictroides).–
A variety, otherwise called BLUE
COHOSH.-See COHOSH.
PARBUCKLE. An arrangement of
ropes for hoisting purposes.
Whether this is a genuine Ameri-
canism is somewhat doubtful.
PAR D.—Universally colloquial for
"partner," of which it is a corrup-
tion.
PARIS OF AMERICA.-Cincinnati. This
city is also called QUEEN CITY and
PORKOPOLIS, the latter because of
its being a large centre of the
pork-packing industry.
PARISH. In certain parts, notably
in Louisiana, parish is synonymous
with county.
PARLOR.-The drawing-room of Eng-
lish houses, until lately, was called
a parlor. Latterly, however, a wave
52
Parmateer
of Anglo-mania has popularized
the Old English usage.
PARMATEER OF PALMATEER.-A politi-
cal Americanism now almost, if not
altogether obsolete. Derived from
the French parler, to speak, through
Parliament." It was once used in
Rhode Island as an equivalent of
"to electioneer.
""
PAROLED, TO BE. To be released or
remanded on bail. The American
form is obviously an extension of
the military term or usage of a
prisoner being liberated on his
giving his parole d'honneur.
The technical charge against Fox is that
of aiding and abetting prize fighting, and
making his office the rendezvous for men
bent on violating the law. Fox asked for an
adjournment of the examination until Tues-
day next, which was granted. The defen-
dant was PAROLED on his own recognisance.
-Troy Daily Times, February 7, 1888.
Brodie asserted that he could bring a
witness to prove that he had agreed to pay
eight dols. per month each for the support
of his children, and he was PAROLED until
August 8.-New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
410
PARQUET. Few would recognize in
this term an American equivalent
for the "pit" of English playhouses.
The usage is distinctly American,
and this particular application of
the term, which literally means
an inlaid floor," was introduced,
it is said, on the opening of the
New York Academy of Music.
as
PARTICULARISTS.-An offshoot of the
Whig party, which came into pro-
minence shortly after the Revolu-
tion. Known subsequently
ANTI-FEDERALS, their distinctive
PLATFORM (q.v.) was the advocacy
of STATES' RIGHTS (q.v.), as op-
posed to the STRONG GOVERNMENT
WHIGS of that period, who, on the
other hand, favored the doctrine
of the supremacy of Federal in-
terests.
Passageway
PARTICULAR JESSE.-See JESSE.
PARTRIDGE BERRY
This
(Mitchella repens
and Gaultheria procumbens).
popular name is given to both
species, and though the scarlet
berries of each are alike in appear-
ance, the resemblance ends there,
for while the former is tasteless,
the berry of the latter is highly
flavored, and pleasant to the palate.
Also called CHECKERBERRY, CHICK-
BERRY and TWINBERRY.
PASIGRAPHY.-A universal language
of telegraphic signs.
We must also look after PASIGRAPHY. The
telegraph operators who send messages be-
tween countries speaking different languages
are agreeing on signs, each to stand for all
words of the same sense in all the languages
with which they have to do, just as Arabic
figures do over so large a part of the world,
and a kind of universal language for the tele-
graph will soon grow up, to the astonishment
of the world.-New York Times, 1888.
PASS (in poker)." I pass," is a
term used in draw poker, to signify
that a player throws up his hand,
and retires from the game.-The
American Hoyle.--TO PASS A DIVI-
DEND. In mercantile circles to
vote against the declaration of a
dividend.
PASSAGE,—This word, in the sense of
"enactment," is of American origin.
It can, however, no longer be re-
garded as outside the standard of
the dictionaries, having long since
taken its place in spite of long and
sustained opposition. To speak
of the passage of a measure through
Parliament, etc., is commonly and
respectably colloquial among all
English-speaking people.
PASSAGEWAY.—An aisle or gangway.
We are very clearly of the opinion that
there is but one room that can be used by this
Passenger
house, and that is the senate chamber. A
diagram of that room has been made; the
settees can still be retained upon the side of
that chamber, and ample room can be had
upon the floor for all the seats of this house,
with a PASSAGEWAY through the centre, one
upon each side, and a respectable lobby in
the rear, and in addition to that, we have the
galleries, where people who are interested
in this session can meet with us.-Troy Daily
Times, February 7, 1888.
"
PASSENGER.-TO WAKE UP THE WRONG
PASSENGER.-To be mistaken in
one's man"; to commit an error
of judgment in regard to the
character, action, or motive of
persons. The allusion is obviously
to a very well-known incident of
transcontinental travel.
PASSIONESS.
Mrs. Ella Wheeler
Wilcox has been called the Boston
passioness, on account of the tender
strain of human sympathy running
through most of her poetical pro-
ductions.
PASTERS.-See both EEL-SKIN and
SCRATCHING.
PATENT OUTSIDES.-Known techni-
cally among English newspaper
men as "white sheets," patent out-
sides may be described
described to the
uninitiated as partly printed news-
papers, supplied wholesale by firms
who make a speciality of their
production. The blank side or
space is subsequently filled with
local matter. The system is a
boon to many small papers, as it con-
siderably reduces the cost of pro-
duction. On the other hand, country
editors, who use patent outsides,
run a certain risk as to a strict
consistency existing between the
patent" and "local" columns of
their journals.
"
PATENT-RIGHT. This form is used
instead of "letters patent," as in
England.
411
Parnhost
PAT HAND (in poker).- An original
hand not likely to be improved by
drawing, such as full, straight, flush,
or pairs.-The American Hoyle.
PATROLMAN.-A police constable.
Edward Nolan, formerly a ball tosser
known as the Only Nolan, but at present a
PATROLMAN in Paterson, N.J., was accosted
early yesterday morning by a well-dressed
man, who asked him to arrest a woman who
was walking along the opposite side of the
street.-New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
PATROON. An old Dutch title for a
member of a land syndicate. Patroons
obtained grants of land on con-
dition of planting colonies.-
PATROONSHIP.-The office of a
patroon.
-The MENHA-
PAUHAGEN, POWHAGEN.-
DEN OF BONY FISH (q.v.).
PAUNCH, TO.-To shoot a refractory
steer through the paunch,
the paunch, pro-
ducing a temporary quietude. A
plainsman's term.
PAW. A corruption of "pa" for
father. Another familiar equivalent
is POP or PAP.
This year the Cripps were bent on a lark,
and may be they might get religion. And so
one morning PAW hitched the steers to the
old canvas-covered wagon, etc., etc.-Chicago
Inter-Ocean, 1888.
To PAW. To finger; to
handle. "To paw the ivories," i.e.,
to play the piano.-PAW-PAW.
A political free lance-a term
current in Missouri. (See BUSH-
WHACKER under BUSH.) The paw-
paw is а wild fruit, popularly
supposed to form the means of
subsistence of the individuals in
question.
PAWNHOST.-A negro term for the
LEVERWORSCHT, or liver-sausage
of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Pay-Dirt
PAY-DIRT.-A miner's term, signifying
earth which it pays to work.-See
DIRT.
There was no elegance about Dead Sioux,
for it was a new mining town nestling in
Dead Sioux canyon. Yet money, or its equi-
valent, ore, was plentiful in Dead Sioux, for
almost every prospector in the canyon was
striking it rich. PAY-DIRT had been found
about a month before, and miners, gamblers,
claim-jumpers, and sharks were crossing
the mountain trail into Dead Sioux canyon
in frightful numbers.-The Critic, April 14,
1888.
-Variants are PAY-ROCK, PAYING-
ROCK, and PAY-STREAK.
412
He disclosed the fact that he was penniless
and must have money, no matter at what
cost or by what means. He decided to make
one last blast for PAYING ROCK.-Detroit Free
Press, August, 1888.
P. D. Q.-A contracted and half-
veiled oath-pretty d-d quick.
Very common.
Sunday evening James Smith, a cowboy
from Mason Valley, arrived in town on the
hurricane deck of a sad-eyed mule, and was
amusing a crowd on C street by causing the
animal to perform numerous tricks. Chief
of Police Henderson appeared on the scene
and ordered Smith to move on with his mule,
and be P. D. Q. about it, too, or he would
arrest both him and the animal.-Virginia
City Chronicle, May, 1888.
PEAC, PEAGE, or PEAK.-A variety of
Indian shell specie. See also
COHOG, SEAWAN, and WAMPUM.
PEACE.-LEt us HAVE PEACE.-A
famous saying of General Grant in
allusion to the protracted warfare
between the Northern and Southern
States.
PEACEMAKER.-A Texas term for a re-
volver; a sarcastic commentary on
the proverb that "Short reckonings
make long friends."-See Meat in
MEAT IN
THE POT.
PEACH, TO.-To inform against; to
betray. Slang in England, but
colloquial in America.
Peart
PEACH BUTTER. Stewed
peaches.
Compare with APPLE BUTTER.
PEACH LEATHER.-Peaches treated
in the same way as apples are in
the production of APPLE LEATHER
(q.v.).
PEA COAL. Small coal produced by
sifting.
PEALER. An energetic, go-ahead
individual. Among innumerable
variants may be mentioned HUM-
MER, ROUSER, RUSTLER (q.v.).
PEA-NUT (Arachnis hypogaa).-Pea-nut
is one
of the Southern names
for what, in other parts of the
Union, is known as the GROUND-
NUT and EARTH-NUT, the latter
from its habit of growth: while
among the negroes it is called
PINDER, and in Texas and Louisiana,
GOOBER and GOOBER-PEA. -PEA-
NUT POLITICS.-A peculiar habit
of the pea-nut (see foregoing) is
that of burying its pods under-
ground after flowering, a process
by which the nuts are ripened.
The term pea-nut politics, therefore,
is a popular allusion to describe
underhand and secret tactics.
Governor Hill to-day said what he thought
of Quarantine Commissioner T. C. Platt's
letter, offering to resign his post, if the
Governor would consent not to play PEA-
NUT POLITICS, and would appoint Colonel
Fred Grant in his stead.-New York Mail
and Express, May 27, 1887.
PEARL TAPIOCA.-A substitute for the
tapioca of commerce. A product
of the potato.
PEART,
PEERT, PIERT. This Old
English corruption of "pert" has
well-nigh died out in all but the
most remote parts of the Mother
Country, but it is still commonly
colloquial throughout the Union. It
is usually synonymous with brisk;
lively; quick; but is occasionally
Pea-Time
used in the modified sense of
healthy.
'You don't tell me that you had melons
weighing 800 pounds?'
'Oh! those were the little one's. The big
ones cum nigher a ton. I hadn't no scales,
but all my neighbors are mighty PEART on
guessing.'-American Humorist, Sept. 15, 1888.
(
'Miss Bella done learn how to talk,' said
Sarah, in the kitchen cabinet, and she look
as rosy and PEART! her heart ain't broke!'
'Broke wid what?' asked Aunt Hagar.
'I alwayth telled you that no young mith of
mine wath given to hurt herthelf grieving
after a no-account feller like that down yon-
der in Richmond.'-The Hidden Path.
PEA-TIME. THE LAST of PEA-TIME or
PEA-PICKING.—A familiar phrase
drawn from the decline in fruitful-
ness, which characterizes the later
crops of this staple of food. Meta-
phorically, when a man is said to
be in the last of pea-time, it is meant
that he is in the decline of years, or
that his opportunities of usefulness
to himself, or his fellows, are pass-
ing away, or that he is "hard-up."
When dead, or when chances are
gone beyond recall, "pea-time is
over." She looks like the last of pea
picking, i.e., sickly, faded; passée.
But thet's what folks wun't never larn; they
dunno how to go,
Arter you want their room, now more'n a
bullet headed beau;
There's oller's chaps a-hangin' roun' that
can't see PEA-TIME's past ;
Mis'ble as roosters in a rain, heads down an'
tails half mast.
-Biglow Papers.
PECAN - NUT (Carya olivaformis).—A
variety of hickory, the fruit of
which is the most esteemed of the
nut-kind of America.
PECCARY.-The native American hog.
Its chief peculiarity is the secretion
of a noisome liquid, which, when
enraged, it expels.
PECKERWOOD.-The woodpecker. A
meaningless Western transposition,
413
Pelican State
probably only born of a love of
singularity.
PECULIAR INSTITUTION.
Political
slang, the full phrase being "the
peculiar domestic institution of the
South." It is believed to have been
first used in The South Carolina
Gazette, which advertised that all
strangers from the North should be
kept under surveillance because of
"the dangers which at present
threaten the peculiar domestic institu-
tions of the South" (circa 1852). The
phrase is found in The New York
Tribune of October 19, 1854, and
soon became part of the current
speech of the time.
I doubt if any man, who never lived in a
slave state before the war, can fully realize
all that was meant by the abolition of slavery
in the United States. It was called THE
PECULIAR INSTITUTION. It was not only
peculiar, but unique. Human slavery has
always existed somewhere, in some shape,
but never elsewhere under the same condi-
tions that were impressed upon it by our
civilization. We wonder now that it should
have existed at all, or even though inherited,
should have endured so long among a people,
professedly Christian, and boasting free
institutions.-Missouri Republican, April 8,
1888.
PECULIAR KINK was the
somewhat more facetious term
subsequently applied by sarcastic
Northerners.
PECULIARITIES OF PRONUNCIATION.
See PRONUNCIATION.
PEELED.
Το KEEP ONE'S EYES
PEELED. To keep a sharp look out;
to be careful. A variation of "to
keep one's eyes skinned."-See EYES
SKINNED.
PEGGED OUT.-Ruined or used up.
Said of both men and things.
PELICAN STATE.- -The State of
Louisiana. The pelican, a bird
common within its limits, appears
on the armorial bearings of this
Peltry
State, which is also called the
CREOLE STATE (q.v.).
PELTRY.—A skin or hide. Sometimes
shortened into PELT.
Most of the trappers are Americans, but
there are some Frenchmen and half-breeds
among them. . . . All of them depend upon
their rifles only for food and self-defence, and
make their living by trapping, PELTRIES
being very valuable, and yet not bulky.
They are good game shots, especially the
pure Americans.-Century Magazine, Oct.,
1888.
It was against such wily foes, not one of
whom had the least mercy in his heart for a
white man, that the hunter and trapper of
years ago had to pit his craft and judgment.
Scores of them yielded up their scalps in the
struggle, but others beat the red man at his
own game.
It wasn't so much for the value
of the PELTS which the hunter would acquire,
but there were men who loved the feeling of
danger and the wild, free life. The best of
the trappers hardly came out even at the
end, but, unless rubbed out or laid up, they
never changed the avocation for one less
dangerous.-Forest and Stream, 1888.
PEMBINA. A French-Canadian term
for the Viburnum edule, thought by
some to be a variety of the
CRANBERRY-TREE or CRAMP BARK
(q.v.).
414
PEMMICAN.A well-known and im-
portant article of food, the pre-
paration of which has been thus
described. Next to succotash, the
most important article of food
with the Indian was probably
pemmican, which has remained the
main reliance of all explorers,
hunters, and voyagers. The name
consists of the two Kenisteno words
pemis, which means fat, and egan,
the general substantive inflection,
so that the whole simply signifies
"fat-substance." It consists mainly
of buffalo meat-though other meat
is sometimes used in the same
manner-dried in flakes and then
pounded between two stones. The
powder is next put into bags made
of the hide of the slain animal,
Pen
with the hair outside, into which
melted fat is poured till it is quite
full. Then, the whole being pressed
down, the top of the bag is closely
sewed up, and thus the valuable
provender can be easily carried
and long preserved. Fifty pounds
of meat and forty pounds of fat
make a bag of pemmican, and will
last a careful traveller several
months. In this state it may be
eaten raw, but the voyageurs gene-
rally mix it with a little flour and
water, and then boil it, in which
form it is known throughout the
North-western territory under the
elegant name of ROBBIBOE. Travel-
lers have always found pemmican
good and wholesome food, though
it would perhaps be more palatable
without its unprepossessing appear-
ance and a goodly number of buffalo
hairs, which are apt to be mixed
up with it through the carelessness
of the hunters. The pemmican of
Arctic explorers and hunters in
other continents is made of any
meat that is available, after the
same pattern, and often, for good
reasons, without the admixture
of fat.
PEN. (1) A journalistic abbreviation
of penitentiary.
In the circuit court this afternoon F. A.
Bennett pleaded guilty to a charge of
burglary and grand larceny, and was sen-
tenced to five years in the PENITENTIARY.
Some ten days ago he was caught in the act
Three
of robbing his employer's store.
years ago he burglarized a saloon here, but
his friends compromised the matter, and
kept him from going to the PEN.-Missouri
Republican, February 11, 1888.
(2) In Jamaica a cattle or
stud-farm. In Kentucky similar
estates are called CATTLE-RANGES.
-See CATTLE.- PEN-NAME.—A
pseudonym; a literal translation
of the more familiar French term
nom de plume.
The Russian who writes over the PEN-
NAME of 'Stepniak' has in hand a work on
Pennsylvania Dutch
the Russian Peasantry, which will deal in
five sections with 'The Agrarian Question,'
'The Moujiks,' Paternal Government,'
'Hard Times,' and 'Religion.' - Galveston
News, 1888.
415
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.-A South Ger-
man patois composed of dialects of
Franconia, the Rhenish Palatinate,
and Swabian and Allemanian dis-
tricts, more or less interspersed
with Germanised English words,
according to the locality of settle-
ment; in some places no foreign
additions are at all observable.
It took root with the first settlers
in the State of Pennsylvania. Ger-
mans joined the expedition of
William Penn in 1682, and settled
in the Colony together with the
Quakers from England. These
were reinforced about the same
time when the Moravian Count
Tinzendorff, together with a large
number of his co-religionists, re-
moved and settled in and west of
the Lehig valley, and later on, in
1708, the Dunkers or German
Baptists swelled the German ele-
ment in Pennsylvania. Traces of
these settlements can still be
found in such names of places
as Lebanon, Bethlehem, Emmaus,
Nazareth, and Jordan. The modi-
fied German of these people
and their descendants, together
with numerous admixtures from
the English, form the dialect
now known as Pennsylvania Dutch
(from Deutsch, German), and which
used to be heard a good deal in
Philadelphia, but the public school
system has not been at all favor-
able to its retention. Latterly,
however, an attempt has been made
to resuscitate it, but differences of
opinion exist as to the proper
mode of spelling. This patois is
still spoken by a population, centred
round the cities of Philadelphia
and New York, of more than two
million inhabitants, who in many
respects strangely resemble their
Pennyroyal
rural ancestors in Germany of
more than two centuries ago.
It belongs (says Dr. Bausman, in his edi-
tion of the poems of Dr. H. Harbaugh), to
the South German dialects, and, while
partaking of all, it is most closely allied to
the Pfalzisch-that is, to the Rhine German
of the Palatinate. In the valley of the Sus-
quehanna, and beyond the Alleghany, it is
much mingled with English. Farther in the
West we find in it traces of Scottish, Irish,
Swedish, and French. It is specially remark-
able in its having retained great numbers of
old and curious German words, such as are
now to be heard only in the remotest places
of the Fatherland. We find the influence of
the unchangeable English article 'the' in
der. Thus a man will say: Hen-sherr
der blind Gaul uf, mer welle uf der markt
fahre-i.c., Henry, harness the blind horse;
we will go to market!
These people are strikingly con-
servative, as may be gathered from
the following incident. Some
years since there were to be seen
in a shop in Philadelphia several
large books of Lutheran devotion,
in the type and spelling of 1540,
bound in deeply stamped white
vellum, with heavy brass clasps.
They did not look like imitations
of old books, they seemed to be
"the thing itself"; but the date
was recent. They are for the
Pennsylvania Dutch," said the book-
seller. "They would not believe
that the Lord would hear them if
they prayed to him out of a modern-
looking book. And those books,
as you see them, have been printed
and bound in that style for nearly
200 years for the Pennsylvania Dutch
market, just as they were printed
for their ancestors during the
Reformation."
PENNY.-A cent, and thus about half
the value of an English penny.
PENNYROYAL.—(1) The English plant of
this name is a mint, but in America
the title is conferred upon Hedeoma
pulegioides, a common weed which,
however, has properties akin to
Pentway
those of the true plant.-
PENNYROYAL TEA.
-Hence
'Hev you got a cold, uncle?' sez I, 'If you
hey there's nothin' better than butter and
merlasses, simmered tergether. I allers take
it when I hev a cold. PENNYROYAL TEA is
also dredfool good.'-Portland Transcript,
March 7, 1888.
(2) A Western term used
adjectively to describe inferior
stock. A pennyroyal horse is a poor,
common beast.
PENTWAY.-A Semi-public road; a road
closed to vehicular traffic but open
to foot passengers. These have
now almost disappeared from New
England, in which locality they were
once frequently met with.
PEPPERIDGE (Nyssa multiflora). — The
BLACK or SOUR GUM. This is the
popular name in the South and
West for a tree known to the
Indians as the TUPELO, an appel-
lation also very familiar to New
Englanders.
PERIAUGER.-See PIRAGUA.
PERMANENT BOARDER.-The boarding-
out system being a special feature
of American social life, the terms
permanent boarder and transient
boarder are often used to signify
those who take up their residence
for any length of time, or only
temporarily, at a given hotel or
boarding-house.
PERMIT.-Tickets of admission are
commonly called permits.
PERNICKITY. A New England collo-
quialism signifying fastidious; over-
particular; finnicking.
PERSIMMON (Diospyros virginiana).
A hard wood tree, the name of
which is of Indian origin, found
416
Persimmon
Its plum-
south of latitude 42°.
like fruit, when unripe, is very as-
tringent, and it is only after expo-
sure to frost that its delicate flavor
is brought out. The negroes are
extremely partial to this product of
the persimmon (a word which they
invariably shorten into 'simmon),
and from it they brew a favorite
beverage, called PERSIMMON Beer.
Here we saw rare sport! Here were Vir-
ginia slaves, dancing jigs and clapping Juber,
over a barrel of PERSIMMON BEER, to the notes
of the banjo.-Southern Sketches, p. 98.
Juber up and Juber down,
Juber all around de town,
Juber dis and Juber dat,
And Juber round de 'SIMMON vat.
Hoe corn and hill tobacco,
Get over double trouble, Juber, boys,
Juber!
-Ibid, p. 1oI.
Georgia negroes are looking forward with
interest to a liberal yield of PERSIMMONS,
the trees of which are now covered with
blossoms.-St. Louis Republican, May 10,
1888.
This tree and fruit have given
rise to several popular colloquial-
isms.TO RAKE UP THE PER-
SIMMONS. To pocket the stakes
or spoils; an English slang equiva-
lent would be "to pull in the
pieces." -THE LONGEST POLE
GETS THE MOST 'SIMMONS.-An
obvious allusion to the dimensions
of this tree which, though generally
averaging about thirty feet in height,
sometimes attains about double
that size. Metaphorically this
phrase is equivalent to saying that
the strongest party gains the day.
THE PERSIMMON ABOVE ONE'S
HUCKLEBERRY is another quaintly
sarcastic expression in allusion to
the respective dimensions of the
persimmon and huckleberry; the
latter has a comparatively dwarfish,
bush-like growth, whilst the persim-
mon occasionally reaches an extreme
height of sixty feet. The expression,
therefore, is synonymous with an
avowal of disbelief in one's ability
to perform, however apparently
A
Persuasion
easy, a given task or under-
taking.
PERSUASION.-A slang equivalent for
rank; occupation; class; views-
and even sex, women being desig-
nated as of the female persuasion!
A mere perversion of language,
which, unhappily, is also very
common in England. It is, how-
ever, a genuine Americanism.
PERT END UP.-A person who is pert
end up is one who has recovered
in spirits and cheerfulness after
indisposition, etc.
PERVADE, TO. To
pass through.
Travellers pervade a town when
making a temporary stay. The
process of transition from the
legitimate to the unorthodox mean-
ing of the word is obvious, easy, but
inexcusably vulgar.
PESKILY. Confoundedly; plaguily;
anything in fact that indicates
intensity of feeling coupled with
annoyance. An Americanism by
reason of
of its more colloquial
character; indeed, both peskily and
pesky, are rarely heard in England
nowadays. Thought to be a cor-
ruption of "pestilent."
Scared? says he, serves him right then;
he might have knowed how to feel for other
folks, and not funkify them so PESKILY.-
Sam Slick in England, ch. 8.
PETER, TO, or To PETER OUT.- -To
exhaust or be exhausted; to run or
dribble out; to escape.
Also at
auction sales to run up prices.-See
PETER FUNK.
After a long desert journey, the oxen be-
come much PETERED; indeed, I may say
they become altogether PETERED. Hence
on the first good grass which they strike,
they halt a few days, and allow the teams to
graze undisturbed, which makes them all-a-
setting again.-Overland Monthly.
417
Pettifog
On went the procession, and things were
getting dull again, when somebody asked if
they couldn't get up a song. A vocalist
started a Republican campaign song to the
tune of 'Baby Mine,' and it had a great
success for about a minute and a half, and then
the words PETERED Out.-New York Herald,
November 4, 1888.
When I started to Washington I took an
Injin along to exhibit him. I give shows on the
way. That darned Injin PETERED out of
my hands at Oswego, N.Y. The people fed
him so much that he fairly busted.-Frank
Leslie's Budget of Wit and Humor.
The Boston Herald thinks the Hill boom
is PETERING out. When the time comes for
Mr. Hill to have a boom it will not PETER,
but at present there is no boom. It is only
a bladder tied on the end of a stick, and used
by the clown of the New York Sun to inflict
sundry harmless fillips during his circus
performance. -Missouri Republican, Feb-
ruary 15, 1888.
PETER FUNK. -Decoys at mock auc-
tions are called Peter Funks. Hot-
ten erroneously applies the term
to a spurious auction or "knock
out.' It is an open question
as to whether this name for a by-
bidder was really borne by an
individual.
PETIT MISÈRE.-In the game of Bos-
TON (q.v.), to lose the whole of the
twelve tricks after having discarded
a card which is not to be shown.
This is sometimes called little
misery." When any of the differ-
ent misères are bid there is no
trump during that lead.
A corruption of
PETTIAUGER. – A
PIRAGUA (q.v.).
PETTICOAT TROUSERS. - Wide, baggy
trousers are so called in Massa-
chusetts.
PETTIFOG, To.-A verb derived from
pettifogger; to conduct legal busi-
ness in a mean, paltry manner; or,
to take up petty cases. The usage
is not common, and is due entirely
to newspaper license.
53
Perit
PEWIT OF PEWEE.-This familiar name
for the lapwing of Europe is, in
America, applied to the Sayornis
fuscus, the note in both cases being
supposed to resemble the sound of
the word pewit. The American
variety is also called the PHŒBE-
BIRD (q.v.).
PHEASANT. -The RUFFLED GROUSE
(q.v.).
PHEEZE, TO. To vex; to excite.-
See FEASE.
PHILADELPHIA LAWYER.The real or
alleged reputation of Quaker
limbs of the law "
appears to be
world-wide. As smart as "-
"that beats "_" he knows as much
as a Philadelphia lawyer," are all ex-
pressions probably as well known in
England as in America. The simile
has been traced back to
pre-
revolutionary days, but why a
Philadelphia lawyer should bear the
palm for shrewdness and learning
is not quite clear.
PHILLIPENA. -See FILLIPEEN.
PHOBE-BIRD (Sayornis fuscus).-Other-
wise called the PEWIT or PEWEE. It
has no relation to the lapwing, its
European namesake.
In
The PHOBE-BIRD, with its cheery pee-wee,
is already heard in the rural districts.
folklore the arrival of this early bird of
passage is an omen that hard frosts are
over, and that the farmer may proceed with
confidence to his planting. Now it is known
that they sail north on a March breeze,
endure ice-making weather, and have no
more relation to farming than a pewter half
dollar has to trade. As nest-builders they
exhibit taste in variation of the style of their
nests and the furnishing materials. The
fibre of bark answers for some of them to
line their nests with, others use moss, hair
or wool, and one is recorded to have built a
nest entirely of corn silk. These birds have
greatly improved their nests within the
memory of man, which suggests that they
are guided by reason instead of the stupid
418
Picayune
instinct which is so often attributed to them.
-Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin, 1888.
FHYCE. See FICE.
PICACHO. A peak or summit of a
mountain standing out so distinctly
as to form a landmark. The term
is an augmentative of the Spanish
pico, a peak.
PICANINNY OF PICKANINNY.-Primarily
a negro baby, but usage varies
according to locality. Frequently
used, in the North and throughout
the West Indies, of any young
child, it is, in the South, applied to
colored children alone; a fact
which speaks volumes as to the
difference of opinion concerning
the negro race, which exists in the
localities named. Picaninny is also
familiarly employed in speaking of
one's self, as this picaninny,” i.e.,
"this child."
"
I've just come from Virginny,
Dat good ole Southern land;
I'm a simple PICANINNY,
Although a contraband.
-Negro Ballad.
Hallo,' says he, 'here's the devil to pay,
and no pitch hot. Are you goin' to kill that
boy? Here's a pretty hurra's nest; let me
see one of you dare to lay hands on this
PICKANINNY.'-Sam Slick's Human Nature,
P. 59.
PICAYUNE. The name in the Southern
States for the Spanish half-real.
The term, which is of Carib origin,
having come down through the
French pecune, is now used of any-
thing small or mean, probably from
the comparatively insignificant
value of the coin in question.
Nearly all the newspapers and magazines
are advertising for writers, reporters, and
contributors. The Daily Moonbeam offers
25 dols. per column for matter from any of
its former writers. The latter, however, are
not likely to leave their present paying em-
ployments for any such PICAYUNE offers.-
The Epoch, 1888.
Pick
Small articles are sold in the New
Orleans market by the PICAYUNE or dime's
worth. If you ask for a pound of figs, you
will not be understood; but for a dime's
worth, and they are in your hands in a trice.
-Sketches of New Orleans, New York Tribune.
PICK. A gauge of measurement in
the cotton trade, a pick being a
thread. Cotton cloth has so many
picks to the inch.- To PICK.-
When used in reference to the
banjo or guitar, to pick means to
play; a signification which may
be compared with the French
pincer. TO PICK OFF. To kill
by shooting, i.e., so many men
singled or picked out, so many men
killed.
The act closes by the party PICKING OFF
200 Indians with unerring aim, and telling
lies about catching fish.-Texas Siftings, July
7, 1888.
nag.
TO PICK ON.-To disturb; to
Joseph White, of New Jersey, slept for
five days and nights, and then jawed his
wife for waking him up. He said she was
always PICKING ON him when she saw him
taking comfort.-Detroit Free Press, October
27, 1888.
PICK-ME-UP.-A restorative
usually of a spirituous kind. In-
dulged in too frequently they be-
come "knock - me -
me - downs.
PICK UP.- -This applied to meals,
e.g., a pick-up dinner, is used to
describe repasts of an olla podrida
description. TO PICK UP A ROOM
is a New England phrase for
putting it in order.
PICKEREL WEED (Pontideria cordata).-
A common wayside and ditch plant
in the New England States.
PIE.-Americans follow the Old Eng-
lish usage and employ pie where we
should now say "tart." In England
it is game or meat pie, and apple
or fruit tart; in the States pie is
used in every instance.-PIE-
419
PLANT.
Pike
This curious name
given to rhubarb.
is
PIECE, TO.-A curious Pennsylvanian
term, used of eating between meals.
PIERT.-See PEART.
PIG. TO GET THE WRONG PIG BY THE
TAIL. This is the Yankee equiva-
lent of "to get the wrong sow by the
ear." Variants are "to wake up the
wrong passenger," and "to bark
-PIG-FISH.
up the wrong tree.'
This is the name of a fish which,
from its resemblance to a bird,
has been called the SEA-ROBIN,
while its grunting noise when
caught is the source of its porcine
appellation. It also goes by the
name of flying-fish from its peculiar
mode of motion.- -PIG NUT (Carya
glabra or porcina).—A small bitter
hickory-nut is so called.————PIG-
PLUM, otherwise HOG-PLUM (q.v.).
PIG-WEED.-A weed so-called
from its habitat being near pig-
styes.
LESS THAN A PIG'S
WHISTLE.—A strange metaphor for
a very short time.-PIG-WICK.-A
species of duck found in Maryland.
PIG-YOKE. In sea-slang a
quadrant.
PIGEON BERRY A New England
name for the PARTRIDGE - BERRY
(q.v.).
PIGEON WOODPECKER.
(q.v.).
The CLAPE
PIKE.-A Californian name for a poor
white from the Southern States.
The true PIKE, in the California sense of
the word, is the wandering,
the wandering, gipsy-like,
southern poor white. This person often
lives with his family in a wagon; he rarely
follows any steady industry; he is frequently
a squatter on other people's lands; 'he owns
a rifle, a lot of children and dogs, a wife,
and, if he can read, a law-book,' said a law-
yer, describing this character to me; he
moves from place to place, as the humor
Pilch
420
seizes him, and is generally an injury to his
neighbors. He will not work regularly;
but he has a great tenacity of life, and is
always ready for a law-suit. . When it
was proposed to build a school-house in a
village where there was none the PIKES ob-
jected, on the ground that the ringing of the
school-house bell would scare the deer away.
'As soon as he hears a piano,' said an old
resident, the PIKE sells out and moves
. Well, the PIKE is the China-
away.
man's enemy. He does little work himself,
and naturally hates the patient industry of
the Chinese. Of course, if you ask him, he
tells you that he is ruined by Chinese cheap
labor.'-Nordhoff's California, p. 137.
•
-To PIKE (Cant).-To play cau-
tiously and for small amounts,
never advancing the value of the
stake. In Old English cant, to run
away, and it being the better part
of valor and caution among thieves
to decamp, the secondary modern
meaning is probably, by a process
of inversion, thus derived. Those
who gamble in this fashion are
called PIKERS.
PILCH, TO (Cant).-To steal; rob; or
filch-generally small and uncon-
sidered trifles, such as pocket-hand-
kerchiefs. Thought to be a cor-
ruption of "filch," a confusion
having arisen as to the pronuncia-
tion of "p" and "f."
PILE. A gambler's term for a good
round sum, the meaning of which
has been
been enlarged to signify a
fortune. This is an old friend with
new surroundings, Dr. Franklin, in
Poor Richard's Almanack, having
advised-
"Rash mortals, ere you take a wife,
Contrive your pile to last for life.'
Hence, TO MAKE ONE'S PILE, is
to amass a fortune; and To GO ONE'S
PILE, to spend the same. To
PUT ALL THE PILE ON, is said of
anything very much fancied.
He heard several old miners, who had for
many years been living a rough frontier life,
discussing what they would do when they
had MADE THEIR PILES, and could return
Pimple
with riches to the States.-Hotel Gazette,
1888.
In that neighborhood resides a family
named St. John, the father a retired real
estate man, who has by lucky speculation
MADE HIS PILE and held it. The mother is a
woman who prides herself on birth, and is
connected in that way with all the first
families of the city.-New York Mercury,
July 21, 1888.
PILGARLIC (Cant).—One's self.
Thus
a thief will inform a pal that
pilgarlic was engaged in any given
undertaking, the speaker meaning
that he himself was the operator.
PILGRIM. (1) A new arrival; a green-
horn. About equivalent to a TEN-
DER FOOT (q.v.). -PILGRIMS.-
A cattle breeder's term for cattle
on the march.
The extraordinary severity of the weather
proved too much for the cattle. This was
especially the case with those herds con-
sisting of PILGRIMS, as they are called-that
is, of animals driven up on to the range from
the South, and therefore in poor condition.
-Ranch Life in the Far West.
PILL (Cant). (1) A bore or conceited
coxcomb. (2) A bullet, e.g.,
BLUE-PILL (9.v.). -PILL-BOTTLE
(Cant). A fire-arm, but more par-
ticularly applied to a revolver-a
dispenser of physic, warranted easy
in action and sure in effect.-
-PILL-BOX is a Texan variant,
with which may also be compared
MEAT-IN-THE-POT.
PILLOW-BIER or PILLOW-SHAM. — A
pillow case.
PILLOW SHAMS are going out of fashion;
but other shams still hold their own.-
Abilene (Kansas) Gazette, 1888.
PIMPING.-Small; pretty; mean. An
English provincialism which still
survives in the rural districts of
New England.
PIMPLE (Cant). The head. A very
old cant term.
Pimplo
PIMPLO. A Barbadian term for the
PRICKLY PEAR. Pimplo is a cor-
ruption of "pin-pillow," an alter-
native name for the same fruit.
PIN, TO (Cant).—To arrest. In Eng-
lish slang to pin means to drink,
which in the long run is only
a means by which a man is
arrested in his career.
PIN-BASKET (Cant).-A baby; gene-
rally speaking, the term has
reference to the youngest child in
a family.
PINCH.-IN A PINCH, i.e., in a " tight
place"; hard-up. This term is
of Western origin, as also is ON A
PINCH-in an emergency.- -PINCH-
BUG. An insect pest, also called
PETZ KEFFER in Pennsylvania.
TO PINCH (Cant).—To "ring
the changes," i.e., on pretence of
changing coins of a high denomina-
tion; to substitute bad money for
good.
PINCHER. A term of political origin
and usage, and applied to a legis-
lative measure calculated to secure
a pecuniary reward to those who
are interested in its defeat.
PINDERS. A Florida negro term for
PEA-NUTS.-See GOOBERs.
PINDLING.-Unthrifty.
PINE.-A
PINE. A West Indian contraction
for PINE-APPLE now generally
adopted in England. PINE
BARRENS. - In the South poor
tracts of land covered with pine
trees of a wretchedly stunted
growth. See BARRENS.
Although the largest portion of the
country is covered wiih PINE BARRENS, and
much of it extremely poor, yet there is also
much upland, interval, and hammock land,
421
Pine
•
The
of the most excellent quality.
borders of the watercourse, as well as the
hammocks, are covered with thick woods of
hard timber, tangled with innumerable vines.
-Williams's View of E. Florida (1827), p. 6.
-PINE KNOTS.-Knotty chips or
chunks of the Pinus rigida. These,
when burning, give a brilliant light.
Then the bride was seated at her place in
the best room-which was the kitchen-hav-
ing a small table near, on which stood a
steaming pitcher of the blackstrap and a
tin pot. In the open fire-place blazed PINE
KNOTS and light-wood, giving a genial bright-
ness to the place, which was devoid of lamps
or candles.-Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires and
Detectives.
-PINE NEEDLES.-Fir cones.
Old grizzlies are extraordinarily cunning,
and, though they cannot have had any
extensive experience of traps, seem to divine
just where those dangerous hidden jaws lie,
beneath the innocent brown PINE-NEEDLES
and bunch-grass.-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
-PINE-NUT (Pinus edulis).—The
edible nut of a variety of pine.
-PINE-STRAW or PINE-TAGS.—
The annual castings of pine-trees.
-PINE-TOP.-In Maryland the
name given to villainous whiskey,
an allusion probable to its resem-
blance to turpentine. PINE-
TREE MONEY.-Money coined in
Massachusetts in the seventeenth
century, and so-called from its
bearing a figure resembling a pine-
tree.
The wide-awake citizens of Boston have
been sadly bitten by a bogus issue of the
old PINE-TREE SHILLING CURRENCY, got up
by a smart Gothamite.-American Notes and
Queries.
-PINE-TREE STATE.-The State
of Maine, from its extensive pine
forests. It is also called the
LUMBER STATE from the occupation
which the pine forests furnish to
its inhabitants.
The good old PINE-TREE STATE is pretty
well represented in this locality. The lead-
ing paper is edited by a former Maine man
(Mr. Dingley, formerly of Lewistone), and
Pinion
there is scarcely a town of any size in the
State but what contains one or more Maine
men.-Boston Transcript, 1888.
PINERIES.-These, unlike the
PINE-BARRENS of the South, are
select woodlands in the North and
North-west, from which comes the
pick of timber used in the country.
-PINEY-WOODS.-The Southern
for pine-lands, cf., PINE-
name
BARRENS.
PINION.-See PIÑON.
422
PINKED BETWEEN THE LACINGS (Cant).
-Convicted of an offence through
a witness's perjury. The derivation
of this term is to be sought in the
fact that in mediæval times an
armed man was only
was only vulnerable
between the lacings of his armor.
PINKERTON AGENCY. A well-known
semi-official detective agency.
Experienced coal handlers from other
points of the road will be employed under
the protection of PINKERTON MEN and
special policemen.-Philadelphia Inquirer,
Feb. 22, 1888.
PINK ROOT (Spigelia marilandica).-
More popularly known as the
CAROLINA PINK (q.v.).
PINK SAUCER.-A theatrical term for a
special dye used in coloring
tights."
"
I remember when I first went into the
business, I used to spend almost all my salary,
twelve dols., on tights, shoes, and wigs. The
most expensive kind I have worn cost about
twenty dols. You can't wear them longer
than three weeks. They are made of fine
soft silk. I have often laundered my own
flesh tights. They are colored with what we
call PINK SAUCER in the profession, a kind
of stuff you buy at the druggists.-New York
World, July 22, 1888.
PINK-STERN.
(q.v.).
The CHEBACCO BOAT
Pinxter
PINK TEA.-Whiskey-good, bad, and
indifferent.
The Congressional committee for the in-
vestigation of the liquor traffic can enjoy a
splendid season's enjoyment if there are any
old-fashioned rounders among the members.
It is a great question, and the committeemen
are confronted with a great opportunity.
From the PINK TEA in the Senate restaurant,
such as frequently inspires the able and
energetic Riddleberger, to the distilleries of
old Kentucky, the investigators can find
something of interest every day. Of course
they will tell us of the relative merits of rye
and bourbon.—Missouri Republican, Feb. 15,
1888.
PINKY.-A shortened form of PINK-
STERN.-See CHEBACCO BOAT.
PIN MONEY (Cant).-The proceeds of
prostitution on the part of a mar-
ried woman. In London, immo-
rality of this kind is called "taking
in fancy work.”
PINNIPE (Cant). — A crab. PIN-
NIPED is sideways; crab-fashion.
PINOLE. A preparation of parched
corn-meal, sugar, and spice. Also
called COLD-FLOUR (q.v.). Pinole
is the Spanish name.
It is a small party, but great in the requi-
site qualifications, and goes unencumbered
with superfluities: no wheels, two or three
mules apiece, and PINOLE, pemmican, and
beef-dodgers for their principal support.-
-Speech of Colonel Benton, May 7, 1853.
PINON, PINION (Pinus edulis). — A
variety of pine, the nuts of which
are edible.
•
Scrub cedars and PIÑONS upon the
mesa slopes have furnished fuel.-Captain
Whipple's Explorations, R. R. Survey, p. 66.
PINXTER, PINKSTER. Whitsuntide.
Of Dutch origin.- -PINXTER BLU-
MACHIES. Whitsuntide flowers,
more especially applied in New
York State to the SWAMP HONEY-
SUCKLE.
Pipe
PIPE, TO.-To intercept; to waylay.
-PIPE OF PEACE.-See CALU-
MET.- -PIPE-LAYER.-A trickster,
-PIPE-LAYING.-The fraudulent
employment of fictitious voters, or
those not legally qualified.
[Inman says] it arose from an accusation.
brought against the Whig party of this city
(New York) some years ago, of a gigantic
scheme to bring on voters from Philadelphia.
The accusation was made by a notorious
Democrat, of not very pure political charac-
ter, who professed to have derived his infor-
mation from the agent employed by the
Whigs for the service. This agent had
actually been employed by certain leaders
of the Whig party, but on a service deemed
legitimate and proper in the art of elec-
tioneering. He, however, turned traitor, and,
as was alleged by the Whigs, concocted a
plot with the notorious Democrat to throw
odium upon the Whigs. A mass of cor-
respondence was brought forward in proof,
consisting mainly of letters written by the
agent to various parties in New York, ap-
parently describing the progress and suc-
cess of his operations. In these letters, as
if for the purpose of concealment, the form
of a mere business correspondence was
adopted, the number of men hired to visit
New York and vote being spoken of as so
many yards of PIPE,- the work of laying
down pipe for the Croton water being at
that time in full activity. The Whig leaders
were indicted on the strength of these pseudo
revelations, and the letters were read in
court; but the jury believed neither in them
nor in the writer of them, and the accused
were acquitted. The term PIPE-LAYING,
however, was at once adopted as a synonym
for negotiations to procure fraudulent votes.
Thus far but little has been done in the
way of advancing the fortunes of aspiring
candidates, but there are not a few who are
PIPE-LAYING and marshalling forces for the
fray when the conventions meet.-San Fran-
cisco Weekly Examiner, March 22, 1888.
PIPSISSEWA (Chimaphila umbellata).
An Indian simple. Also known as
PRINCE'S PRIDE and WINTERGREEN.
This herb, the medicinal qualities
of which are much esteemed, now
forms part of the American phar-
macopoeia.
PIRAGUA.-Primarily a canoe formed
out of a single large tree, this word
is now used indiscriminately for
small boats of any kind. Of Indian
423
Pitch
derivation, the word is variously
spelt-PERIAUGER, PERIAUGA, PET-
TIAUGER, and a French form
PIROGUE.
PIRATE, TO. To appropriate without
making acknowledgment or pay-
ment. Usually applied in con-
nection with the question of
copyright.
Authors, some of whom work for nothing,
are in competition with the cheapest as well
as the best foreign authors, as publishers
here can PIRATE foreign books and pay no
copyright. Mr. Lowell said that in his boy-
hood there were but two American authors
who could have supported themselves by
writing, Cooper and Irving.-American
Humorist, 1888.
PISTAREEN.—A coin, formerly current,
of the value of one-fifth of a dollar.
As they depreciated rapidly, the
term pistareen like PICAYUNE (q.v.),
became synonymous with small or
mean, being used in the same way
as ONE-HORSE (q.v.
.).
PIT.-Applied to fruits pit means the
stone or kernel, being the literal
translation of the Dutch word.
PITA. The name of an agave, from
which is obtained a fine fibre, which
bears the same name as the plant-
pita; it is used for sewing and kindred
purposes. The coarser fibres of
this plant have received the name
of CABUYA.
PITAHAYA (Cercus pitajaya). The
INDIAN FIG. This luscious fruit is
borne by a monster cactus, a
native of New Mexico.
PITCH. TO PITCH TOO STRONG, or TO
PITCH IT STRONG, are both of
Western origin, and are indicative
of strenuous application or effort;
or, in reference to narrations, to
talk exaggeratingly or boastingly.
Pitcher
A variant is To PITCH IT WILD
when a story passes all legitimate
bounds.
PITCHER.-American for jug. "Give
me the milk-pitcher," would be the
form used where an Englishman
asks for the milk-jug.
PITCHING TRACK.-In the Far North-
west, an Indian trail.
PIT-PAN.-A Central American and
West Indian term for a peculiar
build of canoe long, narrow,
flat-bottomed, and trough-like, the
edges being thin, flat, and pro-
jecting.
PITY, TO THINK A PITY is an odd
form for "to take pity." The
usage, it is pity of him," as used
by Scott in Marmion, in the sense
of "he is to be pitied," is also
colloquial.
PIZARRO.-A New England corrup-
tion of piazza.
PLACE, TO. When applied
to
persons, this means to call to mind
the place of birth.-To BREAK
OUT IN A FRESH PLACE, or SPOT.-
To make a new departure; to
commence de novo.
Every once in a while Dr. McGlynn
BREAKS OUT IN A FRESH PLACE and startles
the public with some iconoclastic remark.
His latest assertion is to the effect that he
is not at all anxious to be buried in Calvary
Cemetery.-Texas Siftings, October 6, 1888.
PLACER. The original signification of
this Spanish word was simply a
locality where gold was to be found
in drift-sand. Now, however, it is
the colloquial synonym of anything
valuable, whether a mine or other
commercial speculation. Thus,
the present work will, with the
reader's permission, be designated
424
Plant
a philological placer at all events
that is the author's devout desire
in more senses than one. Opinions
vary as to whether placer is derived
from plaza, a place; or placer,
pleasure. TO PLACER.-In New
Orleans couples are said to placer
when living together as husband
and wife without having gone
through the ceremony of marriage.
-PLACER DIGGINGS.-Localities
where gold is found mixed with
surface earth.- -PLACER MINING
is the name given to the search for
precious metals, when carried on
in ravines or gulches. Heavy rains
wash down the grains of gold from
the mountain sides into the valleys,
and the surface earth simply
requires washing in order to ob-
tain it.
PLAIN PEOPLE. A negro term for
white folks-a tit-for-tat in connec-
tion with the term COLORED PEOPLE
as applied by whites to those of
negro race.
PLANING MACHINE. - An American
invention. The machine is, as its
name implies, a plane worked by
steam or other motive power.
PLANK.-See PLATFORM.
TO PLANK
DOWN OF UP.-A term which, when
applied to money, is synonymous
with to pay, or, in betting, to stake.
PLANK - ROAD. A primitive
form of road-making. (See also in
this connection CORDUROY-ROAD,
in which, instead of planks, roughly-
hewn logs are used.) At sea-side
resorts, plank or BOARD-WALKS (q.v.)
constitute the "Marine Parade.'
PLANKED SHAD.-A shad
fastened to a plank and roasted.
This mode of cooking is said to be
much esteemed by epicures.
PLANT, TO.-A Western equivalent of
"to bury."
Plantain
'Now if we can get you to help PLANT
him- 'Preach the funeral discourse?
Assist at the obsequies?' 'Obs'quies is
good. Yes. That's it; that's our little game.'
Mark Twain's The Innocents at Home,
p. 20.
PLANTAIN (Musa paradisiaca).—A well-
known West Indian bread-stuff.
Peeled, roasted in hot ashes, and
eaten with butter when quite warm,
the plantain is a most delicious
substitute for ordinary bread.
Plantain comes from the Spanish
platano.
PLANTATION.-In the West Indies and
Southern States the name given to
estates or large farms. The term
was primarily associated with pro-
perties, upon which slave labor was
used. In the West Indies, the
names given to plantations were
sometimes very curious, especially
in colonies originally settled by the
French and Dutch. A few examples
must suffice.
Beau Voisin, the good or pretty neighbor;
Belle Plaine, handsome level field; Bestandig-
heid, constancy, consistency; Blankenburg,
the White Castle, the name of an estate in
Holland; Chateau Margot, Chateau Margot
N.W. of Bordeaux; De Kinderen, the children;
De Willem, the William; Goedland, good
land; Goedverwagting, good expectation of
hope; Groenveldt, green field; Guilderland,
province of Holland on the Zuyderzee;
Haag's Bosch, the park (bush) at the Hague;
Haarlem, an inland town near Amsterdam;
Hague, the metropolis and seat of govern-
ment in Holland; Hamburg, name of one of
the Hansiate cities in Germany; Herstelling,
restoration, recovering from ruin; Hoff-van-
Aurich, the Court of Aurich, the name of a
city in East Vriesland, Hanover; Hoff-van-
Holland, the Court of Holland; Huis-t'-
Dieren, a famous country seat, near Amster-
dam, in Holland; Klien Pouderoyen, a
baronial castle in Holland; La Belle Alliance,
the Friendly League, of Waterloo notoriety;
La Bonne Intention, the good intention;
La Bonne Mère, the good mother; La
Grange, the barn-name of a Dutch farm;
La Heureuse Aventure, the lucky ad-
venture; La Jalousie, jealousy; La Parfaite
Harmonie, perfect harmony; La Penitence,
penitence, penance; La Prudence, prudence;
La Retraite, the retreat; Le Désir, the desire;
Le Ressouvenir, the recollection; L'Esper-
425
Platform
1;5
ance, hope; Malgré Tout, in spite of all;
Ma Retraite, my retreat; Mes Delices, my
delight (pleasure); Met-en-Meerzorg, with
more and more care; Mon Repos, my resting
place; Nonpareil, the unrivalled; Noigtge-
dacht, never thought; Nouvelle Flanders,
New Flanders, Belgium; Nismes; manufac-
turing city, Department of Guard, France;
Onderneeming, undertaking, enterprize;
Pouderoyon, a baronial castle in Holland
Providence, Providence; Ruimveld, exten-
sive field; Sans Souci, without care; Schoon
Ord, beautiful spot; Stanvastighied, con-
stancy, consistency; Tenez Ferme, hold fast;
Toevlugt, refuge; Turkeyen, Turkey; Tus-
schen de Vrienden, between the friends;
Uitvlugt, a flight to a country house-a
country seat; Vergenoegen, contentment,
pleasure; Versailles, Versailles, near Paris;
Vilvorden, a village, near Brussels, in Bel-
gium; Vive-la-Force, glory to power; Vreed-
en-Hoop, peace and hope; Vreed-en-Vriend-
schap, peace and friendship; Vriesland,
province in Holland; Vryheid's Lust,
liberty's delight; Waterloo, the famous
village, Belgium; Wissell Vollegheid, vicis-
situde, liable to change; Witkomst, result,
revenue; Zeeburg, castle on the sea-shore;
Zeelandia, name of a province in Holland;
Zeelugt, sea breeze, sea air; Zorg, care,
anxiety.
PLANTER. (I) In the Southern States
and West Indies the proprietor of
an estate, and, in the case of
absentees, the manager.-
·(2) A
Newfoundland fisherman. (3)
Planters were formerly the first
settlers in a colony, and the term
was especially given to the founders
of the Colony of Massachusetts
Bay to distinguish them from the
Pilgrim Fathers, who founded
Plymouth Colony.
PLAT, TO.-To lay out in sections or
plots.
PLATE OF MEAT (Cant). This term,
which in English rhyming slang
stands for the feet, in America does
duty as the name, among thieves,
for a street or highway.
The con-
nection is obvious.
PLATFORM.-A declaration of princi-
ples, political, religious, or other-
wise. This term is of good Old
54
Play
English descent, and has never
quite gone out of use in the Mother
Country. Its employment, how-
ever, has received fresh impetus
across the Atlantic, and subse-
quently of late years in England
also, in a political sense. Thus
one hears of the Republican, De-
mocrat, Liberal, Conservative, or
Home Rule platforms, i.e., the prin-
ciples advocated by each and all
of those parties. The sub-divisions
of a party programme are spoken
of as its PLANKS, American love of
metaphor having led to this some-
what literal application. So marked
is this tendency that the meta-
phorical platform is split up, not
only into planks, but sometimes
into SPLINTERS.
The Democratic National Convention will
be held in New York City. Mr. Cleveland
will be re-nominated by acclamation. His
message will be his PLATFORM.-Louisville
Courier Journal, February, 1888.
PLAY. YOU CAN'T PLAY THAT ON ME,
i.e., I am not to be thus deceived;
I am not a tool or cat's-paw. This
catch-phrase is of Shakspearian
descent.
YOU WOULD PLAY UPON ME; you would
seem to know my stops; you would pluck
out the heart of my mystery; you would
sound me from my lowest note to the top of
my compass; and there is much music,
excellent voice in this little organ; yet
cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you
think I am easier To BE PLAYED ON than a
pipe? Call me what instrument you will,
though you can fret me, yOU CANNOT PLAY
UPON ME. Hamlet III., 2.
-TO PLAY ON VELVET (Cant).—
To stake the money won from the
bank.- -TO BE PLAYED OUT.-To
be exhausted; ruined. A gambler's
term which has come into general
use. _Compare with French passé.
TO PLAY OFF.-This also in the
sense of to make a start, is bor-
rowed from the card-table.-
TO PLAY 'POSSUM. - To deceive;
to mislead. The 'possum when
426
Plug
run close will simulate death, its
imitation being so perfect as some-
times to deceive dogs.-PLAY-
SPELL. A time for recreation or
amusement.
PLAYA. This Spanish word, meaning
the sea-shore or beach, is in the
South-west applied to vast level
plains, the surface of which is of a
saline nature. In the North these
tracts of country are called SALT
or WATER PRAIRIES.
PLAZA.-An open space or public
square. This term is one of the
frequently met with, and permanent
traces of former Spanish occupation
left in the common speech.
PLEASURE, TO.-In North Carolina, to
please.
PLEBESKIN.—A West Point term for
the fatigue-jacket of the English
cadet.
West Point, N.Y., July 21.-The fourth
class entered camp on Monday, but are still
wearing their PLEBESKINS. They will don
their dress coats the first week in August,
when they enter the battalion.-New York
World, July 22, 1888.
PLEURISY ROOT (Asclepias tuberosa).—
A gentle tonic.
PLUG. (1) A tall silk hat. Also
(2) A horse. Also
(3) A man.
PLUG-HAT,
PLUG-HORSE.
Cæsar was the implacable foe of the aris-
tocracy, and refused to wear a PLUG HAT up
to the day of his death. Sulla once said,
before Cæsar had made much of a showing,
that some day this young man would be the
ruin of the aristocracy.-Eclectic Magazine,
1888.
In the first race a PLUG named Cator was
the favorite, but another PLUG named
Battledore won, whereupon some of the
painted women screamed with delight, and
others, in shrill tones, anathematized the
jockey who rode the PLUG they had backed.
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 22, 1888.
Plum
The Gould and Curry claim comprised
1,200 feet, and it all belonged originally to
the two men whose names it bears. Mr.
Curry owned two-thirds of it, and he said
that he sold it out for 2,500 dollars in cash.
and an old PLUG HORSE, that ate up his
market value in hay and barley in seventeen
days by the watch. Mark Twain's The
Innocents at Home.
-PLUGGED.-Coins are plugged
when counterfeit.
Ticket Agent-Can't sell you a ticket for
that quarter; it's PLUGGED.
Humorous Texan-Then take in your
sign, if you haven't got Tickets for All
Quarters.-Texas Siftings, November 3, 1888.
-PLUG-UGLIES.—A gang of Bal-
timore rowdies.-See ASHLANDERS.
If the Dead Rabbit thinks he slays,
Or the PLUG-UGLY think he's slain,
They do but pave the subtle ways
I've trod, and mean to tread again.
-Parody on Emerson's Brahma, New York
Evening Post.
Blood-tubs and PLUG-UGLIES, and others
galore,
Are sick for a thrashing in sweet Baltimore;
Be jabers! that same I'd be proud to inform
Of the terrible force of an Irishman's arm.
-Song of the Irish Legion.
PLUM.-All berries are called plums in
New England.-Used as an adjec-
tive, and sometimes spelt plumb, it
has the meaning of quite; exactly;
directly; in which case it is an Old
English survival. Popularly collo-
quial it is met with in a variety of
connections.
'An' I 'clare,' avowed Mrs. Brand to
S'leeny, 'I are PLUM' surprised by myseff, I
b'en cryin' fur that ar critter like she war
my own kin. But she war so sorter bidable
an' decent an' done the little trick so decent,
ayfter all! I sw'ar some folkses don' git no
fair show in this world!'-Scribner's Maga-
zine, 1887.
I'm awful fond o' po'try-jus' PLUMB crazy
ovah it. Mistah John P. Irish he makes
heaps of't in his papah. He writ one awful
pritty pome? 'Twuz 'bout a little child that
died, an' it wuz this way: 'Dearest Sallie,
thou hast left us, an' thy loss we deeply feel.'
Don't you think you could make some pritty
music to go 'long 'o that, Miss B. ? to sort 'o
sing it like?-San Francisco Weekly Exami-
ner, 1888.
427
Plunk Into
PLUM-CENTRE or PLUMB-
CENTRE. A Western term in
shooting at a mark, equivalent to
making a bull's-eye. PLUM-
MUSS.-Plums which when boiled
and mashed are rolled out into
layers and are then allowed to
dry.
The
PLUMED KNIGHTS: A Republican
electioneering organization.
appellation arose out of an epithet
applied by Robert Ingersoll to Mr.
Blaine, the Republican candidate
in the Presidential election of 1884.
He was then referred to as the
Plumed Knight of debate.
Just as the longshoremen passed, Mr. James
G. Blaine appeared at the north-west corner
window of the second floor of the hotel and
a band came by playing 'Should auld
acquaintance be forgot.' Right above his
head on the top story a window had been
draped in black, and in the window were
two democratic ladies, who did not know
that the PLUMED KNIGHT was beneath them.
-New York Herald, November 4, 1888.
PLUNDER.-A term in the South and
West for baggage, personal effects,
or goods. In this sense of baggage
the term may be traced to the
Dutch or Flemish, and is allied to
the German plunder.
One Sunday afternoon, two long dug-outs,
loaded with PLUNDER, stopped at the cabin,
which was than uninhabited, and shortly
afterwards smoke was seen and several
persons to be moving around. This was the
family and property of Hank Harris.-Lynch
Law in the Sucker State (1873).
PLUNK INTO, TO.-To jump into; to
decamp hastily from one place to
another.
The mule, seein' th't he couldn't ketch
Gunderman that way, turned an' went back
t'other way 'round the schoolhouse to head
him off, but b' that time the ol' man had
PLUNKED INTER a bar'l th't stood at one
corner o' the buildin' to ketch rainwater in,
thinkin' th't the mule 'd slide on by. But
the mule were sober enough not to be fooled
that way, an' drunk enough to be bound to
hev all the fun he k'd skeer up that night.-
Ed. Mott in Chicago Herald, 1888.
Poach
POACH, TO.-In New England, to
churn up mud by repeated passing
to and fro. Cattle poach, when
treading on soft ground or snow.
POCASON.-A swamp. This word is
current in North Carolina and also
farther South, and is derived from
the Indian vernacular. Cf. CYPRESS
BRAKE, to which it is very similar.
POCCOON or PUCCOON (Sanguinaria
canadensis). This is the Indian
name for the BLOOD-ROOT (q.v.).
428
POCKET. (1) In mining for gold,
when a quantity of the precious
metal is found accumulated in one
place, it is termed a pocket.- (2)
The extreme Southern part of the
State of Indiana, from its shape,
which is supposed to bear a resem-
blance to a pocket.- POCKET BOOK
DROPPER, POCKET BOOK DROPPING.
-See DROP-GAME under DROP.
POCKET PISTOL.-A spirit flask.
Unsuspecting and thirsty New Yorker
(travelling in Maine): 'Excuse me, sir; do
you carry a POCKET-PISTOL?' Native: 'Cert,
pard (produces the article), 'Wan' ter use
it?' New Yorker: 'I d-didn't mean that
k-kind. I meant a flask.' Native: 'Oh, you
mean what we call a hypodermic inspirator.
I've got one, but it ain't loaded fer free gifts.
-Judge, Feb. 2, 1888.
PODGE, TO.-See To POACH.
POGGY (Pagrus argyrops).—The Indian
name of this fish, Mishescuppaug,
has been strangely corrupted ac-
cording to locality. It appears in
Rhode Island under the guise of
SCUP, while in New York it is
known as poggy, PAUGIE, or PORGIE.
POHAGEN or PAUHAGEN.—See BONY
FISH.
POINT.-A cant term among brokers,
sigrifying private information about
Pointer
11
stocks, etc., upon which speculation
is based. This meaning has been
enlarged, and point is now generally
used among all classes of the com-
munity to mean any information
The
of an accurate description.
nearest English equivalent is the
See POINTER.
slang word "tip.'
Besides this signification, point
has another meaning in commercial
circles which can best be expressed
as the unit of change in the market
rate of any given commodity,
whether gold or cotton; it is not,
however, as a rule synonymous with
per cent.; thus we get such terms as
-BOILED DOWN TO A
a point rise.
POINT. A simile denoting a reduc-
tion to a bare statement of fact;
the gist of anything.
BOILED DOWN TO A FINE POINT bondsmen
are in demand.-Pittsburg Times, January 26,
1888.
Yet another meaning attaches
to the word point, one which is
pretty familiar to English ears, as
when the points of a horse are
spoken of, i.e., its special charac-
teristics. The American all-occa-
sion response will doubtless be
familiar to readers of Bret Harte:-
"I don't see no pints about that
thar frog more nor about any other
frog in partickler."
POINTER. (1) This is more generally
colloquial than POINT (q.v.), for an
item of reliable information.-
(2) Among ranchmen, a herdsman
who rides at the head of a straggling
herd of cattle when on the march.
There is a big POINTER for those gentlemen
who cannot restrain their sporting proclivi-
ties in these sentences.-Denver Republican,
1888,
A client of mine placed in my hands
several accounts for collection, and I sent my
man Friday out at the end of every weck,
when I supposed the long-winded fellows
received their salaries, and endeavored to
collect the sums outstanding. In some
cases the collector found it very difficult to
Poison
(who
meet the men he wanted. They were either
out, sick, or engaged. At length, tiring of
the ill-success attending the business, I hit
upon the idea of addressing the employers,
and I concocted the following:-'Dear Sir,
If you will kindly send to me Mr.
has been mentioned to me as a very discreet
young man) to my office, No. - Broady, I
will give him a POINTER that will be of great
benefit to you in your business.'-New York
Herald, November 4, 1884.
On the march the mighty herd sometimes
strings out miles in length, and then it has
POINTERS, who ride abreast at the head of
the column.-Overland Monthly, 1887.
POISON.-NOMINATE YOUR POISON!
This is considered a civil way of
asking a man, when inviting him
to drink, what he will take - an
expression which has doubtless
originated in the fact that much
of the liquor sold was not mis-
named when dubbed poison.
POKE.-(1) For pocket, poke is more
frequently heard in America than
in England, but it can hardly be
called a distinctive Americanism.
-To
(2) In New England, a machine
to prevent unruly beasts from
leaping fences, consisting of a yoke
with a pole inserted pointing
forward.- -(3) See POKE-BERRY,
of which poke is a curtailment.
(4) A bore, generally in the sense
of laziness and dawdling.-
POKE.- To put a poke on.-See
POKE. (2) POKE-BERRY (Phyto-
lacca decandra).-The popular names
of this plant are very numerous.
Its Indian name is PO-CAN, while
in New England it is called the
PIGEON-BERRY, being also known
as cocum and GARGET. The young
shoots are edible, being eaten like
asparagus; its root is used medi-
cinally for emetic purposes, whilst
its berries form not only a favorite
food for caged birds, but also
afford a rich purple dye. James
K. Polk, President of the United
States in 1845, was made the
subject of punning allusion in con-
429
Political Capital
sequence of the similarity in sound
between his name and that of this
common berry, banners and other
emblems being stained with its
juice in his honor.
POKELOKEN.-A marsh. This Indian/
term retains its hold upon popular
usage in the woods and forests of
Maine and New Brunswick.
POKER.-(1) A favorite game of cards,
and as universally played
played in
America as is whist in England.
(2) Webster also defines poker
as a child's word for any frightful
object, especially in the dark;
a bugbear. Pokker is an old Danish
word for the devil.. -POKERISH.
-Frightful; causing fear; especi-
ally to children.- -POKEY.-Dull;
stupid.
POLICY, TO. To gamble with the
numbers of lottery tickets.
POLINKA or POLINKE. A beverage
made by mixing a gallon of cheap
whiskey and a keg of beer to-
gether, with other foreign and
nauseating ingredients.
In all about two dozen people lived in the
house, most of them men. Yesterday they
all came to Hazleton, and returned home
drunk about six o'clock in the evening. They
then indulged freely in POLINKI, a mixture
of bad beer and worse whiskey.-New York
World, February 14, 1888.
POLITICAL CAPITAL. This term, now
common to the cant of politics on
both sides of the Atlantic, is of
American origin. Political capital
consists of any event in the career
of a candidate for election which
can be used in furthering or op-
posing his candidature. Incidents
which tell in a man's favor con-
stitute part of the political capital
of his supporters; those to his
detriment are, on the contrary, the
stock-in-trade of his opponents.
Politicate
POLITICATE, TO.-To make a trade of
politics a common form of
rascality to the detriment of true
progress.
POLLACK (Merlangus purpureus and M.
carbonarius).—An important food-
fish largely found in the waters of
Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Pollack is the popular name in New
England.
as
POLLIWOG.-A tadpole; a factitious
name of long standing. In English
provincial usage it appears
polliwag," which is set down by
Forby as a corruption of "periwig."
Other authorities, however, incline
to the view that polliwag or polliwog
are merely attempts to express by
sounds the idea of the wriggling
motion characteristic of tadpoles.
POLT, POLTER.
POLTER.-A blow. Also ΤΟ
POLT; to beat; to deal blows.
Both noun and verb are Old
English forms, now quite obsolete in
the Mother Country, but still collo-
quial in New England and the
South. Ex., "Polt him well!" i.e.,
"give him a good thrashing."
POLYGAMATICAL.-An alternative form
in America to "polygamoris."
430
POMME - BLANCHE and POMME DES
PRAIRIES.-Names given by early
French settlers to the BREAD ROOT
(q.v.). Other appellations are
KAMAS ROOT and INDIAN TURNIP
(q.v.).
POMPION. An old form for
kin."
pump-
POMPION BERRY. - The HACKBERRY
(q.v.).
POND.-Pond, in England, is gene-
rally applied to small pieces of
Pony
water by the roadside, in a field,
or other restricted space, and the
nearest approach to what is un-
derstood in America by a pond is a
# mere."
The latter word is rarely
heard across the Atlantic. An
American pond is, in reality, a small
lake.-TO POND is to accumulate
water in a pond.
PONE.-Indian corn or maize-meal
bread, with which is often mixed
eggs, milk, and other enrichments.
Pone comes from the Indian dialec-
ticism ponap, the derivative having
been in use from the time of earliest
settlement.
Two year ago they ketched the thief, 'n
seein' I wuz innercent,
an' in my
They jest uncorked an' le' me run,
stid the sinner sent
To see how he liked pork 'n' PONE flavored
with wa'nut saplin',
An' narry social priv'ledge but a one-hoss,
starn-wheel chaplin.
-Biglow Papers.
'Yes, who was ye?' inquired a woman as
she laid aside her snuff-stick to stand up.
'Ye was pore an' shuckless an' low-down,
Joe Williams, only a few weeks ago. Yer
hull fam'ly was b'arfut, an' the best ye had
to cat was b'ar meat an' PONES. Ye drank
mo' whisky than all the men put together,
an' ye never had a second shirt to yer back!
-Detroit Free Press, August, 1888.
"
"BOHN
PONY.-(1) A 'crib"; a
(q.v.) a translation.
;
draught of beer.-See SCHOONER.
"
(2) A
'I'm on the inside track,' said a PONY of
beer as it went galloping down a man's
throat.-New York Journal, August, 1885.
-TO PONY.-To use a crib, or
translation.- -To PONY UP.-To
pay; to settle accounts by the pay-
ment of money due. Pony was an
old flash term for money, and in
sporting slang is still used to signify
£25. PONY-PURSE. An im-
promptu "purse or collection.
-PONY-RIDER.-An agent of the
PONY EXPRESS. See EXPRESS.
M
In a little while all interest was taken up
in stretching our necks and watching for the
Pool Issues
431
PONY-RIDER-the fleet messenger who sped
across the continent from St. Joe to Sacra-
mento, carrying letters nineteen hundred
miles in eight days! Think of that for
perishable horse and human flesh and blood
to do! The PONY-RIDER was usually a little
bit of a man, brimful of spirit and endurance.
No matter what time of the day or night his
watch came on, and no matter whether it
was winter or summer, raining, snowing,
hailing, or sleeting, or whether his beat
was a level straight road or a crazy trail
over mountain crags and precipices, or
whether it led through peaceful regions or
regions that swarmed with hostile Indians,
he must be always ready to leap into the
saddle and be off like the wind! There was
no idling-time for a PONY-RIDER on duty. He
rode fifty miles without stopping, by day-
light, moonlight, starlight, or through the
blackness of darkness-just as it happened.
-Mark Twain's Roughing It.
POOL ISSUES, To.-To join forces; to
act in unison. Now common on
both sides of the Atlantic, but
while in England its use is gene-
rally confined to large undertakings,
in America it is employed collo-
quially by everybody. Even a
shoeblack is said to have pooled
issues with a poodle trained to rub
against and soil the footgear of
pedestrians in order to bring custom
to its owner.
An undertaker and a grave-digger in Hun-
gary POOLED their ISSUES and poisened off
fourteen people before their plan was dis-
covered. They were doing so much business
that the jealousy of others was aroused,
and a watch set upon them.-Detroit Free
Press, 1888.
Kansas City is to have two base-ball clubs
this season. They had better POOL their
ISSUES and get one that can win a game
occasionally.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7,
1888.
The
Something novel in the experience of
Western towns is recorded in Kansas.
people of the village of Mertilla have decided
to POOL their ISSUES with another place.
West Plains, ten miles away, and Mertilla
will cease to exist. So far the hegira includes
two general stores, a grocery, a hotel, a
livery stable, and a newspaper office.-
Boston Daily Globe, 1888.
POOQUAW.-A Nantucket name for
the round or hard clam. Also
QUAHAUG. Both forms are thought
Poor
to have their origin in one or other
of the Indian names-poquawhock,
pocqueu.
POOR for "lean," occurs in Middle-
ton's plays. Modern English
usage, however, rather restricts
the employment of this word, in
the case of meat, to an article of
indifferent quality; in England poor
meat need not necessarily be lean
meat, but in America the term poor
merely implies leanness. -POOR
COOT.-See Coor. POOR FOLKSY.
-In the South when anything is
described as a poor folksy arrange-
ment the idea of poverty is con-
veyed. POOR WHITES. Also
WHITE TRASH, POOR WHITE FOLKS,
MEAN WHITES, POOR TRASH, etc.
One of the most painful social
problems of the South and the
West Indies, indeed of all former
slave holding countries, is the con-
dition of the poor whites. An
indigent white population side by
side with a preponderatingly large
black element would appear from
experience to be a social impossi-
bility. At all events it is an
anomaly. In tropical climates
especially, apart from false shame
concerning manual labor, which is
generally relegated to colored
hands, there is the natural disin-
clination and incapacity of Euro-
peans to undergo hard toil. Class
distinctions, too, work adversely
to them; the rich whites will
have none of them, while they
themselves are naturally antag-
onistic to the black people who, in
speaking of them, use the more
approbrious term already quoted,
and the natural consequence is
isolation, repression, and the in-
evitable concommitant, sooner or
later, of decay and extinction.
A recent writer thus specially
describes the poor whites of the
Southern States.
Poortaal
Having secured this information, Bob
went on, descending the cliff to the valley
through which Broad Run rattled its shallow
waters-a valley so broken and rugged as to
render it almost unfit for cultivation. This
glen was settled, as such regions are wont to
be, by a race of POOR WHITEYS, or rather by
a mixture of people belonging to two stocks
originally different. The one race was des-
cended from the lowest of the nomads,
vagrants, and other poverty-stricken out-
casts that had been spirited away from
England by means legal and illegal, to be
sold for a long term into bondage in the
American colonies; the other, from the
roughest wing of the great Scotch-Irish
immigration of the last century-the hered-
itary borderers who easily fought their way
into the valleys and passes of the Alleg-
hanies. Equally thriftless in their habits,
and equally without any traditions of their
origin, members of these two tribes mingled
easily. The people in whom the Scotch-
Irish blood preponderates are more given to
violence, but their humor, their courage,
and their occasional bursts of energy indi-
cate that they have a chance of emerging
from barbarism; while the POOR WHITEYS
of English descent are most of them beyond
the reach of evolution, foreordained to
extinction by natural selection, whenever
the pressure of over-population shall force
them into the competition for existence.--
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
POOR WHITE FOLKSY.-In the
manner peculiar to POOR WHITES.—
See POOR FOLKSY. -POOR WILL.
-A Western variation of "whip-
poor-will" from a supposed cur-
tailment in the note of the species
found on the plains.
At nightfall the POOR-WILLS begin to utter
their boding call from the wooded ravines
back in the hills; not whip-poor-will, as in
the East, but with two syllables only.—
Ranch Life in the Far West.
POORTAAL.-An ante-room; lobby;
or passage. From the Dutch, and
in use in settlements of Dutch
descent.
POP. Young America's mode of
address to fathers.
Why, he's the greatest curiosity we have.'
'Indeed!'
'Sure POP. He understands all about the
Interstate Commerce law.-Boston Courier,
1898.
432
Pork and Beans
POPCORN.-See under CORN.- -To
POPCORN. To roast Indian corn.-
See POPCORN under CORN.. -Pop-
EYED.—A Southern term for a
person with protruding eyes.
POPLAR.-A Southern name for the
TULIP-TREE (q.v.).
POP'LAR, POPULAR.-In New England
a popular man is a conceited bump-
tious individual. A Yankee simile
runs "As pop'lar as a hen with
one chicken." These variations in
American and English usages are
sometimes the cause of extremely
awkward situations on the part of
Englishmen visiting the States, or,
conversely, of Americans visiting
England. Compare with CUNNING,
CLEVER, etc.
POPPER.-An enlarged form of "pop"
-an English slang term for a
pocket pistol.
Everybody tuck Christmas, especially the
niggers, and sich carryin's-on, sich dancin'
and singin'-and shooting POPPERS and sky-
rockets you never did see.-Major Jones's
Courtship.
POPPY-Cock.
Bombast; tall talk;
gasconade; e.g., Oh! that's all
poppy-cock," i.c., stuff and non-
A term of contemptuous
sense."
"
incredulity and disgust.
POP-SQUIRT.-A jackanapes; an insig-
nificant" puppy."
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY.
The funda-
mental principle of democracy—
the right of the people to self-
government.
PORGY.-See POGGY.
PORK AND BEANS, The American
national dish.- PORK RINGS.-See
RINGS. PORK-SCRAPS. What,
Porkopolis
in England, as applied to roasted
pork, is known as crackling."
PORKOPOLIS.-Cincinnati.
This city
is, perhaps, the largest centre of
the pork raising industry in the
States. Also called QUEEN CITY
and PARIS OF AMERICA.
Other quarrels of almost equal bitterness
raged between various members of the
press; but since Cincinnati ceased to be
PORKOPOLIS and became the Paris of Ame-
rica, her editors have become as mutually
courteous as members of the United States
senate.-American Humorist, August, 1888.
PORTAGE. A strip of land between
water-ways over which boats and
impedimenta are carried.
We came to a promontory, and the Indian
ran the canoe ashore. I could not see why
he did this, unless he expected to find seal
in the woods. He said: 'PORTAGE. Heap
good noodi-quoddy.' To have such a sen-
tence as that fired at a man as he enters the
woods with two strange Indians is not
soothing. He loaded the canoe
on the
shoulders of the squaw, strapped the gun to
her back, and gave her the paddles to carry.
He bore his share of the heat and burden of
the day by carrying the harpoon, which
weighed about a pound and a half. Now I
knew why he brought his wife with him. We
went up a hill and through woods for half a
mile, pushing through dense undergrowth in
some places and over fallen trees and rocks in
others. We emerged from this on to the
beach. We had crossed the land end of the
promontory to save paddling around a dis-
tance of about six miles.-J.C. Knox's Devil
of a Trip.
The word, of French derivation,
has now secured a permanent
place in the language-being used
inter-changeably with CARRY (q.v.),
its equivalent. TO PORTAGE.
-To carry or convey boats and
outfit overland.
We PORTAGED the boats around the falls
the next day, getting them out of the water
and upon wagons by dint of much tugging
and lifting, with the assistance of the entire
population. By the time we had travelled
twelve miles of rolling country and had
gotten the wagons down the precipitous
banks of a coulé leading to the river and
launched the boats it was 2 o'clock, and we
433
Posse
were still twenty-four miles from Benton.-
Century Magazine, 1887,
PORTRESS. A female porter or
janitor.
The man came rushing upstairs to say that
a child of the PORTRESS had been seriously
injured in the streets at some distance from
the house.-American Humorist, Aug., 1888.
"
POSEY YARD. A flower garden
attached to a dwelling house.-
See GARDEN. "Posey' is, of
course, the Old English term for a
bouquet or bunch of flowers; and
yard" is, in reality, derived from
the same root as garden. Procter,
in one of his notes concerning
American English, gave the follow-
ing very
very interesting piece
philology.
•
of
It is hardly necessary to tell the philological
reader that the words garden, yard, and
orchard are closely akin-orchard, however,
being a compound-ort-yard or wort-yard.
The following series of words may be worth
noticing-it includes, however, but a few of
the words akin in divers languages to our
yard and garden :-Eng. Garden, garth,
yard, or-chard. (Greensward must not be
confounded with these words, as if greens-
ward; it is green-sward, sward being an old
name for skin or rind.) Saxon: Geard, ort-
geard, wyrt-geard. Old English: Gearth.
Gothic: Gards, aurti-gards. German: Gar-
ten. Low German: garden. French: Jardin.
Old French: Gardien. Danish: Gaard,
urtgaard. Icelandic: garther. Latin: Hortus.
Greek: Chortos. The same root is found in
guard, guardian, gird, girdle, ward, warden,
and other kindred words. Yard the measure
of length, yard in yard-arm, goad, gad, hasta
(Lat.), and many other words, some of which
have no apparent association with guarding
or with girding or girdling, belong to the
same family.
POSSE.-A Company; a number of
individuals forming a party. Far
more colloquial in America than
in England.
We divided into two POSSES, each follow-
ing the main highway that Ballard would
travel in search of Anderson. Not meeting
him, we congregated in a thicket almost in
sight of his residence, and lay in ambush
until he came down the road in plain view.-
Missouri Republican, March 4, 1888.
55
'Possum
By this time the Hoffman family was fully
aroused, and two of the brothers, including
the mayor, went gunning for Hogan, and
surrounded his house. The citizens tele-
graphed for aid, and a sheriff and ¡POSSE
were sent at once.-The St. Louis Republican,
February 23, 1888.
'POSSUM.-A familiarly colloquial ab-
breviation of OPOSSUM (q.v.).
A 'POSSUM on a 'simmon tree
With one eye winked right down at me,
Fust by his tail the crittur swung:
And this old chorus sweetly sung:
Get along hum, my yeller gals,
For the moon on the grass am shining.
-Negro Ballad.
-To 'POSSUM.-To make a pre-
tence; to feign; to dissemble. To
the well-known practice of the
opossum in feigning death, when
hard pressed by dogs and hunters,
may be traced this term.
We stayed up in the tree till broad daylight,
not thinking it prudent to trust ourselves on
the ground before, with three dangerously
wounded grizzies roaming around the im-
mediate neighborhood, besides the possibility
of POSSUMING among those stretched out be-
low. We had given them such a trouncing
that if one of the survivors had ever got his
paw on one of us he would have made it
interesting.-Daily Inter-Ocean, February 6,
1888.
POSTAL.-An abbreviation of postal
card, which is the usual American
term for "post-card." In Canada
the English usage is followed.
Old lady (to village postmistress)-' Have
ye got anythin' fer me, Miss Bullard?'
Postmistress-' Here's a POSTAL from your
daughter Mandy. How she do improve in
spellin' sence she's be'n goin' to that board-
in'-school.'-Detroit Free Press, Oct. 13, 1888.
POSTAL CURRENCY.-Postage stamps
were readily accepted and recog-
nized as currency during the Civil
War.
POST NOTE.-A bill of exchange drawn
to order.
434
Pot-Wrestler
A
POST OAK (Quercus obtusitoba).
variety of oak found in the Middle
States. Its wood is mainly used
in ship-building. See also OAK
BARREN.
Our march to-day lay through struggling
forests of the kind of low, scrubbed trees,
called POST-OAKS and black-jacks.-The soil
of these oak barrens is loose and unsound,
being little better than a mere quicksand;
in which, in rainy weather, the horse's foot
slips, and now and then sinks in a rotten,
spongy turf, to the fetlock.—Irving's Tour on
the Prairies, p. 95.
POTATO.-The variety of this tuber,
known in England simply as potato,
is called the IRISH POTATO in
America to distinguish it from the
SWEET POTATO (Batata edulis) which
is indigenous to Carolina and the
Southern States generally. Hence
the latter is also called the CARO-
LINA POTATO.- -POTATO BUG.-
The COLORADO BEETLE (q.v.).
POTATO GRANT.-In the West Indies
a patch of land allotted to resident
laborers on estates; also PLANTAIN
PATCH.
POT-HOLES.— Naturally formed de-
pressions in rock, thought at one
from being circular in shape, time,
to have been made by the aborigines
for grinding purposes. It is now
certain, however, that the action
of water and loose stones alone is
the true explanation of the pheno-
menon.
POT-PIE.- A rough and ready method
of making meat pies. The cooking
vessel is simply used instead of a
separate utensil, the fire playing
under and around it in gipsy
fashion.
POT-PIE is the favorite dish, and woodmen,
sharp set, are awful eaters.-Carlton's The
New Purchase, vol. i., p. 182.
POT-WRESTLER
A Pennsylvanian
equivalent of the English "pot-
wallopper"; a scullion.
Poulterer
POULTERER (Cant). A letter-box
thief.
POUND.
In England, a person's
weight is estimated by stones and
pounds; in America pounds alone are
used. Thus, where we should say
10 st. 4 lb., an American's des-
cription would be 144 pounds.-
POUND PARTY.-Very similar to a
DONATION PARTY (q.v.).
POUT.-The CATFISH (q.v.), of which
pout is the popular New England
name.
POVERTY-GRASS (Hudsonia tormentosa).
-As implied by the name, a poor
weak sort of herbage. Common
in New England. It is little more
than a moss.
"The
POWDER-POST.-Worm-eaten.
wood of Deacon Hideaway's frame-
house is all powder-post.'
Pow-Wow.-An Indian jollification or
council. At these gatherings a
horrible din was one of the chief
characteristics, and hence its adop-
tion colloquially to signify a noisy
political meeting, and latterly, any
occasion on which discussion, even
of the most amicable nature, is
likely to occur.
Milt Knight of the Wabash left for Chic-
ago last night to attend the grand Pow-Wow.
-Missouri Republican, Feb. 22, 1888.
-To Pow-Wow.—Mutatis mutan-
dis the meaning of the verb is
similar to that of the noun.
Pozo. A Spanish-Mexican term for
a spring or well.
PRAIRIE.-An extensive tract of land,
level or rolling, with few trees.
Prairie, which is derived from the
435
Prairie
French, is an Americanism, which
has never been questioned.
PRAIRIE BITTERS. A beverage
compounded of buffalo gall and
water, in the proportion of a quarter
of a gill to a pint. It is a mixture
the medicinal virtue of which was
thought to have been in an exact
ratio to its filthy taste.- -PRAIRIE
DOG (Cynomus ludovicianus). A
marmot. See DOGTOWNS under
DOG.
The PRAIRIE dogs alone are not daunted by
the heat, but sit at the mouths of their
burrows with their usual pert curiosity.
They are bothersome little fellows, and
most prolific, increasing in spite of the
perpetual war made on them by every
carnivorous bird and beast.-Ranch Life in
the Far West.
This animal is also, in the West,
called THE GOPHER (q.v.).
PRAIRIE HEN (Tetrao pratensis).–
Also called the PINNATED GROUSE
(T. cupido) in the West; a PARTRIDGE
in the North; and on the Delaware
a PHEASANT; also HEATH HEN in
other localities. - -PRAIRIE ITCH.
-A skin eruption caused by dust
in hot weather.--PRAIRIE ROSES.
-At certain seasons of the year,
the turf of the Western prairies is
strewn with flowers of a myriad
varieties, amongst which a kind of
rose is very noticeable.
The early rides in the spring mornings
have a charm all their own, for they are
taken when, for the one and only time during
the year, the same brown landscape of these
high plains turns to a vivid green, as the
new grass sprouts and the trees and bushes
thrust forth the young leaves; and at dawn,
with the dew glittering everywhere, all
things show at their best and freshest. The
flowers are out, and a man may gallop for
miles at a stretch with his horse's hoofs
sinking at every stride into the carpet of
PRAIRIE ROSES, whose short stalks lift the
beautiful blossoms but a few inches from
the ground.-Century Magazine, 1887.
PRAIRIE RUNNER.-A bird, the
description of which is thus given:
Man has a friend in the PRAIRIE RUN-
NER, which is the name of a bird whose
Prairie
mission in life is to supervise the centipede
census. This bird has a fondness for centi-
pedes au natural. If it were not for these
industrious birds, centipedes would be as
plentiful as men who think they understand
all about the tariff question. When a
PRAIRIE RUNNER discovers a centipede, he
takes the insect in his bill and runs off with
him. What the object of the bird is in
running I cannot imagine, unless he, the
bird, wants the centipede to admire the
grace and swiftness of his motions. After
giving the centipede a ride, the PRAIRIE
RUNNER pauses and passes the insect with
a sideway chewing gum sort of motion
through his bill, very much as a linen collar
is passed through a patent clothes wringer.
Then the centipede is pale and cold in
death, and the PRAIRIE RUNNER, which must
be provided with a digester lined with sheet
iron, swallows the insect endways.-Pitts-
burg Dispatch, 1888.
"
-PRAIRIE SCHOONER.-A large
covered wagon which, before the
advent of the iron horse," was
generally used by caravans travel-
ling across the continent. These
vehicles are by no means extinct,
as the railroad, even at the present
time, only taps but a very small
portion of the Great West.
The supplies of coarse, rude food, are
carried perhaps two or three hundred miles
from the nearest town, either in the ranch-
wagons or else by some regular freighting
outfit, whose huge canvas-topped PRAIRIE
SCHOONERS are each drawn by several yoke
of oxen, or perhaps six or eight mules,
-Century Magazine.
436
Many strange characters and strange cus-
toms are introduced, some of which the
march of civilization has swept away. The
old PRAIRIE SCHOONER, in constant use then,
is now mainly a thing of the past.-Daily
Inter-Ocean, April 14, 1888.
-PRAIRIE STATE.-Illinois.
PRAIRIE WOLF.-The prairie wolf
(miscalled CAYOTE (q.v.), on the
middle and northern plains) is
about half-way in size between the
fox and the buffalo wolf . . . These
wolves are exceedingly cowardly,
one alone not possessing courage
enough to attack even a sheep. When
in packs, and very hungry, they
have been known to muster up
resolution enough to attack an ox
Pre-empt
or cow, if the latter be entirely
alone.
PRAIRILLON.—A small prairie. This
term is now almost obsolete.
PRAWCHEY.—In New York, a gossip;
the Scotch "clack"; of Dutch
origin.
PRAYER-BONES.-The knees.
'The neophyte will kneel!' said Lawler.
'Now get down on your PRAYER-BONES,'
whispered Monaghan; and McKenna knelt
upon the carpet.-Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires
and Detectives.
}
PREACH. A curtailment-born of
American love of brevity—for
preaching; also used in place of
"' sermon.
PREACHER'S STAND.-Western for a
pulpit; much used at camp meet-
ings and similar gatherings.
PRECINCT. In electoral matters a
synonym for "ward"; a district.
PRE-EMPT, TO.-(1) To secure land
according to a legal form set out
in the PRE-EMPTION LAW of 1841.
This enactment has since been
somewhat modified by the Home-
stead Act of 1862.-See HOMESTEAD.
The laws of the United States give the
right to any citizen who does not own 320
acres of land in any State of the Union (and
to this he is required to make oath) to PRE-
EMPT 160 acres by fulfilling the detailed
requirements of the act. These require-
ments are that he shall file his intention in
the land office to enter upon and improve
the land, either by cultivating it or erecting
thereon a home, and residing upon the land
long enough to make it his residence; which
time is variously estimated to mean one or
five days, just as the Receiver at any land-
office may decide. To the fact that he has
so resided and made said improvements, he
must produce a witness, who testifies that
such and such things have been done, and
that the pre-emptor has resided the required
time in the house on the land. Upon ful-
Preference
filling all these requirements and paying one
dollar and a quarter per acre, either in gold
or a land-warrant, and the fees, he receives
a certificate of title. A duplicate of this is
sent to the Secretary of the Interior at
Washington, who, after having searched the
records, and finding that the individual has
not PRE-EMPTED before, issues a patent
direct to him, and he becomes the owner of
his farm by title direct from the Government.
-National Intelligencer.
(2) Hence colloquially to pre-
empt is to take possession, or to
qualify for. Thus a man may pre-
empt for heaven.— PRE-EMPTION
RIGHT. The right to pre-empt or
secure a title to Government lands.
PRE-EMPTOR. One who has
the right to pre-empt.
PREFERENCE. In the game of Boston
first-preference signifies, "Trump
the same suit as the card turned
up on the pack. Second-preference
means "The same color, but not
the same suit as the card turned
up on the pack."-The American
Hoyle.
PEKEL.-In Pennsylvania, a small
sugar-coated cake.
PRESIDENCY. The office of president
or chief magistrate, who is chosen
by the ELECTORAL COLLEGE (see
ELECTORS) to serve for a period of
four years. The Presidents of the
United States, since the Revo-
lution, with the opposition candi-
dates are as follows:-
1789 George Washington-No opposition.
1792 George Washington-No opposition.
1796 John Adams-Thomas Jefferson.
1800 Thomas Jefferson-John Adams.
1804 Thomas Jefferson-C. C. Pinckney.
1808 James Madison-C. C. Pinckney.
1812 James Madison-De Witt Clinton.
1816 James Monroe-Rufus King.
1820 James Monroe-No opposition.
1824 John Q. Adams-Andrew Jackson.
1828 Andrew Jackson-John Q. Adams.
1832 Andrew Jackson-Henry Clay.
1836 Martin Van Buren-William H. Harri-
son.
1840 William H. Harrison
Buren,
Martin Van
437
Primary
1844 James K. Polk-Henry Clay.
1848 Zachary Taylor-Lewis Cass.
1852 Franklin Pierce-Winfield Scott.
1856 James Buchanan-John C. Fremont.
1860 Abraham Lincoln-S. A. Douglas.
1864 Abraham Lincoln-C. B. McClellan.
1868 U. S. Grant-Horatio Seymour.
1872 U. S. Grant-Horace Greeley.
1876 R. B. Hayes-S. J. Tilden.
1880 James A. Garfield-W. S. Hancock.
1884 Grover Cleveland-James G. Blaine.
1888 Benj. Harrison-Grover Cleveland.
PRESIDENTIAL.-Pertaining to
the office of president.
PRESIDIO.
Spanish-Mexican for a
military post.
PRETTY WEATHER.
Pleasant, agree-
able weather is, in North Carolina
and some parts of Pennsylvania,
called pretty weather.
PRETZEL.-A biscuit-like cake.
I know what a sick friend means every
time it is mentioned-it means 4 a.m., with
a hatful of bar-room crackers scattered
through Mr. Jerker's hair, and a quantity of
those horrid PRETZELS adorning every
pocket of his clothes. When Jerker has a sick
friend on hand he either comes home in
time for breakfast or he doesn't come home
at all, and I get a note from a policeman to
call at the Four Courts with a clean shirt
and a couple of seidlitz powders, and 14 dols.
to pay his fine for disturbing the peace by
running up and down under citizens' win-
dows shouting that he owns all St. Louis.—
St. Louis Globe Democrat, April 29, 1888.
PRICKLY PEAR (Opuntia vulgaris).-
A cactus, the fruit of which is
fancied by some, though the gene-
ral verdict pronounces it insipid.
One variety is also called INDIAN
FIG (q.V.).
PRIGSTAR (Cant).-In love matters a
rival.
PRIMARY. A preliminary meeting
held by the voters of a district,
usually for the purpose of making
nominations or electing delegates
to nominating conventions. — See
BOODLE.
Priminary
"
PRIMINARY, In the South a di-
lemma; a facer"; a difficulty,
This is also an English provin-
cialism.
PRIMING. NOT A PRIMING TO.-Not
to be compared with; not a circum-
stance to.-See CIRCUMSTANCE.
A backwood's term in allusion to an
old-fashioned type of gun.
PRIMP UP, To.-To be fastidious in
making the toilet; to devote time
to the various little arts and devices
by which women seek to enhance
their personal appearance.
PRIMPY.-A woman is said to be
primpy when given to the adornment
of her person by dress, cosmetics,
and other means known only to
those admitted into the feminine
sanctum sanctorum.
PRINCE'S PRIDE.-See PIPSISSEWA.
PRINTERY.-A printing establishment;
of the same class of words as
bindery, bakery, creamery, etc.
PROBATE, TO.-To prove (with regard
to wills).
The will of J. Lucas Turner, deceased, was
PROBATED late Monday afternoon, before
Judge Henderson. It is dated April 8, 1884.
To each of his children he leaves 100 dols.,
and the residue of his estate to his wife,
who is appointed executrix without bond.-
Missouri Republican, February 22, 1888.
438
PROCESSION. TO GO ON WITH THE
PROCESSION is to continue; not to
allow a break in the continuity of
any act. Processions form quite a
feature of American public life-
hence the various similes drawn
from them. TO STAND AT THE
HEAD OF THE PROCESSION.-To be
first and foremost; to take the
initiative.PROCESSIONER. - An
official surveyor of land.
Project
PRODUCE -The name by which crops
are generically known.
PROFESSOR.-A word which, like gen-
tleman and lady, is strangely mis-
used in America, being applied
indiscriminately to any one who
makes a profession of anything. A
similar laxity is creeping into vogue
in England. A shoeblack in New
York once set up as a professor !
PROGRESS, TO.-A verb which, having
fallen into disuse in the Mother
Country, has been retained in
America, and is again making its
way into popular speech in
England. American citizens, how-
ever, always progress instead of
advance; and Young America
scorns to grow up"; he pro-
gresses towards citizenship instead.
"
PROHIBITION.-The political doctrine
which would forbid the drink traffic
by law, and which would severely
handicap the sale of intoxicating
drinks. A PROHIBITIONIST is one
who favors such a policy.
one
PROJECT, PROJICK. -The following
amusing skit on the American use
of this word is self-explanatory :
We must again protest that the Louisville
Courier-Journal is lowering the standard of
Kentuckian. It editorially advises
member of the Legislature not to PROJECT
with another. As Kentuckian, this is in-
describably vile. The verb PROJECT is an
English word, having no connection, ortho-
graphically, with the verb to PROJICK (p.
part, PROJICTED, pres. part PROJICKING-pro-
nounce PROJ-ICKING or PRODG-ICKING) in
classic Kentuckian. A PROJECTOR, in Eng-
lish, is a person who PROJECTS all manner of
schemes. The word originated in the times
of John Law and the Mississippi bubble. A
PROJICKER in Kentuckian, is a person who
plays practical jokes on others, and ends his
career by thawing frozen dynamite on the
kitchen stove, or trying to blow a dirt-dauber's
nest out of a shot-gun barrel. Kentuckian
and English are closely allied languages, de-
rived from the same Indo-Aryan source, and
PROJECT and PROJICK have the same primi-
Pronghorn Antelope
tive root (Sansk. DJECH, Zend. JEK, Lat. JEC);
but since the separation of Kentuckian and
English they have become widely differ-
entiated, and no writer, who aims at classic
Kentuckian should confound them.—Mis-
souri Republican, March 8, 1888.
PRONGHORN ANTELOPE (Antilocapra
americana).-Of a unique species, the
Antilocapride, has been created to
designate the pronghorn antelope. He
is the only representative of this
family, nor is it at all likely that
any species will be discovered
hereafter to keep him company.
Also called CABREE by the French
Canadian, and a GOAT by the
Western hunters. Prongbucks
shun the forest, but occur from
small bands to thousands on the
rolling prairies from the tropics
to the 54° north latitude, west of
the Missouri River.
PRONOUNCE, TO.-To turn out. This
curious usage is current in Nan-
tucket; thus, a horse, when being
put through his paces, is said to
pronounce well or ill, as the case
may be.
PRONOUNCEMENT.-A proclamation or
manifesto. The correct equivalent
is pronunciamento, a word which has
been adopted into the English
language from the Spanish.
PRONUNCIATION, PECULIARITIES OF.-
Taking the people as a whole,
Americans are probably more
accurate in pronunciation than the
inhabitants of the Mother Country.
The most marked divergence
occurs, as might be supposed,
in the New England and Southern
States, those having been the first
settled. All others are, in the
main, mere modifications or new
combinations of these. The rapid
multiplication of books, and
vastly extended facilities for
travel, however, are doing their
439
Pronunciation
work; and in the same manner
that the provincial dialects of
England are fast disappearing
except amongst the agricultural
population, so American peculiari-
ties of speech are not so marked
nowadays as formerly. The main
points of difference in the North
are thus succinctly stated by J.
Russell Lowell:-
1. The genuine Yankee never gives the
rough sound to the r when he can help it,
and often displays considerable ingenuity
in avoiding it even before a vowel.
2. He
seldom sounds the final g, a piece of self-
denial, if we consider his partiality for
nasals. The same of the final d, as han'
and stan for hand and stand. 3. The h in
such words as while, when, where, he omits
altogether. 4. In regard to a, he shows
some inconsistency, sometimes giving a
close and obscure sound, as hev for have,
hendy for handy, ez for as, thet for that, and
again giving it the broad sound it has in
father, as handsome for handsome.
5. To
the sound on he prefixes an e (hard to
exemplify otherwise than orally). The
following passage in Shakespeare he would
recite thus:-
Neow is the winta uv eour discontent
Med glorious summa by this sun o' Yock,
An' all the cleouds thet leorowed upon eour
heouse,
In the deep buzzum o' the oshin buried;
Neow air eour breows beound 'ith victori-
ous wreaths;
Eour breused arms hung up fer moni-
munce:
Eour star alarums changed to merry
meetins,
Eour dreffle marches to delighfle masures.
Grim-visaged war heth smeuthed his
wrinkled front,
An' neow, insted o' mountin' barebid steeds,
To fright the souls o' ferfle edverseries,
He capers nimly in a lady's chamber,
To the lascivious pleasin' uv o loot.
6. Au, in such words as daughter and
slaughter, he pronounces ah. 7. To the
dish thus seasoned add a drawl ad libitum.
Another authority thus describes
Southern intonations and one or
two strange idioms which, though
not quite in their proper place here,
I give for the sake of consecutive-
ness." I found the half-forgotten
Southern intonations and elisions as
pleasing to my ear as they had
formerly been. A Southerner talks
Pronunciation
44
music; at least it is music to me,
but then I was born in the South.
The educated Southerner has no
use for an "r," except at the begin-
ning of a word. He says "honah,
and "dinnah," and "Gove'nuh,"
and "befo' the waw," and so on.
The words may lack charm to the eye
in print, but they have it to the ear.
When did the "r" disappear from
Southern speech, and how did it
come to disappear? The custom
of dropping it was not borrowed
from the North, nor inherited from
England. Many Southerners
most Southerners-put a "y" into
occasional words that begin with
the "k" sound. For instance, they
say Mr. K'yahter (Carter), and
speak of playing k'yahds or of
riding in the k'yahs. And they
have the pleasant custom-long
ago fallen into decay in the North
-of frequently employing the re-
spectful Sir." Instead of the
curt yes, and the abrupt no, they
say "Yes, suh," "no, suh." But
there are some infelicities. Such
as like" for "as," and the addi-
tion of an
"at
where it isn't
needed. I heard an educated
gentleman say, "Like the flag-
officer did." His cook or his
butler would have said, Like
the flag-officer done." You hear
gentlemen say, "Where have
you been
been at?" And here is
the aggravated form-I heard a
ragged street arab say it to a
comrade: "I was a-ask'n Tom
what you was a-sett'n at." The
very elect carelessly say "will"
when they mean shall"; and
many of them say, "I didn't
go to do it," meaning "I didn't
mean to do it." The Northern
word guess" imported from
England, where it used to be com-
mon, and now regarded by satirical
Englishmen as a Yankee original-
is but little used among Southerners.
They say "reckon." They haven't
440
"
Protracted Meeting
"
any doesn't" in their language;
they say
'don't" instead. The
unpolished often use "went" for
gone." It is nearly as bad as the
Northern "hadn't ought." This
reminds me that a remark of a very
peculiar nature was made here in
my neighborhood (in the North),
a few days ago: "He hadn't ought
to have went." How is that?
Isn't that a good deal of a triumph?
One knows the orders combined in
this half-breed's architecture with-
out inquiring: one parent Northern
the other Southern. To-day I
heard a schoolmistress ask,
Where is John gone?" This
form is so common-so nearly
universal, in fact that if she
had used "whither," instead of
where," I think it would have
sounded like an affectation."
PROPIOS. This term, for lands owned
by a municipality, has found its
way into American speech through
the purchase and annexation of
colonies, once Spanish. These
public lands are, under the Spanish-
American law, reserved inalienably
for the benefit of the community at
large-for the erection of public
buildings, markets, etc.
PRO-SLAVERY.-In favor of slavery.
This term has managed to find its
way into the dictionaries, when
the principle embodied in it has
become, as far as civilized nations.
are concerned, a thing of the past.
PROSPECT. In mining phraseology
a prospect is good or bad, according
to the out-turn of the first panful of
earth washed.
PROTRACTED MEETING. A religious
meeting continued for a length of
time.-See BIG MEETING.
I experienced religion at one of brother
Armstrong's PROTRACTED MEETIN'S. Them
Proven
special efforts is great things,-ever since
I came out, I've felt like a new critter.
-Widow Bedott Papers, p. 103.
PROVEN.-The old past participle of
"to prove," still survives amongst
most American writers. It is used
occasionally in Scotland in the
present day, e.g., in the peculiar
Scotch verdict, "not proven."
PROVIDENTIAL CALL.-See CALL.
PROX OF PROXY. - Formerly used in
Rhode Island and Connecticut to
denote an election at which voting
by proxy was allowed under
certain conditions. The ticket, or
list of candidates handed to the
voter, was itself called a prox.
The terms are now obsolete.
PRUNES. TO HAVE PRUNES IN THE
VOICE. To speak huskily, the
cause being emotion.
heart
When I shouted Mr. Speaker, my
came into my throat, but I had the presence
of mind to swallow it, and started in. Mr.
Cox was in the chair, and he seemed a mile
away. I wondered if he could hear me.
There seemed to be PRUNES IN MY VOICE,
and it sounded strange to me. I lived a
year in ten seconds.-St. Louis Daily Globe
Democrat, 1888.
PRY.-A lever.- -TO PRY.-To prise;
to force open with a tool used as a
lever. Pry is provincial in some
parts of England, and the deriva-
tion which obviously suggests itself
is that, it is a corruption of the
French prise, taking, from prendre to
take.
TWO USES FOR IT.
Arcola Record-'Anything else?' asked a
landlady of the new boarder, as he pushed
back from the table,
'Yes; I'd like to have a crowbar.'
'What for?'
'To PRY that tough beefsteak out of my
teeth.'
Indeed; and while you are PRYING with
the crowbar, will you please try to raise a
little money to pay your board bill?'-St.
441
Pueblo
Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer Press, July 22,
1838.
PUB. FUNC. - An abbreviation for
public functionary.
PUBLISHMENT.-A New England term,
used in connection with the publi-
cation of banns of marriage.
PUCCOON.
The POKE - BERRY or
BLOOD-ROOT, both of which see.
Puccoon is a generic Indian name
for plants which furnish coloring
pigments.
PUCKER UP!-Cease talking. A slang
exclamation equivalent to," dry up.'
PUDJIKY.-Fussy.
PUEBLO.- A Spanish-Mexican term
for an Indian village, formerly
under the control and guidance of
an official of the Catholic Hier-
archy. PUEBLO INDIAN.—A
Catholic Indian. These red men
of New Mexico are semi-civilized
and are under the care of Catholic
priests. They are the descendants
of the ancient rulers of the country,
and are so called because they
dwell in villages and subsist by
agriculture, instead of living in
lodges and depending upon the
chase, like the wild Indians of the
mountains and plains.-PUEBLO
REMAINS. These, says Charles
Morris, in his Monuments of Ancient
America, are ruins in New Mexico
and Arizona, peculiar erections,
very numerous in the region be-
tween the Rio Grande, Colorado,and
Gila rivers, which owe their origin
to a partly-civilized race, differing
from all others. The Pueblo Pintado
is one of the most remarkable. It
is built of small flat slabs of greyish
sandstone; between the stones are
layers of small colored pebbles,
the edifice at a distance resembling
56
Puff Workers
442
brilliant mosaic work. It is thirty
feet high, and embraces three
stories, the upper portion of each
story forming a terrace. The
building is one hundred and thirty
yards long, and contains fifty-three
rooms on the ground-floor. The
Pueblo Una Vida is about three
hundred and thirty yards long,
while that called the Chettro
Kettle," is four hundred and thirty-
three yards long, and each story
has one hundred and twenty-four
rooms.
"
PUFF-WORKERS.- Penny-a-liners,
who make a business of writing
paragraphs puffing theatrical per-
formers.
Every professional, no matter of what
grade, is afflicted with an unquenchable
thirst for newspaper publicity, hence press
paragraphers, or, as they are professionally
termed, PUFF WORKERS, have multiplied in
all the big cities, and do a thriving trade.
It is not always the most talented people
who are best paid, as oftener those whose
names have figured most in print regardless
of their stage capabilities command the
largest wages-New York Mercury, July 21,
1888.
PUKE. (1) A low contemptible
fellow; a cad; a snob.-
(2) A
Missourian is so nicknamed.
PULL.-Besides the phrases in which
pull occurs common to the slang of
both countries, there are a few dis-
tinctively American applications.
--PULL-BACK-DRESS.-A woman's
gown tightly draped in front, all the
fulness being taken to the back. In
a song popular at the time of this
fashion, a woman is made to com-
mend it because "it showed her
handsome shape! -PULL DICK,
PULL DEVIL. A variation of the
English proverbial saying, "pull
devil, pull baker.' PULL DOO.~
A corruption of poule d'eau, a water-
hen; a small black duck common on
Pumpkin
-PULL DOWN
To
the Gulf in Mexico.-
YOUR VEST. See VEST.
PULL FOOT.-See FOOT. PULL-
ING-BONE.-The merry-thought or
wish-bone of English children.
TO PULL IT. To run.
PULL OUT. To abandon; to with-
draw.
Το
He is rich, but he knows that if he keeps
his money in the show business any longer
he will lose it all, and so he has PULLED OUT;
and we would too, except that we do not
want to sacrifice all the money we have
in show property. Missouri Republican,
February 24th, 1888.
To PULL UP STAKES. - See
STAKES.- TO PULL WOOL OVER
THE EYES.-See WOOL.
PULLMAN CARS. These luxurious
vehicles have become thoroughly
naturalized in England. As is well
known, they derived their distinc-
tive name from an American who
first introduced them.
PULPITEER.-A clergyman.
The attention of women who think that
certain social reforms would be promoted if
their sex possessed the ballot, is respectfully
called to the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage.
Although this learned PULPITEER does not
believe that men have a right to compel a
woman to pay taxes, and withhold the ballot
from her at the same time, he doubts if her
suffrage would advance the cause of progress.
-New York World, February 14, 1888.
PULQUE.-A well-known intoxicating
beverage, prepared from the sap of
the MAGUEY or CENTURY PLANT.
PUMA (Felis concolor).-This animal is
known under various names-
panther, catamount, American
lion, and COUGAR (2.v.),
PUMPKIN.-When made into pies, a
favorite American dish.
Puncheons
Hannah is a smart, willin' gall, and a rael
worker, and a prime cook into the bargain ;
but let her alone in the doughnut line and
for PUMPKIN PIES.-McClintock's Tales.
-HE THINKS SOME PUMPKINS OF
HIMSELF. This is equivalent to
the highest self-appreciation. The
antithesis of some pumpkins is SMALL
POTATOES, applied to things that
are mean and petty. The English
expression, "no small beer," will
also occur to mind.
The Miss A's cut a tall swathe, I tell
you, for they say they are descended from a
governor of Nova Scotia, and that their
relations in England are
TOO. Sam Slick's Human Nature.
PUNCHEONS.
M
SOME PUMKINS
Rough-hewn logs,
smoothed on one side and laid
down as flooring. A substitute
until bright prospects enable the
settler to build a more substantial
dwelling than the rude log hut in
which puncheon floors are generally
found.
PUNCTUATED.-A speech is said to be
well punctuated with applause when
rapturously received by the lis-
teners the simile being that bursts
of applause are as frequent as are
punctuation marks on a printed
page.
PUNK.-Rotten wood, used as tinder.
-To PUNK.-A New York term,
probably a corruption of
"to
punch," with which it is identical
in meaning.
PUNKIN.-A corruption of "pumpkin."
PUNKIN SEED (Pomotis vul-
garis); also called BREAM and SUN-
FISH. In form, this denizen of
fresh waters is not unlike a punp-
kin-seed, hence its name.
PUNT.-A canoe-like boat, fashioned
out of a large tree. This is a
Maryland and Virginia usage; in
443
Put
England flat-bottomed boats are
called punts.
PUPELO.-A whilom New England
term for cider-brandy.
PUPPY (Cant). Blind; doubtless
from the condition of puppies when
first born.
#
PURE QUILL.—A strange synonym for
'the real thing "; the very essence
of an argument. Also applied to
any object thought worthy of super-
lative praise.
'Yer see,' he felt to explain,' when religun
is religun, an' it's the PURE QUILL an' no
water in it, there's never one of us but kin
take it in large doses and be thankful to the
Lord fur sending the messenger; but when
an onery, wuthless cuss like Joe Williams
sots up to hev got a call to spread the Gospel,
an' he cums yere among us as know him to
spread it, why, we feel to make him shet.'-
Detroit Free Press, August, 1888.
PUSH-CART.-A truck or barrow,
pushed by hand.
One day last week we saw an old darkey
up on O'Fallon-street, who had a PUSH-CART.
He had written on the cart The Andante
Express, and was delighted with the atten-
tion that he received.-St. Louis Republican,
February 12, 1888.
PUSSY WILLOW (Salix discolor).—From
the softness of the expanding cat-
kins in early spring.
PUT!-Formerly a New Englandism
for Begone! Now common through-
out the Union. To PUT is also
used in a similar sense, i.e., to
start; to be off. Also TO PUT OFF
and To PUT OUT.- To PUT A
HEAD ON ONE.-See HEAD.TO
PUT IT IN STRONG.-To speak or
act with emphasis.--To STAY,
PUT. To remain where placed.
"shut
PUT UP!—A forcible injunction
to silence, equivalent to
up!" in English slang.
Putten
PUTTEN. The past participle of to
put; frequently heard, like others
of similar type-boughten, casten,
gotten, proven, etc., etc.
PUTTER, TO.-To needlessly engage in
fussy work of no special benefit to
any one. Compare with English
"to potter."
444
Puzzle-Cove
PUTTO. A ranchman's term in the
South-west for a stake to which
cattle are tethered.
PUTTY-ROOT.-See ADAM AND EVE.
PUZZLE-COVE (Cant).
A lawyer.
Many will be ready to agree with
Bill Syke's definition.

&


к. Quite correct
(korrect). A catch-
phrase from Ben
Woolf's drama of
Mighty
"
The
Dollar."
QUACKLE, TO.-An English provincial-
ism, which is commonly colloquial
in America-to suffocate; to choke.
QUADROON.-Persons whose descent
is two degrees removed from pure
black are called quadroons, or in
Spanish, cuarteron. The descent
is: white man and black woman=
mulatto; white man and mulatto
woman-quadroon.
Often a very
high type of beauty is observable
among quadroons.
QUAG (Cant). Untrustworthy; un-
safe.
QUAHAUG.-A New England name for
a species of clam of the genus Venus
mercenaria.-See COHOG.
QUAIL (Cant). An old maid.-
QUAIL PIPE.-A woman's tongue.
QUAKER GUN.
QUAKER. QUAKER GUN.-An imitation
gun made of wood or other material,
and placed in the port-hole of a
vessel, or the embrasure of a fort,
in order to deceive the enemy; so
called from its inoffensive charac-
ter. Webster. QUAKERS.-Sce
BLUETS. QUAKER CITY.-Phila-
delphia. William Penn, its founder,
belonged to the Society of Friends
or Quakers.
He looked backward upon the receding
town, and considered whether he would
survive ever again to take his old name and
place in the world and see the broad,
teeming streets, handsome structures, and
beautiful girls of the QUAKER CITY. To
him it then seemed he was cutting loose
from all the nether world.-Pinkerton's
Molly Maguires and Detectives.
QUAMISH.-See KAMAS ROOT, of which
it is a variety.
QUARTER.-A twenty-five cent piece;
a quarter of a dollar.
'Did you ever have a lady hand you a
lead QUARTER?' 'I have.' 'Nicely dressed,
high-toned ladies?' 'Just so. There were
several on this line who used to hand me
lead QUARTERS.' 'And you didn't feel like
saying anything to them?' There was no
need. I always had four lead nickels ready
St. Louis Globe
to return for change.'
Democrat, January 21, 1888.
เ
QUARTERAGE.-A military term for a
soldier's allowance.
QUARTERS.-The negro huts on a
plantation in slavery times; the
term still survives to designate the
houses of black people.
QUARTER SECTION.-See SECTION.
QUARTZ.-PRETTY GOOD QUARTZ ANY-
HOW! Said when a man makes
the best of a bad bargain.
'The boys tell me it's a brass mine, but if
it ain't brass 'tis gold, sure; and if it ain't
that it's GOOD QUARTZ ANYHOW.—American
Paper.
Queen Ann
QUEEN ANN.-A vulgar corruption of
quinine."
"
QUEEN CITY.-Cincinnati. Also called
PORKOPOLIS (q.v.) and PARIS OF
AMERICA (q.v.).
QUEEN CITY OF THE LAKES.
in the State of New York.
QUEER.
Buffalo,
Counterfeit money.
SHOVING THE QUEER. Circu-
lating spurious money, paper or
specie. QUEER SHOVERS.
Those who put bad money into
circulation. Slang in England, but
colloquial in the States.
A middle-aged
dark overcoat, and a blackg a dark suit,
hat
Edward Dempsey's saloon, 2856 Cass Ave-
nue, Friday evening, when he succeeded in
passing a counterfeit silver dollar. He had
a number of coins of the same kind, and
passed more of them at other places during
the evening. The counterfeit is said to be
a very good one, difficult to detect and
easily passed on store-keepers. The police
are looking for the QUEER SHOVER, and are
confident of effecting his capture.-Missouri
Republican, March 4, 1888.
The evidence is strong against the
accused, an excellent pair of copper moulds
for making the QUEER having been found on
his premises.-Missouri Republican, January
25, 1888.
QUES (Cant).-Points.
corruption of “cues."
Obviously a
"
QUICK AND THE DEAD.-A new drink
has been called the
Quick and
the Dead," after the title of Miss
Rives' last novel. It is made of
Apollinaris water and brandy.
Brandy is the "quick," and Apol-
linaris water the "dead." Undoubt-
446
Quirt
edly some will ask for more of the
quick and less of the dead.-See
DRINKS.
QUICK BOSOMS.-Explained by quo-
tation.
Our modern filibusters are the scum of
our society, not men whom QUICK BOSOMS
drive upon desperate adventures; but men
whom rascality has outlawed, men whom
society, instead of sending forth with
blessings, kicks out with contempt. Broken-
down gamblers, drunken lawyers, unsuc-
cessful publicans, dissipated shoemakers,
detested swindlers, men under whose feet
every plank has broken, and those who
nowadays assume the bearing, and attempt
to walk in the footsteps of Cortez or of Clive.
—New York Courier and Enquirer.
QUICKER 'N GREASED LIGHTNIN'
Quicker than an express train.-
See GREASED LIGHTNING.
QUIDDLING.-Uncertain; unsteady.
QUIL.-TO GET UP AND QUILL.- To
depart in haste; to move quickly.
Texas.
QUILTING BEE.-See BEE.
QUIRT.-A riding-whip, about eigh-
teen inches long, made of raw
hide and leather plaited together,
with a piece of iron in the handle.
It was at once agreed that he wasn't the
sure-enough broncho-buster he thought
himself, and he was compared very unfavor-
ably to various heroes of the QUIRT and
spurs who lived in Texas Colorado; for the
best rider, like the best hunter, is invariably
either dead or else a resident of some other
district.-Century Magazine, October, 1888.
To QUIRT.-To break in wild
horses.


ACCOON. (Procyon
lotor)-See CoON.
RACE-TRACK.-A race-
course.
This
RACKABONES.
term, which almost
carries its meaning on its face,
is applied either to a wreck of a
horse, or to an emaciated human
being. Racks is the name
given by English horse-copers to
the bones of a dead horse.
RADICAL.
"
Also contemptuously
shortened to RAD. American
Radicals were a section of the
Republican party, who so clung to
the Union that to preserve it, when
the anti-slavery crisis arose, they
were ready to sacrifice all other
constitutional rights. As a party
name in England it was used as
early as 1818.
RAFT (1) A float of wood, boards,
or logs. Neither the name nor the
object itself is, of course, dis-
tinctively American, except so far
as size is concerned, The log
rafts formed in the head waters of
the great rivers, more especially the
Mississippi, are of almost incredible
dimensions. Timber felled in the
interior is by this means floated to
its destination, and the RAFTSMEN
employed in the traffic build rough
cabins and live on them for months
at a time. (2) The immense size
of some of these rafts has led to the
use of the word in the sense of a
large number or quantity, thus a
man with his "quiver" full would
be said to have a whole raft of
children.To RAFT.-To tran-
sport on a raft.-RAFTING.-The
business of constructing and float-
ing rafts.
RAFT DUCK.- - See
BROADBILL.
RAG. (1) Used colloquially for any
piece of linen, e.g., a towel; a
sheet; and, vulgarly, a pocket-
handkerchief. A similar diver-
gence exists in respect to "rocks"
for "stones," dirt" for "earth,"
etc.—(2) From this usage arises
the practice amongst soldiers of
calling the regimental flag or colors
a rag; in this sense, however, the
term is employed in a half-affec-
tionate, half-familiar manner.
I have a little flag (it belonged to one of
our cavalry regiments), presented to me by
one of the wounded; it was taken by the
Secesh in a fight, and rescued by our men in
a bloody skirmish following. It cost three
men's lives to get back that four-by-three
flag-to tear it from the breast of a dead
rebel-for the name of getting their little
RAG back again. Walt Whitwan in Century
Magazine, October, 1888.
RAG (Cant).-A dollar.- -To
TAKE THE RAG OFF THE BUSH.-
"
To outvie; to bear the palm; to
outdo.-See BUSH.--RAG
RAG CAR-
PET. - Known in England as a
scrap hearthrug" or "carpet," of
or"
home manufacture from strips of
cloth knitted or sewn together.-
RAGGED (Cant).- Abused; slan-
dered. The criminal classes show
'Rah 'Rah 'Rah
unwonted wordly wisdom in this
definition. RAG-WATER (Cant).
-All kinds of intoxicating drink
receive this name. Cause and
effect are here often intimately
co-related.
'RAH 'RAH 'RAH!-The Harvard cheer.
-A vocable now common every-
where. To 'RAH is frequent both
in writing and speaking. A cor-
ruption of "hurrah."
So long as Mr. Cleveland appeared to be
an unavoidable necessity the Indiana Demo-
cracy denounced him heartily, and RAHED
for Hill till the brass began to wear off its
lungs. Now that it is certain that Mr.
Cleveland has powerful rivals, and possible
that he will not get the vote of his own State
in convention, the Indiana Democracy is
rending its throat with 'RAH for Grover!-
Mobile Register, 1888.
RAID, TO.-To roust out; to make
legal search. From "raid," a pre-
datory excursion.
Detectives Condon and McFarland, of the
Third district, RAIDED a refuge for thieves,
718, North Fifteenth Street, at an early hour
yesterday morning, and captured a notorious
character named Ed. Boyle.-Missouri Re-
publican, February 22, 1888.
RAIL.-TO RIDE ON A RAIL.
A RAIL.-When
Judge Lynch holds court, if the
extreme penalty is not meted out
to the unfortunate victim of the
popular resentment, punishment is
often administrated in the form of
RAIL-RIDING. The unwilling culprit
is set upon a rail, none too broad,
and carried through the streets,
the finale being reached in a
ducking, or tarring and feather-
ing. Rail-riding must not be con-
founded with FENCE RIDING (see
FENCE), though too frequent an ex-
hibition of the latter often qualifies
for the former.
RAILROAD TERMINOLOGY, ETC.-Ameri-
can railways, or railroads as they
are called, besides being marvels
448
Railroad Terminology
of engineering skill, are managed
and worked so differently to Eng-
lish lines, that they at once arouse
the interest and curiosity of the old-
world stranger within the American
gates. To begin with, the termi-
nology exhibits a most marked
divergence. The following list
comprises the more important
variations. (A fuller explanation
of many of the terms will be found
in its proper place.)
In the United States the RAILROAD is the
English railway; Railroad depôt, railway
station; Cow-catcher or pilot, plough; En-
gineer, engine-driver; Fireman, stoker;
Conductor, guard; Ticket office, booking-
office; Baggage, luggage; Baggage car, lug-
gage van; Passenger car, carriage; Track,
line; Turn-out, siding; Frog, crossing plate;
Switches, points; Check rails, guard rails
Trucks (under the cars), bogies; Switching
off, shunting; Freight train, goods train.
;
The development of the American
railroad system has been most
marked and rapid. Twenty-seven
years ago the dream of a line
uniting the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans was the butt and shaft of
ridicule; and Burton, after visiting
Utah in 1856, remarked that "such
a railway may possibly be built in
the next century." As usual, the
unlikely has happened; and, at the
present time, there are no less
than five railways uniting East and
West, to saying nothing of the
Canadian Pacific in the British
Dominions.
The Union-Central Pacific was the first
of these great lines completed. The com-
pound name arises from the fact that Con-
gress authorized the Central Pacific of Cali-
fornia to build eastward and the Union
Pacific of Nebraska to build westward till
they met, each road to have mileage subsidy
and land grant for the distance it constructed
the road. They met at Promontory Point,
a spur of the Idaho mountains, which runs
down into the Great Salt Lake of Utah; and
there, on the 10th of May, 1869, the cele-
brated last spike was driven with a silver
hammer, with imposing ceremonies. The
two roads soon after agreed to put their
junction at the old Mormon town of Ogden,
east of the lake, and in time they passed
Railroad Terminology
under one management. Both corporations
began their great work in the darkest period
of the Civil War, and completed it during
the era of highest prices and the flood-tide
of greenbacks and speculation. The cost
was enormous, and the Legislative scandals
fearful. The road starts at Omaha, and,
after entering the Platte Valley, enters on a
long incline of 500 miles, averaging a rise of
ten feet to the mile-so the passenger is
higher than the tops of the Alleghanies
before he gets in sight of the Rockies,
without observing the ascent. From Chey-
enne to Sherman the rise is very rapid, and
thence to the summit of the Wasatch the
road is on a ridge or plateau, crossing occa-
sional ridges. From Wasatch, second highest
point on the line, it descends rapidly 3,800
feet to the shore of Salt Lake, and then
crosses near 600 miles of desert and low
rocky ridge to the Sierra Nevada, where the
highest station is but little over 7,000 feet.
The Northern Pacific was next in time.
Completely crushed by the great panic of
1873, the projectors waited patiently till the
revival of business; they then reorganized,
completed the line, and actually brought the
old bonds, which were considered worth-
less for a while, up to par-a financial
success without parallel. Duluth, the start-
ing point on Lake Superior, is but 600 feet
above the sea, and the road encounters
but slight elevations till it reaches the
heart of the Rocky Mountains; but ex-
perience has shown that winter travel on it
is but little more obstructed than on more
southern roads. A great advantage is found
in the fact that the road traverses very
little alkali land, the dust of the soda
plains being a great annoyance on the
Southern roads. The Canadian Pacific bas
still less alkali land, but more desert,
as it crosses the great Keewattin wilder-
ness, that high, rocky plateau stretching
from Lake Superior to the Arctic Ocean,
which is supposed to be the remains of a
lofty mountain of plutonic rock, the rock
having been swept southward by icebergs,
and scattered in the form of boulders
and drift gravel. West of that it crosses
the vast and very fertile plain of Red River;
farther on it traverses a good grazing coun-
try, and then the mountains and British
Columbia, In American territory the
Southern or Texas Pacific was the first
favored, and was the particular pet of
Jefferson Davis when secretary of war. Part
of the region it crosses was bought under
the Gadsden treaty of 1853, only because
the level of the Gila was the natural route
for a trans-continental railway. The war
ruined the scheme apparently. Yet it was
revived in 1875, and the road was completed
in 1881. It is already the favorite route for
winter and spring. The Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe runs through rather the
roughest region of any, traversing about
1,000 miles of almost unbroken mountain
449
Raise
and desert, from the Rio Grande to the
valleys of California west of the Sierras.
Yet it probably has more startling curiosi-
ties on its line than any other route. The
scenery is of the grand and extremely
rugged type-the bare mountains, the deep
ragged canyons and the rocky plateaus have
the awful impressiveness of desolation.
Such are the main lines only. The con-
nections include many thousand miles of
rail, and are stimulating trade and develop-
ment.-Science (abridged), 1888.
way.
—
-RAIL, TO.-To travel by rail-
TO RAILROAD.
(1) In
Pennsylvania a guard is said to rail-
road for a living. -(2) Idiomati-
cally, to do a thing hastily.
Senator Edwards (dem), in explaining his
vote in the negative, said that the only
proper term for describing the passage of the
bill was RAILROADING. He for one could not
vote for a measure hurried through without
time for deliberation.—Missouri Republican,
February 22, 1888.
It is not good legislation to RAILROAD bills.
through the house without having full and
intelligent discussion, and also a quorum of
the members present to decide whether or
not these measures shall be passed.—Ibid.
-RAIL-CAR.-A railway coach.
See PULLMAN CARS.- RAILROAD
CITY. — Indianapolis, in Indiana.
This sobriquet is in allusion to the
fact that there a great many lines
of railway find a common centre.
-RAILROADER.—An employé on
a railway.
They succeeded in convincing the miners
that their own troubles could be settled with-
out much difficulty, but that it was simple
folly for them to attempt to longer bolster up
the RAILROADERS in their fight.-New York
Weekly Times, February 22, 1888.
RAILS (Cant). Curtain lectures-
railing indeed.
RAINCLOAK.-A waterproof cloak is so
called in the West.-See GOSSAMER.
RAISE. This word is by no means a
drone in the community of words.
-A raise is frequently synonymous
with a fraudulent action; a getting
the better of one.
57
Raise
About a year ago Spencer, who draws a
six-dollar pension, RAISED one of his checks
to 3,000 dols., and, presenting it to a Kearney
county bank, drew out 500 dols., leaving the
balance on deposit. When the check reached
the St. Louis sub-treasury the RAISE was
discovered, and reported to the Topeka
officials; a special agent was sent out, and
Spencer arrested. - Missouri Republican,
February 15, 1888.
TO RAISE or TO MAKE A RAISE.
-To procure or obtain; to make
a haul or " raise the wind," e.g.,
Cora, I'm hungry; raise me some
crackers and cheese.' -TO BE
RAISED, or TO RAISE (used both of
persons and things).-To be reared;
to propagate. Children are raised not
reared," and crops rarely grow,
they are raised instead. This usage
is an Old English survival, and was
used by Lord Herbert of Chertbury
in his memoirs.
'How long have you lived here?' 'Oh,
ever sinced me and Davy was married, or
nigh about fifteen years, but I was RAISED
in the sand hills in Rockingham county.'-
The American, June 27, 1888.
MGR. CAPEL AND A KENTUCKY GIRL.-
Mgr. Capel was the subject of a talk the
other evening, the spokeswoman of the party
being the daughter of our ex-minister to a
foreign court and a Catholic. 'I don't mean
the man,' she said, 'he is ill-mannered. It
was this way: I was talking to him and in
some way referred to my youth, and said I
had been RAISED in Kentucky.' 'But, madam,'
he said, with provoking irrelevancy, and in
a tone of supercilious criticism,' you should
not say RAISED. Bred is better; we say so
in England.' 'Do you?' I answered with
considerable warmth; well, I don't. In
Kentucky we breed cattle and horses and
mules [and formerly niggers she might have
added] and RAISE children. Then I turned
my back on him quite as politely as he had
begun the dispute, and I felt better.'-
Washington Post.
(
I was RAISED there right on the banks of
the Tennessee, but I was born just over the
line in Alabama.-7. H. Beadle's Western
Wilds.
This is an uncommon child! Look at his
great size!
His large head! His eyes! I
never saw his equal before ! He will be
worth RAISING -Concord Monitor, 1888.
As an instance of raise applied to
crops the following may be quoted:
450
Rakehelly
Major Guerdon G. Moore, who has just
returned from Florida, says if he ever gets
into that State again it will be in a box; he
never will go there of his own accord. He
says they only RAISE niggers, alligators,
swamps, and miasma. Confound a State
that can't RAISE grass.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
Feb. 14, 1888.
Variants
are ΤΟ BE RAISED
CIVILIZED, or TO BE RAISED
BEFORE THE WOODS WAS BURNT,
metaphors which explain them-
selves.- -TO RAISE ONE is to get
an advantage; to cap a story; etc.;
a colloquial use of the term in
poker.
One evening a tourist, who had been
devoting the summer to trout fishing in the
Cimarron, was telling some pretty good-sized
fish stories to a long-haired frontiersman,
who, while listening, was evidently studying
how he might see the tourist and RAISE him
on the size of his yarn. The tourist ended.
The frontiersman shifted his quid of tobacco
to the other cheek and followed with a
capper.-New York Mercury, July 21, 1888.
RAISING
RAISING A HOUSE,
BEE, or RAISING.-Interchangeable
terms for a party of neighbors and
friends assembled to put together
and build a frame-house- a social
custom now fast disappearing, and
only now practised in the back
country. See BEE. TO RAISE A
BET. The same as going better
(in poker).-See GO BETTER.
TO RAISE A BEAD.-See BEAD.
TO RAISE CAIN.-See CAIN.-
RAISE HAIR. See HAIR.-
RAISE THE HATCHET.-See HATCHET.
-To RAISE A RACKET.-To
make a disturbance or commotion.
—
—
To
-To
-RAISING.-A New England
term for yeast. It is an exact
translation of the French levain,
leaven. Raising, however, is a sur-
vival of Old English usage, having
been used by Gayton.
RAKE.-In certain German settle-
ments, a comb.
RAKEHELLY.
Utterly abandoned; a
compound of "rake" and "hell."
Ralph
M. de Fourgon, behind her, lifted his eye-
brows. José,' he said, aside to Knight, is
a good fellow enough up here among the
women and babies; but with his own crew,
at St. Charles, there is no more RAKE HELLY
scamp in New Orleans.'-Scribner's Maga-
zine, 1887.
RALPH (Cant).-A stupid fellow; a
fool.
RAMBUNCTIOUS.-Quarrelsome; ugly
tempered.
Miners at Butte, Nev., recently, were per-
suaded with difficulty to enter a mine, hav-
ing a superstitious fear that it was haunted.
So it was, as a large and RAMBUNCTIOUS goat
had taken up his abode in the mineral cabin
and made things lively for the time being.—
Daily Inter-Ocean, March 2, 1888.
RAMMER (Cant).—The arm.
RAMSAMMY.-In the West Indies a
generic name for a coolie.
RANCH, RANCHO (Spanish). — (1)
A rude hut of posts and boughs
of trees, a collection of which,
in Northern Mexico, formed a
village.—(2) A cattle station or
farm. The word has now become
very popular, and is thoroughly
incorporated into American speech
in the sense of a farm; a small
estate, etc. In some parts of
the country every habitation out-
side a town is a ranch. There
are hay, grain, milk, horse, cattle,
and even chicken ranches! The
word has in fact travelled from
Northern Mexico to the Dominion
of Canada, amplifying its applica-
tion as it advanced. Correctly
speaking, however, a ranch is a
cattle station, the industry itself,
together with its "outfit," and its
terminology, having been copied
from the Mexicans.-See Cow-BOY
AND BRAND.
At the main RANCH there will be a cluster
of log buildings, including a separate cabin
for the foreman or ranchiman; often another
451
Rape
in which to cook and eat; a long house for
the men to sleep in; stables, sheds, a black-
smith's shop, etc.,-the whole group forming
quite a little settlement, with the corrals,
the stacks of natural hay, and the patches
of fenced land for gardens or horse pas-
tures. This little settlement may be situated
right out in the treeless, nearly level open,
but much more often is placed in the partly
wooded bottom of a creek or river, sheltered
by the usual background of sombre brown
hills.-Ranch Life in the Far West.
-TO RANCH.-To engage in the
cattle-raising industry. RAN-
CHER or
raiser.
cattle
RANCHMAN.—A
RANCHERIA. Rarely
heard now, but formerly and cor-
rectly the collection of buildings
on a ranch.RANCHERO.-The
same as RANCHMAN; ranchero being
the more lengthy Spanish form.
Also in the extreme South-west, a
peasant. -RANCHO, a ranch; the
original form of the word.
RANGE. A cattleman's term, in Texas,
for the prairie on which his cattle
feed.
Hence, colloquially, to
GO OVER THE RANGE is to die, as
any reader of Bret Harte's frontier
stories knows; but once it was
limited to cattle, and so applied
because beasts that strayed from
the main herd, or went over the
range, were more apt than not to
meet with fatal mishap.
RANGLE, TO (Cant).-To carry on a
liason with more than one woman
at a time a fruitful cause of
wrangling should they meet.
RANTANKEROUS.
CANTANKEROUS.
Given to quarrelsomeness. Either
a variant of CANTANKEROUS or a
derivative of RANTAN, which, in Old
English, signified a drunken row.
RAPE, TO. To commit rape;
rape; to
violate a woman by force.
Henry Tomlin, the man who committed
RAPE on Mrs. Ogan, near Ennis, some time.
last year, was tried in court this week;
Rapper
Tomlin is a brutal fellow, having, some years
ago, it is said, RAPED his step-daughter, in
some of the Eastern States, and fled to Texas
Missouri Republican,
to escape justice.
March 31, 1888.
RAPPER. A contemptuous term for a
SPIRITUALIST (9.v.).
RAT.-In England a turncoat; but
in addition to this signification,
among American printers, it de-
notes a workman who consents to
receive a wage lower in scale than
that demanded by his fellows.
To
remarks,
same
452
RAT.-The
mutatis mutandis, apply to this verb
as to the corresponding noun.
RAT OFFICE.-A printing establish-
ment in which such practices occur.
RATS!-An ejaculation expres-
sive of contemptuous sarcasm
indifference.
or
The somewhat notorious Rev. Abbott Kit-
ridge is in a fever of discontent because the
President of this great Republic, for the
sake of securing votes, insulted the religious
convictions of the vast majority of our popu-
lation by his gift, in your and my name, to
the religious head of the Papal Church. In
the language of Mrs. Gougar, RATS! RATS!
-Kansas City Times, 1888.
-RAT-THIEVING. Sneak-thiev-
ing; petty pilfering from carriages,
etc.
RATING. SPECIAL RATING.-In com-
mercial circles to obtain a special
rating is to ascertain from certain
agencies a report as to a man's
credit. The expression is fami-
liarly colloquial in the States.
She sat down one day and wrote to a
business friend of her father's, in whom she
reposed entire confidence, and asked him
to write to a commercial agency in the town
where his broker's home was and obtain a
SPECIAL RATING of the man who evidently
wished to obtain her hand. She wanted to
know if it was a case of Claude Melnotte's
'Lake of Como' or not.-Texas Siftings,
September 15, 1888.
Rawhide
RATOONS. The growth of sugar
canes, after the "stand" has been
once cut.
Hence also ΤΟ
RATOON.
After the canes are laid and cut, they are
covered with ploughs or with a machine called
a rotary hoe, and the ground is then rolled
to press the dirt close to the sprouting eyes.
The first crop is called plant-cane.
Next
year the cane sprouts from the stubble, and
is called first RATOONS. The second year it
sprouts again, and is called second RATOONS.
The third year the stubble is ploughed up and
the ground sowed with field peas, which
recuperates the land, as clover does in
Northern farms. The fourth year it is again
put in plant-cane. A good yield to the acre
is 25 tons of plant-cane, 20 of first RATOONS,
and 15 of second RATOONS. On the Upper
Coast, above New Orleans, it is customary
to let the stubble RATOON but once. In
Cuba it often RATOONS Six successive years,
but the cane becomes constantly more woody
and poorer in saccharine matter.-Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
RATTLED.-Confused; perplexed; ner-
vous. From the ordinary signifi-
cation of "rattle," to shake.
No wonder the members of the City
Council get more or less RATTLED by the
rush and roar of business, with the gas
question, the cable, and the L road, all com-
ing to the front for consideration the same
evening.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
I don't deny that I was a bit RATTLED, and
that my lip would quiver in spite of me, but
I was at the same time fully determined to
protect the store if it cost me my life.-New
York Sun, 1888.
RATTLESNAKE (Crotalus horridus).—A
venomous snake of a well-known
character, which, however, is not
peculiar to America. The fact is
here deserving of mention that this
reptile at one time was adopted as
the national emblem, the United
States' flag having borne a rattlesnake
in the act of striking, with the
motto, "Don't tread on me." The
Stars and Stripes was a later adop-
tion (1777).
RAWHIDE, or RAWHIDE
WHIP. — A
whip made, as its name indicates,
of raw cowhide. Mainly used by
Read Out
cowboys and plainsmen on the
cattle ranges of the West.
Wright Smith, a one-legged white man,
was arraigned before Recorder Dunbar
yesterday for cruelly whipping his son
William, 15 years old. The boy was whipped
on the naked back with a RAWHIDE.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, March 30, 1888.
READ OUT.A man is read out of a
party when denounced as a deserter
from its ranks.
READY, TO.—To make ready; to put
to rights; or in order. A Scotch
idiom, which transplanted by emi-
grants from Scotland in the early
days of the Union, took root, and
still survives; mainly, however,
used in its original form TO REDD.
READY JOHN. A slang term for
money.-See CHARM.
453
REAL ESTATE. This is a compound
that has no proper place in the
language of everyday life, where it
is a mere pretentious intruder from
the technical province of law.
Law makes the distinction of real
and personal estate; but a man
does not, therefore, talk of drawing
some personal estate from the bank;
or going to Tiffany's (a well-known
jeweller and goldsmith) to buy
some personal estate for his wife;
nor when he has an interest in the
National Debt does he ask how
personal estate is selling. He draws
money, buys jewels, and asks the
price of bonds. Real estate, as
ordinarily used, is a mere big
sounding, vulgar phrase for houses
and land, and so used is a marked
and unjustifiable Americanism.——
Words and their Uses.
Peter Myers, the largest REAL ESTATE
owner in Janesville, Wis., and reported to be
the wealthiest man in Southern Wisconsin,
dropped dead of heart disease on Tuesday.
-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 14, 1888.
REAL
Reckon
ESTATE
TRANSFERS.-
The land transfer formalities are
much less complicated in the States
than in England, a system of public
registration being in vogue.
REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS.
...
Fritz Kespohl and wife to Fred W.
Hagemeyer-25 ft. on Twentieth
Street, city block 2431-warranty
deed
William Roth and wife to Conrad
Roth-45 ft. 6 inches on Twen-
tieth Street, city block 2432-
warranty deed
Jeremiah Murphy and wife to
Patrick Leahy and wife-50 ft.
on Easton avenue, city block 3775
-warranty deed
...
...
...
$3,825 00
1,200 00
1,500 00
—St. Louis Globe Democrat, 1888.
REAR-HORSE.-A Southern name for
the Mantis.
REATA.
A Spanish term, which is
frequently used in the West as
a synonym for LARIAT (q.v.). A
raw hide or plaited rope with a
running noose for catching and
securing horses and cattle.
REBELLIONIST.—A supporter of re-
bellion. This and kindred terms
were introduced at the time of the
Civil War.
REBOSO. The long veil of Spanish
women, worn over the head and
shoulders. This term is a legacy
from the Spanish-American States.
REBS. A nickname bestowed on
Confederate soldiers by those of
the North; sometimes JOHNNY REBS.
The word is a contraction of
"rebel."
RECKON, To.
The Southern equi-
valent of the Northern GUESS,
and the New England CALCULATE.
The remarks under the synonyms
apply with equal force to reckon.
The latter, however, is a survival
of an older English usage.
Recollember
RECOLLEMBER. A negro corrup-
tion and re-combination of "to
recollect " and "to remember."
Black people are very fond of these
hybrid forms.
RECOMMEND.-An abbreviated form
of " recommendation" current in
New England. A commendatory
notice.
RECONSTRUCTION.-This is a distinct
Americanism, and came to the front
politically at the close of the Civil
War, when, both sides having laid
down their arms, the first object
sought by Northern statesmen was
the building up anew of the shattered
national edifice.-See also OLD and
NEW SOUTH.
The catastrophe of Mr. Lincoln's assassi-
nation lay chiefly in its effect upon the policy
of RECONSTRUCTION. Had he lived there
would have been none of the black codes in
the Southern States after the war, and the
apparent necessity of enfranchising those
who were notoriously and absolutely unfit
for political responsibility would not have
existed. The view of Mr. Lincoln, of Go-
vernor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and of
other wise and devoted Republicans, was
that the work of RECONSTRUCTION, to be
effective must be gradual and the work of
time.-Harper's Weekly, January 21, 1888.
"
RECORD.-A curious perversion of
meaning has occurred with this
word. The transition, however,
is easy from the legitimate mean-
ing of an authentic register or en-
rolment" to that in which a man's
record, good or bad, signifies his
actions and doings in the past. The
phrase was first used politically,
and in electoral contests a candi-
date's record is ransacked, all the
events of his life being bared to
view in order to supply arguments
for or against him, as the case may
be. Now, however, the expression
has become colloquial.
It is one of the most curious facts in re-
gard to sporting events, that when a man
454
Rcd
breaks the RECORD he makes the RECORD.-
New York World, February 14, 1888.
RED OF RED CENT.-Popular terms for
the copper cent, the smallest coin
in U.S. currency.
Red is used
in this association in contrast to
white, the color of the nickel
coinage.
Jim breaks out in a string of oaths, and
slaps down a ten-dollar gold piece on the
bar. I look at it as much surprised as the
bar-tender, for I never knowed Jim to have
even a RED in the spring before. - Daily
Inter-Ocean, April 14, 1888.
·RED ADDER.—See COPPERHEAD.
RED BUD (Cercis canadensis).—
The JUDAS TREE (q.v.). In the
early spring, before the leaves
appear, this flowering shrub is
covered with bright pinkish blos-
soms-hence its name of red bud.
Its other appellation, Judas tree, is
derived from a legend to the effect
that the false apostle hanged him-
self on a branch of this species.-
RED CHIP.-A variant of RED CEnt.
Chips in the American game of
poker are used as a substitute for
money-hence the interchangeable
use of RED CENT and RED chip.
Similarly NOT A RED CHIP ON
STYLE is a phrase employed to
describe something utterly worth-
less or beneath notice. See RED.
RED DOG MONEY. Bartlett
(who wrote in 1877, and whom
Ì here quote entire) thus explains
the phrase:—
A term applied, in the State of New York,
to certain bank notes which have on their
back a large red stamp. The late general
banking law of the State of New York,
which was applied to all new banks, as well
as to those the charters of which were re-
newed, obliged the parties or individuals
associated to deposit securities with the
comptroller, and receive from him blank
notes of various denominations, signed or
bearing the certificate of the comptroller or
officer authorised by him. These notes
bore a red stamp on their backs. The free
admission under this law of securities of a
very questionable character induced many
persons, both individually and collectively,
Red
to organize banks of issue; and, as
natural consequence, a considerable portion
of the circulating medium soon consisted of
the notes of the free banks, bearing the red
stamp. The community, generally, did not
consider these notes as safe as those issued
by the old banks, and stigmatized them as
RED DOGS, and the currency as RED DOG
MONEY. The character of the securities,
however, has since been improved by an
act which demands that only certain stocks
of well-established reputation shall be ad-
mitted; and consequently the odium which
existed against the first banks created
under the law is now done away with. In
Michigan, they apply the term BLUE-PUP
MONEY to bank notes having a blue stamp
on their backs.
RED EYE. (1) A well-known
term for whiskey of a somewhat
fiery nature. Cause and effect are
not in this case things that differ.
Often have I seen a good old father pass
our house, going on Saturdays to his
preaching place with a long-necked, empty
bottle in either pocket of his overcoat; and
just as often have I seen the same good old
father returning on Monday with his long-
necked bottles and his rotund person all as
full as they could hold of corn juice RED-
EYE, obtained from the still of the deacon
at whose house he preached.-Missouri Re-
publican, March 8, 1888.
A
2) The COPPERHEAD (9.V.).
RED-HEAD (Fuligula ferina).
duck commonly found and esteemed
as food throughout the Union, and
which derives its name from the
color of its head. -RED HORSse.
(1) (Catostomus duguesnii). — A
species of sucker found in the Ohio
river. (2) A nickname for a
Kentuckian, who is also called a
RED-HOT.
CORN CRACKER.
Used colloquially as an intensitive;
e.g., a red-hot time, a red-hot tem-
per, etc. The exact meaning
depends largely on the speaker's
context and tone of voice.
RED
MAN. An Indian. The dark red-
dish-brown complexion of the
American aborigines has given rise
to this distinctive name.- -RED-
ROOT (Ceanothus americanus).—The
same as NEW JERSEY TEA (q.v.).
-RED-SKIN.-An American In-
dian from the color of his skin.-
455
Reed Bird
RED SUMAC.-A tree, the leaves of
which supply a substitute for to-
bacco, and which is largely used for
that purpose by Indians. Also
called RED WILLOW.
While I am writing, I am smoking a pipe
filled with kinnikinick, the dried leaves of
the RED SUMAC-a very good substitute for
tobacco.-Carvalho's Adventures in the Far
West, p. 36.
-To RED UP, or TO REDDY.- -To
make ready. A Pennsylvanian form.
-See To READY.
RED VIPER.-
One of the many names by which
the COPPERHEAD (q.v.) is known.
RED WILLOW.-The RED SUMAC,
or KINNI-KINNICK, both of which
see.
The leaves of this tree are
used as a substitute for tobacco.
There are also certain creeks where the
Indians resort to lay in a store of kinni-
kinik, the inner bark of the RED WILLOW,
which they use as a substitute for tobacco,
and which has an aromatic and very pun-
gent flavor.-Ruxton's Life in the Far West,
P. 116.
REDEMPTIONER.-In the early colony
days it was common for vessels
coming from England to Virginia
to bring redemptioners, who were
technically known as "indentured
servants," because they were
bound to serve a stipulated time to
pay or "redeem the cost of their
transportation. Some of these
redemptioners were convicts banished
to America for crime; but all of
them were sold, and, for the time
being, treated as slaves.
RED RIBBON (Cant). Brandy.
RED-FUSTIAN.- Applied to both
porter and port wine.
REED BIRD.-The Delaware name for
the BOBOLINK (q.v.). Its flesh is a
great delicacy, being as much
esteemed among Americans as is
the lark among English gourmets.
A gentleman who sat down to his first
dish of REED BIRDS remarked somebody
Reek
had dropped a piece of meat on the toast.—
Talk of the Day, Nov. 3, 1888.
Reek, To.— A corrupted form of
"wreak"; to avenge.
REFORM SCHOOL.-A reformatory.
REGENT.-A member of the governing
body of the University of the
State of New York, answering, as
far as that State is concerned, to
the Education Department of Eng-
land and Wales.
REGISTERING
PUNCH.
PUNCH.- An American
invention for checking fares, which
has become familiar to travellers
by omnibus and tramway in Eng-
land.
REGRET.-A note of apology declin-
ing an invitation. Used in the
same manner as "P.P.C."
REGULATORS.-A band of Judge
Lynch's henchmen. Also called
VIGILANCE COMMITTEES.
Some dozen men met in Bill Hughes'
store and agreed to rid themselves of
Harris at once; and forming themselves
into a band of REGULATORS....
.. they laid
their plans and put them into execution at
once.-Lynch Law in the Sucker State, 1873.
RELAND, TO.-Having embarked on
board a vessel to return to shore.
RELIABLE GENTLEMEN.-A reporter's
term, generally used when " copy"
needs an extra amount of bolster-
ing. About as reliable as the
"oldest inhabitant," or the source
of the police-constable's "informa-
tion received."
RELIGION. TO GET RELIGION.-A cant
term among certain religious bodies,
signifying to become impressed
with religious views. It is far
better for religion to get hold of a
456
Reportorial
man than for a man to secure a
mortgage on religion-a distinction
with an enormous difference.
RELIGIOUS.-It is amusing to hear a
Western man ask of another, when
about to purchase a horse, "Is
he religious?" "Is it free from
vice?" (Query: do they have in
mind the Egyptian Ibis religiosa ?)
A mustang is generally anything
in the world but religious, for he will
both "sull" (have the sulks) and
BUCK (q.v.).
REMIND, TO.-In New York often
used for "remember."
REMONTHA.-A term (from the
Spanish) in use on the plains to
signify a group of saddle-horses.
RENDITION. A rendering; an
announcement.
Mrs. T. S. Kennedy, of New Orleans, who
gave a solo from "Galatea," was lovely in a
costume of crimson velvet and satin. Her
charming vocal RENDITIONS captivated all
who were fortunate enough to hear this
Times Democrat,
accomplished vocalist. -
February 5th, 1888.
RENDITIOUS, Small; mean; petty.
RENEWEDLY.- - A vulgarism for over
and over again; repeatedly.
REPEATER. A voter who registers his
vote more than once an old
electioneering dodge.
REPETITIOUS. With repetition;
reiteratively.
REPORTORIAL. Pertaining to the
duties of a reporter. A newspaper
term, and an exceedingly ill-
formed word.
There is a callow youth in the interior
of the State who writes periodically as
follows:- Inclosed are some newspaper
articles-my poorest work as correspondent
Reprint
of The Age. I want a situation on your
paper as a reporter. Reporting is my
forte. I have been told a great many
times that I could do better REPORTORIAL
work than ever I saw in your paper.
I can also write politics. I am willing
to come for thirty dollars per week as
a starter, but will expect more as my
writings begin to boom up the circulation.
Let me hear from you at once, as I have
several offers under advisement.'-M. Quad,
in Detroit Free Press, 1888.
REPRINT. Says De Vere, "An
Americanism as far as it denotes
the republication, here (in America),
of a work printed in a foreign
country. It certainly used to be a
charming euphemism in olden days,
when the works of British authors
were issued here without their
sanction, and without giving them
a fair compensation - a régime
happily unknown in our day.'
English authors will rub their
eyes at this statement. Nous verrons
ce que nous verrons!
REPROBACY, The state of being
reprobate.
>
was
REPUBLICANS.-One of the two great
political parties of the United
States. The name "Democratic
Republicans was first suggested
by Citizen Gluet, in 1793, as
a desirable substitute for ANTI-
FEDERALISTS (q.v.). In 1805 the
appellation "Democratic "
abandoned, and thenceforward a
marked distinction was observable
between Republicans and Demo-
crats. The name subsequently fell
into disuetude, but was permanently
revived as a political cognomen in
1856, its first National Convention
having been held at Philadelphia
in that year. The party came into
power four years later, and subse-
quently abolished slavery, subdued
the rebellion, guaranteed the per-
petuity of the Union, and estab-
lished a financial credit surpassing
that of any nation in the world.
457
Restitutionists
Its long lease of power was inter-
rupted in 1884 on the election of
Grover Cleveland as President, a
reverse which has since been re-
trieved by the return in the current
year of General Harrison.
RESEARCHER. One who inquires
closely into any subject. American
by birth, but now common in
application to both countries.
Psychical Researchers will occur to
mind as the familiar title of mem-
bers of а well-known London
society, engaged in the investiga-
tion of experimental psychology.
RESERVATION.-Land set apart or
reserved for public use. Also
RESERVE. See INDIAN
See INDIAN RESERVA-
TION.
RESOLUTE, TO.-To make and pass
resolutions. A newspaper word.
RESOLVE.-A resolution.
A resolution. The term
is generally used in connection with
the transactions of public bodies.
RESPONSIBILITIES.-A facetious name
for children.
RESTAURANTER.-The keeper of a
restaurant. The derivation of this
new form is obvious.
A leading RESTAURANTER in New York has
figured the average time of three thousand
business men at their downtown luncheon
as eight minutes. Evidently Gothamites
believe in rapid transit in more ways than
one.-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
RESTITUTIONISTS. The central
doctrine of this religious body
corresponds to that of Universalists,
2.e., a belief in the "restitution of
all things-
That somehow good
Will be the final goal of ill."
58
or
Result
RESULT.-Webster defines this as the
decision
determination of a
council or deliberative assembly.
Peculiar to New England.
RESURRECT, To.-(1) To bring to light
afresh; to renew.
The man's a crank, and wants to REsur-
RECT issues that were settled by blood and
war twenty years ago.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
March, 1888.
(2) To engage in body-snatch-
ing. Also TO RESURRECTIONIZE.
RETIRACY. (1)
(1) Retirement.
competency.
·(2) a
RETIREMENT.Withdrawal; removal.
REVAMP, TO.—To mend; to patch
up. Formerly an exclusively shoe-
maker's term. Revamp is now in
colloquial use. Also TO VAMP.
REVERENT.-Strong; potent. Neat
whiskey is reverent whiskey.
REVOCAL. A revocation.
REVOLVER, SLANG TERMS FOR A.-These
are numerous. FIVE-SHOOTER and
SIX-SHOOTER are, doubtless, quite
familiar to English ears, but not so
some of the Texan names for the
weapon:-MEAT IN THE POT, BLUE
LIGHTNING, PEACE-MAKER, MR.
SPEAKER, BLACK-EYED SUSAN, PILL
BOX, MY UNCONVERTED FRIEND.
RHODY.-Rhode Island.
Sometimes
LITTLE RHODY. This is the smallest
of the American States, with 1,306
square miles. Texas, the largest,
has 274,356 square miles.
R. I.-The abbreviation used in writ-
ing and printing for Rhode Island.
It takes every year 1,000,000 horses' tails
to keep a Pawtucket, R. I., haircloth factory
458
Ride
in running order.-Troy Daily Times, Feb-
ruary 4, 1888.
RIATA.-A LARIAT (q.v.) or noosed
rope used in catching or tethering
cattle. The Spanish form was la
reata-hence riata is nearer in deri-
vation than the more commonly
employed LARIAT.
RIB-BENDER (Cant).-A severe blow
in the side.
RICE BIRD.-(1) A nickname for a
South Carolinian.
For a very obvious reason the South Caro-
linians are called RICE BIRDS. Wherever
in the South you see a man take boiled rice
on his plate, and eat it heartily without con-
diments, you may know he is a South Caro-
linian, as infallibly as you may that a man is
plebian-bred when he picks his teeth in the
horse car without holding his hand before
his mouth.-Overland Monthly.
(2) A Southern name for the
BOBOLINK (q.v.).
RICHARDANARY (Cant).-A dictionary.
In English cant this is simply called
a "Richard" or Dick.
RICHWEED.-See STONE-ROOT.
RICHWOOD (Pilea pumila).-Also called
CLEARWEED (2.V.).
RIDE, TO.-To carry; to convey by
cart. A New York term.
I heard a witness in a court-room testify
that he had RODE Some hogs from the wharf
to the store, by which he meant that he had
carried a load of dead hogs on his cart.-
Bartlett.
To RIDE AND TIE.-A term
descriptive, in Maryland and the
South, of a "share-and-share-
alike" arrangement when there is
only one horse, or one place in a
vehicle between two travellers.
One will ride a certain agreed dis-
tance, then dismount and walk
Rider
whilst the other takes his place.
TO RIDE ON A RAIL; to be
subjected to Lynch law as des-
cribed under RAIL.
OUT OF
RIDE.-A river is out of ride when
unfordable on horseback. -RID-
ING ROCK. A landmark in the
middle of a stream which, if
covered by water, is an indication
to a traveller that the river is un-
fordable.
RIDING WAY. A
ford.
RIDER.-Mr. C. Nordhoff thus ex-
plains the American usage regarding
this word.
In legislative practice a RIDER is a bill
added to another bill, though not necessarily
belonging with it, so that the two may be
passed together as one bill. This is usually
done in the case of a measure which is sure
to be vetoed if presented by itself, but
which, if attached to some important appro-
priation bill, must necessarily be approved.
In common speech, a RIDER is the top-rail of
a zig-zag fence. Such a fence is staked and
RIDERED, when stakes are driven in the
angles and a RIDER laid on top of them. A
RIDER is not an essential part of the fence,
but it adds considerably to its effectiveness.
-RIDERS.- Cowboys or COW-
punchers are so called.-See Cow-
BOY.
RIFFLE. An obstruction; and, meta-
phorically, a misunderstanding or
quarrel. A corruption of "ripple"
primarily applied to the rocks
which, in the Susquehanna river,
impede navigation, but now collo-
quial.
Mr. Hynes and Anna Jones were very
good friends, but nevertheless they ran
across some pretty rapid RIFFLES in the
river of life. They succeeded in getting
over all of them safely until about three
weeks ago, when an extra rough one cap-
sized their bark and they drifted apart, and
their fond friendship sank like a stone.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
RIGHT.
- A colloquialism, which,
though but a slight deflection from
English usage, may be classed as
459
}}
Rile
an Americanism on account of its
much more frequent use among
all classes of society. Everything
that is to an American's satisfac-
tion is right. He is right comfort-
able when at ease with himself
and the world; right here, is "on
the spot" as regards locality, or
"'instanter as regards time;
and is found in the Chester
plays; right along, conveys an
idea of uninterrupted sequence-
without a break. Similarly right
away, is synonymous with "on the
spur of the moment," directly, and
is a variant of "straightway." Right
off-directly; and to rights, trans-
lated by 'Arry as "ter rights" is
varied by right smart, and right
straight, all of them indicative of
the highest praise in whatever con-
nection they may found.-See also
SMART. TO RIGHT UP.-To put
TO HOLD THE RIGHT
in order.-
BOWER OVER ONE.-A term derived
from poker, meaning to be sure of
one's ground; to have the whip
hand.
I
There is nothing left for me but to move on
and try somewhere else. Væ victis!
fondly thought, when I spent my money for
a horse and carriage, that I HELD THE RIGHT
BOWER; but I have found that Benedict has
the joker. And now, before trying my
fortune in a new field, I must have, cost what
it may, a wife. Bitter experience, as well as
the tenor of your editorial, convinces me of
it.-Portland Transcript, March 7, 1888.
RILE, TO.-The Old English roil or
royl, to render a liquid turbid,
and metaphorically to stir up
anger. This is an undoubted in-
stance of a word which had long
been obsolete in England, but
retained in America, gradually
making its way again into public
favor and use.
But at the very moment that I was exalt-
ing my advantage and joying in it in secret,
there was a muddy under-current of dis-
comfort RILING the deeps of my happiness.-
Mark Twain's Screamers.
Ring
The use of riley as an adjective,
however, is still confined to the
New World—e.g. "that man has
a riley way of putting things."
Compare with Icelandic hrella, to
distress.
RING. A combination of persons, a
clique, or faction who play into
each other's hands for mutual ad-
vantage. It appears to have come
into general use shortly after the
Civil War. RING SNAKE.-A
species of blacksnake once common
in New England.- -RING-TAILED
ROARER, or RoARER.-A noisy self-
assertive individual; at first the
term designated a strong active
man, or a "fine" woman. The
meaning, however, has undergone
considerable change of late. Also
RINGCLIPPER.
RIO. A telegraphic abbreviation of
Rio de Janeiro.
RIP. LET HER RIP!-See under LET.
-To RIP OUT. To talk vehe-
mently; to swear.
One man said it was getting towards the
long days and short nights now. T'other
one said this warn't one of the short ones, he
reckoned-and then they laughed, and he
said it over again; and they laughed again;
then they waked up another fellow and told
him and laughed, but he didn't laugh; he
RIPPED OUT Something brisk, and said let him
alone.—Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
P. 55.
RIPPER OF MASON RIPPER. (1) A new
and ingenious implement of burg-
lary, used in opening safes or
vaults with iron surfaces. (2)
An active, brisk, or lively person.
RIP-RAP, To.- In river embankment to
throw down stone for foundations,
allowing it to find its own level.
Near the foot of the lake the Chippewa
river pours a swift and under current into
the Mississippi, and here we find ourselves in
conflict, as it were, with a great and influen-
460
River
tial interest. The government has RIP-
RAPPED the banks of the river; made sunken
dams of stone and brush to turn the current
into more convenient channels.-Portland
Transcript, March 14, 1888.
RIP-ROARING.-Brisk; lively. A com-
bination of "to rip," and "to
roar."
Of the earlier stage coaching days, with
their struggles and rivalry of lines I will say
nothing in detail. One luminous fact sticks
out in the page of history, however, which is
worth repeating, and that is at one time, as
the result of a RIP-ROARING rate war between
rival lines, the fare between St. Paul and
Minneapolis went down to ten cents, just
one-third the price charged for a ride be-
tween the cities in these days of steam and
grinding railroad corporations.-St. Paul
and Minneapolis Pioneer Press, July 22, 1888.
RIP-SNORTER. An active dashing indi-
vidual or thing. A commonly
colloquial intensitive. Sometimes
RIP-STAVER. Also RIP-SNORTING.
I have always claimed that journalism
could be taught in universities and colleges
just as successfully as any other athletic
exercise. Of course you cannot teach a boy
how to jerk a giant journal from the clutches
of decay and make of it a robust and RIP-
SNORTING shaper and trimmer of public
opinion, in whose counting room people will
walk over each other in their mad efforts to
insert advertisements. You cannot teach
this in a school any more than you can teach
a boy how to discover the open Polar sea,
but you can teach him the rudiments and
save him a good deal of time experimenting
with himself.-Bill Nye, in New York World,
August, 1888.
Also
RISE. AND THE RISE, i.e., upwards
of; more than; exceeding.
RISING, in the same sense.
"
Ex.:
Jonesville now contains a matter
of four hundred houses and the rise,"
or "Jonesville now has rising four
hundred houses."
RIVER. The general rule in America.
is to place the name after river
instead of before it. Thus, if the
transatlantic custom were prevalent
in England, we should say Thames
river, Mersey river, Trent river, etc.
Riz
There are a few exceptions to this
rule, but not many.-RIVER
BOTTOMS. See BOTTOM LANDS.
-RIVER DRIVER. A lumber-
man's term for the man in charge
of log-rafts, when floating them
down the waterways to market.
-
Riz for " rose and " raised," is a
very common New England vul-
garism.
ROACH.-A Cockroach.-TO ROACH,
applied to the cutting of horses'
manes, is the equivalent of the
English "to hog.
ROANOKE.-A Virginian generic name
for Indian shell-money.
ROAR, TO. To make a mark; to be
successful.
Another instance of the curious fact that
few men, if any, are capable judges of their
own mental efforts, comes to light in the
statements just made by Ward Lamon in
regard to the comments of Abraham Lincoln
on his speech at the dedication of the Get-
tysburg cemetery. Mr. Lincoln was ex-
ceedingly nervous about it, regretting that
he had no more time for its preparation.
Upon finishing its delivery he said: Lamon,
that speech won't ROAR! It is a flat failure,
and the people are disappointed.' And yet
Mr. Emerson used to repeat the conviction
that this speech was one of the two greatest
specimens of eloquence the world had ever
heard, either in ancient or modern days.
Nor was Emerson wrong in his high admira-
tion. For depth of patriotic emotion, for just-
ness of thought, for unselfish, disinterested
sentiments, for terse,epigrammatic sentences,
for expressiveness of diction and originality
of collocation, this brief oration has no equal
-probably in any tongue.-The Christian at
Work, July 1888.
-ROARER, or RINGTAIL ROarer.
-A noisy man.-See under RING.
ROASTING EARS. Half-ripe Indian
corn roasted before a fire or in hot
ashes. Cooked in this fashion, and
eaten with butter, the ears
maize are very toothsome.
of
461
Rock
For the rest, their demands upon the land
were always very modest-a few bushels of
taters, for roasting in the ashes; a small
field of maize, for ROASTING-EARS, hominy,
and corn-dodgers; and such pumpkins and
beans as could be grown intermingled with
the hills of corn, were about all that one of
these primitive families required, beyond
what could be got with a gun or a fishing-
line. Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
ROBE.—The dressed skin of buffalo.
The term was formerly exclusively
applied to the prepared hide of
that animal, but of late other large
skins are also called robes. A PACK
OF ROBES was ten in number.
A large pair of Russian bear ROBES, jet
black, trimmed with heavy fine beaver cloth;
also fine set of single buggy harness, built to
order; will sell for less than one-third value.
-Mrs. RYAN, 251, West 38th St., Arthur
Flats. New York Herald, November 4, 1888.
ROBERT OF LINCOLN.-The BOBOLINK
(q.v.).
ROBIN (Turdus migratorius).-This is a
thrush, and bears only a slight
resemblance to the robin redbreast
of England.
ROBUSTIOUS. This, translated into
the everyday speech of ven-
turesome people, means robust-
nothing more, and nothing less.
>>
Rock.-Used throughout the Union,
where in England the word" stone
would be employed. It sounds
strange, however, to English ears
to speak of a door-step as a door-
rock, or to talk of boys throwing
rocks at one another.
We are old enough to be cold and callous
to everything from a cyclone to an earth-
quake, but we never see a left-handed woman
shying ROCKS at a hen in the garden with-
out wanting to go into a corner and enjoy a
quiet cry.-Fall River Advance, 1888.
Say, if you give me much more of your
sass, I'll take and bounce a ROCK off'n your
head.-Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, p. 23.
TO ROCK.-To throw stones.
-ROCKAWAY.-A light one-horse
Rocked in a Stone Cradle 462
vehicle. -ROCK-BED.—A founda-
tion; and idiomatically the root of
a matter; the gist of a question.
Also ROCK-BOTTOM, which is a va-
riant; thus it may be said, that at
rock-bottom men love kindliness,
gentleness, and womanliness in the
fairer half of humanity, more than
a dashing style.-See BED-ROCK.
The ballot in the hand of the people has
accomplished a great change in modes of
government, and cannot be taken away,
without a war such as history never re-
corded. It is the star of hope for suffering
mankind. It is the ROCK-BOTTOм of all
reforms.-(Boston) Sturdy Oak, May, 1888.
ROCK-COD. A red colored
variety of cod; Massachusetts.
ROCK-FISH (Labrax lineatus).—
Also known as the STRIPED BASS
(2.v.).—ROCKER.-(1) A miner's
machine for washing gold; (2) A
rocking-chair.
ROCKED IN A STONE CRADLE, To be
(Cant).—To be born in prison.
RODEO. A Spanish term for a ROUND-
UP (q.v.).
ROGUE.-A market gardener's term,
explained by quotation.
Take the cabbage, for example. At a cer-
tain age
it must be just a certain height and
size; its color must be exactly the shade of
the type, and it must be firm. If it comes
up to all these requirements it is a proper
plant for seeding. If it does not, if it is too
high or too broad, or too light in color or
not firm enough it is a ROGUE-every plant
that is not up to the type is a ROGUE-and
is thrown out. In a field of cabbage there
will be three grades-first, the type which
the grower saves for his next year's seed-
ing; next the first-class ROGUES, which are
seeded for market growers, and next the
second-class ROGUES, which are also sold to
the market.-Missouri Republican, March 4,
1888.
ROGUE (Cant). —A man
Query on the Psalmist's showing
that 'all men
are liars" or
rogues.
Room
ROKEAGE. Parched Indian corn,
ground to a meal and mixed with
sugar.
Sometimes YOKEAGE.
ROLLING COUNTRY. An undulating
country. Also ROLLING PRAIRIES.
ROLLING ROADS. In Mary-
land and Virginia tobacco was
formerly rolled to market in hogs-
heads along the public roads.
commence
an
ROLL OUT, TO.-To
undertaking. South-western.
ROME COVE (Cant). A president.
-ROME MORT.-The president's
wife, or the " lady of the White
House." ROMEVILLE. - New
York.
RONCHER. A general signification of
size and superlativeness pertains
to this word. Thus, what in Eng-
land in reference to a knotty point
would be called a "teaser," is in
the American vernacular a roncher.
An overwhelming calamity,
stunning blow, a grand coup of
fortune, etc., would be thus desig-
nated. Compare with SOCDOLAGER.
ROOKERY.
a
A Californian term for
a school of seals.
ROOM, TO.-To lodge; or occupy a
room.
'How do you know that she has eloped
with Curtis?' Chief Huebler asked. 'Be-
cause Curtis ROOMED next door and he has
been missing for two days, and I can't find
him, that's why,' he replied.-Missouri
Republican, February 11, 1888.
I was a newspaper scribbler, and it was
my sketches of domestic happiness-written
while I ROOMED over a beer saloon-that
first caused her to feel an interest in me.-
Opie P. Read, in Arkansaw Traveler.
So also ROOmer.
What is the matter, that women who
have no home find it so difficult to obtain
what passes for one even by paying for it?
Roorback
What advantage has a man over a woman
as ROOMER or boarder?-Chicago Tribune,
1888.
ROOMKEEPING.-A verb formed
on the model of "housekeeping."
Living in a room.
a
ROORBACK. A false statement;
bogus newspaper article. In 1844
alleged extracts from the Travels
of Baron Roorback were pub-
lished for political purposes, and
the ruse was so successful that
roorback became a general term for
a political forgery or fiction.
ROOSTER.-A male fowl; a cock.
This word is the product of absurd
mock-modesty.—See LIMB.
ROPE, TO, or ROPE IN, TO.-To catch
and secure an animal by means
of a lasso or lariat. A Western
term, which has passed into col-
loquial use. Idiomatically to rope
in a man is to secure him in
a business or social venture, and
sometimes to his disadvantage.
If not breaking horses, mending saddles,
or doing something else of the sort, the cow-
boys will often while away their leisure
moments by practising with the ROPE. A man
cannot practise too much with this if he
wishes to attain even moderate proficiency;
and, as a matter of fact, he soon gets to wish
to practice the whole time. A cowboy is
always ROPING something, and it especially
delights him to try his skill at game. A friend
of mine, a young ranchman in the Judith
basin, about three years ago ROPED a buffalo,
and, by the exercise of the greatest skill,
both on his own part and on his steed's,
actually succeeded, by alternate bullying
and coaxing, in getting the huge brute
almost into camp. I have occasionally
known men on fast horses TO ROPE deer, and
even antelope, when circumstances all joined
to favor them; and last summer one of the
cowboys, on a ranch about thirty miles off,
ran into and ROPED a wounded elk. A forty-
foot lariat is the one commonly used, for the
ordinary range at which a man can use it is
only about twenty-five feet. Few men can
throw forty feet; and to do this, taking into
account the coil, needs a sixty-foot ROPE.-
Century Magazine, 1887.
463
Rot-Gut
-Hence ROPER or ROPER-IN.—
One who ropes in, in either sense
of the word.
In following an animal on horseback the
man keeps steadily swinging the rope round
his head, by a dexterous motion of the
wrist only, until he gets a chance to throw
it; when on foot, especially if catching
horses in a corral, the loop is allowed to
draw loosely on the ground. A good ROPER
will hurl out the coil with marvellous
accuracy and force; it fairly whistles
through the air, and settles round the
object with almost infallible certainty.
Mexicans make the best ROPERS but
some Texans are very little behind them.
-Roosevelt's Ranch Life in the Far West.
ROSE-APPLE (Jambosa vulgaris). — A
West Indian fruit, which derives
its name from its perfume.
ROSEBUD.
women.
Young
unmarried
ROSIN-WEED (Silphium laciniatum).–
Also COMPASS PLANT (q.v.).
Ross, An English provincialism.
colloquial in New England and
the Middle States for the parasitic
scaly excrescense found on trees.
ROSTRUM.-In England platform is
almost invariably employed when
referring to a speaker's desk;
rostrum, however, is the favorite
word in America.
The desk is the journalistic ROSTRUM-
the pen is his instrument. Let him keep
his hands and conscience clean before God
and men, and the power for good that is
given to him is greater than that of presi-
dents, or cabinets, or kings or czars.-
Minneapolis Tribune, 1888.
ROTE. The sound of surf before a
storm. New England.
ROT-GUT.-An Old English term for
bad, small beer, but which in
America is used of cheap, fiery
whiskey.
Roughness
ROUGHNESS. All over the South they
feed a horse roughness (any kind of
fodder, as distinguished from grain),
but in Texas they stake him out, and
he gets nothing else but roughness.
ROUGH-SCUFF.-The
washed"; the mob.
"
'great un-
ROUNDER.-A New York slang term
for a man given to the company of
the demi-monde.
The New York Sun has fitted an attractive
new dress on a very old story of the New
York girl's annihilation of a would-be
masher who chanced to be in the same
Broadway car with her. He was a typical
New Yorker of the genius ROUNDER, and she
was a self-possessed, neatly dressed, black-
eyed, iridescent and generally dazzling
beauty.-Exchange, 1888.
It was only then that he became aware of
the life his only daughter was leading. He
at once came to St. Paul, found out the
location of the house, and went to it in the
hope of reclaiming his child. The door-
bell was answered by the housekeeper, and
although he was a venerable looking old
gentlemen with almost white hair and beard,
she mistook him for some gay old ROUNDER.
and welcomed him as warmly as she would
any of the other numerous callers.-Nashville
American, 1888.
ROUND ROBIN (Cant).-A burglar's
instrument.
464
ROUND-UP.-On the plains of the
Western and South-western States
over which cattle range in search
of food, the periodical "stock-
taking" is called a round-up. In this
respect the cowboys use of the
term coincides with the exact sense
in which it is used by the hill people
and mountaineers of Kentucky,
Tennessee, and North Carolina,
with whom labor is dear and poor
land cheap, and whose few cattle
are consequently branded and
turned loose in the woods exactly
as is done with the great herds on
the plains.
Roustabout
The great cattle associations divide the
State or territory into districts and appoint
a ROUND-UP for each, which takes place in the
spring and fall. Each ranch sends its repre-
sentatives and provision wagon with a cook,
and they meet at a point previously ap-
pointed and a foreman is chosen. Each man
has a string of six or more horses, and on
his way to the ROUND-UP rides one, packs
his bed on another, and drives the others.
The men are called at three o'clock in the
morning and, after a hasty breakfast of bacon
and coffee, some are detailed by the foreman
to ride out and drive all the cattle they can
find within a certain radius into camp, while
the others keep them in a herd, when they
are driven in. As soon as they are all driven
in, the representatives of each outfit, in turn,
ride through them and cut out every animal
with their brand upon it and herd them
apart. Occasionally a cow breaks away
from the herd and a rider starts after her at
full speed, and after an exciting chase drives
her back again. When the cutting out is
completed each outfit begins to brand its
calves. A rider ropes a calf by the hind leg,
throws it and drags it towards the fire
; one
man then holds it by the hind legs, while an-
other sits on its shoulder and it is branded on
its side and has its ear notched. This is an
exciting scene as the calves are bleating, the
men shouting, roping and wrestling with
them and the fires are blazing. Sometimes
when they rope a vigorous young steer they
have great difficulty in holding him and it
requires five or six men to do so. The night
is divided into watches of two hours' length
and the men take turns in keeping the cattle
in a herd. It is the most exciting part of the
cattle business, but it is a very hard life, as
a man is in the saddle all day and only gets
a few hours' sleep.
ROUND-WOOD.—A Maine term for the
MOUNTAIN ASH.
ROUSER. Something striking or start-
ling, from a piece of news to a
dissipated man. Also a great talker.
The old boat was a ROUSER,-the biggest
on the drink, had the best officers, and paid
the best prices.-New York Spirit of the
Times.
ROUSTABOUT.-A laborer on board a
Mississippi steamer. These men
are usually exceedingly 'rough
diamonds."
Our boat is a travelling storehouse of
curiously mixed merchandize. At one plan-
tation we put off a consignment of crackers,
Routing Clerks
465
at another a baby's cradle, at another a mule.
Before the bows touch the bank a row of
ROUSTABOUTs stand on the plank, one with
a barrel, another with a bag of fertilizer, a
third with a box or bale-eight or ten of
them ready to rush ashore. The moment the
last article is landed, the mate shouts 'get
aboard' and 'hoist away,' and up goes the
great plank into the air while the crew
come running in.-Scribner's Magazine, 1888.
ROUTING CLERKS.-Clerks in the U.S.
Telegraph Service who despatch
messages.
As the messages drop they are taken out,
slid through steam rollers that copy them,
and drop them on a revolving, endless belt,
that takes them off to the ROUTING CLERKS
and the messengers.-New York Tribune,
1888.
ROVERS (Cant).-The thoughts.
ROW.-HARD or LONG ROW TO HOE.-
One of the most familiar similes of
American speech. Drawn from the
cultivation of corn or potatoes, the
metaphor signifies what is difficult
of execution or hard of attainment.
I know that burglars claim they are
poorly paid because their work keeps them
up nights so much, but newspaper men have
to work nights also, and unless they can rob
a prosperous burglar once in a while, they
have a HARD ROW TO HOE.-Bill Nye, in The
New York World.
We give the critter's back, John,
'Cos Abram thought 'twas right.
It warn't your bullying clack, John,
Provokin' us to fight.
Ole Uncle J., sez he, 'I guess
We've a HARD ROW,' says he,
'To HOE jest now, but thet somehow,
May heppen to J.B.,
Ez wal ez you an' me!'
-J. R. Lowell's Jonathan to John,
Row Up, To.-To rebuke; to "call
over the coals."
This is an es-
sentially Western phrase, and is
derived from the practice of making
refractory slaves or servants row up
the heavy keel-boats of early navi-
gation on the Western rivers,
against the current, without being
frequently relieved. It was thus
regarded as a punishment.-To
Rum
ROW UP SALT RIVER.-To defeat,
politically or otherwise.-See SALT
RIVER.
ROYAL NIBS.-HIS ROYAL NIBS!-A
contemptuous term of address.
I came down along the edge of a big ledge,
and I saw a pair of bare feet sticking in a
cleft of a ledge. I knew it was HIS ROYAL
NIBS right off, and calling John Rogers, I got
a rope, and, reaching in, I put it around his
legs and dragged him out.-New York Sunday
Democrat, 1888.
RUBBED
OUT.
Killed. A term
adopted from the figurative lan-
guage of the Indians.
There was old Sam Owins-him as got
RUBBED OUT by the Spaniards at Sacre-
menty, or Chihuahuy, this hos doesn't know
which, but he went under, anyhow. —
Ruxton's Life in the Far West.
RUBBERS.-India-rubber over-shoes.
-See GUMS.
The trio had RUBBERS on their feet, but
they came upstairs without trying very hard
to prevent making a noise.-New York Sun,
1888.
There has been a wonderful increase of
late years in the demand for RUBBERS, and
they have almost supplanted the heavy over-
shoe, so popular a few seasons ago. Lately
the sales of RUBBERS have almost doubled.-
Dealer, in Globe Democrat, 1888.
"
RUDDER-FISH (Palinurus perciformis).—
A fish described as
very beauti-
ful," and which abounds in the
waters of the Southern States.
RUINATIOUS.-Ruinous.
RULLICHIES. A kind of sausage once
thought much of amongst the old
Dutch settlers.
rum.
RUM.-In some parts of the country
rum is a general name for all kinds
of spirit-brandy, whiskey, gin, and
RUM BUD.-A "grog
blossom"; a pimply eruption on
the face caused by excessive tip-
59
Run
pling. KUM HOLE. A New
York term for a low drinking shop;
as also is RUM MILL. RUM,
ROMANISM, and REBELLION!".
The rallying cry of the Presidential
Election of 1884, which it is believed
resulted in the breaking of the long
record of power enjoyed by the
Republican party. The following
is the explanation given by the
author of Political Americanisms:-
During the closing days of the presidential
campaign of 1884, a ministers' meeting was
held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in New
York, in the interest of the Republicans.
Some five hundred attended, all denomina-
tions being nominally represented. The
principal address was made by a Protestant
divine, who committed the extraordinary
blunder of stigmatizing the Democrats as
the party of RUM, ROMANISM, AND REBEL-
LION. Mr. Blaine, who was present, failed to
make a fitting rejoinder, but the Democratic
managers were not slow to make the most of
the mistake. The country was placarded with
these three fatal R's, and, as the result
proved, this bit of alliteration lost the battle
for the Republican party. The vote was so
close in New York State, that the result was
for some days in doubt, and as the national
result depended on this vote, a dangerous
excitement prevailed. The State was even-
tually found to have gone Democratic by
only 1,149 votes, and it is believed that far
more than that number were lost by the Re-
publicans in consequence of the momentous
remark with which the reverend gentleman
concluded his address.
RUM SUCKER.-An
toper.
habitual
RUN.-The New England brook is a
CREEK, or a run in the West.
TO RUN. This verb does yeoman's
service in the multifarious senses of
to cause to run; to manage; to have
charge. A minister runs a church,
an editor a newspaper, a political
party a candidate, and the Govern-
ment the national machine. A few
quotations will well exemplify the
different usages.
The young Emperor of Germany seems to
be fairly spoiling for a fight. He is also in-
flated with the idea that he was born to
RUN the universe.-Texas Siftings, Sept. 22,
1888.
466
Runner
A petition was received from H. H.
Darling, Brother & Co. and others, asking
that a lower and uniform rate of tax be set
for the use of water TO RUN elevators. The
rates are from ten to twenty cents a thou-
sand gallons, the largest consumers paying
the least. A uniform rate of fifteen cents
for 1,000 gallons was decided upon.-Troy
Daily Times, February 7, 1888.
The term is also used when an
applicant runs for or seeks an
appointment.
The astounding declaration is made that
George Washington, the founder of the
white man's country, contracted a mor-
ganatic marriage with a beautiful Indian
queen in the Ohio Valley, and left by her a
son who rose to the highest honors among
his dusky people and left a name in history.
It is made by an Ohio man who had no
apparent object in view except the truth,
and who was not at the time RUNNING for
office. He says he heard it from the lips of
Izaac Zane, the great Buckeye, after whose
family Zanesville, O., was named, and who
was in the early times a captive in the
camp of the great Chief Cornplanter. Corn-
planter was this alleged son of Washington.
The annals of Indian wars and of the settle-
ment of the Ohio Valley are full of Corn-
planter; but he has so far publicly escaped
the responsibility of being the son of the
Father of his Country.-The World, May 13,
1888.
From these applications of the
verb to run is derived the slang
phrase TO RUN ONE'S FACE, signi-
fying to obtain credit.-TO BE
RUN HARD.To be landed in diffi-
culties an expression handed down
to colloquial speech by the hun-
ter and trapper who run their prey
very hard. Of the same derivation
probably is—TO RUN INTO THE
GROUND.—To mar a cause, action,
or speech by overdoing it.—To
RUN UPON. To make fun of; to
quiz.
RUNNER. (I) See
TICKET-SCALPER.
(2) An engine driver.
SCRIBNER'S NONSENSE.-Well we'll find
a name for him after a while, and it ought to
be a good one when we get it. We used to
call the man who rides on the right hand side
of a locomotive engine the engineer, then
put a little English on it and got to calling
him the driver, and now Scribner's Magazine
comes along and calls him a RUNNER. It's
Run of Stones
all right, we reckon, only we stick to it that a
locomotive goes on wheels and not on
RUNNERS.-Detroit Free Press, October 6, 1888.
(3) RUNNER.-A tout.
Back and forth before the offices of the big
transatlantic steamship lines, may, on almost
any day, be observed certain men pacing the
pavements, eagerly scanning the face of every
person who approaches. If that person
happens to inspire in the minds of these
watchers any remote hint that he might be
desirous of purchasing a passage across the
ocean, he is at once approached with offers
to assist him in his search. The name of
the port to which he wants to go being elici-
ted, the RUNNERS will at once compete with
each other for the honor of introducing him
to the agent from whom he can obtain the
best and cheapest passage. The man is at
once dragged off, perplexed, but somewhat
tempted by the offer of a cheaper fare than
that which he had been led to expect, to the
steamship office where the RUNNER who has
him in charge can obtain the largest com-
mission upon the purchase of his ticket.
New York Commercial Advertiser, 1888.
RUN OF STONES.-A pair of mill stones.
RUNT. A Small diminutive man or
beast is called a runt. There is a
Yankee proverb also which runs-
Every family has its runt."
RUSH.-TO RUSH THE GROWLER.-
Explained by quotation.
One evil of which the inspectors took
particular notice was that of the employment
by hands in a number of factories of boys
and girls, under ten and thirteen years, to
fetch beer for them, or in other words To
The Society for the
RUSH THE GROWLER.
Prevention of Cruelty to Children will no
doubt be informed in regard to this matter.
-New York Herald, July 29, 1888.
})
RUSHERS. A miner's term for
persons
proceeding to the diggings. From
the "rush which generally takes
place when a new and profitable
'find" is announced.
RUSTLE, TO.—(1) To grapple with
circumstances; to rise superior
to all contingencies. Cattle, in
winter, rustle for food by "nosing"
through the snow to the dried
467
Rye
grass beneath.
quick; expeditious.
(2) To be active;
The little man started toward the desk.
He had scarcely opened conversation with
the cashier, however, when, unseen by him,
the breakfast arrived. Steak, coffee, rolls
and four boiled eggs, were duly arranged on
the table. The large woman stood on no
ceremony. She glanced at the distant form
of her husband and began to open eggs.
When she had broken three into her own
glass, she said sharply: 'Waiter, my hus-
band is loafing around over there by the
desk; go and tell him that I've eaten one of
his eggs already, and if he doesn't RUSTLE
himself I'll eat the other.'-Troy Daily Times,
February 4, 1888.
RUSTLER. An active busy individual.
Formerly a ranchman's term for a
cook, and as it required considerable
activity and energy to provide the
whole army of cowboys and
herders on a ranch with
with their
three meals per diem, it was by no
means a violent transition when
the term got to mean any man
peculiarly alert and energetic. By
a still further amplification of its
meaning it signifies one who never
succumbs to circumstances. This
is about the highest compliment
that can be paid to a man, who,
failing in one thing, finds some-
thing else available for his support.
A still further extension has led to
a deterioration of meaning as when
it signifies the abuse of the powers
of activity and craft in which case
a rustler may mean
may mean a thief and
swindler.
But, pard, he was a RUSTLER.-Mark
Twain's The Innocents at Home, p. 20.
RUSTY DAB (Platessa ferruginea).—A
Massachusetts fish. Also called
RUSTY FLAT-FISH.
RYDER (Cant).—A cloak.
RYE.
A curtailed form for rye
whiskey.- RYE AND INDIAN.-
A New England name for bread
made of Indian and rye meal.


S
ABBADAY.-An old New
England corruption
of Sabbath Day."
SABBADA Y
Houses
HOUSES.
near
a Church or
Meeting-house used
by those coming long
distances to their place of worship.
A relic of a time when population
was sparse.
SABE.-This Spanish word has be-
come thoroughly naturalized in the
States, constant contact with
Spaniards and Americans of
Spanish descent having done much
to familiarize the nation at large
with many terms drawn from the
language in question. Sabe in a
man implies shrewdness; thought-
ful care; or, in colloquial English,
gumption.
A gang o' lazy drunken loafers, and that ar
Dick Bullen's the ornariest of all. Didn't
have no more SABE than to come round yar
with sickness in the house and no provision.
-Bret Harte's How Santa Claus came to
Simpson's Bar.
SACATRA.-Sec MULATTO.
SACHEM.
(1) A ruler or chief of an
Indian tribe.
The White Man came; his bayonets
gleam
Where SACHEMS held their sway,
And, like the shadow of a dream,
Our tribe has passed away!
-Bryant's Last of the Red Men.
(2) The Indians thus name the
FLICKER (Picus amatus) on account
of his bravery.-See FLICKER.
SACHEMDOM or SACHEMSHIP.-Per-
taining to Sachem government.
SACK.—A small bag used as a purse.
On Sunday night, at the California theatre,
a man in the gallery was thrown down and
robbed of 890 dols. in gold. The theatre was
packed when Albert and Louis Mudhenk
entered the gallery, accompanied by their
sister. Albert carried in a SACK, tucked in
his right hip pocket, 890 dols., mostly in
double eagles.-Troy Daily Times, January 31,
1888.
coat.
SACK COAT.-A tweed
-A tweed cloth
Another thing very often noticed here is
the wearing of silk hats with SACK COATS,
which is in exceedingly bad form, and
stamps the wearer as one not up in social
mannerisms. -St. Paul and Minneapolis
Pioneer Press, July 22, 1888.
SAFE.-This word is commonly used
instead of larder.
SAFE-
BLOWERS. Burglars who give
their attention
"
to cracking
safes and strong-rooms.
Early last evening word was received
that two notorious characters had been
arrested in Chicago and charged with
committing the murder of Snell. Both
were said to have lived in this city for
fourteen years, and were described as
crooks and SAFE-BLOWERS.-St. Louis Daily
Globe Democrat, 1888.
SAG, TO.-To bend; give way; yield.
This dictionary word can hardly
be classed as colloquial in Eng-
land. In America, however, it is
common.
Provisions opened strong from sympathy
with wheat, Later news came from the
Sagamore
yards and from other packing points that
the hog receipts were larger than the earlier
estimates, then prices SAGGED some.--Mis-
souri Republican, 1888.
SAGAMORE.-A ruler or chief among
certain Indian tribes; a SACHEM
(q.v.).
SAGE BRUSH (Artemisia ludoviciana).-
This shrub has been thus de-
scribed by Mark Twain.
over
An imposing monarch of the forest in
exquisite miniature, is the SAGE BRUSH. Its
foliage is a grayish green, and gives that tint
to desert and mountain. It smells like our
domestic sage, and sage-tea made from
it tastes like the sage-tea which all boys are
so well acquainted with. The SAGE-BRUSH is a
singularly hardy plant, and grows right
in the midst of deep sand, and among
barren rocks, where nothing else in the
vegetable world would try to grow, except
bunch - grass. The SAGE BUSHES grow
from three to six or seven feet apart,
all
the mountains and desert of
the Far West, clear to the borders
of California. There is not a tree of any
kind in the deserts, for hundreds of miles-
there is no vegetation at all in a regular
desert, except the SAGE BRUSH and its
cousin the greasewood, which is so much
like the SAGE BRUSH that the difference
amounts to little. Camp-fires and hot
suppers in the deserts would be impossible
but for the friendly SAGE BRUSH. Its trunk
is as large as a boy's wrist (and from that
up to a man's arm), and its crooked
branches are half as large as its trunk-
all good, sound, hard wood, very like oak.
-Roughing It.
SAGE-HEN (Centrocercus uropha-
sianus). Otherwise known as the
COCK OF THE PLAINS (q.v.), and for
which the name of SAGE-GROUSE
has been suggested.
SAGNICHTS.-A derisive political term
applied by Germans to the KNOW
NOTHINGS (q.v.). Sagnichts means,
literally, Say Nothings-a bit of
irony hardly to have been expected
of staid and sober Hans Breitmann.
Certainly those who know nothing
can only be expected to say as
much.
469
Salt-Bottom
SAINTS OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.—A self-
imposed title of the Mormon body.
See MORMON.
SALAMANDER. (1) A movable fire-
grate.- (2) A name applied to a
pouched-rat (Geomys pinetis); and
in Florida, Georgia, and farther
South to the Menopoma alleghaniensis,
an animal allied to the salamander
-SALAMANDER SAFE.-A
proper.-
fire-proof safe. The origin of the
name in this connection is obvi-
ously derived from the salamander
of fabulous history.
SALESLADY.-See LADY.
SALOON. -A bar-room, every drinking
place being thus dignified.
SALT-BOTTOM.-BOTTOM-LAND (q.v.) of
SALT GRASS
Grass and hay
SALT HORSE.
a saline nature.
and SALT HAY.
from salt marshes.
-The nickname given in the
United States army to the salted
beef supplied in their rations.
SALT LICK. See LICK. SALT
MEADOW. A kind of boggy grass-
land to be met with on some parts
of the New England coast.-
TO ROW UP SALT RIVER is a phrase
signifying defeat, discomfiture, and
oblivion. The story goes that, in
the early colony days, Salt River,
a tributary of the Ohio, was a
favorite stronghold of river-pirates,
besides which navigation in its
waters was difficult and tedious.
Hence the idea of spoliation and
irrevocable loss connected with it.
The next stage of transition was
easy; and the phrase was ulti-
mately applied to defeated candi-
dates for office, who, if badly
beaten, were said to be rowed to
the very head-waters of the stream.
-SALT WATER TAILOR (Temnodon
saltator). — The blue fish of the
lower Potomac. SALT WATER
Sam
VEGETABLES.-A New York term
for clams; also sometimes applied
to oysters.
SAM.—A name at one time applied to
a member of the KNOW NOTHING
(q.v.) or AMERICAN (q.v.) PARTY.
The allusion is to UNCLE SAM, the
national sobriquet, the Know
Nothings claiming that in a nation
mostly made up of immigrants,
only native-born citizens should
possess and exercise privileges and
power.
SAMBO. A name now applied to all
colored persons, but originally
used to designate the offspring of a
black person and a mulatto; also
sometimes the child of an Indian
and a negro. Spelt also zambo,
which, in Spanish, means bandy-
legged. The term is very old for
it occurs in an advertisement
in the New York Evening Post
of December 23, 1811, wherein a
runaway slave is described as a
black boy, named Joab, aged 14,
short for his age, small limbed,
and very short fingers, is well-
made, and has likely features, of a
yellow complexion (being a sambo).”
Variants are CUFFY, QUASHIE, etc.
SAMPLE-ROOM.-A grog-shop.
SANCTIMONIOUSLYFIED.With sancti-
mony.
SAND. TO HAVE SAND, or, more fully,
TO HAVE SAND IN ONE'S CRAW, also
TO BE SANDY, to be determined;
plucky; an equivalent is "to have
grit. To be described as sandy is
to have the highest meed of praise
bestowed on one.
The two friends agreed entirely as to the
unutterable loneliness of summer evenings
in the country. The Westerner spoke of
Eastern towns as graveyards, and of the
men in them as fossils, and of the enter-
470
Sand
prising denizens of the West as having
SAND in them.-Portland Transcript, 1887.
The two went at it hot and heavy, but
presently the new boy came out on top,
and all the others dropped down into the
yard and offered him a bite of their apples,
and declared him a good fellow. He had
been tested and found SANDY.-Detroit Free
Press, 1888.
A phrase expressive of imperturba-
bility is, "The sand heap stood the
shock with the utmost composure."
-Sand auger.—A curious phe-
nomenon sometimes observed on
wide plains where the atmosphere
is hot and dry. Sand augers are minia-
ture cyclones, or rotary storms,
which, when occurring on a grand
scale, as they do in the Western
States, are known as tornadoes.
-See SAND STORMS. -To SAND-
BAG. To commit robbery with
violence, SANDBAGGERS being the
name given to men engaged in the
practice.
Kansas City is the only town in the world
where women are SAND-BAGGED. Sam Jones'
revival work in that city is a good deal like
trying to put out the devil's lake of fire with
an ear syringe.—Missouri Republican, Jan. 25,
1888.
TO BE SAND BLASTED.
A
recent addition to the "Oaths Vo-
cabulary."
Sleigh-bells! Well, I'll BE SAND BLASTED!'
said the business man. 'What do you mean
by trying to sell sleigh-bells in this section of
the country? Don't you know it never
snows here?-Texas Siftings, Oct. 20, 1888.
SAND-BOX.-A rough box filled
with sand used as a spittoon.-
SAND-CHERRY (Cerasus pumila).—A
native of the North and West. The
fruit of this trailing shrub is, in spite
of its prolificness, of little account.
SAND-HILLERS. The lowest
class of whites in the Southern
States. These people are mainly
found in the PINE BARRENS (q.v.),
and live an idle, shiftless, wretched
existence.-See POOR WHITES.
The SANDLOTS of San Francisco are
Sang
associated with the name of Denis
Kearney, a Communist, who, some
years ago, had a considerable fol-
lowing. The headquarters of the
faction were situated in some vacant
land outside the city limits. His
followers are colloquially known as
SANDLOTTERS.-See KEARNEYITES.
A
SAND-PLUM (Prunus maritima).
-A wild plum growing in sandy
localities. Plum Island on the
Massachusetts coast derives its
name from the abundance of the
variety upon it. -SAND-STORM.—
A storm to which the plains are
subject, in which the wind, not
necessarily particularly strong, has
an inclination to the ground.
terrific wind-storm may sweep over
and parallel to the surface without
much disturbing the dust; but one
of these impinging winds picks up
everything dust, sand, and pebbles
to the size of a pea-drives them
through the air, rendering it most
painful, and even dangerous, to
open the eyes, besides causing
almost complete darkness. These
storms are of frequent occurrence
all over the plains, and are
exceedingly disagreeable, though
easily avoided by getting into a
ravine.
SANG (Panax quinquefolium).—A cor-
ruption of " ginseng," one of the
most highly-esteemed herbs in the
Chinese pharmacopoeia. Ginseng
literally means "the first of herbs.
The plant is abundant in Virginia
and North Carolina.-
SANGING.—To gather sang, and-
SANG-HOE, an implement employed
by gatherers of this herb.
-To GO A
SANTA FE TEA.-A substitute, in Mex-
ico, for tea, being an infusion of the
leaves of the Alstonia theaformis.
Though the shrub itself resembles
the tea plant of commerce, the
decoction is "a very long way
after" the genuine article in flavor.
471
Sarcophagus
SAPOTE OF SAPODILLA.-A name given
to several fruits in the West Indies
which vary in size, color, pulp, and
taste.
SAPPY, also SAPHEAD.-An effeminate
man.
SAPSAGO. A variety of Swiss cheese
called by the Germans Schabzieger.
SAPSUCKER (Picus varius, etc.).—A bird
of the woodpecker tribe, called a
sapsucker from a popular super-
stition that it feeds on the sap of
trees.
SAP-SUGAR. MAPLE SUGAR (q.v.).
SARATOGA. A very commodious trunk
used by ladies when travelling. Of
late years, saratogas have been
The
introduced into England.
name is derived from a cele-
brated American watering place.
By the time this harangue was ended, Miss
Jessica had herself and SARATOGA safely
landed on the verandah, while Mrs. Johnson
had stepped forward to meet her, surrounded
by half a dozen or more tow-headed
children.-The American, June 27, 1888.
SARCOPHAGUS.-A leaden coffin. Even
the presence of the Great Leveller
fails to exercise a moderating in-
fluence upon the tendency of some
classes of Americans to high falu-
tin. The most modest receptacle
for the cast-off shell of humanity is
called a casket, whilst the more
pretentious would probably "haunt
the scenes of former strife and toil
were their remains consigned to
any humbler resting place than a
sarcophagus. Amid such grandeur
cynicism may well ask, Where,
death, thy sting? Where, grave,
thy victory? O tempora! O mores!
4
Sardines
SARDINES.(1) In America,
as in
England, sardines are not always
what they profess to be. Men-
haden, like the English pilchard,
are largely used as substitutes.
-(2) A jocular term for sailors.
SASS TEA.-Sassafras tea.
SAUCE.-(1) Vegetables when eaten
with meat. This usage is an un-
doubted survival of Old English
usage. See LONG SAUCE. (2)
Stewed fruits.-See APPLE BUTTER.
-SAUCE-MAN.-This derivative
of sauce is American both by birth
and usage, and is employed to
designate a greengrocer or other
dealer in market produce.
SAVAGE AS A MEAT AXE.-The meaning
of this metaphor is unmistakable;
it forms part of what Mark Twain
calls the "vigorous vernacular," and
signifies (1) ferociously savage; (2)
exceedingly hungry.
SAVAGEROUS.-An intensive form of
savage alike factitous and un-
couth.
SAVE, TO.-When a Western hunter
or marksman saves his quarry he
means that his shot has "told";
that the bullet has found its billet
and is saved, i.e., not wasted. The
idiom originated in the great store
sometimes set upon ammunition-
life itself occasionally depending
upon its possession and careful use.
TO GET is often used in the same
sense.
472
SAW, TO.-In Maine, to saw is to scold,
while out West, it signifies to play
a joke; to hoax. SAWBUCK.-A
sawhorse; used in sawing wood for
fuel. WOODHORSE is the Southern
equivalent.—Saw gummer.
GUMMER.-See
GUMMER.- SAW LOG.-A log of
Scale
wood cut to suitable dimensions for
sawing into planks.-SAW-WHET
(Ulula acadia). A small owl, so
named from the resemblance of its
cry to a rasping, grinding saw.
SAWYER.-In the Mississippi and other
Western waters, an uprooted tree,
wholly or partially immersed, float-
ing with the current. These con-
stitute a serious danger to naviga-
tion, and are often the cause of
steamers and other craft being
wrecked. Compare with SNAG.
SAY (in poker).-When it is the turn
of any player to declare what he
will do, whether he will bet or pass
his hand, it is said to be his say.-
The American Hoyle.
or
SCAB.-A workman who does not
belong to a trades'-union
similar organization.
The young women in the Lehigh Valley
are backing up the strikers, and at a dance
Saturday night not a SCAB could find a
partner to dance with.-Daily Inter-Ocean,
February 3, 1888.
Indications point to the men going on
strike again in a day or two, the company
having already broken its avowment not to
victimize the men. This was done in a
general discharge of engineers and others
who refused to hoist or handle coal during
the late effort to SCAB the collieries.-
Montreal Herald, February 21, 1888.
A strike is in progress at Bernhard New-
mark's cigar factory at Second Avenue and
Seventy-third Street, but the work is still
going on, with non-union workmen. Last
evening, when these workmen were ready to
go home, they found the striking cigar-
makers out in force. The strikers yelled
SCAB, and threw mud and small stones
until upwards of a thousand people were
assembled about the factory.-New York
Evening Post, February 24, 1888.
SCADS. A generic name for money
in the West.
SCALE, TO.-See SEAL.- SCALES.-
A common term for money; an
abbreviation of SHADSCALES.
ཟ
SCALLAWAG.
rogue.
Scallawag
A loafer; vagabond; or
Sternly gazed the first new-comer on the
unindulgent crowd,
Then in tones which pierced the deepô he
solilicussed aloud :-
I hev trevelled o'er this cont'nent from
Quebec to Bogotáw,
But setch a set of sCALLAWAGS as these I
never saw.
-Charles G. Leland's Ballad of Charity.
To be off;
to
(Cf.,
SCALLYHOOT, To.
skedaddle. A Texas form.
scat, scateran; Welsh, heot, hoot.)
SCALP, TO. (1) Round this word
cling many of the saddest and
most terrible memories of the
long conflict, now happily almost
ended, between the red and white
races on the American Continent.
The Indian believing that no
scalped person would partake of
the pleasures of the HAPPY HUNT-
ING GROUNDS (q.v.), has sought
to reduce the number of possible
foes in the future by scalping them
here. Scalping consists of tearing
off the skin and hair of the head.
Idiomatically the term is used in
the sense of defeating or annihila-
ting an opponent, and is varied by
"raising the hair."-See HAIR.
It is good for brethren to dwell together
in harmony, but the way Editor Medill is
SCALPING John Sherman is better-much
better.-Missouri Republican, February 22,
1888.
333
To drive a hard bargain.
To speculate in unused rail-
way tickets. The mileage system
(see MILEAGE) adopted on American
railways, and the fact that return
tickets are available till used, have
led to the establishment of offices
where these unused tickets are
bought and sold. The suggestive-
ness of the name given to the
operation is no doubt warranted
at times, the TICKET SCALPER buying
473
Scattertationist
at the lowest and selling at the
dearest rates.
Pork was weak and a shade lower, and
trading small, mainly in SCALPING on small
charges.-New York Evening Post, February
24, 1888.
SCARE. From the verb "to scare,"
i.e., to frighten, the Americans have
coined "scare," which, in its more
familiar sense has become natural-
ized in England.
In the West,
however, it signifies a stampede of
cattle or horses. To SCARE up.
-To find; look up; or collect.
Can't you SCARE UP some eggs or some-
I
thing? I'll take over a load of apples.
hate to do any business Sundays, but I'll
ask Miss Rogers if she wants that butter,
and if she does, I'll go over with it
a-Monday.-Portland Transcript, 1888.
-SCARESOME or SKEERSOME.—
Fear - producing; of
of a frightful
character.
SCART. -An old form of "scared."
'My boy Shake vhas SCART avhay, my
wife vhas seek abed, und I haf to lock oop
my place or be kilt.'
It's sad lines,' mused the sargeant.-
Carl Dunder.
SCAT.-Be off! Begone! A variant
of GIT! (q.v.), and an abbreviation
of "scatter."
'I have something here which should be in
every Southern home,' he said, edging into
the business man's office and bowing obse-
quiously.
'SCAT! you book agent,' exclaimed the
man addressed, and at the same time
reaching for a paper-weight.-Texas Siftings,
October 20, 1888.
SCATTER-GUN.-A "two-pipe scatter-
gun," ie., a double-bore rifle.
SCATTERTATIONIST. One who is
swayed by every puff of wind;
who by following side issues
weakens his main chance. For-
60
Scavior
merly political but now commonly
colloquial.
SCAVIOR (Cant). - Sharp; cunning.
Like many terms contained in the
thief's vocabulary, this adjective is
also employed as a noun; in which
case it signifies "knowledge."
474
SCHOONER.-A tall glass, holding a
pint, used in the consumption of
lager beer.
SCHUTE.-See CHUTE.
In
SCIENTIST.-A man of science.
the commencement of the philo-
logical battle concerning the termi-
nation "ist," the thick of the fight
was mainly waged round this word,
it being one of the earliest intro-
ductions of the class. Compared
with some
recent forms (See
is a highly
FRUITIST) Scientist
respectable, working member of
Society of Uncouth Words and
Phrases.
Scissor TAIL.-The KING BIRD (q.v.).
SCOLDENORE.-In Maine, a water-
fowl.
11
SCOOP. This, used both as a noun and
verb, is as nearly as possible equiva-
lent to the English slang "rise,
an advantage or a good thing. For
example, death is said to get a
scoop on a man.
'No man ever knowed Buck Fanshaw to
go back on a friend. But it's all up, you
know, it's all up. It ain't no use. They've
SCOOPED him.'
'SCOOPED him?'
'Yes; death has.'
-Mark Twain's The Innocents at Home, p. 20.
'The "Times" people rather got ahead of
you on that Swinburne cable, didn't they?'
'Well, yes; it was a sort of a scoop. But
we're ready for 'em! None of your poetry
business, neither. Seen that play, The
Rivals, that Joe Jefferson's doing? Good
Scratch Gravel
stuff, eh? Well, the next play that man
brings out, we're going to have it here on
six wires, same day it's done in London. I'm
writing him now!'-Puck.
or
SCOOT, TO, SKOOT
SKUTE. - To
move with alacrity; to run. A
New England expression used as
noun, verb, and adjective.
'I went right into the kitchen and opened
the door, and what d'ye think? There sot
that plumber, an' my wife on his lap, an' was
huggin' her.'
'Well, what did you do?'
4
'Do!' he shouted. What could I do?
Didn't I have my hands full of chops and
tomatoes. Besides the fellow got up and
SCOOTED?-New York Mercury, July 21, 1888.
SCORPION. In the South, a wood
lizard; generally applied to Agama
undulata.
Scow. A flat-bottomed boat of
varying capacity in point of speed,
some being comparatively quick
sailers, whilst others, used as light-
ers, make no pretensions in that
respect. MUD Scows are employed
for dredging purposes.
The Charles Brown, in from Cairo Tues-
SCOW
day night, had two barges and a
loaded with Pittsburg coal. She returned
during the night with an empty barge.—
Missouri Republican, May 10, 1888.
SCRANNY.-Thin; bony. A woman's
word. Provincial in England.
Compare with SCRAWNY.
SCRAPE.-A technical term for the
inferior turpentine gathered from
the surface of the pine. A superior
product is obtained by incisions
in the bark.- -TO SCRAPE COTTON.
-To hoe the growing plants.
(
SCRATCHES. The
grease
English veterinary surgeons.
SCRATCH
GRAVEL-Begone!
11
of
This
expression may be compared with
Scratching
"to pad the hoof," and similar
phrases.
M
SCRATCHING. - An electioneering
dodge. Narrow slips of paper
gummed on the back, and bearing
printed names of candidates, are
distributed by local political leaders
prior to or during an election, so
that voters may readily re-arrange
ballots to suit their own individual
preferences. Pasters, in short,
reduce scratching to a system.
SCRAWL.-Webster gives this as a
New England term for a ragged,
broken branch of a tree, or other
brushwood.
SCRAWNY.-Thin; bony. Sometimes
SCRANNY.
No one could go from this to any European
country, or return thence without being
struck by this national peculiarity; and, if the
men were lank and sallow, the women were
absolutely SCRAWNY during youth, although
sometimes fat at middle age. Indeed, so
universal was the SCRAWNINESS that, as is
always the case with widespread peculiari-
ties, it came to be the fashion.-St. Louis
Globe Democrat, 1888.
SCREAMER. A fine strapping man or
woman. A term of Western
origin and equivalent to HORSE
(q.v.).
SCREW-BEAN (Strombocarpus pubescens).
-This tree, common in Texas and
the West, belongs to the locust
family. So called because of its
twisted pods.
SCREWSMAN (Cant).—A manufacturer
of duplicate keys for purposes of
robbery.
SCRINGE, TO.-To flinch. Texas.
SCROD.-See ESCROD.
475
Seal
SCROOF, TO (Cant).-To live with a
friend at the latter's expense. It
is considered "a point of honor
among thieves" only to "sponge
in this manner when first released
from durance vile, i.e., until they
can support themselves.
SCROUGER. -A strapping fellow, or
fine girl.-See SCREAMER.
SCRUB OAK.-Dwarf varieties are so
named. See OAK.
SCUD-GRASS.-A Florida grass, grow-
ing to a height of nearly three
feet. Otherwise ScoTS' GRASS.
SCUFF.-In New England a light shoe,
or slipper.
SCULDUGGERY.—An opprobrious poli-
tical term, signifying proficiency
in the art of wire-pulling." A
Western term.
SCULPTORESS.
BROKERESS.
See remarks on
SCUP.-The Rhode Island name for
a fish, which in New York and
New England is known as the
POGGY. -To scup.-—A New York
boy's term, little heard now, signi-
fying to swing. From the Dutch
schoppen.
SEA.-SEA-DEVIL.-See under DEVIL.
SEA-ISLAND COTTON.-A
once celebrated variety of cotton.
Cf. UPLAND COTTON. SEA-PIKE.
The BILL-FISH (q.v.). SEA-
ROBIN. The FLYING-FISH (q.v.).
SEA-SIDE GRAPE. A West
Indian name for the Cocoloba
uvifera.
SEAL, TO.-SEALING.-The ceremony
of spiritual marriage amongst
Searcher
""
polygamous Mormons, is known as
scaling or SCALING. Each succeed-
ing wife is supposed to enjoy the
same rights, privileges," and
relations to the man who has
sealed her to himself as the first
lawfully married wife, but the
general result, naturally enough,
is to the advantage of the younger
and prettier women; those who are
passe go to the wall.. -SEALER.-
In New England an official ap-
pointed to test and stamp weights
and measures; also leather.
SEARCHER.An instrument used in
testing butter. New England.
SEASON.-Colloquially employed in
the South for weather; a spell of
rain, i.e., a season suitable for
planting. A usage probably attri-
butable to the fact of rain in
its proper season being indispen-
sable to semi-tropical agricultural
operations.
SEAWAN or
476
SEWANT.-A variety of
specie formerly in use amongst the
Indians of North America. Other
varieties are COHOG, WAMPUM, etc.
SECESH, SECESHER, SECESSIONIST,
SECESSIONER.
Various forms
used to indicate those who, in
the South, favored SECESSION
from the Union. It is now a matter
of history that the counsels of this
party were carried to their legiti-
mate conclusion, and resulted in
one of the direst civil conflicts the
world has ever known.
SECESH, to revolt; to rebel.
SECESHDOM, SECESSIA, SECES-
SIONDOM. All familiar appella-
tions for the Confederate States.-
See CONFEDERATE.
Το
SECOND-CLASS MATTER.-One of the
distinctions drawn by the U.S.
Section
post-office between postal matter of
differing grades. Newspapers,
amongst other literary matter, are
so classed.
THE
WORLD.
Editor and Proprietor, JOSEPH PULITZER.
PUBLISHED EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR AT NOS.
31 AND 32, PARK ROW.
MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1888.
Entered at the Post-Office at New York as
SECOND-CLASS MAIL MATTER.
TERMS-POSTAGE FREE.
-The World, March 5, 1888.
Let SECOND-CLASS MATTER and single
books be excepted in the amendment, as
well as books published by order of Congress.
-Ibid.
SECOND-DAY WEDDING.-A reception
given by newly-married couples on
their return from the honeymoon.
4
SECTION. This is described by the
scholarly R. G. White, in Words
and their Uses, as "a horrible
Americanism for neighborhood.'
'vicinity,' 'quarter,' 'region,' as,
for example, ' our section,' 'this
section of country.'' It is Western,
of course, but has crept Eastwards
against the tide. It is the result
of the division of the unoccupied
lands in the West, for purposes of
sale, into sections (640 acres), based
upon parallels of latitude and longi-
tude. Emigration parties would
buy and settle upon a quarter
section of land, and they continued
talking about their section even
after they had homes, and neigh-
borhoods, towns, villages, and
counties-a fashion which, even
with them, should have had its
day, and in which they should
not be imitated.
I see no reason why your SECTION of the
country will not enjoy a healthy boom in the
next ten years, and properly organized efforts
Seeing a Bet
to accomplish this would help the matter on
greatly. I hope to be able to visit your
SECTION again another fall or winter, if
not before, and to extend our business
interests in that locality. New Orleans
Times Democrat, 1888.
The funeral of Albert Fairchild will long
be remembered in all the SECTION round.
More than one State official attended, and
there was a vast concourse. Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
j
-SECTIONAL. — Pertaining to a
section or portion of the country;
and frequently employed as the
antithesis of national.
'Sir,' said Mr. Rebelflag, addressing the
genial proprietor at the fifty-cent table-d-hôte,
we have been too kind to the South; that is
the difficulty. I have always been opposed
to extending the right hand of fellowship to
our Southern brother until all this SEC-
TIONAL feeling should have died out.'-
Puck, 1888.
-SECTIONALISM.-The acts,
practices, means, and results of
those who favor the claims of one
portion of the country in pre-
ference to those of the nation at
large. TO SECTIONIZE.-TO sur-
vey land and map it out into
sections. A section comprises 640
acres, which again is divided into
quarter sections of 160 acres. See
HOMESTEAD ACT.
SEEING A BET (in poker).—The same as
MAKING GOOD.-The American Hoyle.
SEEM. It is habitual with the New
Englander to put this verb to
strange uses, as "I can't seem to
be suited," "I couldn't seem to know
him."-Biglow Introduction.
SEEP, TO.-Used in New England to
signify the process of straining.
Coffee is said to be seeped when
run through muslin to clear it.-
SEEPY.-Undrained; e.g., "wet"
land is seepy.
SEIGNEURS. A French - Canadian
name for landowners in the pro-
477
Sense
vince of Quebec.-
-SEIGNIORIES.
-The townships in the province
of Quebec. The tenure is feudal
in character.
SELECTMAN. - In New England a
magistrate, whose position, power,
and duties closely resemble those
of English J.P.'s. The term is an
abbreviation of SELECT TOWNSMEN.
SEMI-OCCASIONALLY.-A pleonasm for
occasionally; once in a while.
SENATE. According to Webster, the
Senate in the United States denotes
the higher branch or house of a
legislature. Such is the Senate of
the United States, or upper house
of the Congress; and, in most of
the States, the higher and least
numerous branch of the legislature
is called the Senate. In the United
States, the Senate is an elective
body.- SENATOR.-A member of
a State, or United States Senate.
SEND OFF. A journalistic Ameri-
canism for a notice; an item of news.
Sometimes SEND-OFF NOTICE.
'Are you the man who compiled a list of
dead beats?' 'Yes, sir; but if I made any
mistakes- 'You run in my name as being
able to pay, but wouldn't do it.' 'Yes, sir,
but-' Here's 25 dols. for you. That SEND-
OFF got me a job as treasurer of a dramatic
company.'-Nebraska State Journal, 1888.
4
SENSATIONISM. SENSATIONIST. SENSA-
TIOUS.-All unorthodox forms, the
meanings of which are sufficiently
obvious to need no explanation.
SENSE, TO.-A verb, common in New
England, meaning to comprehend ;
to grasp intuitively. A most valu-
able form which, failing a better
one, lexicographers would do well
to adopt.
Sententotious
SENTENTOTIOUS.-A vulgar corruption
of "sententious."
Senator Evarts has at command a SEN-
TENTOTIOUS humor that is rarely hinted at
in such of his oblong periods as are most
familiar to the public. A correspondent
says that he remarked of Rhode Island that
it was settled by the Dutch; the Yankees
settled the Dutch; and of certain Christians
who landed in New England. They praised
God and fell on their knees-then they fell
upon the aborigines.-Detroit Free Press,
November 3, 1888.
SERAPE.-A Mexican blanket worn
by men.
•
•
·
If the day is mild, as it is most likely
to be... far South . . . he sits out on his
piazza, with a light SERAPE of striped woollen
thrown over his shoulders.-Scribner's Maga-
zine, 1887.
SERVE UP, TO.-To expose to ridicule.
Compare with English slang "to
dish."
SET BACK.-A reverse; a discomfi-
ture.
SO
A few years ago Matamoras was
horribly afflicted with vomito that hundreds
of her citizens died in a week, and com-
merce received a SET BACK from which it
has not yet recovered.-Troy Daily Times,
February 4, 1888.
The old saying that there is luck in find-
ing a horseshoe received a SET BACK this
morning, when one of our merchants who
has a mania for this sort of work got out of
his wagon to pick one up, but just as he was
getting in again cramped his buggy too much
and broke a wheel. Detroit Free Press,
September 15, 1888.
SETTING-POLE. A punting pole, the
end of which is shod with iron.
SETTING ROOM.-An old time name
for the common living room of a
New England household.
When they reached the porch, she led
the way through the open front door to the
SETTING ROOM of the house, as the living-
room was always called in that day. The
fire-place looked like an extinct crater; cur-
tains of narrow green slats hung at the
478
Shack
windows, and the floor was covered by a
new rag-carpet.—Scribner's Magazine, 1888.
SETTLEMENT.-Land belonging to a
church living; a glebe.
SET UP, TO BE. To be conceited; to
give oneself airs.
SEVENING.- A telegraphic contrac-
tion for "this evening." SMORNING
is likewise used for this morning."
"
SEVEN UP.-Commonly called ALL
FOURS. A Western term.
The king got out an old deck of cards after
breakfast, and him and the duke played
SEVEN UP a while, five cents a game. Then
they got tired of it, and allowed they would
lay out a campaign, as they called it.-Mark
Twain's Huckleberry Finn, p. 93.
SEVERALS.-A vulgarism in Pennsyl-
vania for "several."
SEWAN.-See SEAWAN.
SEWING BEE.-A working party for
sewing purposes.
The American
people carry out in a very practical
manner the old adage, "Union is
strength."-See BEE.
SHACK. (1) A log cabin. The aver-
age shack comprises but one room,
and is usually roofed with earth
supported by poles.
Nowhere in the United States will be
found a people, who, as a class, are more
deeply interested than Dakotans in the moral
and social welfare of the communities in
which they live. In their home, and even in
the primitive SHACKS, and sod houses, the
first dwelling places of the settler, are found
works of art, libraries of instructive books,
instruments of music, and other evidences
of taste and culture.-The Argus (Fargo,
Da.), 1888.
These topics having been exhausted, we
discussed the rumor that the vigilantes had
given notice to quit to two men who had just
built a SHACK at the head of the Little Dry,
and whose horses included a suspiciously
large number of different brands, most of
Shad-Belly Coat
them blurred.-Century Magazine, October,
1888.
(2) A loafer; beggar; or vaga-
bond. Colloquial in New England,
but slang in England.- SHACKLY.
-An English provincialism for
ricketty; shaky; which is quite
colloquial across the Atlantic.
SHACKNASTY, as nasty or as dis-
agreeable as a shack, i.e., vagabond
or beggar.
We refuse to chip in for a church, but will
contribute ten dollars to help get Lampas
Jake, the revivalist, down here. We want him
to come down here, and tell the people that
they are the meanest, wickedest, low-down,
SHACK-NASTY lot of heathens in America,
and that not one of them stands any more
show of getting to Heaven than a jack-rabbit
does of outrunning chain lightning. If Jake
can knock any of the dirt off, and get down to
the cuticle, and scare thunder out of enough
citizens to hold a prayer-meeting, we'll go
in for a church building with a whoop.-
Detroit Free Press, October, 1888.
SHAD-BELLY COAT.-A name, drawn
from the contour of the shad, for a
coat of the pattern now known as
a morning coat. The old style was
similar in character to that of the
dress coat. From the fact that
Quakers preferred the shad-belly
coat at a time when the other style
was the popular one, they received
the nickname of SHADBELLIES.
SHADOWED, TO BE. To be subject to
police supervision or espionage; to
be followed by detectives; to be
watched.
A man calling himself Dr. Adams, who has
been giving private music lessons here for
the past two months, has been SHADOWED by
Boston detectives, who say that his real name
is Brooks, and that he is now living with his
first wife, having deserted his second wife
and their children in Boston.-Boston Daily
Globe, Feb. 6, 1888.
SHAG-BARK (Carya alba). -
alba). - A variety
of hickory, so-called from the
roughness of its bark. The market
value of its timber and nut-fruit
479
Shake
is superior to other kinds. Also
called SHELL BARK.
SHAKE!--A term indicative of agree-
ment. It is sometimes customary
to ratify a bet by shaking hands.
SHAKE on that! and in the meantime, as
you cannot have absolute free trade, be con-
tent with as large a measure of it as you can
get.-London (Ont.) Adventures, Feb., 1888.
-FAIR SHAKE, i.e., a good or fair
bargain; good measure-from the
shaking down, to ensure full weight
or measure.- MORE THAN YOU
CAN SHAKE A STICK AT.-More
than you can count; an indefinite
number or quantity.- -SHAKE-
DOWN. -What is more generally
known as a BREAKDOWN; a riotous
boisterous dance. A Western term.
To SHAKE
SHAKE THE ELBOW.-To
gamble with dice.- -To SHAKE
ONE. To neglect; to turn one's
back upon. Mining slang.
'And you can say, pard, that he never
SHOOK his mother.'
'Never SHOOK his mother?'
'That's it; any of the boys will tell you so.'
'In my opinion the man that would
offer personal violence to his own mother,
ought to'
Cheese it, pard; you've bauked your ball
clean outside the string. What I was a
drivin' at, was, that he never throwed off on
his mother; don't you see?'
He give her a house to live in, and town
lots, and plenty of money; and he looked after
her and took care of her all the time; and
when she was down with the small pox, I'm
d-d if he didn't set up nights and nuss
her himself!-Mark Twain's The Innocents
at Home.
SHAKING PRAIRIE.-The shak-
ing prairie, trembling prairie, or
prairie tremblante, is low, level,
treeless delta land, having a top soil
of vegetable mould overlying im-
mense beds of quicksand.
As the Acadian glanced abroad westward,
in the open sky far out over the vast marshy
breadths of the SHAKING PRAIRIE, two still
clouds, whose under surfaces were yet dusky
and pink, sparkled on their seaward edges
like a frosted fleece.-The Century, 1887.
Shakers
-SHAKES.—(1) Fever and ague;
sometimes called SHAKING AGUE.
(2) An earthquake. (3) Long un-
dressed shingles (roofing tiles)
cut from the upper branches of a
tree. A Californian backwood's
term.
SHAKERS.-An estimable sect, very
different to the body of people
known by the same name in Eng-
land; an offshoot of the Quakers,
having seceded from that persua-
sion in 1770. The distinctive name
is derived from the importance
they attach to the sacred or shak-
ing dance, which they attribute to
spiritual influence. One of their
distinctive religious tenets is, that
the " way of salvation" was re-
mankind through
published to mankind
Mother Ann Lee, the founder of
their sect. They practice celibacy,
and live in communities. They
are good citizens, and apart from
their peculiar doctrines, are much
esteemed.
The SHAKERS have a clean appreciation of
the necessity and dignity of labor. Every
one of them has some useful work to do,
according to age, sex and strength. Per-
haps no class of people has done more for
the country than they, when it is remembered
how few they are in number. They origi-
480
nated the drying of sweet corn for food
more than fifty years ago, and suggested the
modern improved kilns for that purpose.
They were the first in this country to insti-
tute the raising, papering, and vending of
garden seeds in the present styles. They
originated in this country the botanic prac-
tice of medicine, and first dried and prepared
medicinal herbs and roots for market. They
were the first to make brooms of broom
brush, and, in fact, originated the entire
broom business, The first buzz saw was
manufactured by the SHAKERS at Harvard,
Mass., and used both there and at New
Lebanon. The SHAKERS first invented and
used the planing and jointing machines for
dressing flooring and ceiling lumber.
They were the inventors and manufacturers
of cut nails. The first machine for cutting
and bending card teeth and punching the
leather for setting was invented and used
at Mount Lebanon, and for years the
SHAKERS had a practical monopoly of all the
Shanty
above-named trades and forms of business.
-New York World, 1888.
SHAKER YARBS.-Well known
medicines prepared
Shakers from herbs.
by
the
Men who
SHAM LEGGERS (Cant).
work the confidence trick by pre-
tending to sell smuggled goods.
SHAMOCRAT.
-One who pretends to
be possessed of wealth, influence,
rank, or indeed any quality, which
is only conspicuous by its absence.
SHANGHAI.—An old term for a tall,
lanky dude; swell; or masher.
Shanghai fowls were a long-legged
variety introduced from China.
To SHANGHAI. To drug a
sailor, and convey him on board a
vessel about to sail, thus causing
him to proceed on a voyage nolens
volens. The practice is said to have
originated and been extensively
carried out at Shanghai.
SHANK. The remainder; the rest. A
Virginia expression.
SHANTY. A hut or temporary
erection. The word is now common
in England, but originated in
Canada; from the French chantier.
TO SHANTY. To live in a
shanty- -SHANTYING GROUND.-A
locality where shanties are erected.
SHANTY BOAT.-A temporary
hut or dwelling on a boat, erected,
e.g., on the immense rafts of logs
frequently met with on all Ameri-
can waterways.
He was a member of the army of nomads,
who pepper the Mississippi and its tribu-
taries with their floating homes, locally
known as SHANTY BOATS. July and August
invariably find them above Cairo, and as the
weather moderates they follow the summer
south, spending the winter and spring in the
bayous or on one of the southern lakes which
teem with every species of wild fowl, game,
Shap
and vegetation, taking their ease in their
castle. As a rule, they toil not, neither do
they spin, and it is an undisputed fact that
Solomon was never arrayed like one of them.
-Detroit Free Press, November 3, 1888.
SHA P. - A
—
CHAPPARAL
shortened form of
(q.v.). Also CHAPS.
Explained by quotation.
The costume [a cowboy's] is an imitation
of the Mexican, and so has a dash of Spanish
about it. A pair of SHAPS or leather overalls,
with tags and fringes down the seams, a pair
of big cruel-looking but really very harmless
Mexican spurs, a soft felt sombrero hat, and
a buckskin shirt.-A. Staveley Hill's From
Home to Home.
SHAPE. TO RUN ONE'S SHAPE.-To
swindle on the strength of one's
personal appearance and plausible
address. SHAPING UP. The
process of harmonising men, and
things, which, if allowed to fall
of themselves into place, would be
discordant or antagonistic.
The process of SHAPING UP the party of
people who are to be brought into social
contact at the President's table, is always
a delicate and somewhat difficult one.-
Superior Inter-Ocean, 1888.
SHARK.-In the West a lean, hungry
hog; from the voracity with which
it feeds.- To SHARK.-To fish
for this sea-monster; and idioma-
tically, in allusion to its voracious
savageness, to prey upon others.
SHARP.-FOUR O'CLOCK SHARP, i.e.,
precisely at four o'clock; punc-
tually. A colloquialism which is
now common in England.
SHARPENIN' ROCK.-A grind-stone
bears this name in the South-
west.-See Rock. SHARPSET.-
Generally applied to the appetite,
and signifying very hungry.
So I was led up to where the pope was
sitting in the dining-room waiting for the
meal to be served, for he was SHARPSET
after his long fast, and we talked about
everything that came up. Finally he said:
481
Shebang
Dan, take your foot in your hand and come
down in the cellar with me, and we will
have a drop of something to give you an
appetite.'-Missouri Republican, January 25,
1888.
SHARPSHIN.-Applied to value
or quantity, e.g., not a sharpshin;
this term is equivalent to the mini-
mum; a value or measure reduced
almost to vanishing point.
SHARP STICK.-TO PURSUE WITH
A SHARP STICK is to be keen for
revenge; or, idiomatically, never
to swerve in the execution of one's
purpose.
SHAVE, TO. To discount bills, etc., at
usurious rates; and, metaphorically,
to fleece.
In floating the notes they were SHAVED
heavily by the parties who put them in
bank, and did not bring Richards two-thirds
of their value. The money was spent in a
very liberal and extravagant manner.-Globe
Democrat, April 2, 1888.
It is stated that the new vestibule cars run
so smoothly that a man can be SHAVED on
them. So he can on the ordinary palace
cars; the porter has always done that for all
the passengers.-Boston Post, 1888.
SHAVER.—An usurious money-
lender or discounter. Penal enact-
ments have been passed against
shaving, but these gentry frequently
manage to evade them.-SHAV-
ING SHOP.-A money-lender's es-
tablishment. All these terms are
probably of nautical origin.
SHAY.
"
of
A popular corruption
chaise," a small two-wheeled
vehicle.
Hence ONE HORSE
CHAISE, applied to anything small
and insignificant.-See ONE horse.
SHEBANG. A word used very much
like "diggings" in English slang,
and applied alike to one's residence;
a place of public meeting; an office
for business; or indeed any place
where one is permanently, or even
temporarily located. The term origi-
61
Shecoonery
nated during the Civil War, and is
probably a corruption of the French
CABANE, the name given to a hut,
used by Louisianian troops.
Schoolhouse in Georgia. Slim boy (ad-
dressing teacher) - 'Whut time does yo'
blame SHEBANG shet down?'
Teacher 'What do you mean by thus
addressing me? Sit down there until you
have learned better manners.'
[Boy sits down, but soon becomes rest-
less.]
Teacher-Stop scouring around on that
seat. What do you mean?'
-American Humorist, Oct. 27, 1888.
SHECOONERY.-A fanciful corruption
of "chicanery."
SHE CORN, A variety of maize
considered the most prolific for
planting. The name is obviously
allusive.
SHEDDER-CRAB.—A crab, when SHED-
DING its shell is so named. Also
SOFT-CRAB.
SHEEP'S HEAD (Sparus ovis).—A highly-
esteemed salt-water fish, its distinc-
tive name being derived from the
resemblance of its head to that of
a sheep. SHEEP LAUREL.-See
CALF-KILL, with which it is identi-
cal. -SHEEP-SKIN.-A term ap-
plied alike to a person who has
received a college education, and
the diploma he has gained.
In Memorial Hall, last night, the St. Louis
College of Physicians and Surgeons held its
ninth annual commencement exercises.
Thirty-seven students were presented with
their diplomas or SHEEP-SKINS, as they are
known in college parlance, and they are
now licensed to go out into the world, and
prescribe pills and saw off limbs at their
own sweet will, metaphorically speaking.-
Missouri Republican, March 4, 1888.
SHEER.-Thin; clear; diaphonous;
e.g., sheer muslin.
SHEKELS.—A slang term for money.
482
Shin
The White Mountain landlord is in a
lively state of happiness. The SHEKELS
have begun to roll in, and a big surplus
revenue is assured.-New York Herald, July
22, 1888.
SHELL-BARK HICKORY. See SHAG-
BARK.
SHENANIGAN. A curious factitious
word for bounce; chaff; nonsense;
generally used to intimate that
trickery and unfair dealing are
associated with the practices so
designated.
SHERRYVALLIES. Overalls, formerly
worn over trousers, to protect
them from mud and dust when
travelling. The word is probably
a corruption of "chevalier."
SHEW. The old preterite of "to
show, still frequently heard all
over the Union, but popularly sup-
posed to be a distinguishing mark
of a Bostonian. Lowell quotes
ancient usage for this word.
SHIFT (Cant). When a boxer pur-
posely falls to escape a knock-down
blow, he is said to make a shift.
SHILLAGALEE. A loafer; what a
Western man calls a MEAN CROWD.
A New York term.
SHILLING.
This term is applied,
especially in country districts, to a
coin of the value of twelve and
a half cents; eight shillings go to
the dollar.
SHIN, To. Primarily to walk
quickly; to gad about. In mer-
cantile phraseology, however, it is
applied specially to the action of
a man who, finding himself short
of money to meet his engagements,
goes round to his friends to borrow
what he requires. This meaning
Shin-Dig
of the word is not now unfamiliar
in English circles, but in America
it is employed when speaking of
any eager search for assistance.
TO SHIN ROUND, TO SHIN UP, and
SHINNYING, all express more or
less brisk modes of motion, around
the town; up a tree; here, there,
and everywhere.
I SHINNED UP that tree so quick that I
made the bark fly. Quick as I was, how-
ever, I wasn't a moment too lively, for the
bear was underneath the tree, looking up
with that longing expression peculiar to a
grizzly when he has treed anything, and
particularly a man.-Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb.
6, 1888.
That was the last time I ever sauntered
over to water the mules without my Win-
chester; yes, and revolver too, for a man is
liable to drop his rifle if he has to SHINNY
up a tree on the double quick, in which case
a revolver is a mighty comforting thing to
have on hand.-American Humorist, May 19,
1888.
Thar were Suse Livingoose. Suse's left
eye had a way o' shyin' 'round to wind'ard,
an' she were a leetle sot in her ways; but
one year I took TO SHINNIN' with her to all
the doin's th' was. Bimeby the other gals
fell to pinin', an' I felt sorry for 'em.-
American Humorist, 1888.
SHIN-DIG.-A Western term for a ball
or dance. Bartlett thinks the word
is only another form of shindy;
Western balls, presumably, were
apt to end in a general melée.
Young Englishmen who have been well
raised have a knack of appearing to be at
home almost anywhere. They accommodate
themselves to circumstances, and although
dressed for a royal ball-room, our heroes
were not the least embarassed at a SHIN-DIG
in a Minnesota barn. They were the very
pink of politeness, and saluted the rustic
maids in as courtly a manner as they would
have done ladies of high degree. - Texas
Siftings, June 30, 1888.
SHINDY. Besides the English mean-
ing of a row or disturbance, shindy
answers to (1) a ball game gene-
rally called BANDY; and (2) a liking
or fancy, people taking a great
shindy to others.
483
Shingle
SHINE, TO. (1) A method of hunting
in the South and West explained
under FIRE-HUNT (9.0).. (2) To
distinguish oneself; this usage is
now thoroughly colloquial in
England. -RAIN OR SHINE.-
Entertainments are announced to
take place rain or shine, i.e., whether
it rains or the sun shines. Buffalo
Bill's announcements (1888) will at
once occur to mind.
'T ain't like Tom to lie about anything
though. He generally faces it out, RAIN,
I wish to goodness he could
prove that he didn't kill George.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
HAIL, OR SHINE.
TO CUT A SHINE, or TO CUT
SHINES, is to make a show or
display. TO TAKE A SHINE TO.-
To take a liking to, or have a fancy
for, a person or thing.
SHINER. A name given to several
fish of glittering appearance. The
dace, however, is usually under-
stood by the term.
SHINGLE. This name for the small
wooden tile used for roofing pur-
poses has furnished many popular
idioms. Of any close imitation of
the real thing it is proverbially said
to be a wooden shingle painted so
like marble as to sink in water.
TO SHINGLE.-To whip; to chas-
tise. The derivation may be
sought in the placing in juxta-
position of a shingle and a certain
portion of a child's anatomy.
TO HANG OUT ONE'S SHINGLE.-
To start in business; to commence
operations; to put up a sign-
sign-boards and door-plates on a
shop or office being facetiously
known as shingles. In rough and
outlying parts of the country,
especially where lumbering opera-
tions are carried on, shingles have,
doubtless, often been employed for
this purpose.
Sometimes varied
by TO SWING ONE'S SHINGLE.
Shinner
A Toronto doctor opened an office in
Chicago, and because he stuck out a SHINGLE
bearing the legend Sirjickal institot, he has
been proclaimed as a swindler!-Boston
Transcript, February, 1888.
-TO SHINGLE ONE'S HEAD.- -To
crop the hair close in imitation of a
shingle-roof.
Young ladies of New Haven cut a fellow
who has had his hair SHINGLED. They
prefer Yale locks.-Texas Siſtings, 1888.
TO HAVE A SHINGLE SHORT.
-To be cranky; silly; or, in Eng-
lish slang," to have a tile loose.'
SHINGLE OAK (Quercus unbri-
caria)-A species found in the
Middle States of from forty to fifty
feet high, and deriving its name
from the special use to which its
timber is put.- SHINGLE-WEAVER.
-One who prepares and dresses
shingles.
SHINNER. In commercial circles one
who runs hither and thither to
borrow money in an emergency.
SHINNY, SHINY.-A man is shinny when
intoxicated.
SHINPLASTER. Formerly a slang
term for all paper money, but
notes of less value than a dollar
are now generally understood by
the word. Shinplaster is said to be
an allusion to the utter worthless-
ness of the continental currency
after the war of the Revolution.
Hope's brightest visions absquatulate
with their golden promises before the least
cloud of disappointment, and leave not a
SHINPLASTER behind.-Dow's Sermons, vol.
i., p. 309.
SHIRT. TO WAVE THE BLOODY SHIRt.
-See BLOODY SHIRT.
SHIRT. See the same.
BILED
To
MAKE A STRAIGHT SHIRT TAIL.
A suggestively expressive meta-
phor for motion of the utmost
rapidity. Joseph made a straight
484
Shoot, Shute
shirt tail when he left his robe
behind him under
under well-known
circumstances.
Now cut dirt! screamed I; and, Jehu
Gineral Jackson! if he didn't MAKE A
STRAIGHT SHIRT TAIL for the door, may I
never make another pass.-Field's Western
Tales.
SHOE.
SHOEMAKE.-A corruption
of " sumac (see KINNIKINNICK).
SHOEMAN.-A shoemaker.
To WALK UPON ONE'S SHOE-
STRINGS. An idiom indicative of
poverty and destitution; a variant
of our own " down at heels."
Tombstone, Ariz., was a very bad town.
half-a-dozen years ago, and it is not much of
a paradise on earth just yet. I was around
there prospecting in the neighborhood early
in 1880, and to confess the truth I was hard
up. I was literally WALKING ON MY SHOE
STRINGS. St. Louis Globe Democrat,
February 16, 1888.
SHOO! FLY ! DON'T BOTHER ME!
An exclamation of impatience; shoo
and fly are both common ejacula-
tions in country districts when
driving wandering fowls or cattle
from gardens, etc., to legitimate
pastures. Elwyn derived the first
word from the German scheuchen.
This, however, is a mistake, shoo
being probably the natural sound
that would find utterance under
the circumstances. Fly is not the
insect as some have supposed, but
simply a pleonastic addition---sh-
sh-fly, i.e., fly away! be off! The
full phrase is now familiarly
colloquial.
SHOOT, SHUTE.(1) Variants of CHUTE
(q.v.).————(2) Rifle practice at fixed
targets, or a pigeon shooting match,
are respectively distinguished as a
pigeon shoot or target shoot.
A GALA DAY AT TUXEDO.-A ladies' boat
race, a pigeon SHOOT, and a dance.-New
York Herald, November 4, 1888.
Shopped
TO SHOOT ONE or TO TAKE A
SHOT TO ONE, is to take a liking or a
fancy to a person. Cf. SHINE and
SHINDY.- TO SHOOT THE RAPIDS.
See CANOE. SHOOT THAT
COAT! SHOOT THAT HAT!-Ex-
amples of slang street expressions
implying inferiority of quality;
offensive and contemptuous they
have happily fallen into compara-
tive disuetude. SHOOTER or
SHOOTING-IRON.-Western terms for
a revolver and rifle.-SHOOTIST.
-A marksman.-See FRUITIST.
SHOPPED. The inmates of a sleeping
car at Pittsburg, were turned out
by the porter for the reason that it
had to be shopped, i.e., sent to the
repair shop.
SHORT.-SHORTAGE.-A deficit.
The county commissioners, in checking up
the county funds, found a SHORTAGE of
5,700 dols. Dab Childs, treasurer, has held
the office for three years.-Missouri Republi-
can, March 27, 1888.
SHORTBOYS. - A notorious
band of New York roughs.—See
DEAD-RABBITS under DEAD.
SHORT-HAIRS. See SWALLOW-
TAILS. -SHORT-METRE.-(1) To
do a thing in short metre is to do it
quickly, or without delay; as may
be surmised, this is a New Eng-
land idiom derived from the psalm-
singing propensities fostered in its
Puritian communities.- -(2) An-
other metaphor drawn from the
same source is the use of short
metre to signify a brief spell of
study, work, etc.
This goin' where glory waits ye, ain't one
agreeable feature,
And if it warn't for wakin' snakes, I'd be
home again SHORT METRE.
-J. R. Lowell's Biglow Papers.
SHORT SAUCE. See LONG
SAUCE. SHORTS.-Breeches; a
variation of small-clothes.
485
Show
SHOT.-SHOT BUSH (Aralia spinosa).
A prickly tree shrub, also known
Southern..
as the TEAR-COAT.
SHOT-GUN.-A smooth bore gun as
distinguished from a rifle.
The unfortunate man had killed himself
with the SHOT-GUN, the muzzle of which he
placed against his left eye, discharging it by
placing his foot on the trigger. Death must
have been instantaneous, as the whole top
of the head was blown off.-St. Louis Daily
Globe Democrat, 1888.
-SHOT IN THE NECK.-Drunk.
SHOULDER-HITTER.-A bully; a ruffian.
Bartlett says a recent (1877) addi-
tion to blackguard nomenclature,
but Lowell points out that shoulder-
striker is a very old term.
SHOUTIN' MEMBER.-When applied to
a member of a religious body, one
who takes an active part in church
exercises. SHOUTING METHODIST
(the term is sometimes self-given)
is frequently heard.
It was partly due to her long residence, and
partly to assumption, and largely to the fact
that she owned a mule, that Sister Mary was
an authority on the place. She was a
SHOUTIN' MEMBER of the church, as her
name indicates, and not only led the hymns,
but the cotton pickers, and, honest in her
own efforts, allowed no shirkers in either
Occupation.-Times Democrat, Feb. 5, 1888.
SHOVE.-(1) The stalk of hemp.-
(2) On the St. Lawrence the ice
through expansion piles up. This
is locally called a shove.
SHOVELLER (Anas clypeata).-A duck
found in the Rocky Mountains and
Texas.
SHOW.-TO GIVE ONE A SHOW is to
give one a chance. GREAT
MORAL SHOW.-Alias the greatest
show upon earth, alias Mr. Barnum.
-See BARNUMESE.
When Parson Jim came to the Gulch and
announced himself as a preacher, the mincrs
Shuck
asked no questions. They did not take
much stock in preaching, but they were
disposed toO GIVE THE NEW-COMER A SHOW;
and when Parson Jim proved to their satis-
faction that he was made of the right stuff,
they not only tolerated him, but inade
him heartily welcome.-Portland Transcript,
March 14, 1888.
SHUCK. The outer shell, pod, rind, or
husk of various food stuffs, such as
Indian corn, etc. The word is
thoroughly well known in Eng-
land; e.g., pea-shucks, although
shell is more frequently used.-
TO SHUCK.-To separate corn from
the husk or shuck which envelopes
it. SHUCK-BOTTOM.-The outer
shell or shuck of the maize ear is
frequently used for the seats of
chairs, which
then called
SHUCKING
are
shuck-bottom chairs.
or CORN-SHUCKING.-See HUSKING.
-SHUCKS! NOT WORTH SHUCKS!
DON'T AMOUNT TO SHUCKS !-Both
expressions denote worthlessness.
There is no law which makes sexual
intercourse illegal or illicit, and until such a
law is passed it is not the province of a jury
to twist evidence into a moral charge. Your
province is to try this case upon the
charge in the indictment. Mere statement of
counsel goes for nothing; it DOESN'T AMOUNT
TO SHUCKS.-American Paper.
Now, Mr. Arch, I've got you, and if you
don't keep your eye skinned, I'll lick you till
your hide won't hold SHUCKS.-Mike Hooter,
by a Missourian.
An even greater depth of
worthlessness is represented by
shuckless, i.e., without even a shuck.
'Be not afraid, stranger, I am here to do
the Lord's work. Two months ago I was the
most SHUCKLESS critter in all Tennessee,
and wicked to boot.-Detroit Free Press, Aug.
1888.
SHUT-EYE
quotation.
FLAVOR. - Explained
by
I may be allowed to say that I was not
backward to recognize in them a certain
wild, puckery, acidulous (sometimes even
verging toward that point which, in our
rustic phrase, is termed SHUT-EYE) FLAVOR;
not wholly unpleasing, nor unwholesome to
486
Side
palates cloyed with the sugariness of tamed
and cultivated fruit.-Biglow Papers.
SHYSTERS.-Low-class criminal law-
yers, who hang about the courts,
and tout for custom. They generally
demand their fees in advance, and
their poor victims, thieves or
criminals though they may be, are
often left in the lurch without
defence.
If men like O'Connor and Evarts are at
command on either side for 250 dols. each,
why blame a Tombs SHYSTER for taking part
of a thief's plunder for defending the thief
in court? Why, the counterpart of this very
thing is done by lawyers in the upper rank
every day. Isn't the best of them ready at
any moment to defend an embezzler, or a
forger, or a swindling trustee?-Detroit Free
Press, May 5, 1888.
ill "
SICK.(1) Used instead of
which is the term usually employed
in England for general ill-health,
the word sick being confined to
vomiting. The American usage is
sanctioned by the Bible and the
best Old English writers. (2)
Used, also, contemptuously, "He's
a sich fellow at best," i.e., very in-
different; contemptible; or as
English people would say, a sorry
fellow.
SIDE.
SIDEHILL.
Every
SIDEHILL.—A common expres-
sion for hillside.-SIDE-LINE.-
(1) In Demerara, a canal.
estate has several side-lines, com-
munication being carried on by
means of these water-ways.
(2) In Canada, a by-road running
at right angles to the main or con-
cession roads. (3) In addition
to the usual methods, plainsmen
hobble their horses by means of
sidelines, i.e., they tie a hind to a
fore-leg. Hence TO SIDELINE.
The legs of the horses must be secured.
This is done by hobbles or SIDELINES. Hob-
bles fasten the forefeet together, SIDELINES
the fore and hind foot on the same side.
SIDELINES are most secure, hobbles detract-
ing very little from the speed of a really
Side Pocket
stampeded animal.-Richard Irvine Dodge's
Plains of the Great West.
TO SIDE-TRACK.-To divert the
attention; to turn from one's pur-
pose; or to precede others in the
battle of life.
Mebbe them thar lieyers SIDE-TRACKED
him with their everlastin' queshtuns, an' ef
so, he warn't so pow'ful much ter blame.-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
Perhaps the most numerous class of men
who get SIDE-TRACKED are those who start
in life in an occupation for which they have
no natural aptitude.-(Boston) Sturdy Oak,
May, 1888.
SIDEWALK.
pavement.
A footpath or
A man fell dead while cleaning the snow
off his SIDEWALK. It is supposed he sud-
denly discovered that he had got over the
line and removed the snow from nearly six
inches of his neighbor's side.-Norristown
Herald, 1888.
SIDE-WINDER.-A violent blow
with the fist. A New York term
which in the South is replaced by
SIDE-WIPE. SIDLING. A rail-
way term, synonymous with the
English siding.
SIDE POCKET (Cant).—A curious name
given to a drinking saloon in an
out-of-the-way place; a resort for
thieves.
SIGN. A trapper's term for a trail.
In the backwoods and on the plains
a man has to be alive at all points
to detect traces of his prey; or in
the old days of his enemies in the
shape of red-skins. These marks he
characterized as buffalo-sign, bear-
sign, Indian-sign, fresh-sign, or old-
sign, according to the circumstances
of the case.
Keep your eye skinned for SIGN, and listen
to my horn.-Traits of American Humor.
TAKE IN YOUR SIGN OF SHINGLE
is a peremptory injunction to cease
talking or to begone!
487
Similes
SIGNALIZE, TO.-To signal. A common
corruption.
SILK GRASS (Yucca filamentosa).-The
BEAR GRASS, so called from its fine,
silky fibre.
SILVER. SILVER FOX (Canis argen-
tatus).-A rare black fox mottled
with white, whose skin is much
esteemed for muffs and similar small
articles.- -SILVER GAR.-The BILL
FISH (q.v.). SILVER GRAYS.—A
nickname given to the Conserva-
tive wing of the Whig Party. The
term silver grays was in allusion to
the white hair of the majority of
the men, who at a political conven-
tion in the State of New York,
bolted the ticket" of their party.
As they were passing out, a by-
stander exclaimed, "there go the
silver grays."
C
SIMILES. These are in the main full
of pith and point, sententious to
a degree, and replete with "live"
suggestiveness. The following are
representative:—
Like all fury; As long as a thanksgiving
sermon; As hot as the devil's kitchen; As
quick as greased lightning; As crooked as a
Virginia fence; As tight as the bark of a
tree; As hungry as a graven image; As
handy as a pocket in a shirt; As small as the
little end of nothing; Mean enough to steal
acorns from a blind hog; Stingy enough to
skim his milk at both ends; As proud as a
mulatto in a negro congregation; As big as
what hogs dream of when they're too fat to
snore; So thievish that people have to take
in their stone walls at night; To look as
solemn as though a stone wall lay on one's
grandmother; As busy as a negro in a sugar-
cask; As interesting a sight as a shiminy
(chemise) in a wash-tub; and whispers of
purity, love, harmony, and peace; Great on
small wheels, i.e., large pretensions on a
slight basis; Cheaper than bull-beef at a
penny a pound; As scarce as hen's teeth;
As melancholy as a Quaker meeting-house
by moonlight; Thrashing round like a short-
tailed bull in fly-time; He's a whole team
and a dog under the wagon; As sleek and
slippery as though he had been taking a hip-
bath in a tub of soap-grease; As rough as
Simmon
the back of a hedgehog, and as foul as Zebe-
dee's hen, that laid three rotten eggs to a
good one; Of no more use than it would be
to stop up a rat-hole with an apple dumpling.
SIMMON. A contraction for PERSIM-
MON (q.v.).
The sweetest, the happiest place on earth
Is Dixie, sweet Dixie, the land of my birth.
I wish I was in de land of cotton,
'SIMMON Seed and sandy bottom-
Chorus. Look away-look away.
-Dixie Land.
SING. SINGING.-A singing practice.
He remembered that there was a SINGIN',
as it was called in the country, held every
Sunday afternoon in the Timber Creek
school-house.-Century Magazine, 1887.
SINGIST.-A barbarous form
for singer. See FRUITIST.
SINGLEBOB. -A mark used in branding
cattle. - See BRAND.
SINK-HOLE.-Hollows abounding in
the Middle and Western States,
and especially in the limestone
formation of Kentucky.
As soon as the observer comes upon this
caverned district of Kentucky, he remarks
that he has passed from the region where
running brooks abound, and is in a country
where there are neither streams, nor the
distinct hills and valleys which he is accus-
tomed to see in other lands. The surface
of the country is cast into a series of shallow,
circular pits, varying in diameter from a few
score feet to half a mile or more. So
crowded together are these pits, that almost
the entire surface lies in some one of these
depressions. In the bottom of each of these
pits there is normally a vertical shaft, or a
series of crevices, down which, in time of
rain, the water flows from the drainage-
slope of the pit, or SINK-HOLE, as it is called
in local phrase. Generally these conduits
have been closed, by accident or design, in
which case a little pool of circular outline
occupies the centre of the depression.-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
SIR. This title is used to those who
serve in shops, a usage which
sounds strange to the English
ears.-
-YES SIRREE! NO SIRREE!
488
Size
sometimes with the addition of
"
"bob" or
or "horse-fly," are merely
slang variants of Yes, sir," "No
sir."
SISTERS. LET OUR ERRING SISTERS
DEPART IN PEACE!-An expression
of Horace Greeley's, at the time
of the Rebellion. The erring
sisters were of course the seced-
ing States.
SITIO. A Spanish superficial measure
equal to 4,428 acres, a square
league of land. This term is still
used in the States formerly under
Spanish rule.
}}
SIT UP WITH, тo.--An expression
which finds its equivalent in
the "walking out of English
lovers of the lower classes.
American girls are allowed much
more freedom than their sisters in
the Mother Country, and nothing
is thought of a young couple
sitting up after everyone else has
retired, a privilege of which it
may be assumed they are not slow
to take advantage.
SIX-SHOOTER.
chambers.
—
A revolver with six
Three of the party volunteered to go into the
patch and bring out two melons each, Fred
agreeing to keep a sharp lookout and give
the alarm by firing his six-SHOOTER.-Forest
and Stream, March 15, 1888.
SIZE. THAT'S MY SIZE. That suits
me; I am agreeable; "that's the
ticket.". -To SIZE UP.-To form
an opinion concerning a person
or thing, the equivalent of ro TAKE
ONE'S MEASURE.-See MEASURE.
To one who has had experience in this
line of business it is easy To SIZE UP A
customer, and one who understands the
trade rarely loses much time in selling a
pair of rubbers.-Dealer in Globe Democrat,
1888.
Sizzle
SIZZLE, TO. - - This Old English
word is still colloquial in the
States. It signifies the hissing
sound produced by heat. Also to
SIZZ.
Hot! Hot!! Hot!!!
With an ever-increasing heat!
The mercury leaps o'er the SIZZLING Spot
On the shady side of the street.
And the hens lay eggs, that are fried both
sides;
The sheep are roast mutton while yet in
their hides:
And the milk from the cow is boiled as it
glides
Out of the burning teat.
-Rahway Advocate.
Here is an inexpensive receipt for an
omelet, which is very nice: One egg, a
pinch of salt, 1 cupful of sweet milk, I
cupful of flour, 1 heaping teaspoonful of
cornstarch dissolved in part of the milk.
Heat your spider SIZZLING hot, put in a
generous piece of butter; beat the above
mixture thoroughly and turn into the
spider; as soon as it browns turn and roll
up, serving immediately.-Portland Tran-
script, 1888.
SKANES.-These iron plates, for re-
ducing friction upon axle-trees are,
in England, called clouts.
SKEDADDLE, TO.-To depart hurriedly;
to run away. Cf. ABSQUATULATE.
'Oh, stay,' a cullered pusson said,
'An on dis bosom rest your head!'
The Octoroon, she winked her eye,
But still he answered with a sigh, SKE-
-Song, Vanity Fair.
DADDLE.
De Vere succinctly summarizes
the various conflicting theories
as to its origin thus:
"The
word skedaddle even crossed the
Atlantic, and was once gravely dis-
cussed in Parliament. It appeared
in print, probably for the first time,
immediately after the battle of Bull
Run, and was at once caught at
and repeated all over the country.
In answer to inquiries about its
origin, some Irishmen at once
claimed it as their own, deriving
it from their sgedad-ol, which means
489
Skedaddle
'scattered all,' and naïvely sug-
gested that one of their valiant
countrymen might have uttered the
words while running away from
Bull Run. It cannot be denied
that in an old Irish version of the
New Testament the word is used
thus I will smite the shepherd
and the sheep of the flock shall be
sgedad - ol.' The soldiers, at all
events, were tickled by the sound
of the word, which served to give
a humorous appearance to a some-
what ignominious act, and thus it
spread, appearing in the reports of
correspondents of London journals.
The Times noticed it particularly,
and repeated the phrase, ' A Nor-
therner, who retreats, retires upon
his supports, but a Southerner is
said to skedaddle.' Thereupon Lord
Hill wrote a letter to prove that
the term was excellent Scottish, well
known in the North of England also.
It is true that in Ayrshire and Dum-
frieshire people use it quite fre-
quently to describe the spilling of
milk or water from a pail. Milk-
maids are heard to say, Mind, you
are skedaddling all your milk' and
farther North the dropping of coal
from the bucket is also called
skedaddling. The probability of
this derivation is much strength-
tened by the fact that the word
exists in the kindred Scandinavian
dialects, as Swedish has a term
skuddadahl, and Danish its skyededehl,
with exactly the same meaning;
what therefore the Scotch may not
have done-importing the word
into the army-may have to be
credited to the numerous Scandi-
navians from Wisconsin. A face-
tious writer in the Louisville Journal
was probably the first to trace the
word to a still more ancient form.
He derived it from the Greek
verb σκεδάννυμι, to scatter or
disperse tumultuously,' and its
infrequent aorist okέdaoa, used
by Herodotus and Homer, the
เ
62
Skeered
latter of whom employs also the
noun σRédaσis in the sense of an
emphatic scatteration." (Iliad. xix.
171-xxiii. 162; Odyssey, i. 113,
as quoted in Crusius Lexicon.)
The Slang Dictionary endorses this
view, declaring that Lord Hill and
the Times were both in the wrong,
and attributing the odd word to
some professor at Harvard, who
may have set it afloat, utterly un-
conscious that the bantling would
meet with such unexpected success.
For whatever it may mean or
wherever it may originally come
from, there is something so de-
scriptive in the term, that it is
likely to maintain itself in our
speech in spite of all grammarians,
and will probably be proof against
all attempts to remove it.
SKEERED.-A Corruption of " scared."
I didn't feel particularly SKEERED. I knew
I had to make a centre shot and mustn't get
nervous, even if it did look very scaly, but I
thought I was equal to him. It ain't any fun
to kill a bear sitting up in a tree. Anybody
can do that. But when they come to you
with their mouths open its just fun.-
Missouri Republican, 1888.
SKEET, TO. To move or run swiftly.
SKEETER. A corruption of "mosquito."
'Children,' said a New Jersey school
teacher, 'always be cheerful. Whatever
falls to your lot to do, do it cheerfully.'
'Yes, indeed, dear teacher,' responded a
bright little Rahway scholar, 'even the
SKEETERS Sing when they are at work.'-
New York Sun, 1888.
This
SKEEZICKS, SKESICKS. A ne'er-do-
weel; a good-for-nothing.
Western term, with which is always
associated a measure of contempt,
is probably from a Dutch word,
signifying an idle, contemptible
fellow.
SKIN. A sharper; a blackleg.—To
SKIN. (1) To impose upon; to
SKIN.~(1)
490
Skip
cheat; to extort. (2) A college
term signifying to use a translation
or crib. (See quotation under BOHN,
with which compare this usage of
to skin).- SKIN GAME.-Fraud;
chicanery.
The professional boomers, who have been
reaping rich harvests here, have exaggerated
the attractions beyond all reason, and
crowded all the drawbacks clear out of
sight. They have been playing a SKIN GAME
on the public in the East.-Florida Times
Union, February 1, 1888.
-SKINNER.-Synonymous with
SHYSTER (q.v.).—SKIN YOUR OWN
SKUNK, i.e., do your own dirty
work. Cf. SKUNK.
I'll thank you, when we meet again, not to
disremember the old saying, but let every
man SKIN HIS OWN SKUNKS.-David Crockett.
KEEP YOUR EYES SKINNED.
See EYES.. TO SKIN OUT.-To
leave secretly and hastily as when
pursued by an enemy.
Sitting Bull (an Indian chief) has SKINNED
OUT from the Yellowstone Valley and sought
refuge in Canada.-American Paper.
SKINK (Cant).—A waiter.
•
SKIP! This exclamation for Begone!
is a peculiarly American derivative
of to skip." It is equivalent to Git!
absquatulate! skedaddle! light-
out! etc.-———— -SKIP-JACK.—A popu-
lar name in Boston for the bonito;
elsewhere the BLUE-FISH is known
by this name.
Dr. George Trowbridge thus writes from
Sarasota, Fla. :-The fly with red tail, scale-
covered orange body, light yellow hackles,
and double white wings, has made the fol-
lowing score; February 22, four sea-trout, one
SKIP-JACK.-Forest and Stream, March 15,
1888.
-SKIPPER.-What is known in
England as the cheese-hopper or
cheese-mite. Hence SKIPPERY as
applied to cheese full of mites.
SKIRMISH, TO.
Skirmish
-To forage; to lay
hands upon all that comes in one's
way.
Hundreds of Moors come to Tangiers every
year, and embark for Mecca. They go
part of the way in English steamers; and
the ten or twelve dollars they pay for passage
is about all the trip costs. They take with
them a quantity of food, and when the com-
missary department fails, they SKIRMISH, as
Jack terms it in his sinful slangy way. From
the time they leave till they get home again,
they never wash, either on land or sea.-
Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad.
SKITE, TO.-To move about energeti-
cally.
SKIVE, TO.-A New England shoe-
maker's term for paring leather, so
as to leave a bevel edge.-——SKIV-
INGS. Parings and scraps of
leather.
SKULLDUGGERY.-A Missourian's term
for underhand plotting.
SKUN. (1) A factitious preterite of
TO SCAN.
Watterson carefully SKUN his card again,
and called for one paper. Hart breathed a
sigh of relief, and wanted two cards. It was
the latter's bet, and he felt his way carefully
with one seed.-American Humorist, Sept.
15, 1888.
(2) The preterite of TO SKIN
(q.v.), i.e., to hurry along.
Finally the beaver got across the river,
and the dog had almost caught him when,
phit! the beaver SKUN up a tree.-Mark
Twain's Screamers.
SKUNK (Mephitis mephitica).—A fetid
animal of the weasel kind.
When
PEDDLER
hunted and driven to bay, it emits
a most disgusting secretion, from
which fact it is called in New
England the ESSENCE
(q.v.) Hence the contemptuous
employment of the name for a
mean, despicable fellow.
'Smiley's a
voice.
fool,' interrupted a gloomy
491
Sky
'A particular SKUNK,' added another
in sepulchral accents.
A silence followed these positive state-
ments. The old man glanced quickly
around the group. Then his face slowly
changed. That's so,' he said reflectively,
after a pause, 'certingly a sort of a SKUNK
and suthing of a fool. In course.' He was
silent for a moment as in painful contem-
plation of the unsavouriness and folly of
the unpopular Smiley.-Bret Harte's How
Santa Claus came to Simpson's Bar.
To SKUNK, TO BE SKUNKED.
-To utterly defeat, or be defeated.
SKUNK-BEAR (Gulo luscus).—A
Western term for the wolverine or
CARCAJOU (q.v.).— SKUNK-BLACK-
BIRD.-A popular name in New
England, and farther North, even
to Canada, for the common marsh
blackbird, nicknamed by Henry
Ward Beecher, the " polyglot, who
describes the way they talked at the
winding up of the Tower of Babel."
SKUNK CABBAGE (Symplocarpus
fœtidus). — A plant which, despite
its vile odor and unattractive
form, is of medicinal value in
asthma and other disorders.-
SKUNK - HEAD (Anas labradora).–
The pied duck.
SKUNNER.-In Pennsylvania, this cor-
ruption of "scorner," expresses the
contempt and dislike felt and is
not, as might be expected, em-
ployed for the person who scorns.
SKY.-SKYGODLIN.-Obliquely, in a
crooked manner.- SKY-PILOT.-
A clergyman; a term originating in
sea phraseology.- -SKY-SCRAPING.
-Tall, literally touching the sky; a
sailor's term for the light sails,
which Yankee salts, true to the
traditions of the speech of their
great country, are fond of crowding
on in the shape of SKY-SCRAPERS and
MOON-RAKERS. The latter terms are
popularly applied to a man, build-
ing, or other object beyond the
ordinary height.
Skyugle
The SKY-SCRAPING buildings around town
are expensive to take care of. The larger
ones require the services of anywhere from
ten to twenty men. There is a superinten-
dent and his assistant, a head janitor, and
half-a-dozen assistants, from two to six
elevator men, an engineer, fireman, electri-
cian, machinist, carpenter, and sometimes a
guide to stand at the entrance and direct
people to the tenants' offices. Saturday
nights this force is reinforced by scrubwomen
and men who wash the sidewalks. Some of
the tenants, too, call in outside janitors.—
Chicago Herald, 1888.
SKYUGLE or SCYUGLE.
A factitious
word varying in orthography, which
means everything, anything, or
nothing a term claiming inser-
tion by right whenever one is at a
loss for a word. It is said to have
originated with the Union soldiers
during the Civil War. Considering
the many words and phrases which
then first saw the light, time must
occasionally have hung very
heavily on hand-possibly during
the twelve months in which, accord-
ing to the New York Herald, they
were "marching on to Richmond."
[An officer, writing from headquarters in
Virginia, says:]-A corps staff-officer dis-
mounted near me a moment ago. I inquired
where he had been riding. He informed
me that he had been out on a general
SCYUGLE; that he had sCYUGLED along the
front, when the rebels SCYUGLED a bullet
through his clothes; that he should scYUGLE
his servant, who, by the way, had scYUGLED
three fat chickens, for a supply of ice; that
after he had SCYUGLED his dinner, he pro-
posed to SCYUGLE a nap.-Army and Navy
Journal, July 11, 1864.
II,
492
SLAB.-The outside of logs of wood
which is generally cast aside as
useless. Hence idiomatically a
shaky or worthless character, who
sometimes, for the same reason,
is termed SLAB-BRIDGED. Lowell
points out that whoever has
driven over a stream by a bridge
made of slabs will feel the force of
the epithet.
There was a fellow travelling around in
that country, said Mr. Nickerson, with a
moral religious show-a sort of scriptural
Slave
panorama-and he hired a wooden-headed
old SLAB to play the piano for him.-Mark
Twain's Screamers.
To SLAB. — To make roads
round the sides of mountains.-
TO SLAB OFF.-To cast on one side
as useless.- -SLAB-SIDED.-With
perpendicular sides like a moun-
tain that is slabbed.
SLACKWATER NAVIGATION.-An arrange-
ment of dams and locks for keeping
a sufficient supply of water in a
river not otherwise navigable at all
seasons.
"
SLANTENDICULAR. Awry; oblique.
A factitious word formed from
slant" on the model of "
perpen-
dicular." Although an American-
ism originally, it is now perfectly
acclimatized in English slang.
So, also, SLANTENDICULARLY
SLANTWISE for obliquely.
or
SLAPJACKS.-Pancakes, which in Eng-
land are called "flap-jacks."
We trotted on very fast, in the assurance
of rapidly approaching a snug breakfast of
chicken fixins, eggs, ham doins, and corn
SLAPJACKS.—Carlton's New Purchase.
SLASHES.-Low swampy land covered
with bush is so denominated in
several parts of the Union. In
New York ground on which the
brushwood has been cut and left
lying is called SLASH GROUND.
SLATHERS. -A large quantity; a "lot."
Common everywhere.
Sagebrush ought to have been on hand
with a blazing pine-knot fire and SLATHERS
of chuck piled up ready for us to sail in
and fill up.-Daily Inter-Ocean, February 6,
1888.
SLAVE, SLAVERY.-Many of the terms
connected with the one time " pe-
culiar institution" of the United
States, have happily long since
Sled
lost their force and meaning. The
agitation in favor of the abolition
of slavery began in pre-Revolution-
ary days, and ended in the national
upheaval known as the Civil War.
Amongst the terms, of which the
meaning is still obvious, may be
mentioned SLAVE-BREEDER, SLAVE-
DEALER, SLAVE-HUNT, SLAVE-
LABOR, SLAVE-LIBERATOR, SLAVE-
OWNER, SLAVER, SLAVE-SHIP, SLAVE-
STATE. Other terms, however,
need an explanatory word.
SLAVE-CODE.-Laws relating to the
possession of slaves, and the exist-
ence of slavery within the States
concerned.
SLAVE-DRIVER.
V
An overseer on an estate having
charge of, and directing the
work of slaves.- -SLAVE-LORD.—
A man whose property in slaves
made him a person of distinction
in the
the community.
SLAVE-
OCRACY.-The slave-holding class;
those who politically and socially
represented its interests. SLAVE-
OCRAT.-A holder of slaves.
SLAVONIA. The former slave-hold-
ing States.SLAVE STATES.—
These, as they existed prior to the
Civil War, were Alabama, Arkan-
sas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, Missouri, North Caro-
lina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, and Virginia. SLAVE-
PEN. A place of confinement for
slaves.
SLAVIST. One who
favored slavery.
SLED. Flint says: "The ferry-flat
is a scow boat, and, when used as
a boat of descent for families, has
a roof or covering. These are
sometimes in the vernacular phrase
called sleds."-Hist. and Geog. of
Miss. Valley.
SLEEP, TO. - Many verbs, which in
England are only used passively,
are, in America, forced into violent
active duty. Thus a host "eats"
493
Slick
all his guests, and a sleeping-car on
a railway sleeps so many passengers,
i.e., finds sleeping accommodation.
Another curious case in point is
where a mule is said to be capable
of riding (as to weight) his man.
Mules, no doubt, are capable of
anything, but one unaccustomed
to the philological perversion
would be in some doubt as to
whether the mule rode the man or
vice versa. SLEEPER.-A sleep-
ing-car.SLEEPERS.—One of the
nicknames assumed by, or given
to the Mollie Maguires.
Not one of that number, but of the great
secret order, here called the SLEEPERS.' 'An'
phat are the SLAPERS?' 'They are the
Mollie Maguires! There's a heap of them in
this district.'-Pinkerton's Mollie Maguires.
SLEEPING-CAR.-These cars on
railways are now fairly well known
in England.
SLICE.-A large fire-shovel.
SLICK.-Easily; rapidly; effectively;
cutely. Every transatlantic writer
on American English has very
rightly insisted on the ancient
usage of slick for sleek, or glossy.
Lowell points out that Chapman
and Jonson both use it, and De
Vere further substantiates its posi-
tion as an English provincialism.
Still, in senses other than sleek,
smooth, or glossy, the word is, un-
doubtedly, an Americanism, and it
is not difficult to understand the
process of transition from the
orthodox meaning to its vulgar
significations. Judge Halliburton
is mainly responsible for its popu-
larity as part of the vulgar tongue,
he having introduced into his writ-
ings many phrases, of which it
formed an important component.
Americans are very careful to draw
a distinction between "sleek" and
slick. For example, a mule may
have a sleek and glossy coat, and
Slide
yet be the slickest critter topside
dirt in converting his hind legs into
a yard measure, and the meanings
are distinctly different, as those
who know will bear witness. The
New Englander has a proverb
which aptly illustrates the usage
concerning slick. He says down
East an animal's ear can be taken
off so slick, that he does not know
he is one ear short till he puts up
his forefoot to scratch it. -To
SLICK UP is also peculiarly Ameri-
can, and here the original meaning
is retained. It means to smooth;
to render glossy and sleek.
SLICK AS A WHISTLE, SLICK
AS GREASE, etc., are idioms and
similes, which in view of the fore-
going need no further explanation.
TO SLICK OFF.-To turn out
quickly; to execute with ease.
Hosea ses taint hardly fair to call 'em hisn
now, cos the parson kind o' SLICKED off sum
o' the last varses, but he told Hosee he didn't
want to put his ore in to tetch to the Rest on
em, bein they wuz very well As they wuz.—
Biglow Papers.
SLICKER.-On the plains and
in the West a water-proof oil coat.
We had turned the horses loose, and in our
oilskin SLICKERS Cowered, soaked and com-
fortless, under the lee of the wagon, to take
a meal of damp bread and lukewarın tea,
the sizzling embers of the fire having about
given up the ghost after a fruitless struggle
with the steady downpour.-Century Maga-
zine, 1887.
"
SLIDE. LET IT SLIDE.-A frequent
expression for let it go"; don't
trouble! General Bank's famous
phrase, "Let the Union slide," is
now historical.— -To SLIDE OUT.
-To depart stealthily; to shirk
responsibility, or labor.
SLIM. An old friend with a new face.
From its meaning of thin it has
come to be used of a person in poor
health; sickly looking; thin in
face or figure. Also, idiomatically,
494.
Slope
for one of indifferent standing in
the community, either as regards
social position, morals, or politics.
SLIMSY.-Slightly made; frail in
build; flimsy in texture.
SLING. (1) Formerly a drink, com-
posed of rum, soda - water, ice,
lemon, and sugar. Gin is now,
however, generally substituted for
rum.-See DRINKS.- (2) Ameri-
cans have considerably extended
the slang usage of sling. Besides
bearing the senses of to pass from
one person to another, or to move;
sling is employed to indicate, sub-
ject to qualification, ease and
rapidity of action of all kinds.
Thus to sling a nasty pen is to write
a bad hand or "fist"; to sling a
foot or leg, to dance; to sling
a knife and fork, to ply those
weapons with efficiency.
SLINK.-A sneak; one who acts in an
underhand manner; "a snake in
the grass." SLINKY. Thin;
lanky.
SLIPE. A distance.
SLIPPER-DOWN.
Hasty pudding is
thus curiously named in some
parts.
SLIPPY-NOOSE.-A running knot.
P
SLOONLY,
dressed.
Badly attired; slovenly
"He's sloonly."
SLOPE. THE PACIFIC SLOPE.-The
Pacific coast.
Pfeffer is looking exceedingly well, having
gained twenty-five pounds on his trip to the
SLOPE.-Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1888.
to
-To SLOPE. To decamp;
run away; to elope. This slang
term was originally American, but
Slop Over
may now be classed as cosmopoli-
tan (French slang has introduced
sloper, to slope). Various derivations
are advanced, from "elope"; from
"the sloping movement of the sun
when setting"; and from "lope"
(let's lope).
Used also as a noun
in the sense of flight. Also SLOPER,
one who decamps.
SLOP OVER, To. An expressive
though vulgar synonym for to miss
one's mark, or to make a blunder
through an effusive demonstration
of feeling.
SLOSH ABOUT, SLOSH AROUND, TO.-
Usually applied in the West to
those who, half-fuddled by drink,
wander aimlessly from place to
place, taking "refreshers" en route,
and making themselves generally
objectionable to all with whom they
come in contact.
SLOUCH. No SLOUCH.. Generally
used in the negative, when a high
mead of praise is conveyed by the
idiom.
In Volapük, galon means to rejoice.
That is what a young man does when he has
a gal on his knee. Volapük is NO SLOUCH Of
a language after all.-Norristown Herald,
1888.
Then wounded Cæsar exclaimed, ' Et tu
Brute,' and expired. In the excitement
naturally incident to an assassination in
which Cæsar had been chosen to act as the
corpse, his great sang froid in addressing
Brutus in perfectly correct Latin shows that
he well deserved the tribute paid him by an
eminent historian, whose name
this
moment has escaped my memory, in which
he stated that Cæsar was NO SLOUCH.-
Bill Nyc, in New York World, 1888.
SLOUGH-GRASS.-A marsh grass.
"
at
SLUG, TO. An alternative form of
slog," to beat; as also is SLUG-
GER of "slogger," a prize-fighter.
The pupil was on time, and when he
stripped Mike observed that big knots of
495
Small Potatoes
muscles were scattered all over his body.
Mike resolved TO SLUG him soundly, and
thus discourage further business.-Missouri
Republican, February 24, 1888.
When a local SLUGGER wants to get adver-
tised in England nowadays he just chal-
lenges John L. Sullivan, and his name is in
all of the papers at once. Jack Knifton is
the latest to try the dodge. Of course, he
never intends to fight.-Boston Daily Globe,
1888.
SLUICE. A trough used by miners in
washing earth for gold. Also with
a similar meaning TO SLUICE.-
TO SLUICE OFF.-To divert; to lay
aside.
SLUM GULLION.
beverage.
A washy, cheap
SLUMP. See APPLE SLUMP.
SLUMPY. A New England word
to describe wet snow. It is
also used in the same sense in
Canada.To SLUMP OFF.-To
veer; to move away from; and
idiomatically of stocks and shares,
to fall in value.
'How's North-western this morning, Uncle
Zeke?' asked Dick Spriggs
Spriggs across
across the
restaurant table. 'SLUMPED off six points,
hang it!' scowling viciously over his paper
at the steak brought by the waiter.-Detroit
Free Press, 1888.
SLUNK. When the young of an
animal, e.g., a cow, is prematurely
brought forth, it is said to be a
slunk calf.
SMALLER. A small glass of spirits,
sometimes used derisively.
Bring us one of the largest kind of
SMALLERS, a tumbler full of brandy and
water, with no water in it.-J. C. Neal s
Charcoal Sketches.
SMALL POTATOES, used as a term of
contempt, is quite familiar to Eng-
lish ears; not so, however, are some
of the emphatic terms of the ex-
pression current in America. There,
Small Snow
one constantly hears a petty, mean,
or contemptible thing described as
"small potatoes "-few in a hill-the
hills fur apart—and a gra-ate way
to go and dig 'em,' etc., etc.
SMALL SNOW (Cant). Children's
linen.
SMART. This adjective, like cun-
ning, clever, and a few others, bears
a different interpretation across the
water to that which obtains in
England. A smart man in America
is quick, shrewd, and intelligent,
whereas in England, apart from its
application to dress, smart is used
in the sense of superficial showi-
ness of character, or ability, com-
bined with more or less wit. In
the West smartness would enable a
thief to steal a log with a watch-
man asleep on the bark. Perhaps
the most distinctive American
usage is right smart, used super-
latively in various connections.
SMEAR.-A little dinner, tea-party,
or similar entertainment is thus
vulgarly designated; one would
almost prefer the equally vulgar,
though infinitely more sensible,
"feed."- SMEAR-CASE.—— A kind
of home-made cheese which, in
New York, is called POT-CHEESE;
in other parts it is known as
COTTAGE-CHEESE. From the Dutch
smeer-kaas.
SMELL-DOG.—A SPIKE-TAILED SMELL-
DOG.-A jocose name for a dog
used in sport; one that retrieves.
SMELL-LEMON (Cucurbita ovi-
fera).-The popular name is derived
from the fragrant and yellow-
striped orange-like fruit of this
plant.- -SMELLING COMMITTEE.—
An investigating committee where
the matter to be inquired into is
unpopular, and unsavoury details
are expected to be brought to light.
496
Smoke
The phrase was first used in con-
nection with the examination under
Government warrant of a Massa-
chusetts convent.
SMILE. A nip; dram; or "drink.'
This is, perhaps, one of the oddest
conversions of terms imaginable,
though the process of transition is
sufficiently obvious. A good story
appeared in Blackwood some years
ago, wherein it is related, that Mrs.
Christie, an American lady, had
sent some fine old rye whiskey to
an Englishman who, unconscious
of the pun, said to a travelling
companion, an American, "This
cannot be called Lacrymæ Christi,
suppose we call it Smiles of
Christi!"' Good," said the
American, "I see you are learning
our language!
"
The moon would be rising about ten
o'clock, and as nothing would be done till
then, we took a SMILE of old Bourbon apiece,
and turned our attention to cooking bear
steaks.-Daily Inter-Ocean, February 6, 1888.
-To SMILE.-To take a drink;
to tipple.- -WELL! I SHOULD
SMILE! is a slang expression used
to convey (1) a feeling of wonder
or surprise at any incident or state-
ment not altogether creditable;
and negatively (2) in the sense of
disbelief.
WELL, I SHOULD SMILE not! I started
right after dinner, and kept on the go until
ten last night, and I had a perfectly elegant
time.-Detroit Free Press, May 5, 1888.
SMOKE. TO SMOKE ONE. To make
game of; or to talk satirically to a
person with the object of befooling
him. Figuratively, to becloud and
render vague by clouds of smoke.
In English detective slang to smoke
is to detect or penetrate an artifice.
The judge had no idea that Tom was
SMOKING him.—Slick's Americans at Home,
P. 14.
Smooth
SMOKE STACK.-A chimney; a
funnel of a steamer.
'What's the matter?' was chorussed in
whispers.
'I see a SMOKE STACK and a flag-staff. It's
a tug.'
'Then comes the tug of war,' responded
one, who could not miss the opportunity for a
joke.
'Yes, and as she comes by steam we are
goners,' remarked another.-Long Branch
News, April 7, 1888.
And, sure's you're born, they all got off
Afore the SMOKE-STACK fell,
And Bludsoe's ghost went up alone
In the smoke of the Prairie Belle.
-Col. John Hay's Jim Bludsoe, or the Prairie
Belle.
497
Snag
SMUDGE. A Smothered fire used by
backwoodsmen for the purpose of
keeping off flies and mosquitoes.
Gray, an old English writer,
employs smudge in a somewhat
similar sense.
SMUT-MILL.
Among American
farmers a contrivance for dealing
with "smutty" wheat.-Also smut
MACHINE.
SNABBY OF SNAB.-An American Alma
Mater term to designate a good-
looking, stylish man or woman, or
anything "tasty" and
tasty" and of good
quality.
SMOKY CITY.-Pittsburg; also
IRON CITY. Pittsburg is the Ameri-
can Birmingham, the centre of
the iron and hardware industries.
TO SMOKE THE PIPE OF PEACE
or WAR.-See CALUMET.
SMOOTH.-A meadow.
SMORNING. A telegraphic code word
in general use for "this morning."
SNABLE, To
also to kill.
(Cant). To plunder;
SNACKED.-Drunk; intoxicated. A
Southern equivalent of the more
common SNAPPED.
SNAG.-The Western application of
snag for a sunken tree whose roots.
are fast in a river bed is perhaps
American, but the word itself has
never lost currency in England,
Johnson having defined it as
jag or sharp protuberance."
(2) To
SMOUCH, TO. (1) In Pennsylvania to
take a kiss by stealth.
smouch is generally colloquial for
to steal; to crib; to plagiarize, in
which sense it was used by Milton.
The Mormon Bible is rather stupid and
tiresome to read, but there is nothing vicious
in its teachings. Its code of morals is un-
objectionable-it is SMOUCHED from the New
Testament and no credit given. - Mark
Twain's Roughing It.
'I don't mind letting on we was at it a
hundred and fifty years. It wouldn't strain
me none after I got my hand in. So I'll
mosey along now, and SMOUCH a couple of
case-knives. SMOUCH three,' he says; 'we
want one to make a saw out of.'-The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 366.
(
SMOUZE, TO.-An Ohio term signi-
fying to cause to collapse by a
blow; to make a clean sweep of.
Snags
and SAWYERS are fruitful sources of
impediment to navigation on the
Mississippi and other large rivers,
and frequently fatal. Hence the
verb TO SNAG, to come in contact
with a sunken tree or projecting
branch.
'Been boating, Ben, since I met you?' I
inquired after a short pause.
Well, yes, mostly,' answered Ben, de-
liberately. 'Drove a pretty fair business
last year; only sunk one broad-horn, and
that war SNAGGED on the Mississippi.'-
Ben Wilson's Jug Race.
The danger thus attending
navigation on American water-
ways has led to the invention of a
contrivance for removing these
obstructions. Steamers so fitted
are called SNAG BOATS.
63
Snail Along
SNAIL ALONG, TO.-To move along in
a leisurely fashion after the manner
of snails.
They kep' pokin' 'long, pokin' 'long, an'
Charlie 'lowed to get out and walk if the hill
got much steeper. So they leaned for'ards,
an' part o' the time hung on to the dash-
board with their hands if they did strike a
little hill, an' kep' SNAILIN' 'LONG, SNAILIN'
'LONG.-Texas Siftings, September 15, 1888.
SNAKE. This oftentimes venomous
reptile has furnished the back-
woodsman and pioneer with not a
few similes and terms, most of
which have found their way into
the popular speech all over the
Union. TO SNAKE, or TO SNAKE
ALONG, is (1) to crawl or creep
along after the manner of snakes,
i.e., on the stomach, and idiomati-
cally to proceed stealthily, or with
caution. By a further amplifica-
tion of the original idiom, snaking
in politics or the affairs of every-
day life, signifies the employment
of secret, underhand methods; a
striving for an advantage by means
not open and above-board. Also
to proceed quickly from place to
place, as when a snake is disturbed,
and has been put to flight.
Four buckskin cayuses SNAKED us along
in great style until the tongue of the stage
broke and gave us a mile tramp to the next
station. Damages repaired by a roadside
blacksmith, the journey was resumed over
an awfully bad road.-San Francisco Weekly
Examiner, March 22, 1888.
(2) In the South to snake means
to beat; to give a drubbing.-
SNAKE-DOCTOR.-A South-western
term for a dragon-fly.-SNAKE
FENCE. A serpentine circuitous
fence; one following the rise and
fall and windings of the land.
Yonder are a shed and a corn-crib, and a
leaning stack of fodder, and a blue-stem
collard patch and SNAKE FENCES, and vehicles
that have stood in the weather until sun-
struck.-Century Magazine, 1888.
-SNAKE-HEAD RAIL.-A flat kind
of rail used on early railways, part of
498
Snake
which, becoming detached and bent
upward, often caused serious acci-
dents. This rail is no longer used;
the present form entirely obviates
the slightest possibility of such
catastrophes. SNAKE ROOT.-
Various Indian remedies for snake
bites, many of which, though out
of favor as antidotes for injuries of
this character, are still used in
medicine on account of other valu-
able properties. SNAKE SURE.
Quite sure; certain; without doubt.
'Got a beadache,' said Davy, as he hung
back. Honest?' 'Yes, orful honest. Feels
like it 'ud split.' 'Shucks! You's bashful!
You's afraid he'll poke fun at we'uns! But
he won't, Davy. Pop's dun told him we're
to jine, and he says it's right. He'un won't
laff, Davy.'' Fur shore?''For SNAKE SHORE.'
-Detroit Free Press, Sept. 8, 1888.
GREAT SNAKES! A euphe-
mistic oath.-TO HAVE SNAKES
IN ONE'S BOOTS.-To be fidgetty;
uneasy; and more forcibly, to have
delirium tremens.
'Charlie, I am afraid that if Guzzleby
don't stop drinking soon he'll have SNAKES
IN HIS BOOTS.' 'I'm not.'' Why not?' 'Why,
there isn't a SNAKE in the world that hasn't
more self-respect than to be seen in his
company.' 'Ah, but you know that delirium
tremens is only an affection of the mind.'
'Then I'm sure Guzzleby won't have them.'
-Texas Siftings, 1888.
AS SURE AS THERE'S SNAKES
IN VIRGINNY.-A simile for abso-
lute certainty; a very old expres-
sion, and doubtless an allusion to
the frequency with which at one
time snakes were to be met with in
To WAKE SNAKES.-
this State.-
An American equivalent of "to
rouse sleeping dogs"; and further,
in allusion to the hissing and
wrigging noise consequent upon
disturbing a nest of these reptiles, a
waking of snakes has also come to be
synonymous with noisy frolicsome-
ness. Yet another meaning is
attached to this term, derived from
the speed with which one would
Snake
put as great a distance as possible
between himself and these veno-
mous reptiles-to run with alacrity;
to bolt away.
SNAKE STORY.-
An incredible narration; from
the nonsensical yarns told by
travellers concerning certain sec-
tions of the animal creation; e.g.,
MULE STORIES (q.v.), FISH STORIES
(q.v.), etc. These narratives are
"sea serpent," and big
gooseberry" type, and the follow-
ing are fair samples of their kind.
of the
"
A big SNAKE STORY comes from Mount
Holly, in Berkley County, S.C. A party of
negroes were cutting upon a lightwood log
of large circumference and great length,
when it suddenly began to move slowly off
toward a creek about ten feet distant. The
negroes were stricken with terror, and they
at once dropped their axes and stampeded.
Dr. Byrd, in charge of the hands, tried to
recall them, but they continued their flight,
without even once looking back. In the
mean time the log was travelling steadily to-
ward the creek. As it fell into the water,
the source of its power of locomotion was
revealed in a most astounding manner.
Hundreds of hissing serpents leaped forth
from their hiding places in the log and
darted forth in different directions in the
water. The SNAKES were of the genuine
water moccasin species, varying in length
from that of a buggy spoke to a hoe handle.
Dr. Byrd and others stood by, watching the
SNAKES depart, and their going consumed
fully thirty minutes. Three of the negroes
who fled when the log began to move have
not since been heard from.-Atlanta Consti-
tution, 1888.
'Do you want some items about SNAKES?'
asked an agriculturally-rural-looking gentle-
man of the Eagle's city editor the other day.
'If they are fresh and true,' responded the
city editor. 'Exactly,' replied the farmer.
'These items are both. Nobody knows 'em
but me. . . . . I've got a baby six months
old. He's a boy. We generally sit him out on
the grass of a morning, and he hollers like
a bull all day; at least he used to, but he
don't any more. One morning we noticed
he wasn't hollowing, and wondered what
was up. When we looked, there was
rattlesnake coiled up in front of him scan-
ning his features. The boy was grinning
and the SNAKE was grinning. Bimeby the
SNAKE turned his tail to the baby and
backed his rattle right into the baby's fist.'
'What did the baby do?' 'Why, he just
rattled that tail so you could hear it three
quarters of a mile, and the SNAKE layed
there and grinned. Every morning we
a
499
Snap
4
4
•
found the SNAKE there, until one day a
bigger SNAKE came and the baby played with
his rattle just the same till the first SNAKE
came back. He looked thin, and I reckon he
had been sick and sent the other to take his
place. Will that do for an item?' 'Immensely,'
replied the city editor.
Any more?'
'I don't call any to mind just at present.
My wife knows a lot of SNAKE items, but I
forget 'em. By the way, though, I've got a
regular living curiosity down at my place.
One day my oldest boy was sitting on the
back stoop doing his sums, and he couldn't
get 'em right. He felt something against
his face, and there was a little SNAKE coiled
up on his shoulder and looking at the slate.
In four minutes he had done all them sums.
We've tamed him so he keeps all our
accounts, and he is the lightningest cuss at
figures you ever seen. He'll run up a column
eight feet long in three seconds. I wouldn't
take a reaper for him.' What kind of a
SNAKE is he?' inquired the editor, curiously.
'The neighbours call him an adder.'
'Oh
yes! yes!' said the city editor, a little dis-
concerned. 'I've heard of the species. When
did all these things happen?''Along in the
fore part of the spring, but I didn't say any-
thing about 'em, 'cause it wasn't the season
for SNAKE items. This is about the time for
that sort of thing, isn't it?' 'Yes,' chipped
in the exchange editor, 'You couldn't have
picked out a better time for SNAKE stories.'-
Robert J. Burdette.
SNAP.--A period; a portion; a share.
This word is very popularly col-
loquial in the States, chiefly in
respect to the weather, as a cold
snap," but also in each of its other
significations.
'I won't agree to no such bender,'
Sez Isrel; 'keep it tell it's tender
'Taint wuth a SNAP afore it's ripe.
Sez Joe, 'I'd jest ez lives eat tripe;
You air a buster ter suppose
I'd eat what makes me hol' my nose!'
-Biglow Papers.
Our little SNAP of cold weather has come
and gone. Of course there were some results.
The callas, just putting forth a wealth of
white blossoms, fell down and became sickly.
The tender leaves of the lemon trees began
to droop, and some have fallen down.-San
Francisco Weekly Bulletin, 1888.
SOFT
Hence, idiomatically,
SNAP, i.e., a good or easy time; a
profitable experience. When pro-
duce rules high in price, it is said
to be having a SOFT SNAP.
Snap
No the lighthouse-keeper does not have a
SOFT SNAP. He can subordinate his light to
nothing. It is no available excuse for his
light to be out that his wife was dying and
he could not leave her. He may be satisfied
that the tower he is stationed in will totter
and fall in ruins within the next hour, but he
must keep its light going as long as it stands.
The absence of a light for one minute may
result in disaster to life and property on the
seas. One single instance of neglect in
keeping a light going according to instruc-
tions, is sure to be followed by immediate
dismissal.-New York Sun, 1888.
SNAP BEANS or SNAPS.-French
beans, from their crispness and the
easy manner in which they snap
asunder when fresh.-SNAP, or
SNAP AND GO is also used in the
sense of energy; smartness; an
idiomatic extension of the legiti-
mate meaning of "to break short,"
as when crisp.
The International Council of Women
began its sessions this morning. It had a
SNAP AND A GO with it from the outset.
Women's gatherings here are in one respect
like the circus and the races-they always
bring rain. The downfall to-day might have
depressed any other assemblage, but it had
not a ghost of a show with this one.-New
York Herald, March 27, 1888,
-Used adjectively for rapid;
quick; without hesitation; as, for
example, a snap vote, i.e., a vote
taken say by show of hands.
500
Within the hour the chairman of the com-
mittee insists upon the previous question.
Five out of six of the members of his party
are busy with their mails, or are engaged in
conversation. A SNAP viva voce vote is taken,
and a division is demanded. There is a cry
of all up, and many arise without a definite
conception of the question at issue. Most of
them vote simply to sustain the action of the
committee; with some it seems to be a point
of honor. St. Louis Globe Democrat,
February 16, 1888.
It is curious to note that this old
cant word has been perverted in
application. In England it is con-
fined to articles or circumstances
out of which money may be made
-a windfall, or an odd job.-
SNAP-NECK. In New Jersey,
APPLE BRANDY (see under APPLE) is
J
Snide
so-called. SNAPPED. -A
Southern term applied to a drunken
man. If not altogether broken off
short, such an one is decidedly
unbent. SNAPPER or SNAPPING
TURTLE.-A tortoise, which derives
its specific name from its pug-
nacious habits. It is common
throughout the Union.
SNARL. This term for angry dispu-
tation is far more colloquial in the
United States than in England.
It is also used to signify a diffi-
culty; a tight place" as regards
money matters; or the "corner
into which one is driven by argu-
ments that cannot be withstood.
At last his affairs became badly entangled.
His purchase of the lease of the Fourteenth-
street Theatre at a high figure got him into
a SNARL. Somehow, though he had made a
great deal of money, it did not remain with
him.-Detroit Free Press, September 8, 1888.
SNATCH. TO SNATCH ONE BALD-
HEADED.-See BALD-HEADED.
TO BE SNATCHED.-In the South-
west to be flurried; put out of
countenance. "Don't be snatched,"
i.e., keep calm.
SNEAK THIEF.-A thief who sneaks
about when intent on business. In
English slang such an one is called
a "sneaksman". -a petty cowardly
thief.
SNEAK
The residence of J. McClosky, No. 4030
Chestnut-street, was visited by a
THIEF last night, and three overcoats are
missing.-Philadelphia Evening
Evening Bulletin,
February 23, 1888.
SNEEZER.-An out-and-out, thorough-
going man, action, or thing.
SNELT. (I) A wild plum. (2) See
LEADER.
SNIDE.-An English slang term which
is quite colloquial across the water
whence it may have come in
Snifter
the first instance. It means bad;
spurious; contemptible.
No SNIDE goods in stock; everything
first-class and guaranteed to please or the
money cheerfully refunded.-Advertisement
in Denver Republican, May 6, 1888.
The capitol of Missouri was erected in
1836. These were the better days of the
Republic, and contractors never performed a
SNIDE job.-Missouri Republican, February
15, 1888.
SNIFTER.-To TAKE A
SNIFTER.-To
take refreshment in the shape of
"a nip of something neat."
He leaned back and closed his eyes, and
murmured: 'Thank Heaven he's better.
He is slowly convalescing. Bring up a bottle
of brandy! He poured out a pretty good
SNIFTER, and told me to take about four such
drinks every day, while I was convalescing.
-Texas Siftings, August 8, 1888.
SNIP.-An overdressed man; a cox-
comb; a finical person.
Miss Clara-'I declare I was never so
insulted in my life. Oh, how I hate him!'
Miss Angle-'Whom?'
Miss Clara-'That young SNIP of a Dum-
foole."-Boston Post, 1888.
-Hence
SNIPTIOUS, RESNIP-
TIOUS, and SNIPPY.-Various de-
grees in the West of gaily attired
and finical.
Sam-'Oh, jest thought I'd come down ter
see you step off.'
'Good boy. Look at her Sam (pointing at
the girl), ain't she SNIPSHUS? Don't you wush
you'd a-won the fight ?'
'Don't jolt me too much about it, Bill, fur
I mout not give her up yit.'-Portland
Transcript, February 29, 1888.
SNIPE. A Wall Street term for an
outside or curbstone broker; a
bucket-shop man.
SNITS. A Pennsylvania Dutch con-
traction of the German schnitzel for
slices of dried fruit,
SNOB.
A journeyman shoemaker.
An Old English usage, which has
501
Snowball
well-nigh disappeared in the
Mother Country; it is not much
used in America, save in Massachu-
setts and Pennsylvania.
SNOOP, TO.—A New York expression
for eating by stealth.-
TO SNOOP
ALONG. To put in an appearance,
generally by stealth.
She told him that she wasn't afraid of repor-
ters, and the detectives might SNOOP ALONG
if they wanted to.-St. Louis Globe Democrat,
April 13, 1888.
SNOOSER.-An hotel thief who lives
in the place, and thus seeks for
opportunities to
his
carry out
depredations.
SNORE.-A boy's name for a top string,
probably confined to New York.
-I SNORE.-An oath, the sting
in the sound of which is supposed
to have been extracted.
to a SMILE.
SNORT.-A snort of whiskey is a dram;
a nip; a small quantity; equivalent
To SNORT. —To
laugh derisively; to pooh! pooh!
This meaning is not given in the
dictionaries.
'Los' his case? That can't be,' said
another, who was known to his comrades as
Long Tim. 'I ree-collec' how old man
Bamford SNORTED when the jury come in.
They gin him six thousan' dollars. I war
thar at the trial an' heern it all.'-Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
SNORTER.-When applied to a
man, snorter indicates one in the
possession of great animal spirits;
idiomatically, however, the term is
applied to anything out of the
common, and indicates no small
measure of praise.
SNOW (Cant).-Linen.
SNOWBALL.-A negro, on the principle
of a tort et à travers.
Snub Up
SNUB UP, TO.-To tie up; to secure.
SNUBBING-POST.-A post to
which horses and cattle are secured.
The stable, sheds, and other outbuildings,
with the hayricks and the pens for such
cattle as we bring in during winter, are near
the house; the patch of fenced garden land
is on the edge of the woods; and near the
middle of the glade stands the high, circular
horse-corral, with a SNUBBING-POST in the
centre.-Ranch Life in the Far West.
SNUCKS.-A corruption of "snacks."
To go snucks, i.e., to go halves.
-
SNUFF DIPPER.
under DIP.
SNUFF SWAB. See
SNUG, TO.-To conceal; to hide from
view.
SNUM. I SNUM.-I vow; I declare;
-the nearest approach to absolute
veracity, short of a sworn legal
oath that the New Englander
knows.
SOAK.-To pawn; to pledge.
Reading an article the other day on the
evil of the pawn-shops in our cities reminded
me of a young friend. In an evil, thoughtless
hour his companions enticed him into the
lair of the destroyer, and scarcely knowing
what he did, he SOAKED a bone-handled
revolver, the gift of his Sunday-school
teacher, for 7 dols.-Denver Republican, May
6, 1888.
SOAK-ABOUT.—A boys' game,
described in quotation.
At school, when the young master saw the
boys playing at the boisterous and promis-
cuous SOAK-ABOUT, he would sometimes catch
the contagion of the wild fun, and, thrusting
his Livy into the desk, rush out of the door
to mix in the confusion, throwing the yarn
ball at one and another with vigor and accu-
racy of aim.-Century Magazine,1887.
SOAP. In the Presidential campaign
of 1880 this term was used in tele-
grams by the Republicans as a
cipher for money. In 1884
In 1884 it was
employed by the Democrats as a
502
Socdolager
derisive party-cry aimed at their
opponents. SOAP-BERRY (Sapin-
dus marginatus).-A tree, common
in the South and South-west. Its
hard, black berries are strung like
beads for various kinds of knick-
nacks. -SOAP-LOCK.--The "bow-
catcher" of English costermongers,
and familiarly known in politer
circles as a kiss-curl. The femi-
nine counterpart is called a SPIT-
CURL, and the suggestion as to
the means by which this short
voluted curl is kept in place is in
either case somewhat disgusting.
A gang of New York rowdies were
once called soap-locks on account
of this peculiarity in their ap-
pearance.
SOAP PLANT. See
AMOLE.
"
'soar,"
SOARY.-A derivation of
with which it is closely allied in
meaning.
SOBBED,
moist.
Soaked; saturated; very
SOCDOLAGER, SOCKDOLAGER. (1) A
heavy blow; a conclusive argu-
ment; a winding-up-a general
"finisher." The etymology of this
strange word has been variously
worked out. Some think it a cor-
ruption of " doxology," and hence
a signal of dismissal. This may
be; but others, obviously mis-
understanding the matter, derive
it from slog, to hit out hard,
and write it slogdolager. Hotten,
however, seems to have arrived at
another equally plausible derivation
when tracing it to the Italian stoc-
cado, a fencing term. May it not
possibly be derived from sock, to
strike a hard blow, and dolor, pain,
distress?-See also SOLLAKER.
But when once he had extricated himself
from the mêlée, and had rapped on the door-
frame with his ruler, crying 'Books, books!'
the boy who a minute before had enjoyed
Sociable
the luxury of giving the master what was
known in school-boy lingo as a soсKDOLA-
GER, delivered full in the back, or even on
the side of the head, did not find any en-
couragement to presume on that experience
in school hours.-Century Magazine, 1887.
(2) A fishing - hook which
closes with a spring after the fish
has swallowed it.
SOCIABLE.-A New England term for
a party; a gathering of friends.
503
SOCK, TO.-This English provincial-
ism, signifying to strike a hard
blow, is used in several connections,
all of which, however, approach
more or less nearly to the given
meaning. Thus in a strike, where
one section of the strikers gives
way and returns to work, whilst the
rest still hold out, those who have
given in are said to sock it to the
others. On the other hand, an
argument may be socked or driven
in to the hilt, i.e., stated conclu-
sively; while in yet another sense
it means to charge a high price for
any article; or, in a narration, to
exaggerate, or pile on the agony
""
-in fact, it is generally used to
emphasize an opinion or action.
A rich man won't have anything but your
very best [coffins]; and you can just pile it on
too, and sock it in to him-he won't ever
holler.-Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi.
SODA PRAIRIE.-A vast arid plain
covered with a deposit of natron or
soda. These desolate tracks of
country are frequent in
Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.
New
SOFT.-SOFT BACK.-A tortoise, large
in size and of considerable ferocity;
known to science as the Trionyx
ferox. -SOFT COAL.-Bituminous
coal. See HARD
COAL.- SOFT
CORN.-An alternative of soft-
soap; soft-sawder; i.e., flattery.
SOFT CRAB.-The crab, otherwise
known as the SHEDDER, and so
Soft
named when shedding its outer
shell.Softliness.—An action is
done with softliness when quietly
accomplished; without pretence;
unassumingly. -SOFT MONEY.-
Paper money was so called during
the contest in 1876 for the resump-
tion of specie payment.-See HARD
MONEY. SOFT SAWDER.-Overt
and perceptible flattery. This term
was probably introduced by Sam
Slick. Also TO SOFT SAWDER.
SOFT SHELLS. An appellation
applied politically to the less
conservative of the Democrats
and also to the Baptists. The
hard-shell and soft-shell Baptists
are two sections of the Baptist
community, SO named accord-
ing to the light in which they
regard certain worldly usages. The
hard-shell is stern and uncom-
promising in his denunciation of
pleasure, even of the most innocent
kind, while the soft-shell is more
lenient in his views of men and
things. Perhaps a more graphic
description of what a hard-shell is
not could hardly be given than the
following from the Arkansas Travel-
ler, which, as Artemus would say, is
"wrote sarcastic" :-
One cold and rainy day, while returning
home from a new mill that had been started
about fifteen miles from my house, I stopped
at an old cabin to get warm. An old man
and a boy sat by the fire.
'I would like to get warm,' said I.
Help yourself,' said he.
I sat down and held my wet hands over
the blaze.
'Travelin'?' he asked.
'Sorter,' I replied.
with?' he
What church do you run with?
asked.
'Well,' I replied, my range is rather
uncertain at present, but I have run with
most all of them.'
'Ever jog along with the hard-shells.'
'No.'
'That's the church,' said he.
'Wish you could prove it,' I replied.
'I ken,' said he. Bill,' addressing his
son, 'retch back thar in that pile of shucks
an' haul out the jug.'
Bill rattled the shucks and brought out
the jug.
Sog
Pull,' said the hard-shell handing me
the jug.
I pulled.
'Pull agin.'
I pulled again, and then said, 'Mr.
hard-shell I reckon you are right.'
It beat any licker I ever tasted, and I
have sense found out that if you want to get
the best go among the hard-shells. There
is no fighting among them; no quarreling;
nothing but brown jean pants, brotherly love,
hickory shirts and licker that'll wreathe the
sourest face with smiles. Yes, after years of
contest and struggle, I had found the coat
that fit me and I have been wearing it ever
since, and that's why I am a hard-shell.
-The terms, hard-shell and soft-
shell are now generally used to
signify a hard and fast, or literal
interpretation of any subject or
question upon which men differ.
-SOFT-SHELL CRAB.-See SOFT
CRAB. -SOFT SOAP.-Flattery;
ironical praise; the same as SOFT-
SOFT-THING.
A
stroke of luck.- SOFT SNAP.-See
SNAP. SOFT WOODLANDS.-In
British North America, pine forests.
SAWDER.
SOG.-A lethargy.
SOLEMNCHOLY.-A facetious variant of
melancholy.
You have seen the great wiseacre, SOLEMN-
CHOLY as a Quaker, who will talk in all
the seasons, winter, summer, spring or
fall;
He will talk without cessation, 'bout all
things since the creation, so that you will
see quite plainly, he's the man who
knows it all.
-Detroit Free Press, 1888.
SOLID. This adjective is much used
to denote thoroughness; complete
agreement with. Electors get solid
with a candidate when they plump
in voting for him. Likewise a man
would be said to have got solid
with a woman when he had
specially ingratiated himself into
favor.
The convention would afford him splendid
opportunity to get SOLID with the politicians
of the State, and to renew and strengthen
504
Sollokadowser
the entente cordiale established during the
visit of President Cleveland. Missouri
Republican, February 24, 1888.
During the call, Mr. Tarpie, in a brief
speech, withdrew San Francisco from the
contest. The voting then proceeded almost
SOLIDLY for St. Louis, when a motion was
made and carried declaring St. Louis to be
the unanimous choice of the committee.-
Ibid.
'If that fellow has any grit in him,' said
Nat, I'll make him soLID with that girl.
With this he took me by the arm, and
hurried along and overtook the couple. In
passing them Nat gave the young chap a
push, and, looking squarely at him, said:
'What are you going to do about it?
The young man spurred right up to Nat and
was going to thrash him, when Nat pulled
me by the arm, and we both turned and
ran. There,' said Nat, won't that make
him SOLID with his girl? She thinks he
frightened away a couple of big bullies who
were just going to eat them both up.'-
Chicago Times, 1888.
SOLID MEN. - Men of re-
sponsibility and standing in the
community. SOLID SOUTH.
The unbroken political bond of
the Southern States; and latterly
the united white vote (Democratic)
as opposed to the solid Republican
vote of the negroes. The phrase
has been traced back only to the
Reconstruction period succeeding
the Civil War (circa, 1868). It is
alleged, however, that it was in
use prior to the war.
SOLLAKER.-A variant of SOCDOLAGER
(q.v.), a heavy blow.
A professor in a California college was
stricken with lockjaw during a Latin recita-
tion some three weeks ago, and has not
been able to speak since. He was teach-
ing the contínental pronunciation, and
had just told the class that Youlius Kaiser
said, 'Wany, weedy, weeky,' when the shock
came, and it is quite generally believed that
the outraged spirit of the libelled old Roman
landed his traducer a SOLLAKER in his jaw
with his mailed hand.-Burdette, 1888.
SOLLOKADOWSER.-See preceding.
'What did you hook, Davey?' inquired
Phil, looking as sober as possible. "What
wuz it?' replied he somewhat indignantly,
'none uv yer skippin' runts, sur, as play wid
Solomonesque
feathers un floies at the top uv the wathur,
but a reg'lar SOLLOKADOWSER frum the bot-
tom. I knows where t' find 'em,' with a shake
of the head.-Forest and Stream, March 15,
1888.
SOLOMONESQUE.
With the appear-
ance of wisdom; after the manner
of Solomon.
Here are a few appropriate mottoes it will
be well for you never to overlook, and you
can quote them in a SOLOMONESQUE manner
to your friends:-
For opticians-Mind your eye.
For old maids-Marry come up.
For hairdressers-Two heads are better
than one.-American Humorist, August 11,
1888.
SO LONG!-Good-bye! an English
provincialism, commonly colloquial
in Louisiana.
SOMBRERO.
A broad-brimmed hat.
From the Spanish.
SOME.-Used in several slang senses,
the most popular of which is as an
equivalent to somewhat, something.
This practice is mutatis mutandis,
similar to that which obtains in
the case of ANY (q.v.).
Of course the storm hurt us SOME, how
much I can't say, but I should imagine that
we had lost fully three days' trade by it.-
New York Herald, March 25, 1888.
-Some is also employed as
meaning considerable; very much;
notable; famous.
'Ain't Theron Gusher a married man?'
[inquired Josiah Allen's wife of Miss Betsy
Bobbet].
'Oh, yes, SOME.'
'SOME!' I repeated in a cold accent. 'He
is either married, or he hain't married, one
or the other; and again I repeated coldly,
'Is he a married man, Betsy?
'Oh, yes, he has been a married man a
few times, or what the cold world calls
marrying, he has got a wife now; but I do
not believe he has found his affinity yet,
though he has got several bills of divorce-
ment from various wimmen, trying to find
her.'-Betsy Bobbet, p. 190.
505
SOME
PUMPKIN.
Soph
PUMPKINS.
See
SONSY.-Bright; bonny.
The girls (American) are, for the most
part, pale, dull-eyed, and weary-looking.
They are flat-breasted and round-shouldered.
Here and there a blooming, rosy, sONSY
girl makes the prevailing pallor and languor
only more noticeable. In view of this
assemblage, need we ask whether the vigor
of our children is really sacrificed in
education?-The Epoch, 1888.
SOON.
A Southern equivalent of
early; thus soon in the afternoon,
soon in the evening.
SOPH, SOPHOMORE.-Professor Good-
rich thus explains the meaning of
these terms in Webster's Unabridged.
C
This word has generally been considered
an American barbarism, but it was probably
introduced into our country at a very early
period from the University of Cambridge,
England. Among the cant terms at that
University, as given in the Gradus ad
Canta-brigiam, we find SOPH-MOR as the
next distinctive appellation to Freshman. It
is added that a writer in the Gentleman's
Magazine thinks Mor an abbreviation of
the Greek uwpia, introduced at a time
when the Encomium Moriæ,' the 'Praise
of Folly,' by Erasmus, was so generally
used. The ordinary derivation of the word,
from ropós and uopóg would seem, there-
fore, to be incorrect. The young soPHS at
Cambridge appear formerly to have received
the adjunct mor, uwpóg to their names,
either as one they courted for the reason
mentioned above, or as one given them in
sport for the supposed exhibition of inflated
feeling in entering upon their new honors.
The term thus implied seems to have passed
at a very early period from Cambridge in
England to Cambridge in America, as the
next distinctive appellation to Freshmen, and
thus to have been attached to the second of
the four classes in our American colleges,
while it has now almost ceased to be known,
even as a cant word, at the parent institution
in England from whence it came.
The trouble between the Freshman and
SOPHOMORE classes of Cornell University
has burst out afresh, and the first act of war-
fare was the kidnapping and abduction of the
Freshmen's president by a big body of
SOPHOMORES late last night.-Philadelphia
Press, January 29, 1883.
6+
Sora
SORA. SOREE (Rallus carolinus).- The
rail of the South, much esteemed
for its plumpness and flavor.
SORREL-TREE (Andromeda arborea).
Otherwise called the SOUR-WOOD
from the acidity of its sap.
SOSSLE. SOZZLE. (1) In Connecticut,
to splash.—(2) To lounge. This
latter is from the Old English
''Soss.''
SOT.-For set, e.g., "the vittles are
sot out." This corrupt pronuncia-
tion is very common throughout the
Union, and even where the speaker
knows better it is used in a half-
jocose manner in place of the more
orthodox form. It also appears,
when "set" in the sense of "to set
store by " is meant. Sat," too, is
subjected to the same indignity.
"
Caller (to old Mrs. Bently)-'The new
minister is making himself quite popular, is
he not, Mrs. Bently?
Old Mrs. Bently' Well, I ain't much Sor
by him. For the last three Sundays he's
prayed for rain, an' there ain't a drop fell yit.'
-Puck, 1888.
The musicianers soT right down in front
of the stage, and they was led by a handsome
young man, whose head went from one side
to the other like happy people at a camp
meetin'.-New York Spirit of the Times.
SOTS. In Virginia and
Pennsylvania yeast is so-called.
SOT-WEED. A former term for
tobacco in Maryland.
SOUND ON THE GOOSE.- -See GOOSE.
SOUR. TO BE SOUR ON.-The love of
sweet things on the part of Ameri-
cans is a well-known characteristic,
and this predeliction is responsible
for an idiom the antithesis of that
used when a love-sick swain is said
to be sweet on some fair Dul-
cinea. Also employed idiomatically
of any unpleasant task or occupa-
506
Sovereign
tion, which, when tired of, a man
is said to be soured on. Sour
GUM. See GUM. -Sour sop.-—A
West Indian fruit known to science
as Anona muricata. SOUR WOOD.
-See SORREL TREE.
SOUTH. One of the two great
divisions into which, colloquially,
the States were divided previous
to the Civil War. At that time
the South was synonymous with
the pro-slavery cause, in contra-
distinction to the North, which re-
presented the Abolitionist party. So
ingrained was slavery in the insti-
tutions of the South that only after
nearly a quarter of a century has
it been possible to organize a NEW
SOUTH (q.v.), whose aspirations are
in accord with the general body
Hence all such terms
politic.
as SOUTHERNISM, SOUTHERNWISE,
SOUTHRON, or SOUTHERNER have
now lost their once distinctively
SOUTHERN
unique meaning.
STATES. Virginia, North Caro-
lina, South Carolina, Georgia.
SOVEREIGN.—The Americans modestly
style themselves the sovereign
people, at least Bartlett, defining
the word sovereign, explains it
as meaning one of the people
of the United States a voter.
SOVEREIGNS OF INDUSTRY.
An organization of the laboring
classes, who by co-operation seek
to obtain a more equal division.
of the fruits of labor than is
possible when a middleman stands
between a capitalist and the real pro-
ducers of wealth.- -PLAYING THE
SOVEREIGN.—In Pennsylvania when
a candidate for office puts on shabby
clothes a short time before an
election, drinks whiskey with every-
body, and shakes hands with
everybody, he is said to be playing
the sovereign.
Span
SPAN. This word, derived from the
Dutch, is used, says Webster, to
denote two horses of nearly the
same color, and otherwise nearly
alike, usually harnessed side by
side. The word signifies properly
the same as "yoke" when applied
to horned cattle, from buckling or
fastening together. But, in America,
span always implies resemblance in
color at least; it being an object
of ambition with gentlemen and
teamsters to unite two horses
abreast that are alike.
Joseph Stiger, of Jackson township, sold
recently to J. Dittemore, a SPAN of two-
year-old horse colts, weighing 1,260 pounds
each, sired by Rob Roy.-Maryville Democrat,
1888.
So also TO SPAN, in New
England somewhat similarly used
for to agree in color, or in color and
size.
SPANCEL, TO.-To hobble an animal
by its hind legs to prevent it
kicking. A crab is also spancelled
by being allowed to feed off its
own legs, i.e., one of the latter is
stuck into each of the movable
claws.
SPANISH BAYONET.-A popular name
in Texas, New Mexico, and Ari-
zona, for a variety of Yucca, from
its stiff, sharp pointed leaves.
SPARK, TO.-To court. A New Eng-
land term, as also is SPARKING,
probably in allusion to the spick
and span appearance of a lover
under such circumstances. Cf.,
Icelandic sprakki, a coxcomb;
Danish sprader.
SPAT.
From the use of this word for
a slap or blow, has come its collo-
quial usage for a petty quarrel,
e.g., between lovers, etc.
507
Spike
'Did you quarrel with your wife?' asked
a juror.
Oh, we had some words now and then,
but every couple have their SPATS. That
ought not to make her want to die.'
'Did you have any trouble recently?'
'I may have talked a little straight, that's
all.'-Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
There was a pretty lively SPAT in the House
to-day between Messrs. Bland and Heard of
Missouri, and the arguments finally got to be
decidedly personal; but after the whole
thing was over each gentleman agreed to
withdraw what had been said, and the
breeze blew over, leaving these too well-
known Missourians as good friends as they
have ever been.-Missouri Republican, 1888.
So also TO SPAT.
SPECK AND APPLEJEES.-See APPLE-
GEES under APPLE.
SPELLING BEE.-A well-known form
of amusement, which consists of a
competition in spelling. Originat-
ing in the Western States of
America, it rapidly spread through
the Union, crossed the Atlantic
to England, running its course
like wild-fire from John-o'-Groats
to Land's End.-See BEE.
SPICE BERRY.-A variety of HACK-
BERRY (q.v.). SPICE BUSH.-See
FEVER BUSH.- SPICE TEA.—A
beverage made from the leaves of
the spice bush, and valuable as a
febrifuge.
SPIDER.-A frying pan standing on
three long legs, whence its name.
Sometimes the negro owns a SPIDER, and
generally a coffee-pot and mill, which as be-
fore have been broken to use in the buckra's
house.-Atlantic Monthly.
To SPIKE.
SPIKE.-A casual ward.-
-To go to or frequent the same.
SPIKE TEAM.-A team of three
horses so arranged that two are
preceded by the third.
Spindle City
SPINDLE CITY.-Lowell in Massachu-
setts, a centre of the cotton-spin-
ning industry.
SPIRITUALISM.-A belief and practice,
the fundamental principle of which
is, that the existence of man after
death is palpably demonstrated
(and that beyond the shadow of a
doubt) by certain abnormal pheno-
mena, which, though observed and
noted from time to time in the past,
have never till within the last few
years been scientifically examined
or recognized as affording pheno-
menal evidences of a life to come.
-Hence SPIRITIST or SPIRITU-
ALIST. A believer in the doctrines
of Spiritualism.-See also in con-
nection with this subject, CIRCLE,
Fox GIRLS, and MEDIUM.
SPIRITUAL WIFE.-A Mormon term
for all wives other than the first
These concubines are also
called SEALED ONES, whilst the
jocosely inclined call them FIXIN'S.
one.
SPIT CURL.See under SOAP LOCK.
SPLICE. NOT BY A LONG SPLICE.—
Something short; deficient.
used in Pennsylvania.
SPLIT-TICKET.-See TICKET.
First
508
SPLORUM.-Much ado about nothing;
much cry and little wool; or in the
Yankee dialect, "All talk and no
cider."
SPLOSH.-A New England variant of
splash.
SPLOTCHED.—Blurred; spotted; prob-
ably a corruption of "blotched."
Within an hour we were fairly within
the Straits of Gibraltar, the tall yellow
SPLOTCHED hills of Africa on our right, with
their bases veiled in a blue haze and their
summits swathed in clouds-the same being
according to Scripture, which says that
Spoils
clouds and darkness are over the land.
The words were spoken of this particular
portion of Africa, I believe.-Mark Twain's
Innocents Abroad.
SPLURGE. To splurge. To cut or
MAKE A SPLURGE.-To indulge in
noisy demonstration; to swagger
pompously; "to cut a dash."
The word SPLURGE is indeed an instance
of our own cis-atlantic coinage, a provin-
cialism probably not yet in any dictionary;
yet meaning as if a great rock of the moun-
tain, disintegrated from its summit, should
rush and bound, portentous and avalanched,
into a silver lake at its foot, there making an
uproarious splash, boring its momentous
way through the parted and the frightened
waves, and after dashing the spray in all
directions burying itself, in forgotten repose,
under congenial mud at the bottom; so gone
for ever from sight, from thought, from
upper air, and all the ways of men; thus
meaning,-the low aim of making a con-
siderable sensation at least once in society.
-T. H. Cox.
Two years passed and a man came out in
society with a grand SPLurge. Arnold
Fitz Warren he called his name. He car-
ried things with a high hand and cut a wide
swath.-Boston Weekly Globe, March 28, 1888.
Secretary Lamar was nothing of an enter-
tainer and he had neither the money nor the
inclination to make a social SPLurge.-
Denver Republican, April 15, 1888.
SPOILS.
"To the victor belong the
spoils is apparently the watch-
word of most American politicians.
It was first used by William S.
Marcy, of New York, in the U. S.
Senate in 1832. It is customary on
each change of president, for the
whole army of office-holders to
depart, if in peace, probably in
sorrow. This system is, without
doubt, the secret of the deteriora-
tion in American politics, which
even Americans themselves regret-
fully admit. The changing of
Government officials every four
years is in the first place hardly
calculated to ensure efficiency of
service, and in the second it opens
up, not only vistas, but "howling
avenues of corruption. "The
time is short, let us eat, drink, and
Spondulics
be merry, for to-morrow we die."
-See DECAPITATE.
M
SPONDULICS. Clever in
in making
money, Brother Jonathan is equally
expert in coining strange names to
designate it. Of these spondulics is
one; for others see under CHARM.
SPOOK.-From the German spuck, sig-
nifying a spirit or ghost spook is
far more colloquial than the latter
terms.
At the first glance of this apparition I
unconsciously held my breath in a kind of
expectant suspense. The next moment a
gleam of recognition flashed upon me-the
whole mystery of the haunted SPOOK was
explained.-Detroit Free Press, September 29,
1888.
SPOON. TO DO BUSINESS WITH A
BIG SPOON.To cut a dash; or, as
in the billiard slang of England,
"to put on side."
SPOOPS, SPOOPSY.-New Englandisms
for a weak-minded fellow; a nin-
compoop.
SPOSH.-What, applied to half-melted
snow and mud, is called in England
slush.
SPOT.
TO BREAK OUT IN A NEW SPOT.
-A slang expression for com-
mencing anew, or turning one's
attention to a fresh undertaking.
-IN SPOTS.-A curious Western
phrase graphically suggestive of
incompleteness; by fits and starts.
When a man says he sleeps in
spots, he does not mean that he is
ubiquitous, and were the listener
to suggest in even the most Parlia-
mentary language that he was lying,
there certainly would be spots in
him. It is all a matter of words;
in spots here means at intervals
or by snatches. SPOTTERS.-
Detectives.
509
Spunk
The royalty paid for use of gong-punches,
and the money used in maintaining SPOT-
TERS, would be quite adequate to supply the
means for rewarding the fidelity of the
servant.-Providence Press.
SPREAD-EAGLEISM. The American
equivalent of British
British bunkum,
and La Gloire of the French.
The national emblem of the
United States is an eagle with
wings outstretched, hence the
application of the epithet spread-
eagleism to vain-glorious laudation
of American institutions, as com-
pared with those of other countries.
The Northern American Review
once defined it thus :-
A compound of exaggeration, effrontery,
bombast, and extravagance, mixed meta-
phors, platitudes, defiant threats thrown at
the world, and irreverent appeals flung at
the Supreme Being.
Sometimes in the night the town dogs
hold ratification meetings in our back yard,
and make long, rambling remarks to the
moon. There is a good deal of SPREAD-
EAGLEISM and talk for political effect only at
a night dog convention. There is too much
repetition and tautology in their remarks.-
Texas Siftings, October 27, 1888.
SPREAD ONESELF, TO.-To make osten-
tatious show of oneself; to put
on airs.
SPRING-BAG, To.-A New England
farmer's term used of the filling
udders of cows when about to
calve.
SPROUTS.-A bunch of twigs.
twigs.To
PUT ONE THROUGH A COURSE OF
SPROUTS.-To thrash; to castigate.
SPUNG (Cant).-A miser.
SPUNK.-The Old English usage con-
veyed the idea of spirit; fire; mettle;
and courage-a synonym of all
that was manly. Latterly, how-
ever, the word has, in England, come
to be regarded as extremely vulgar,
Squail
probably from an esoteric slang
meaning, in which it is associated
with an essential characteristic of
virility. The original meaning is
still current in Scotland, and is
also colloquial in America.
TO SPUNK UP.-To show pluck
and spirit.- -SPUNKY.-Spirited;
vivacious.
And there has been days together-and
many a weary week-
We were both of us cross and SPUNKY, and
both too proud to speak;
And I have been thinkin' and thinkin', the
whole of the winter and fall,
If I can't live kind with a woman, why, then,
I won't at all.
-Will Carleton's Farm Ballads.
Well, I glory in her SPUNK, but it's mon-
strous expensive and unpleasant to-do things
on the big figure that she's on now.-Major
Jones's Courtship.
SQUAIL (Cant).—A drink.
SQUALE, A New England term, de-
noting the throwing of an object,
so that it skims along the ground.
Applied to water it is synonymous
with the making ducks and
drakes of English boys. This is
a survival of squoil, an Old English
term for a very similar action.
SQUANTUM. (1) Among some Indian
tribes a name for an evil spirit.
(2) A free and easy jollification, in
which everyone says and does as
he pleases without restraint.
I wish to all-fired smash I was to home,
doin' chores about house, or hazin' round
with Charity Bunker and the rest o' the gals
at a sQUANTUM.-Wise Tales for the Marines.
SQUARE.-The use of square in the
sense of upright, fair, unqualified,
etc., dates back for several hundred
years. It was thought, however,
that a few of its applications might
rightly be classed as American,
but research has shown that even
the most notable of these excep-
tions-a square meal-was sailing
510
Squat
under false colors. This, like many
another so-called Americanism, is
good Old English; for square,
meaning to leave nothing, hearty,
vigorous, occurs in an old play.
By heavens sQUARE eaters,
More meat I say.
-Beaumont and Fletcher's Tragedy
of Bondina, II. iii.
SQUASH.(1) A vegetable of the
gourd kind, similar to vegetable
marrow. It is derived from an
Indian word, asquash, signifying
green. (2) The skunk.
SQUASH BUG (Coreus tristis).
small yellow insect pest infesting
vines, squashes, melons, and cu-
cumbers, and which in Connecti-
cut is called a stink-bug.
A
SQUAT, TO.-To settle upon land with-
out possessing a title.- SQUAT-
TER. One who so settles on land.
SQUATTER SOVEREIGNTY.
A political term, signifying the
claim made by settlers within the
Union, to pass laws for their own
government without reference to the
common-weal. This question has
cropped up again and again in
various guises.
Ever since the adoption of the federal con-
stitution it had menaced the national life,
now on this pretext and now on that. The
embargo of 1807, the tariff of 1832, and
finally the question of slavery extension in
1854-5, each in turn gave occasion for threats.
of dis-union, and the alleged right of seces-
sion was involved in them all. Again and
again its fallacies and dangers were exposed
by the ablest statesmen. Again and again
it was evaded by compromises which every-
body agreed were to settle it for ever-in
1820 by the Missouri compromise, in 1833 by
a new tariff, in 1850 by the admission of
California, a new fugitive slave law, and the
other measures of that day. But only a few
years later the Kansas-Nebraska contro-
the
versy, the Dred-Scott decision by
supreme court, and the new doctrine of
SQUATTER SOVEREIGNTY, showed that it was
as far from being settled as ever. The ques-
tion of slavery had assumed a form which,
as we now see, left no alternative but war.
That war was fought out-and another of its
Squar
results was the complete abandonment of
the pretended right of secession and of the
doctrine of state sovereignty, so far as it
implies any denial of the absolute supre-
macy of the national government within its
proper sphere. This also is a matter of
history and common knowledge, as truly as
the expulsion of the house of Stuart from
the British throne.-Missouri Republican,
April 8, 1888.
SQUATTER STate.
Kansas,
from its being the battle-ground
of one of the severest fights in
connection with the doctrine of
squatter sovereignty.-Also called
GARDEN STATE.
SQUAW.-An Indian woman. Authori-
ties differ as to whether this term
is of Indian origin. Du Ponceau,
in Les Langues d'Amerique du Nord,
gives a list of the languages and
forms in which the word occurs,
but it an open
open question as to
whether it is a bond fide root word;
sequa or esqua is the termination of
words implying the female gender,
and so has probably become the
customary English word for the
Indian woman. -SQUAW MEN.—
Men, alien to a tribe, who, by
marriage with Indian women,
obtain a certain standing amongst
the red-skins.
This is the name given by Indians to those
men, not of their tribe, who, by purchase of
SQUAWS (marriage), have been adopted by or
are tolerated in it. They are of two classes.
First, men of some means and frequently of
ability, who come among the Indians as
traders, and who, as a means of gaining their
confidence and obtaining their trade, take to
their bosoms a wife from each tribe, some-
times from almost each band. These men
frequently become very wealthy and gain
great influence among the Indians, and their
red wives (being only property) are no im-
pediment to their having wives and families
in the States. As they grow old they some-
times retire from business, return to the
States, and not unfrequently are respected
and influential members of society. Others
pass the winter of their days in their Western
homes, surrounded in patriarchal style by a
crowd of admiring offspring and dependents.
Secondly, living with every Indian tribe is a
number of outcasts, American, French,
Mexican, the lowest refuse, who, spewed out
511
Square
by the society in which they were born, find
congenial refuge among these savages. This
life is not always a matter of choice, but is
sometimes forced upon them by a too eager
inquiry after their persons by the myrmidons
of the law. Not unfrequently they are
accompanied on their arrival among the
Indians by a number of horses of various
brands, sufficient not only to make friends of
some of the principal men, but to buy one or
more SQUAWs and a tepee, and enable them to
set up housekeeping. These men become
part of the tribe thus adopting or tolerating
them, and, when near the agencies, send
their SQUAWS to draw rations for themselves
and their children. Having more natural
shrewdness than the Indian, and a knowledge
of the mode of life and habits of thought of the
white man, they soon gain a certain ascen-
dancy over their red brethren. Being able
to go among the white settlements without
suspicion, they are accused of acting as spies
for the Indians, of informing them where a
valuable lot of horses or mules is to be had
for the taking, and even of wreaking personal
vengeance by inciting the Indians to
some act of atrocity. There is scarcely
a crime of which they are not accused,
and I doubt if there be a crime of which
some of them are not capable. These are
the men who trade clandestinely with the
Indians. These furnish the arms; these
supply the whiskey; these are the ready
tools of corrupt agents, making affidavits
to cover any loss, and swearing to any
story that is made up for them. At his
own best games, in lying, stealing, drinking,
and debauchery, the SQUAW MAN is so far
superior to the Indian as to gain his un-
qualified admiration, and he becomes a
power among them by the display of qualities
similar, but superior to those held in highest
estimation by them. It is from these men
that the Indians get their ideas of the
character, capacity, morality, and religion
of white men. The Mexicans have a pro-
verb that a woman is the best dictionary.
The SQUAW MEN prove its correctness by
soon becoming adepts in the language of
the Indians. All the intercourse between
the Government and the Indian is filtered
through these men and partakes of their
character, being full of duplicity, treachery,
and evasion. In all the length and breadthi
of the plains there is not an interpreter that
can be relied on; and no treaty or delicate
mission should ever be undertaken without
several interpreters, who, moreover, should
be required to give each his interpretation
out of hearing of the others. There are in the
United States about 100 Indian reservations
and agencies, at each of which there is an
average of about ten of these SQUAW MEN.
The effect on the Indian of a thousand of
such missionaries as these miserable out-
casts may be imagined. A thousand ruffians
with their half-bred children are fed and
fostered by the Government. They are an
Squawk
injury to the country, a detriment to the
Indian, and should be abolished.-Dodge.
-SQUAW ROOT (Conapholis ameri-
cana).- Called also CANCER ROOT
(q.v.). A medicinal plant; as also
is SQUAW WEED (Senecio aureus).
SQUAWK, TO.-A deep-toned squeak.
Provincial in England, but collo-
quial in the States.
The perfection of taxation consists in so
plucking the goose, i.e.-the people-as to
procure the greatest amount of feathers with
the least possible amount of SQUAWKING.-
Popular Science Monthly, January, 1888.
SQUEAL, TO.-To inform against; to
betray; to give information to the
police.
The first step of a prosecuting attorney, in
attacking a criminal conspiracy, is to spread
abroad the rumor that this, that, or the other
confederate is about To SQUEAL; he knows
that it will be but a few days before one or
more of the rogues will hurry to his office
to anticipate the traitors by turning State's
evidence.-Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
Two years ago, John Lightfoot was arrested
for stealing meat from Mason Murphy. He
escaped, and was not re-arrested until to-
day, when Officer Pegg captured him in
Westmoreland county. He will SQUEAL on
two Confederates.-Pittsburg Times, Feb.
25, 1888.
A
SQUEEZERS. Playing cards, more
generally known in England as
American squeezers.
Their pecu-
liarities are, rounded corners, a
smaller and handier size, with
the suit and value marked in the
right-hand corner.
The editor picked up his hand, slid the
SQUEEZERS past his good eye, and began to
softly whisper the Pirate King.-American
Humorist, September 15, 1888.
SQUELCH, To.-To crush. Once quite
common in England, but now
nearly obsolete, its place having
been taken colloquially by squash.
It still, however, passes universally
current in America.
512
Squirm
She felt they were all making fun of her;
but she gloried in thinking how they would
be SQUELCHED when they confronted her
first-night of howling swells, and knew they
had the honor of playing with that famous
woman, Dora Dexter.-Šan Francisco News
Letter, 1888.
SQUETEAGUE.-Explained by quota-
tion.
The SQUETEAGUE is taken both by lining
and seining, and because it makes such
feeble exertion and resistance in being
drawn in by a hook, it has received the
appellation of weak fish.-Fishes of Massa-
chusetts.
SQUIGGLE, To.-A New England
equivalent of to writhe; to squirm;
and, idiomatically applied to a
shifty, unreliable man or action,
the former being said to squiggle
(like an eel) when attempting to
evade responsibility.
SQUINNY, TO.-To guffaw; to laugh
broadly. A New Englandism.
SQUIRE.—This, in England, is a title
customarily given to a man of
property, living on his own estate.
The New England usage is to apply
it to judges and justices of the
peace; while, in Pennsylvania, it
is applied to justices of the peace
only.
SQUIRM, TO.-This expressive verb,
signifying to writhe or wriggle like
an eel, which of late years has been
revived in England, has always
been in popular use in America.
It is a good Old English word
which Grose, in 1825, reported
obsolete.
As soon as he stepped out of the dock, he
cried out in a loud voice, 'I am not ready to
go to trial, and I won't! He was ordered
to keep quiet, but instead of obeying the
mandate he SQUIRMED around like a wild
man and repeated his determination not to
go to trial. Missouri Republican, Feb. 16,
1888.
So also SQUIRMY.
D
Squirt
SQUIRT.- A fop; a dandy.
SQUIRTISH.- Dandified.
SQUITTERS. A term for diarrhoea,
which is provincial in some parts
of England.
SQUSH, TO. To crush; to squeeze.
Generally said of things soft to the
touch.
STABBIST.-A new form, with nothing
to recommend it. Cf. FRUITIST.
STADDLE. This, like many other
Americanisms, is an old friend
with a new face, the Old English
term having been applied to the
bottom of a haystack, and in this
sense it is given to the stakes upon
which hayricks are set in the East-
ern States. It is also, however,
the name for a young tree or
sapling.
STAG.-(1) Said by Bartlett to be a
technical name, in the New York
law courts, for a man who is
always ready to aid in proving an
alibi, of course for a consideration.
(2) A bullock. In this, New
Englanders follow the provincial
usage of England.-STAG-DANCE.
-A dance performed by men
only. STAG-PARTY. A party
comprised wholly of the male sex.
STAIT (Cant).—New York City.
STAKE, TO. -Various idiomatic phrases
centre round this word. One of the
first operations of a new settler is
to stake or mark out the limits of
his holding. Hence TO STICK ONE'S
STAKES is to take up a position; TO
PULL UP ONE'S STAKES is, on the con-
trary, to abandon it; while TO MOVE
ONE'S STAKES signifies, let us hope.
in every case, the enlargement of
one's borders.To STAKE OUT.
513
Stand
-To picket or TO LARIAT (q.v.).
STAKY.-A staky horse is one
that jibs. -STAKE AND RIDER.-
A kind of high fence.
STAKE
DRIVER. In the Adirondacks, the
BITTERN is so called. STAKE
ROPE.-A lasso or lariat.
STALL, TO.-A word which, provin-
cial in England, is thoroughly
colloquial in the Union, in the sense
of to stick fast in mire or snow. To
SET is the New England equivalent.
Many trains are STALLED between
stations on the Hudson River and Harlem
Roads. The officials said yesterday that
forty trains were snowed in.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, March 14, 1888.
STALWARTS.-A certain section of the
Republican party, who hold the
doctrine that "the king can do no
wrong," i.e., their party; and who
stick to it through thick and thin.
The term acquired its special signi-
ficance among Republicans under
Roscoe Conkling's leadership in
1878-9.
The STALWARTS have made no indictment
against Judge Gresham. They know it is
untrue. The charge has not even a shadow
of truth to rest upon. It is a shameful and
unjust charge. Judge Gresham has voted
the straight Republican Presidential ticket
every year but 1864.- Daily Inter-Ocean,
March 26, 1888.
STAMPING GROUND.-A curious term
in use in the South and West to
signify a favorite place of resort;
similarly, the scene of one's
exploits.
STAMPS.
money.
A slang term for paper
STAND.(1) Among sugar planters,
growing canes are spoken of as a
stand of canes. In this connection
see RATOONS. (2) A locality or
situation; thus, "The Grand" at
Charing Cross may be said to
65
Star
be a capital stand for an hotel.
STANDEE. Standing room,
as, e.g., at a theatre, etc.
TO STAND OFF. To hold at a
distance. As, e.g., to stand off
Indians with one's rifle. From this
belligerent meaning comes to stand
off one's creditors, duns, etc.
TO STAND UP TO THE RACK.-To
make due appearance; to be
ready; 'to come up to the
scratch."
"
STAR, STAR-ROUTES.-In the United
States Postal Guide, certain non-
remunerative routes are desig-
nated by an asterisk. Grave
scandals arose in connection with
these Star-routes from 1876 to
1884. STARS. Superintendents
of police in New York city; these
officers are required by law to
wear a brass badge on the breast
in the shape of a star. STARS
AND BARS. A familiar name ap-
plied to the flag of the Confederate
States.
Up with the stripes and stars, and down.
with STARS AND BARS,
Let the cry of the Eagle still be Union.
Hail Columbia, Yankee Doodle, God bless
the whole caboodle.
-Christy's Songster.
STARS AND STRIPES. The
flag of the United States, Con-
gress having resolved on the 14th
of June, 1777, that the flag
514
of the thirteen United Colonies
should be thirteen stripes, alter-
nately red and white, together with
thirteen white stars on a blue
ground. Formerly, a new stripe
was added for each new State
admitted to the Union, until the flag
became too large, when, by act of
Congress, the stripes were reduced
to the old thirteen; and now only
another star is added at the
accession of each new State. It is
held by most authorities that
General Washington's escutcheon,
Star
which contained three bars and
three five-pointed stars like those
on the American flag, suggested
the National Standard. Other
flags had previously been in use,
an interesting account of which
appeared in Notes and Queries in
1852.
In March, 1775, a Union flag with a red
field was hoisted at New York, bearing the
inscription, 'George Rex and the Liberties
of America,' and upon the reverse, 'No
Popery.' On the 18th July, 1778, General
Putnam raised at Prospect Hill a flag, bear-
ing on one side the Connecticut motto, Qui
transtulit sustinet, on the other, 'An Appeal
to Heaven.' In October of the same year,
the floating batteries at Boston had a flag
with the latter motto, the field white with a
pine tree upon it. This was the Massachusetts
emblem. Another flag, used during 1775 in
some of the Colonies, had upon it a rattle-
snake coiled as if about to strike, with the
motto, 'Don't tread on me.' The grand
Union flag of thirteen STRIPES was raised on
the heights near Boston, January 2, 1776.
The British Annual Calendar of 1776 says:—
They burnt the King's speech, and changed
their colors from the red ground, which
they had hitherto used, to a flag of thirteen
STRIPES, as a symbol of the number and
union of the colonies. This idea of
making a STRIPE for each State was
adopted from the first; and the fact goes
far to negative the supposition that the
private arms of General Washington had
anything to do with it. The pine-tree, the
rattle-snake, and the striped flag were used
indiscriminately until July, 1777, when the
blue Union with the STARS was added to the
STRIPES, and the flag established by law.
STAR SPANGLED BANNER.—A
familiar name for the flag of the
United States, in allusion to its
stars, white in a blue field, repre-
senting, said the Act of Congress
which adopted it, "a new con-
stellation."
The majority of Americans, if asked who
wrote the 'STAR SPANGLED BANNER,' would
reply, Francis Scott Key, meaning that the
melody was his composition. As a matter
of fact, the melody was an old convivial
song, familiar in England and America
before Key was born. Key wrote the
stirring words under circumstances that
might have made a man of meaner talents
a poet.-Philadelphia Public Ledger, March
7, 1888,
Starch
STARCH.-TO TAKE THE STARCH OUT
OF ONE.-To humble; to snub; to
take down a peg. Western Ameri-
cans dislike " style" and stiffness
of bearing as much as nature
abhors a vacuum. Unfortunately,
however, the means they adopt to
take the starch out of one usually
results in excessive limpness. A
new-comer does well not to put on,
as it is termed, "a yard too much
style."
START OUT, To.
A Western collo-
quialism for to start; to send off;
to dispatch.
And so the lengthening winter days went
by. They were long, bright, busy days to
him, out in the odorous pine forest, swinging
his axe, driving his team, and STARTING OUT
cord after cord of wood.-Portland Transcript,
1888.
STATE. A large district of country
having a separate government, but
confederated with other States, as
one of the members or States of the
American Union. Worcester.
STATEHOOD. The condition of
being a State; pertaining to a State.
DAKOTA'S PLEA FOR STATEHOOD.
Washington, Feb. 1.-Delegate Gifford of
Dakota was heard this morning by the House
Committee on Territories in favor of the bill
to admit North and South Dakota as sepa-
rate States. He said the proposed STATES
contain each nearly 75,000 square miles. Mr.
Gifford read statements tending to substan-
tiate the claim that the proposed STATES
possess, in an eminent degree, all the con-
ditions requisite to entitle them to admission
to the sisterhood of STATES.-Denver Republi-
can, 1888.
HOUSE.
-State House. The legislative
meeting place of a State.
STATES' RIGHTS.-Each State, by
the Constitution, while forming
part of the General Union, retains
à certain individual freedom of
action, and the point at issue is
whether or not the central authority
can override these individual pow-
ers. The secession of the Southern
States turned upon this question
515
Stay
as much as upon that of slavery,
per se. A PIVOTAL STATE.-A
State, the vote of which in any
election is of great importance,
being likely to turn the scale one
way or the other.
New York is a PIVOTAL STATE, and seems
just now to have two Democratic pivots.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, January 31, 1888.
STATE TICKET.-The list of
candidates agreed upon
agreed upon by the
leaders of a party for State offices.
The committee choosing such
canditates are called STATE FIXERS.
The State Central Committee of the Union
Labor party met here to-day and decided to
hold a State convention in this city June 24,
to nominate a full STATE TICKET. Robert
Schilling and other lights are here, and assert
that this fall the labor party will carry the
larger cities of the State, and, if present pros-
pects hold out, stand a good chance of electing
their STATE TICKET. Senator Fritz, of Mil-
waukee, Schilling, and others are addressing
an assemblage of working men to-night.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 2, 1888.
They refuse to take part in any boom, and
declare that the movement that makes the
next President will have to originate, not
with STATE-FIXERS, but with the people
themselves. St. Louis Globe Democrat,
March 7, 1888.
-STATE ROOM.-The cabin of a
passenger steamer.
STAVER.-A go-ahead, pushing man
or thing, equivalent to RUSTLER,
ROUSER, etc. STAVING. This
word is indicative of size and
strength.
STAY. PUT TOGETHER ΤΟ STAY.
COME TO STAY.-These idioms are
very popular as expressive of
permanence and stability. New
journals, almost as a matter of
course, announce that they come to
stay; often, as a matter of fact,
it turns out that they only come
"to go" if not in one sense, in
another.
Betsy Jane were the high stepper o' Sugar
Swamp. She were PUT TOGETHER TO STAY.
-Chicago Herald 1888
Steam
-TO STAY PUT.-To remain in
statu quo.
STAY WITH.-Lovers
stay with one another when courting.
This may be compared with TO SIT
UP WITH, and the equally curious
English "to walk out with."
STEAM. TO STEAM IT. —
- To tipple.
STEAM-BOAT. The restless
activity of steam-travel, as com-
pared with the old, slow methods,
has given rise to the use of this
word to represent an active, go-a-
head character, e.g., "he is a steam-
boat"; or a member of the petticoat
brigade will announce herself as a
she-steamboat. TO STEAM-BOAT.
-To work upon a steamer.
STEAMER (Cant).—A tobacco pipe.
STEEP. A slang equivalent of almost
every adjective of superlative de-
gree comprised within a dictionary,
and used very much as is tall'
for great, magnificent, extravagant,
in England. Thus, if play be heavy
the timorous gambler confesses
that it is too steep for him; or the
prices of stocks and shares may be
too steep for an investor's pocket.
Concerning an exceedingly steep
hill, the Yankees have a sententious
saying to describe it:
describe it" Chain
lightnin' couldn't go down it 'thout
puttin' the shoe on."
STEEPLE.-Almost universally used
instead of spire.
STEEPLE BUSH
(Spirea tomentosa).—Another name
for the HARDHACK.
STEERER.(I) See BUNCO.
gambler's decoy.
(2) A
It should be said in justice to this great
man that his liberality does not always take
so unsubstantial a form. Nearly all of his
STEERERS are clothed with the cast-off
clothing of their master, which is always of
the most expensive material. Hats and
shoes are also distributed in this way.-St.
Louis Globe Democrat, 1888.
516
man.
Step
(3) A tout; an outside sales-
Simon Fox, a runner for Nathan and
Samter, a clothing firm, doing business at
Fourth and Olive streets, was tried in the
police court yesterday on charge of loitering,
convicted and fined 25 dollars and costs.
The charge was brought against him by the
Humphrey, the Times, and other clothing
dealers, who complained that he stood in
front of their stores and STEERED customers
away.—Missouri Republican, Feb. 24, 1888.
STEERS. -With the Texan driver all
oxen are steers, and he has his wheel-
steers, his swing-steers, and his lead-
steers. He never uses "oxen in
the singular, and very seldom in the
plural, when he does it is almost
invariably
Overland
Monthly.
oxens.
STEEVE, TO.-To pass through the
hands of a stevedore in loading or
unloading vessels.
STEMMERY, A place where tobacco is
prepared by being stemmed, i.e.,
where the leaves are stripped from
the fibrous stems.
STEM-WINDER.-A keyless watch; an
American invention now perfectly
well known in England.
STENT. Commonly colloquial in New
England for a task or portion, in
which sense it was used by Shake-
speare. The idea still partially
survives in England in the verb
"' to stint."
STEP. TO STEP OUT. One of the
many graphically descriptive idioms
for death mainly current in the
West. Unconsciously, perhaps,
though none the less truly, this
metaphor enshrines a great truth,
death being, indeed, but a stepping,
as it were, from one room to
another-from the home here to
the home beyond.
Stern-Wheel
STERN-WHEEL. — This expression is
used very much in the same man-
ner as ONE-HORSE is employed, i.e.,
to designate anything small, mean,
or contemptible. The simile is
derived from the small steamers
called, in the West, STERN-WHEEL-
ERS, once used on shallow water-
ways, the paddle-wheel of which
was situated in the stern of the
vessel.
STEW.-An abbreviation for "a stew
of oysters."
STICK.
IF THAT'S THE WAY YOUR
STICK FLOATS, i.e., if that's what you
mean. An allusion to a stick tied
to a beaver trap by a string, and
which, floating on the water, points
out its position, should a beaver
have attempted to carry it away.
CROOKED STICK.-An ungainly,
cross-grained person.
STICK
CHIMNEY. A temporary contri-
vance for conveying smoke out of a
log hut, or other roughly-made
building. These stick chimneys are
only found in newly settled or
remote parts of the country, and
are formed by sticks being laid
cross-wise and then daubed with
mud. In Massachusetts, these
were formerly called catted chim-
neys. The fireplaces in such cases
consist merely of a few rough
stones.
TO STICK IT OUT.-To
endure unflinchingly; to hold on
to the end; "to stick like glue."
STIFF. A corpse. Probably a cor-
ruption of stiff'un."
How much did you get for STIFFS?'
517
'Never less than 1o dols., and sometimes,
when they was real scarce, I've got as high
as 30 dols. and 35 dols. You see it's only in
cold weather that the things will keep any-
how, and it's not everybody that happens to
die that makes a good subject for the doctors.
They never want a fat person, or one that
dies of a contagious disease; but consumptive
patients make good STIFFS, and when people
die of diseases that the doctors ain't exactly
Stock
sure about.'-St. Louis Globe Democrat, Jan.
24, 1888.
I saw that daylight was going to come on,
when the dairymen and market folks would
be on the road, and I knew it would never do
for them to catch me with a STIFF in my cart.
An idea struck me. I sat the STIFF Up
beside me on the seat and stuck a cigar in
its mouth, and as I jogged along the road,
whenever I passed anybody I let on as if I
was talking to my partner.-Ibid.
STIFFEN, To. - A sporting phrase
signifying to tamper with.
In the second race Mute, a horse owned
by a resident of this city, was the favorite,
and the Brooklyn delegation backed him
heavily. He was ridden by the best jockey
on the track, Georgie Taylor, and came
fourth. The jockey tried hard to win, but
report had it that Mute had been STIFFENED.
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 22, 1888.
STILL HUNT.- Originally a Western
sporting term, a still hunter being a
stalker of game. It was applied
during the campaign of 1876, to
political methods conducted in
secret, or by under-hand methods.
STILT.-See LAWYER, with which it is
identical in meaning.
STINKARD.-A former New England
name for the skunk. It well
deserves the name.
STINK-STONE. Otherwise called
SWINE-STONE. A limestone which
derives its distinctive name from
the unpleasant smell it emits when
broken.
STINK-WEED. — The
JAMESTOWN WEED (q.v.).
STITCH, TO.-A New England term
signifying to form land into ridges.
STIVER, TO.-To decamp; to move on.
STOCK. A general name in the West
for cattle, which, of course, is not
exclusively American. STOCK
RAISING. One of the most impor-
A
Stocky
tant industries of the New World,
and especially of the Far West.-See
COWBOY, BRAND, RANCH, ROUND-
UP, etc.
STOCK DEALER.
cattle dealer.- STOCK RAISER
A cattle farmer.
A
Morison Wilcox, Deputy Sheriff of Cat-
taraugus County, New York, passed through
the city this morning en route to Olean,
having in custody James Gregory Lafler, a
prominent STOCK RAISER, whose ranch is
located near Watrous, N.M. The prisoner
was handcuffed, and huge steel shackles
were clasped about his ankles.-New York
World, Feb. 14, 1888.
-STOCK-TRAIN.-A cattle-train.
STOCKY.
Short; thickly-built;
Provincial in England,
but colloquial in the States.
stumpy.
When Sheridan was commanding a divi-
sion in the Army of the Cumberland, he was
not the STOCKY person he was afterward.
He then weighed about 130 pounds; his
figure was small, his face rather thin. He
always had the same splendid black eye.-
American Humorist, 1888.
STOGIE. A Short, thick cigar.
Squire Bright smokes nothing but STOGIES
and drinks beer only. Loud dress is not one
of his hobbies, but his clothes are of the
finest. A high white collar and a small black
bow are the most attractive things about him.
-Cincinnati Enquirer, 1888.
518
STOMP, TO. This pronunciation of
STAMP is common everywhere.
STONE BEE, STONING BEE.-A party of
neighbors and friends who meet to
clear a new-comer's plot of ground
of stones. In some cases, as the
Yankee proverb has it, "stones get
a pretty heavy mortgage on the
land."-See BEE.
STONE ROOT (Collinsonia canadensis).–
A medicinal root, also known as
RICH WEED.
Storey
STOOP.-This old Dutch term for
steps or seats, at the entrance of a
house, still holds its own, and has
travelled beyond the boundaries of
the old Dutch settlements all over
the Union. The orthography is
varied by stoup and stowp.
STORE.-All Shops are stores, to tend
store being to keep shop.- -STORE
CLOTHES.-The meaning of this
term varies according to locality.
In the West store clothes or store
goods of any kind are those not
home-made. In the East, however,
store clothes would represent gar-
ments not made to measure.
Their dragon-prowed dug-outs-mighty
canoes hewn out of huge logs and decked
fantastically with carvings and gay colors-
were hauled up on the banks of the Fraser,
hundreds of men, in clumsy, coarse suits of
STORE CLOTHES, loitered along the track to
see the train come in, and beyond them, on
a bluff, other men and 1,000 women and
children-all dressed like the people one sees
in the Blue Ridge Mountains, or any other
section remote from large towns.-San Fran-
cisco Weekly Bulletin.
'Yes, you did-'bout six chaws. You
borrer'd store tobacker and paid back nigger-
head.' Store tobacco is flat black plug, but
these fellows mostly chaws the natural leaf
twisted. The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, p. 211.
STORE PAY.-Payment in kind
instead of cash. Currency in thinly-
settled districts being scarce, it is
often agreed that payment shall be
made half in cash and half in store-
pay, i.e., produce. STORE-SUGAR.
-Cane sugar as distinguished from
maple-sugar.- -STORE-TEA.-The
Simon Pure, as distinct from herb
teas.
STOREY.-American usage differs from
the English in that the ground-
floor of a building is called the first
storey, that above the ground-floor
being termed the second storey,
and so on. -STORIETTE.-A short
story. This diminutive is on the
Straddle
same model as novelette, itself a
latter-day production.
STRADDLE. (I) See BLIND.
(2) A
stock-broker's term, which has
found its way into the political
vocabulary. In 1884 "the straddle
in the platform designated
measures taken to meet any con-
tingency, whether as regards con-
trary voters or opposition tactics.
-
STRAIGHT. An adjective which
appears to be used in many con-
nections, most of which, however,
may easily be traced to the primary
meaning of the word-not deviating
nor crooked. Straight whiskey is
neat whiskey, and when a victory
is said to be straight, the meaning
is that it was gained in fair en-
counter. Straight alcoholism on
the contrary is anything but fair in
its results, although in another
sense it is straight enough, in the
light of the direct and speedy ruin
in which drink involves its victims.
In poker a straight is a sequence of
five.
The evil effects of drinking whiskey
STRAIGHT were illustrated at the coroner's
office this morning, and the finding of the
physician who examined the case may serve
to dispel some of the popularity of the
traditional ditty that begins, 'Like every
honest fellow I drink my whiskey clear.'
St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 30, 1888.
Dr. Formad stated under oath that the
man likewise took his whiskey without any
watery weakening. He was positive that
death resulted from STRAIGHT ALCOHOLISM.
This case was continued to allow a report to
be heard to-morrow, as it was reported that
the man occasionally added water to his
liquor.-St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 30,
1888.
D.D., West Superior, Wis.-Does the ace,
deuce, tray, four and five constitute a
STRAIGHT? Yes.-Answer to Correspondent
in New York Police Gazette.
STRAIGHT AS A LOON'S LEG.-
See LOON'S LEG.
STRAIGHT
SHOOT.-See AIR-LINE ROAD.-
STRAIGHT TICKET. - See TICKET.
519
Strike
-STRAIGHT UP
AND DOWN.-
Honest to the backbone; plain and
fair in dealing.
STRANGER. A common mode of
address in the West, where people
necessarily stand on little ceremony.
STRAPPED.-A man is strapped when
tightly pushed for money; hard
up.
Mr. Madison Squeer (meeting Mr. Upson
Downes in the café of the Hotel Sleswick)--
Holy Jemina! Upson, what's that beast in
your ulster?
Mr. Upson Downes-Sh-h-h-h! don't give
it away, Maddy. He belongs to a friend of
mine in the menagery line, and I've taught
him this little act, so that I can borrow him
when I get temporarily STRAPPED. Keep
quiet two minutes longer, and I'll be loaded
up for dinner to-night, and have a pretzel or
two for breakfast.—Puck, 1888.
STRAW.-Pine needles, i.e., the fo-
liage of the pine-tree. -STRAW
BAIL. When men of no standing
offer themselves as bail, the secu-
named.
rity is thus
-STRAW
one not
BID.-A worthless bid;
intended to be taken up.
STREAK. A miner's term for a vein
of ore; and, idiomatically, a mental
peculiarity. To STREAK ΟΙ ΤΟ
STREAK IT.-To decamp or move
away hastily; "to make tracks
with the utmost expedition.-
STREAKY. -Indicative of extreme
mental perturbation; full of ap-
prehension; alarmed; anxious.—
STREAKED BASS.-A New England
name for the striped bass.
STRICKEN. This old form is still
generally colloquial.
STRIKE. (1) In the West Indies a
strike of sugar is the quantity dealt
with at one boiling. (2) An
instrument with a straight edge
for levelling a measure.- (3) A
String
fortunate "deal"; a stroke of luck.
STRIKER. — (1) The tout or
bully of a gambling den. (2)
An under-engineer on a Missis-
sippi steamer.—STRIKIST. One
who strikes; a new and obnoxious
form.-See FRUITIST. -To MAKE
A TEN STRIKE. To meet with un-
expected success. In the game of
nine-pins, to make a strike is to
knock down all the pins with one
ball. Nine-pins being prohibited by
law, an extra pin has been added
to evade the penalty.
STRIKE OIL. See OIL.
STRIKE IT RICH, or TO STRIKE LUCK.
-To make a successful venture,
one that brings much money in
its wake.
To
To
Inquiry developed the fact that lead had
been discovered. There was a good deal of
the stuff, that is, enough to make the dis-
coverer think he had STRUCK IT RICH.
St. Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer Press, July
22, 1888.
(
I guess we have STRUCK LUCK, Sal,' said
Si. I guess we are at our journey's end--at
the end of our lariat.' 'I do hope so,'
returned his wife, 'fur I do really feel kinder
home-y already.'-The Critic, April 14, 1888.
STRING.-A whip. "He laid the
string on well and so ended the
trouble."
STRING BEANS.
French or kidney beans.-Also
BUSHI-BEANS and SNAPS (q.v.).
STRIPE, Used metaphorically for
kind; sort; e.g., a man of the right
stripe, i.e., to one's mind in one or
more respects. STRIPED BASS.
-The ROCK FISH (q.v.). -STRIPED
GROUND SQUIRREL.-The CHIPMUNK
(q.v.).
STRIPPER.-A Pennsylvanian name for
a cow which has nearly run dry of
milk.
STRIPPERS (Cant).-Cards cut at the
sides to allow of easy swindling.
STRONG GOVERNMENT WHIGS.-One of
the early divisions of the original
520
Stump
Whig party which favored what
we now call "centralization," as
opposed to State Rights, or the
PARTICULARISTS (q.v.). This wing
of the party adopted the more
easily handled name of FEDERA-
LISTS (q.v.) after the adoption of
the Constitution in 1789.-Political
Americanisms.
STUB, TO.-To knock one's toes against
an obstacle. German, stubben.
She (a locomotive) goes lame from two
causes. She does not
not STUB her toe, or
have any one step on her corns, but she
either slips an eccentric or does not cough
regularly.-Florida Times Union, February
II, 1888.
STUFFENING.-A Western variant of
stuffing, i.e., seasoning. -STUFFY.
-Angry; sulky; obstinate.
STUMP.-TO TAKE THE STUMP or To
BE ON THE STUMP.-A political
electioneering term. Candidates
stump when delivering addresses in
support of their candidature. From
the practice of using the stumps of
trees as a convenient platform.
I concede his (Mr. Blaine's) ability, and
his staunch Republicanism, and he will BE
ON THE STUMP with Conkling, Sherman,
Edmunds, and other Republican giants next
summer and fall.-New York World, Feb. 14,
1888.
-STUMP SPEECH, an election
address.
STUMP SPEAKER,
STUMP ORATOR, STUMP ORATORY,
are of obvious meaning, while
STUMP PRAYER is an extempora-
neous prayer.
STUMPAGE.-A
fee paid for the right of felling
trees; used in Maine. STUMP-
TAIL CURRENCY.-Before the war
it was customary for banks to issue
notes, and where the reputation of
the establishment issuing this kind
of money was indifferent or bad,
the name of stump-tail currency was
given to it.
Style
STYLE. TO PUT ON STYLE.-To give
oneself airs; to make a boastful or
showy parade; singularity in one's
speech, dress, or habit is also re-
ferred to in this phrase, and a
Western man in his rough habili-
ments will tell a dandified DOWN-
EASTER, that in wearing a silk hat
and store clothes he is putting on a
yard too much style.
When a country town PUTS ON STYLE,
and gives you to understand that it is some
great shakes, you can put it down as a nest
of beats and fever and ague.-Puck, August,
1888.
SUBSCRIBE.Now IS
Now IS THE TIME TO
SUBSCRIBE!—A slang newspaper
expression very often met with even
in the best conducted journals. It
is little more than a catch-phrase,
and means no more than it says.
The remainder of the thrilling story will
be found in next Sunday's 'Tribune,' unless
crowded out or suppressed on account of
sympathy for Mr. Wojjers' family. Now is
THE TIME TO SUBSCRIBE.-Chicago Tribune,
1888.
SUCCOTASH.-A mixture of green
Indian corn and beans boiled
together, with " fixings" to taste.
A favorite New England dish.
SUCKER. (1) A greenhorn; one easily
deceived. Originally a Western
term. Sucker is a common name for
a dupe wherever found-i.e., every-
where.
When an Eastern man arrives in Los
Angeles and deposits his wealth in one of the
local banks, the bank president claps on his
plug hat and frantically hunts up a real
estate speculator with the information:
There's a new SUCKER in town.
25,000 dols. Go for him.'-Stockton (Cal.)
Mail, 1888.
"
Got
(2) A hard drinker. (3) The
tube, whether of glass, silver, or
straw, used for imbibing long
drinks." (4) A sponger; one who
lives on another. -(5) A native
521
Suit of Hair
of Illinois, which is known as the
SUCKER STATE; also as the Prairie
State. The origin of the former
name is doubtful.
There was a long-haired hoosier from
Indiana, a couple of smart-looking SUCKERS
from Illinois, a keen-eyed, leather-belted
badger from Wisconsin; and who could
refuse to drink with such a company?—
Hoffman, Winter in the West, p. 210.
SUCKERDOM. Inebriates and
drunkards of every stage taken
collectively.
SUDSDAY (Cant).-Washing day.
SUGAR. SUGAR APPLE.-A West
Indian fruit, otherwise known as
the SWEET SOP.- -SUGAR BERRY.
-The HACKBERRY (q.v.). -SUGAR
BUSH, SUGAR ORCHARD and SUGAR
CAMP. These are names given in
various parts of the country to a
group of sugar maple trees.
sap is collected periodically and
boiled down, usually on the spot.
The
SUGARING TIME. - March or
April, the time of the year when
-SUGAR
maple sugar is made.-
MAPLE (Acer saccharinum).-From
this noble forest tree is obtained
the maple sugar of commerce;
its wood, too, is valuable; the
common varieties serve as fuel, and
the ornamental ones are used in
cabinet and picture frame making.
It is also called the SUGAR TREE.
SUICIDE, To. -To commit suicide.
This new and barbarous form hav-
ing obtained considerable currency
in America, has unfortunately made
its way to England.
Wm. McClelland, residing in Clinton
County, north-west of here, SUICIDED to-day
by shooting himself. He was subject to fits
of insanity, and while one of the spells was
on him committed the deed.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, January 20, 1888.
SUIT OF HAIR.-A head of hair. A
Southern colloquialism.
66
Sulky
SULKY.-A two-wheeled carriage for a
single person. The inference is
obvious.
SULL, TO (Texan). To have
sulks. An obvious corruption.
the
SUMMER, TO.-To spend the summer.
Used precisely as "to winter" is
employed in England.
Mr. John Habberton expects TO SUMMER
on top of one of the highest hills in West-
chester Co., N.Y.-in other words, to remain
at home in New Rochelle.-The Critic, 1888.
SUMMER GAME (Cant). — Playing
merely for amusement, or for the
benefit of another person with the
latter's money.
SUM-TOTALISE, TO.-To quote the
sum-total.
A sur-
SUN. SUNDOWN.-Sunset.
vival of an Old English usage;
SUN-UP, however, for "sunrise is
a new form, which, coming from
the South, has become general
throughout the Union.
And Jim said you mustn't count the things
you are going to cook for dinner, because
that would bring bad luck. The same if
you shook the tablecloth after SUNDOWN.
And he said if a man owned a bee-hive, and
that man died, the bees must be told
about it before SUN-UP next morning or else
the bees would all weaken down and quit
work and die.-The Adventures of Huckle-
berry Finn, p. 69.
SUNFISH (Pomotis vulgaris).—
Also called PUNPKIN SEED (q.v.).
-To SUNFISH.-A broncho sun-
fishes, when he brings first one
shoulder down
down almost to the
ground and then the other.-
Sunflower-STATE.—Kansas. (See
quotation appended to NO MAN'S
LAND.) SUN-SHOWER, Rain
which falls while the sun continues
to shine. Cf. MOON-SHOWER.
SUN-SQUALL.-In New England the
SEA NETTLE.
522
Suspenders
SUPAWN.-Indian meal, prepared very
much as is oatmeal porridge, and
eaten with various condiments.
Supawn is a corruption of the
Indian name for this dish.
SUPOUCH (Cant).-A landlady.
SUPPER.-This corresponds. among
the unfashionable, in many parts,
to the old-fashioned tea.
SUPPLE-JACK.-A vine-like plant of
commercial value, for walking
sticks. Used in the South and the
Tropics.
SURE-ENOUGH, Considerable latitude
exists in regard to the use of this
compound word in the sense of
real; or genuine; especially when
employed adjectively; e.g., a sure-
enough man, horse, investment, i.e., a
reliable man, a horse of good points,
and an investment that is sound.
"Sure as a gun is the nearest
English colloquial equivalent.
SURFACE. SURFACE BOAT. See
BATTERY. -SURFACE WASHER.-
A term of opprobrium among the
'49 miners of California.-Gold
was sometimes found, after a hard
rain, on the surface, or just below
it. The man who was seen, there-
fore, with his washing-pan only,
trudging about in search of such
finds, was generally considered too
lazy to use a rocker or delve down
to bottom rock to find the true
deposit. Hence, the indolent, the
superficial, and the artificial man, is
spoken of as a surface washer.
SURPRISE PARTY.-A DONATION PARTY.
-Sec under Donate.
SUSPENDERS.- -Braces. In England
suspenders are used by women and
Suspercol
children to secure the stockings,
being worn instead of garters.
C
'I feel awful good in my chemiloon,' she
said, and then I wear SUSPENDERS.'-Dr.
Mary Walker's Lect. on Dress.
SUSPERCOL (Cant).-To hang. The
conglomerate pseudo-classic deri-
vation of this word is obvious.
SUSPICION, TO.-To suspect. Once
common in England.
'I'm derned ef 't ain't the wery man I
seed,' said Bijy, who never failed to know
something about everything. 'He wuz
comin' towards the camp-meetin' that wery
arternoon. Dern!' and he shut his mouth,
and got to his feet in excitement. 'I kind-uh
SUSPICIONED 'im too,' he added.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
SWAD.-In New England this Old
English colloquialism for a lump,
a mass, a bunch, or a crowd, is
frequently heard.
There was a SWAD of fine folks at Saratoga,
and dreadful nice girls.-Major Downing's
Letter, p. 35.
I SWAD.-A make-shift oath-
"I swear!
!'
by
SWAG.-A depression caused
shrinking or settling down, as of
To SWAG. Το
earth, etc.
shrink, or collapse.
Both freights were going at a good speed
when they struck. The engines were shat-
tered into small fragments. Ten cars were
derailed and shattered. The wreck occurred
in a SWAG and the cars were thrown down
an embankment. It is considered one of the
worst places on the road.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, March 5, 1888.
SWALE.-A valley; a tract of bottom
land. A New England localism,
which is likewise a Norfolk provin-
cialism, to which the idea of shade
is also attached.
SWALLOW-FORK.-A cattle brand or
mark.-See BRAND.
523
Swan
SWALLOW TAILS. During the
campaign of 1876 a considerable
number of Democrats, who moved
in fashionable New York circles,
took an unprecedented interest in
political affairs, hoping to effect
much needed reforms. It is said
that John Morissey, a retired prize-
fighter and a prominent local
politician of the day, becoming
incensed at this invasion of his
prerogatives, went down town one
morning clad in full evening dress,
and with a French dictionary under
his arm. He explained his new
departure by saying that this sort
of thing was necessary in order to
retain one's influence. The opposite
faction was called the "short
hairs," in deference either to their
fighting cut," or their supposed
recent release from prison.-Poli-
tical Americanisms.
I
SWAMP.-I SWAMP, i.e., "I vow";
swear."
- A Yankee circumlocu-
tion. SWAMP ANGEL.-See NIG-
GER BABIES. SWAMP-APPLE.
An excrescence of the swamp
honeysuckle, and so named from a
similarity of taste between it and
the well-known fruit. SWAM-
PERS. Men who make roads for
lumberers to convey logs to the
water's edge. SWAMP HONEY-
SUCKLE. Also MAY APPLE, PINX-
TER BLUMMACHY (q.v.), and swamp
PINK.
SWAN.
I swan; I swear. A new
England euphemism.
'What is the matter?' say you.
hard to tell!
I SWAN it's
Most of the years behind us we've passed by
very well!
I have no other woman, she has no other
man-
Only we've lived together as long as we ever
can.
-Betsy and I Are Out, Will Carleton's Farm
Ballads.
Swanga-Buckra
SWANGA-BUCKRA.-A negro epithet for
a well-dressed white man.
BUCKRA.
P
See
SWANKEY.-A compound of molasses,
vinegar, and water, a favorite
beverage with the fishermen in
Newfoundland.
'Thar, boys, we'll gin him a chance to
pay his rent in Kentuck, and make SWANKEY
of the Ohio.' [Addressed to a
man who
had been lynched by immersion in a tub of
molasses, and who, being cast adrift on the
Ohio River, had to regain terra firma by
swimming ashore, thus producing a mixture
akin to SWANKEY.]-Lynch Law in the Sucker
State, 1873.
SWARTWOUT, To.-To abscond, or, to
use an American slang equivalent,
"to vamoose." A term used in
New York, after a person of that
name, who absconded with public
money.
SWASH OF SWOSH.-In the Southern
or
524
States of America, a name given
to a narrow sound or channel of
water lying within a sandbank, or
between that and the shore. Many
such are found on the shores of
the Carolinas.-Webster.
"THAT'S
SWAT. A corruption of
WHAT"; а very common collo-
quialism when emphatic acquies-
cence is intended.
C
St. Peter-'What's your name?' 'John
L. Sullivan.' 'Oho! Yes, I've heard of you,
Mr. Sullivan. You're quite a noted character
down on earth.' 'SwAT I am.' 'A champion
pugilist, I believe?' 'I'm er world beater.'
'I suppose your business with me is to gain
admission to heaven?' 'THAT'S WHAT.'
'Well, you can't go in; I don't think you'd be
satisfied.' 'Why not?" 'The gate receipts
are too light.'—St. Paul Globe, 1888.
-To SWAT.-To deliver a blow,
to strike.
'N' you, yeh skunk, git aout! Don't yeh
walk on the same side of the street with me,
or I'll SWAT the hull top of yer head off!'-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
Sweat
SWATH, SWATHE, SWARTH.-TO CUT A
SWATHE.-To cut a dash; to noise
abroad. A Western term.
Them thet rule us, them slave-traders,
Haint they cut a thunderin' SWARTH
(Helped by Yankee renegaders),
Thru the vartu o' the North!
-Biglow Papers.
'Mr. Cheerman, I don't want to go to Con-
gress.
I never've hed the least hankerin'
after it. This State of aours is good enough
for me.
I wouldn't feel like myself ef I had
to stan' 'raoun' 'n' see chaps from Rhode
Island or Floridy puttin' on airs, and pre-
tendin' to cut as big a sWATH as New York
did. I'm too much of a State man fer thet.-
Scribner's Magazine, 1887.
SWEAR OFF, To. To renounce; to
give up; to abandon.
The third article of war was read by a
first sergeant, who was a veteran, and had
served in the dragoons before the rebellion.
He gave such an emphasis to the reading of
the penalty for swearing that the boys began
to feel that they must SWEAR OFF on pro-
fanity. Then the sergeant swore a blue
streak for a minute or two before he gave
the order to break ranks. Yet he did it un-
consciously, as he said when his attention
was called to it by a corporal, and only
intended to emphasize the interdiction.-
Supplement to Troy Daily Times, 1888.
SWEAR-WORD.-An oath.
SWEAT. - To GO THROUGH ONE'S
SWEAT.-Synonymous with to have
accomplished one's task; to have
seen the last of trouble or anxiety.
While the Americans have GONE THROUGH
THEIR SWEAT, and their naval department is
now doing some excellent work, the British
are enjoying one of their regular panics
about invasion, and this time apparently
with some reason.-American Humorist,
November 3, 1888.
SWEAT-HOUSE.-An institution
common to nearly all the abori-
ginal tribes of California. Half a
religious temple, it is also half a sani-
tary asylum, and used as a Russian
bath or superheated vault, from
which the braves, sweltering and
stifling all night, by smothered
fires, at early dawn plunged, per-
Swindle
spiring, into the ice-cold river. The
heat and smoke were further util-
ized to dry and cure the long
strips of fish hanging from the
roof.
SWINDLE.- WHAT'S THE SWINDLE ?
What's to pay? "What's the
damage?"
SWITCHEL. A New England beverage
of molasses, water, and vinegar.
Afore I had mixed a second glass of
SWITCHEL, up they came, and the general
525
Syebuck
looked as chirk and lively as a skipper.-
Major Downing's Letters.
SWIZZLE.—A
COCKTAIL (q.v.); a
deliciously seductive drink.
Swow.-I swow.-I swear. Of New
England origin.
So as I ain't a crooked stick, just like, like
old (I swow,
I don't know as I know his name)-I'll go
back to my plough.
-Biglow Papers.
SYEBUCK (Cant).-Sixpence.



AB. TO KEEP TAB.
To keep tally or
count.
When the train pulled
out Maloney was on
board. The tickets were
handed the conductor in
a bunch, and as he did
not keep TAB on the party
Maloney travelled free.-Missouri Republi-
can, February 15th, 1888.
TABLE, TO. A parliamentary term,
signifying to lay upon the table.
TABLE-SPREAD. A table
cloth.
Some very refined linen TABLE-SPREADS
are effectively ornamented by borders in
German cord work.-Portland Transcript,
1888.
a
TABLE STAKES. In poker
table-stake simply
simply means that
each player places his stake
where it may be seen, and that
a player cannot be raised more
than he has upon the table; but
at any time between the deals,
he may increase his stake from his
pocket, or he may put up any
article for convenience sake, say a
knife, and state that that makes
his stake as large as any other
player's, and he is then liable to
be raised to any amount equal to
the stake of any other player, and
must make good with cash. When
playing table-stakes, if a player
have no money on the table,
he must put up or declare his
stake previous to raising his hand,
and failing to do this, he must
stand out of the game for that
hand. The American Hoyle.
TABLE WARE.-The appointments
of a dinner table, etc.-knives and
forks, plates and dishes, etc.
This done the hum of many voices vainly
strove to vie successfully with the sharp
clatter of TABLE WARE, but humanity was
vanquished speedily, and retaliated by
laying siege to the good cheer that the
attendants ever and anon brought.-Daily
Inter-Ocean, February 3, 1888.
ТАСАМАНАС.
(q.v.).
The BALSAM POPLAR
TACKEY. In the South, a jade of a
horse; a sorry beast; and idioma-
tically a man neglectful of personal
appearance.
TACKLE (Cant).-A grimly suggestive
name for a mistress.
TAD. A human being. Little tads
TAD.-A
are small boys; old tads are old
men.
TAFFY.-A
toffy."
“
common corruption of
TAGS.-A shortened form of PINE-
TAGS, the foliage of the pine-tree.
TAIL, TO. To hold a steer down by
the tail after it is lassoed and
heeled. A cow-boy's word.——————To
HAVE ONE'S TAIL UP or DOWN.-To
be doing well, or the reverse.
Borrowed from the slang of the
billiard table, this phrase is gene-
rally colloquial. Among animals
Tailor
the lifting or lowering of the tail is
regarded as a sign of pleasure or
the contrary.
―
The
TAILOR (Pomoolbus mediocris).
popular name of a small-sized shad
of inferior flavor, peculiar to the
Mississippi. A species of BLUE-
FISH, a creature which, with many
aliases, is called the SALT-WATER
TAILOR on the Potomac.
TAKE. TO TAKE.-A Canadian rarely,
if ever, speaks of water freezing,
his idiom for that fact being
'the ice is taking," or "the
ice took last night."
TO TAKE
UP.-(1) On the plains to take up
animals is to saddle or harness a
horse, or an ox team. (2) A
Southern idiom signifying to put
up at an inn.
TALK.-A Conference; negotiation;
or official communication among
Indians.- -TALKING IRON.-A gun
or rifle. A talker that invariably
says what it means.
TALL.-English ears are now fairly ac-
customed to the American use of
this word; indeed, tall talk has come
to be regarded as a characteristic
of our cousins across the water.
Fashion in America, however, has
in a large measure substituted
STEEP for tall. Both words are
intensitives: synonyms of great;
fine; exceedingly; etc.
Sometimes very TALL stories are told as
to the sailing qualities of ships, and quite
marvellous rates of speed are braggingly
mentioned.-Texas Siftings, Oct. 27, 1858.
TAMAL or TAMAULI. A preparation
of maize, common in Spanish
America. The maize-meal is
worked into a paste, with some-
times minced-meat added, the
whole being then wrapped round
527
Tapioca
with the husks of corn and baked
on an open fire.
TAMARACK.-See HACKMATACK.
TAMMANY SOCIETY.-An active branch
of the Democratic Party, the head-
quarters of which are at Tammany
Hall, New York, the vote of the
party in that city being practically
controlled by this organization.
Tammany or Tamendy was a distin-
guished chief of the Delaware
tribe, whose name was assumed
politically as far back as 1789.
TANGENTY.-Erratic; capricious. Ap-
plied to men and women of angular
mental characteristics.
TANGLE FOOT or TANGLE LEG.-
Vigorous Western synonyms for
whiskey.
Gunderman were on his way hum f'm the
tavern, an' had a snug an' comf'table cargo
o' TANGLE FOOT aboard his self.-New York
Herald, 1888.
TAN TOASTER.-This is the singular
name in some parts of Maine for
a gale or storm.
TAPADEROS.
a
Among Mexicans
leather covering for the protection
of the feet.
TAPIOCA. The well-known
of commerce.
article
It is extracted from the manioc (Jatropha
manihot), a shrub indigenous to tropical
America, and now cultivated from Florida to
Magellan. It is said that an acre of manioc
will nourish more persons than six acres of
wheat. Its roots attain the size of the thigh.
Every part of the plant is filled with a milky
juice, which is a very violent and dangerous
poison, producing death in a few minutes,
when swallowed; yet human ingenuity has
converted its roots into an article of food.
This is done by grinding them in wooden
mills, after which the paste is put into
sacks, and exposed to the action of a power-
ful press. The poisonous juice is thereby
Taps
extracted, and the residue is the substance
known as cassava or mandioca, a nutritious
flour, preferred by the natives to that from
wheat. When kept from moisture, this flour
will keep good for fifteen or twenty years.
The TAPIOCA is made by separating from the
fibrous part of the roots a small quantity of
the pulp, after the juice is extracted, and
working it by hand till a thick white
cream appears on the surface. This, being
scraped off and washed in water, gradually
subsides to the bottom. After the water is
poured off, the remaining moisture is dissi-
pated by a slow fire, and the substance being
constantly stirred gradually forms into grains
about as large as those of sago. This is
the purest and most wholesome part of the
manioc.-Encyc. Americana.
TAPS.-A West Point cadet's term
for the evening bugle-call.
In a small party like ours, all the stated
military calls are laid aside. Even TAPS is
omitted; and one by one we dropped asleep,
till nothing was left to the ear but the dull
pacing of the sentinels or an occasional
deep-drawn sigh from some horse at the
picket-line.-Century Magazine, 1888.
TO BE ON ONE'S TAPS.-TO
be on the alert; ready for action.
TARHEELS. - North Carolinians. — A
name given in derision by Missis-
sippians to a brigade of North
Carolinians, who, in one of the
great battles of the Civil War,
failed to hold their position on a
certain hill. The former taunted
the latter with having forgotten to
tar their heels that morning, and
hence the cant name.
I gave him a little volume of North Caro-
lina sketches, written by a talented young
friend of mine, in the genuine TARHEEL
dialect, and he has just brought it back to me,
saying that he can't understand a word of it.
-American Humorist, June 2, 1888.
TARRIFY, TO.-To exercise undue pres-
sure. Applied only in reference to
coercive measures instituted by the
authorities. A Southern collo-
quialism.
The word is generally referred back to a
vulgar corruption of torrified, from the Latin
torrere, to roast, and this presumption is
528
Tea, Teapomp
•
strengthened by the fact that the word is so
used and written in an anonymous Tour
through North and South Carolina,' published
some years before the Revolution. A recent
writer humorously alludes to the enormous
tax on cotton and tobacco, which TARRIFIES
if it does not roast the unfortunate planters
of the South, and suggests that if the word
was not so old, it might very well be the
result of being tariff-ied, since the tariff has
become a synonym of misery.-De Vere.
TARRY, TO.-To delay. This verb,
fallen largely into disuse in the
Mother Country, has been retained
in America.
TARVE.-A turn; bend; or curve.
In Old English, torve signified
twisted.
TASSEL.-See CORN TASSELS.
Ah! dearest wife, my heart is stirred, my
eyes are dim with tears,
I think upon the loving faith of all these by-
gone years;
For now we stand upon this spot, as in that
dewy morn,
With the bloom upon the alder and the
TASSEL On the corn.
-Donn Platt's The Bloom was on the Alder
and the Tassel on the Corn.
TAUNTON TURKEYS.-Herrings are so
nicknamed on account of their
being caught in large shoals off
Taunton, Mass. Compare with
MARBLE-HEAD TURKEY.
TAUTAUG OF TAUTOG. The BLACK
FISH (q.v.).
TAX, TO.-In New England, to charge;
an every-day colloquialism is
"What will you tax me?"
TEA, TEAPOMP.-An institution which
has long since disappeared from
American social life. The old
colonists, besides objecting to have
their tea taxed, were also very par-
ticular as to how it was brewed, and
fully recognized the superiority of
some kinds of water for the pur-
pose. This led to certain of the
Team
pumps being called tea-pomps when
the water stood the test of making
TEA-SQUALL. - An
good tea.
American slang equivalent to the
English "tea-fight"; a tea-party.
TEAM.-An array of people or things;
or
and idiomatically applied as the
sincerest and highest form of
praise. A very frequent expres-
sion is, He's a whole team,'
"a whole team, a horse to spare,
and a big dog under the wagon.
Of New England origin, these
phrases are obviously an outcome
of the intense love of horses so
characteristic of the Yankee.
TEAR, TO.-A verb used to signify
violent or rapid motion; e.g., TO
TEAR ALONG or TO TEAR ROUND.
The metaphor is also extended to
mental distress, but
distress, but generally
speaking, to tear round conveys the
idea of noisy boisterousness pro-
duced by intoxication. Also A
TEAR ROUND for the thing itself.
'Yes, Christmas, and to-night's Christmas
Eve. Ye see, boys, I kinder thought-that is,
I sorter had an idee, jest passin' like, you
know that maybe ye'd all like to come over
to my house to-night, and have a sort of TEAR
ROUND. But I suppose, now, you wouldn't?
Don't feel like it maybe?' he added, with
anxious sympathy, peering into the faces of
his companions.-Bret Harte's How Santa
Claus came to Simpson's Bar.
Florida produces a peculiar berry called
Pride of China, of which the mocking-birds
of that flowery land partake largely when
ripe, and intoxication ensues. They get on
a regular TEAR, and behave a good deal as
men do under such circumstances, hiccough-
ing, staggering, leering at each other, shouting
and mixing up all sorts of songs. One gravely
endeavors to make a speech on the tariff,
perhaps, or in favor of removing the excise
tax from Pride of China, and the others jibe
at him. There is a field for some unemployed
temperance society to work. If they couldn't
enforce prohibition, they might compel Pride
of China to shut up Sundays.-Texas Siftings,
August 18, 1888.
-TEAR-COAT or TEAR-BLANKET
(pronounced TAR-COAT).-The SHOT
BUSH (q.v.).
529
Tend
TEETOTACIOUSLY.-A Western form,
supposed to be an emphatic variant
of teetotal.
TEETSOOK.-A saddle-bag made of
buffalo hide from which the hair
has been removed. In use on the
plains.
TELEGRAM.-No word, perhaps, has
had a severer fight for existence
than telegram, and its derivatives
telegramic, etc. It was introduced
by the Albany Evening Journal of
the 6th of April, 1852, and from
the first caused considerable dis-
cussion. It was also claimed as of
English invention, but assuming
the point to be of sufficient im-
portance for dispute, it
certain that it was used first in
America.
TELEPHONE.
seems
This word, with its
corresponding verb, adjective and
adverb, is like the instrument, of
American birth.
TELESCOPE, TO.-In railway collisions
where one carriage, in colliding
with another, runs right into it,
after the manner in which tele-
scopes are closed. Colloquial in
England, but not a dictionary
word.
TELL.-Used very much as the French
employ bon-mot, i.e., a witty story or
saying; also a compliment." Mrs. S.
gave a good tell of you yesterday."
-TO TELL ONE GOOD BYE.-To
bid farewell. A Southern usage.
TEND. A common corruption of
"'attend." In passing it may be
mentioned that shops, stores, and
businesses of every description are
in America tended and not kept. It
is also worthy of remark that tend
for attend is good Old English.—
67
Tenderfoot
TENDSOME.-A Connecticut word
applied to troublesome children or
to those requiring much attention.
530
TENDERFOOT.-A new-comer fresh to
frontier ways; one who has not
been long enough on the tramp to
be hardened. It is said that in
Colorado an Eastern man is a
tenderfoot until he has been stabbed,
shot at, engaged in a free fight,
fallen down a mine, been kicked
by a mule, and chased by a
Vigilance Committee. A corres-
pondent of the New York Times
(1881), writing from Montana, says
no such direful import attaches to
the term there, and seemingly
Coloradians, in adopting the word,
have enlarged its meaning with
local significance peculiar to their
own institutions.
Judge Howell's son, and another young
man, went out prospecting a few days since,
and about eight miles west of here they
struck an exceedingly rich ledge, showing
free gold all through and over the rock. The
boys were of the TENDERFOOT kind, and they
did not know whether it was gold or brass.
They were warmly congratulated on their
rich strike.-San Francisco Weekly Bulletin,
1888.
TENEMENT HOUSE.-A building let out
in rooms to families. The tenement
houses of New York are generally
regarded as amongst the worst of
their kind. Two, three, and even
four families in a room is not an
uncommon experience. It is doubt-
ful, however, whether this could
not be equalled in some parts of
London.
TEN-PINS.-A law was passed pro-
hibiting the game of nine-pins,
whereupon, not to be outdone, some
of our 'cute transatlantic friends
promptly added another pin, thus
driving the traditional coach and
pair through the statute.- -TEN-
STRIKE. Where in the game of
ten-pins all the men are bowled
Tertulia
over at one throw of the ball-a
lucky and comparatively infre-
quent result. Hence the idiomatic
use of ten-strike to signify a for-
tunate occurrence: a thoroughly
well done and complete work.
TEN STRIKERS (Texas).-Men who, in
the conflict between North and
South, boasted they were an equal
match for ten Yankees. The
phrase was first introduced by
Lieut. J. W. Boothe, of the Seventh
Texas Battalion, and at once leaped
into popular and general use.
the Cis-Mississipi States they were
called BOMB-PROOFS (q.v.).-See also
WE-MEN.
TEPEES.-An Indian lodge or tent.
In
TERAWCHY! TERAWCHY!-The "creep-
mouse! creep-mouse!" of English
mothers when playing with their
children. The derivation of ter-
awchy has been sought in the
Dutch te-ratge, the little rat.
TERRAPIN. A salt-water turtle,
abounding south of New York.
The flesh is much esteemed as a
delicacy.
TERRET.-The guiding ring for the
reins of the harness of a horse.
This is current in New England.
TERRITORY, A large district of
country belonging to the United
States, though not forming a part
of any individual State, and under
a temporary government (Worcester).
The territories at present are Colo-
rado, Washington, Arizona, New
Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana,
Dacotah, Alaska, Wyoming.
TERTULIA. See TORTILLA.
Tesquite
TESQUITE.-The upper incrustation
found on ALKALI DESERTS (q.v.).
TEST-PAPER.-In Pennsylvania law
courts a document when put in as
evidence is called a test paper.
TEW, TO.-To fume; to fuss; or to
fret. -TO TEW ROUND.-To make
a pretence of work without perform-
ing anything. Generally applied to
a busybody in household affairs.
TEXAN HARE.-The JACKASS RABBIT
(q.v.).
TEXAS.-The upper deck of the im-
mense Mississippi steamers and
boats of a similar character.
This is now a most desirable place, a light
structure with glazed sides in the very
centre of the steamer, and immediately
around the little glass house, from which the
boat is steered, so as to afford ample room.
and a fine view. The cabins below this and
above the grand saloon, where the officers
of the boat are accommodated, also belong
to TEXAS. Formerly, however, the space
was open, without guards at the side or
awning above-head, and frequented by the
personal friends of the pilot and their asso-
ciates, men of great daring, no doubt, and
expert in the use of bowie-knife and pistol,
but as little desirable company as the first
settlers in the Republic of TEXAS, which
attracted all the lawless and desperate
characters of the Union. It was then the
name was given to this part of the boats,
and the application was probably not
altogether inappropriate.-De Vere.
De Vere further explains Texas as
literally meaning "tiles"; but in a
recent article published in the North
American Review, Governor Ireland,
of Texas, asserts that the word Texas
means "welcome," and that on the
landing of the first white men
on the coast of Texas, the Indians
greeted them with the exclamation
of "Texas!" or "welcome" This
theory, however, according to a
correspondent in the Texas Vor-
waerts, is not correct. In the an-
cient Spanish archives, stored
531
There
"
away in the land office at Austin,
it appears that certain lands were
situated en el pais de los Tejas,"
or in the country of the Texas or
Tejas Indians, x" and "j" being
pronounced alike. It is well known
that the Texas or Tejas Indians
were a tribe of Indians living in
the valley of the Rio Grands, who
were exterminated or driven off by
a more savage tribe. The word
Texas or Tejas is the root of the
names of all the Indian tribes in
Texas and Mexico. The prefix in-
dicated the locality of the tribe.
The As-Tejas, or Aztecs, dwelt on
the high lands of Anahuac. The
Tol-Tejas, or Toltecs, lived as far
south as Yucatan. The Huas-Te-
jas lived on the Gulf coast, be-
tween Matamoros and Vera Cruz,
and the Tol-Tejas were located in
the State of Coahuila.-TEXAS
FEVER. The Spanish fever.
TEXAS TENDER.-The waiter on
the Texas or upper deck of a
Mississippi steamer.
THANKSGIVING DAY.-A Puritan cus-
tom. A day is set apart each year
in acknowledgment of fruitful har-
The
vests and other blessings.
festival generally occurs in Novem-
ber, and is looked upon very much
as Christmas is in England.
THANK-YE-MA'AMS.-Ruts or depres-
sions in a road.. A facetious
acknowledgment of а sound
shaking.
THAT'S SO! Something accom-
plished; a term of acquiescence.
This expression according to the old
short-lived American Notes and
Queries, first came to the front in
1857. Since then it has become
very common in both hemispheres.
THERE. ALL THERE.-A phrase used
to convey consent; an intimation of
Thimble
familiarity with a subject; on the
spot; at home.
That man, Deenan, is a miserable hypo-
crite! I hev my own opinion of the likes of
him! They hev little good in them-barrin'
the big talk-an' that puts no whiskey in the
can. He's all smooth and straight while
forninst ye, but when out of sight he's worse
nor a rattlesnake. More nor that, he has no
backbone in him! When the trying time
comes you don't find him THERE.-Pinkerton's
Mollie Maguires.
THIMBLE (Cant).-A watch.
A
THIMBLE-BERRY (Rubus occidentalis).
-A wild, black raspberry.
THIMBLE-WEED (Rudbeckia).
medicinal plant attaining a height
of from six to eight feet, used by the
Shakers in their preparations. In
appearance it is not unlike the
sunflower.
THIRD HOUSE.-The LOBBY (q.v.).
THIRDS.-This in the sense of dower
is found in Middleton's
in Middleton's plays.
Commonly colloquial.
THIRSTLAND.-The region
-The region of extinct
lakes and inland seas of Southern
Nevada and South-eastern Cali-
fornia is the great thirstland of the
continent. Where immense lakes
once rolled their waves are now
seen nought but broad and thirsty
deserts. See ALKALI DESERT.
THOROUGHFARE.
532
A low gap in a
range of hills. A Southern usage.
THOROUGHWORT.-The BONESET (q.v.).
THREE SIXES. A fire signal denoting
urgency.
A second and third alarm was sent out,
followed by the famous THREE SIXES, which
brought engines from all parts of the city
skurrying to the scene.-New York Mail and
Express, May 27, 1887.
Ticker
THREE TWENTY-NINE (329).-During
the presidential campaign of 1880,
these numbers were
were chalked by
Democrats on every wall, door-
step, and fence in the land. Mr.
Garfield, the Republican candi-
date, had been charged with having
received a bribe of 329 dols. worth
of Credit Mobilier Stock.-Political
Americanisms.
THRESWINS (Cant). — A three cent
piece.
THRUMS (Cant).-Three cent pieces.
TICKER.-In American stock-broking
circles, a "tape."
The question is, and it is one that has long
puzzled the governors of the Stock Ex-
change, and it is alleged that the TICKER
companies are also in the dark. Where do
the BUCKET-SHOPS (9.v.) get their quotations
on which they do business? The Stock
Exchange sells the right to gather their quo-
tations to the Gold and Stock Telegraph
Company and the Commercial Telegram
Company. The Exchange collects the trades
as they are made by the brokers, and two
expert telegraph operators send them over
the wires which run to the Commercial
Telegram Company's office at No. 21, Broad-
way, and from there to the office of the Gold
and Stock Company in the Western Union.
Building. At each of the latter offices two
telegraph operators sit on each side of the
man who manipulates the TICKER, and as
fast as the telegraphers receive the prices,
the TICKER Operator sends them out over the
circuit to brokers' offices and elsewhere.
Now the bucket-shop men must receive
these prices as soon as the brokers and
others who have TICKERS in their offices, or
they would be placed at a serious disadvan-
tage, and could not do business. The TICKER
companies are not allowed to place TICKERS
in bucket-shops and they have none; but the
bucket-shop prices are received over a Morse
telegraph wire, and are furnished at the rate
of 65 dols. per week by a firm that is known
as the New York Quotation Company, on
New Street. This firm is merely a combina-
tion of telegraph operators. How it gets the
quotations is a mystery, and can only be
surmised. The TICKER companies have an
alleged standing offer of 1,000 dols. for the
discovery of their scheme. New York
World, 1888.
K
Ticket
TICKET.-A list of candidates placed
in nomination for office, as the
Democratic ticket," the Prohi-
bition ticket," etc. A "straight
ticket"
comprises all the regular
party nominations. A "split ticket
represents different divisions of a
party. A "mixed ticket" combines
the nominees of different parties.
A "scratch ticket" is one from
which one or more names have
been erased.
A
}
In Monro county, at last accounts, not a
single politician had announced himself a
candidate for any office, all who are ambi-
tious of serving their fellow-citizens, appear-
ing to be waiting for developments.
correspondent of the 'Little Rock Gazette:
thinks a compromise TICKET will finally be
decided on, with a white man for sheriff,
judge, treasurer, clerk, senator and surveyor,
and a colored man as representative, assessor
and coroner. Such a TICKET, he says, will,
if put in the field, win without a doubt.-
Missouri Republican, March 7, 1888.
TO TAKE A THROUGH TICKET
TO A BETTER WORLD.-An expres-
sive synonym of to die, an anala-
gous phrase with those murderously
inclined, being TO CHECK A FELLOW
PASSENGER THROUGH ΤΟ THE
HAPPY LAND. TICKET SCALPER.
-A speculator in unused railway
tickets. See RAILROAD and MILE-
AGE.
TICKLER. (1) A cash-balance book;
also a memorandum of debts owing
and payments due.-(2) A pocket
flask. A throat tickler in very
deed.
TIDY.-An antimacassar. Smith, in
his Curious Derivations, gives this
as from the Old English word
"tide," meaning time, as even-
tide, and closely connected with
the German zeit. So tidy is zeitig,
timely or seasonable.
TIGER.
Instead of calling for cheers
to the tune of "three times
three," Americans demand three
533
Tiger
cheers and a tiger. The Boston
Evening Gazette has given the follow-
ing explanation of the term:-
In 1822, the Boston Light Infantry, under
Captain Mackintosh and Lieutenant Robert
C. Winthrop, visited Salem, and encamped
in Washington Square; and during their stay
a few of the mêmbers indulged in sports
incidental to camp duty, when some visitor
exclaimed to one who was a little rough, 'Oh,
you TIGER!' It became a catchword, and as
a term of playful reproach, 'You're a TIGER,'
was adopted as one of the peculiar phrases
of the corps. On the route to Boston, some
musical genius sung an impromptu line,
'Oh, you TIGERS, don't you know,' to the
air of Rob Roy McGregor, oh!' Of course,
the appellation soon induced the TIGERS by
name to imitate the actions of a tiger; and
the growl was introduced, and at the con-
clusion of three cheers a TIGER was invari-
ably called for. In 1826, the Infantry visited
New York, being the first volunteer corps to
make a trip from this city to another State;
and, while there, the TIGERS at a public
festival awoke the echoes, and astonished
the Gothamites by giving the genuine howl.
It pleased the fancy of the hosts, and gradu-
ally it became adopted on all festive and
joyous occasions; and now three cheers
and a TIGER are the inseparable demonstra-
tions of approbation in that city.
To BUCK THE TIGER. -To
gamble,
or, when particularly
employed, to play faro. In Apple-
ton's Journal occurs the following
derivation :—
The ordinary faro is generally veiled under
the euphuistic term of Ye TIGER, a curious.
name, quite adequate to express the destruc-
tive and voracious nature of the game, but
recently attributed to a Chinese deity! A
favorite figure of one of the Chinese gods of
gambling is a TIGER standing on his hind-
feet, and grasping a large cash in his mouth
or his paws. Sometimes the image is made
of wood or clay, or drawn on a piece of paper
or board. The title of the beast, His Excel-
lency the Grasping Cash TIGER, is frequently
written on a piece of paper, and placed in the
gambling rooms between two bunches of
mock-money suspended under the table or
on the wall behind it. This figure is the sign
for a gambling house: 'The Fighting TIGer.
It is curious that we should have to look to
China for the origin of this phrase.
Concerning a recent gambling-
house raid in Chicago, the Daily
Inter-Ocean, of February 14, 1888,
thus illustrates the use of this
Tilpah
phrase "Last night and to-day
they have succeeded in placing
under arrest six of the leading
gambling-house keepers of the
city and subpoenaed thirty citizens
as witnesses, among whom are said
to be prominent city officials and
business men. This evening some
of the witnesses are going the
rounds of the local papers trying
to have their names suppressed.
The affair has caused a good deal
of talk already, and if reports are
anywhere near true, it will create
a great sensation when the cases
are called, and more than one un-
suspecting wife will have her eyes
opened to the fact that the wicked
tiger, and not legitimate business
has been detaining her husband
out so late at night." -TIGER
CAT.-The OCELOT (q.v.).
TILPAH.
-A plains' term for a parti-
colored rug, woven and dyed by
the Navaga or Taos Indians, and
used as a saddle blanket.
TILT.-The BLACK-NECKED STILT or
LAWYER (q.v.).
534
punctual.
Tippecanoe
TO PUT IN TIME.-
To pass away the time.
I sat down in one of the iron-armed com-
partments of an old sofa, and PUT IN THE
TIME for a while, reading the framed adver-
tisements of all sorts of quack nostrums.-
Mark Twain's Screamers.
—
TIMOTHY (Phleum pratense). The
herd's grass. Its popular name is
derived from Timothy Hanson,
who introduced it into cultivation.
TINAJA. A Spanish-Mexican term for
holes in rocks forming receptacles
for water. Primarily tinaja means
an earthenware vessel.
TINCLADS.
half-
A half-sarcastic,
facetious title given by Con-
federates to their own native-built
war cruisers. The Northern men-
of-war they called CHEESE-BOXES.
TINKER. A New England name for
a small mackerel. Small, indiffer-
ent fish generally receive very
curious nicknames, e.g., a small
shad is called a "tailor." It will
also be borne in mind that a dried
herring is called a "soldier" in
England.
A Western
TIMBER. Woodland.
and Southern usage. See also
CROSS-TIMBER.
TIMBER HEELS.
—A slouching, slovenly walker.
TIME. -A GOOD TIME, is not quite
such a genuine Americanism as is
often thought, it having been used
by sundry Old English writers. A
good time may mean anything, from
simple, innocent enjoyment, to a
downright drunken spree, a
speaker's character being the inter-
preter of his meaning. Of course,
about A HIGH OLD TIME there can
be no possible mistake. ALL
THE TIME. An American idiom
J
for always.- -ON TIME.-See under
ON. TO MAKE TIME. To be
TINNER.-A tinplate-worker.
He knows that if he wished to become a
TINNER the master smith would require him
to prove the possession of a good character,
and would require him to promise to stay in
the shop three years possibly four.-
Mark Twain's Screamers.
—
TIPPECANOE.-A nickname of William
Henry Harrison, ninth President
of the United States, given him
because of his victory over the
Indians of the North-west, under
Tecumish, in 1811. "Tippecanoe
and Tyler too," was the refrain of a
popular song during the LOG CABIN
AND HARD CIDER (q.v.) Campaign
in 1839.
Tipple
General Harrison touched upon the surplus
and the tariff issue in his response. After
shaking hands with the visitors, among
whom were a score of veterans of the
TIPPECANOE Campaign, the general boarded
a street car and spent the remainder of the
day at home.-Denver Republican, 1888.
TIPPLE, TO, is familiar enough in
England for to drink; not so, how-
ever, for the drink itself-e.g., good
tipple, genuine liquor; a new tipple,
a new mixed drink.
TIPPYBOBS.—The "
·
upper classes
a term carrying with it the utmost
contempt.
TIPSINAH.-The INDIAN TURNIP (q.v.).
TIPTEER, TO.-To walk in a mincing
manner.
When you see a gentleman TIPTEERING
along Broadway, with a lady wiggle-wagging
by his side, and both dressed to kill, as the
vulgar would say, you may say that he looks
out for himself and takes care of A. No. 1.-
Dow's Sermons, vol. i, p. 208.
TISANNE.-A Canadian herbal tea,
made from spruce tops. It is
supposed, like sarsaparilla, to be a
blood-purifier.
535
TITHING-MAN.-In New England, a
parish officer appointed to preserve
order at public worship, and
enforce the proper observance of
the Sabbath.-Worcester.
To.- (1) For a peculiar usage of this
preposition, see HOME. (2) Very
frequently, both in conversation
and writing, to is omitted, where
the verb is in the infinitive; e.g.,
"I am going gather flowers"; "I
intend take a walk," etc.
TOAD-FISH (Batrachus variegatus).-An
ugly fish, which, in New Jersey, is
known as the OYSTER FISH, and
in New England as the GRUBBY
or GRUBBLY,
Tombs
Also called TOAD-
TOAD-STICKER. — A
GRUNTER.
soldier's term for a sword.
TOBACCO Box. See PUNKIN
SEED.
-TOBACCO ROOT.-The Kooyah
root. SUMS OF TOBACCO.—This
old official term had its rise in the
payment of taxes in kind, tobacco
in the South, where the phrase
was mainly used, being the staple
product.
TOBOGGAN, To.-Since the introduc-
tion of this amusement into Eng-
land on artificial lines, this word
and its derivatives have become
thoroughly familiar. The toboggan
was originally a small sledge or
sleigh drawn by dogs and used
mainly in the Canadian North-
west. The New England equiva-
lent is To COAST.
TOLE, TO.-To allure. A donkey
would be toled if excited to more
rapid progress by a carrot being
held before it. The term is only
used in connection with animals.
TOLOBON (Cant).—The tongue.
axe.
TOMAHAWK.-An Indian hatchet or
For phrases connected with
this weapon, see HATCHET.-
TOMAHAWK RIGHTS.-Formerly a
species of land title; all that the
claimant had to do was to blaze his
initials with a tomahawk or hatchet
on a few of the trees surrounding
his claim.
TOMBS.--The common prison in New
York City. This building is of the
heavy Egyptian style of archi-
tecture.
Bedell, who robbed a New York law firm
of a large amount, and Foster, who got away
with nearly two hundred thousand dollars
belonging to the gratuity fund of the Pro-
duce Exchange, are much talked about just
Tom Cod
now. The former's rascality being unearthed
was what caused the latter's exposure, both
financiers dealing in mortgages. Conse-
quently Foster, compelled to fly, cannot feel
very friendly towards Bedell. He feels that
he might have kept on with his pilfering
some time longer, had not Bedell been so
foolish as to get caught and locked up in the
TOMBS. Foster wouldn't call on him if
he were here.-Texas Siftings, Oct. 27, 1888.
TOMBS LAWYER.-See SHYS-
TER, with which it is synonymous.
TOM COD (Morrhua pruinosa).
This
is the same as the FROST FISH (q.v.).
Tom cod is thought to be a corrup-
tion of the Indian tahcand.
This, of course, was an uncommon case
of stupidity, even in a native who has seen
nothing but rough men, TOM CODS and horse
mackerel out in deep sea; but it shows how
little prepared for civilization some of these
native denizens are.-New York Mercury,
July 21, 1888.
TOM-DOG.-A dog as distinguished
from a bitch. This Western usage
follows, in regard to dogs, that
usually connected with cats only
in England, as far as animals are
concerned.
TONEY.-Good style; "the thing
good form. It may be remarked
that the " toniness" of society is
by no means synonymous with
manliness or sincerity; the drones
are generally "real toney,"
workers are vulgar."
"
the
TONGUE.-The pole of a waggon or
omnibus is so called. TO GIVE
ONE'S TONGUE A VACATION.-To
remain silent. In England we say
"to give one's tongue a rest."
TONNAGE CART.-A freight car.
TOOIN' ROUND. Aimless activity.
New England.
TOOT.-ON A TOOT.-On a drunken
spree.
536
Tortle
TOOTH.-TOOTH-CARPENTER.-A den-
tist. Perhaps some excuse exists
for this otherwise vulgar name in
the fact that American dentistry
has reached such a high state of
perfection, that decayed portions of
à tooth are cut out and replaced
by sound material. TOOTH-ACHE
BUSH (Xanthoxylum fraxineum).--
The PRICKLY ASH, a specific for
tooth-ache, as also is TOOTH-ACHE
GRASS (Monocera aromatica).
ARKANSAS TOOTHPICK.-A bowie
knife; sometimes shortened to
TOOTHPICK.
Because, ye see, 't's the fashion here, to sign
an' not to think
A critter 'd be so sorded ez to ax' em for the
chink;
I didn't call but jest on one, an' he drawed
TOOTHPICK on me,
An' reckoned he warn't goin' to stan' no sech
doggauned econ'my.
-Biglow Papers.
TOOTING-TUB.—A church organ.
Toozer or TwozER.
a marble.
-A boy's term for
TOP, TO.-In Pennsylvania to snuff (a
candle).
TORMENTED.
A New England
"damned."
euphemism for
TORMENTATION.-Also used by New
Englanders, as synonymous with
torment; pain; or trouble.
TORTILLA,
A diminutive of torto, a
cake. In Mexico it is a pancake
made of Indian meal, mashed and
baked on an earthen pan.
A woman was kneeling upon the ground,
under a fig-tree, rubbing the metate, and a
pretty girl of fifteen was slapping a TORTILLA
between her hands.-Olmsted's Texas.
TORTLE.-A Corruption of 'turtle,"
which has a vogue in Pennsylvania.
Tory
TORY.-When the declaration of Inde-
pendence compelled a definition of
the difference between royalists and
rebels, Tories naturally remained
loyal to the Crown, while Whigs.
generally espoused the patriotic
cause. After the Revolution the
word Tory dropped out of popular
usage save as a term of opprobrium.
-See WHIG.
TOTE, TO.-To carry a load, etc.
Going from one place to another,
is also spoken of as toting up.
Colloquial everywhere, especially
in the South.
With one hand on her hip and the other
idly swinging, Dolly could TOTE a pail of
water on her head up the ascent from the
spring without spilling a drop.-Chicago
Inter-Ocean, 1888.
De Vere thus discusses this strange
word:
The
This verb, which of all colloquial Ameri-
canisms has probably excited the most
general interest and led to innumerable dis-
quisitions, remains still unexplained as far
as its first origin is concerned. It is univer-
sally used in the South to denote the carry-
ing something weighty by personal effort
and unaided by any convenience.
strangest of all explanations is probably
that given by Webster in his Dictionary.
He says of the word, 'said to be of African
origin. This suggestion has nothing in its
favor except the simple fact, that the negroes
never use any other word for carrying. It is
almost as improbable, that the word should
have been derived from the Old English
word TO TOTE, which was used to express
the process of summing up the total
amount, and which is still in use in Lin-
colnshire, where people say, 'Come, TOTE it
up and tell me what is the whole amount.'
(Notes and Queries.') Chaucer also uses
the word in this sense. It seems far more
probable, that the word should owe its
present use to the fact, that when Virginia
was settled, and the term TO TOTE was
brought to this country, the English emi-
grants were familiar with it from two entirely
different sources. One was the Anglo-Saxon
verb totian, to lift up, to elevate. (Totodun
ut tha heafdu: eminebant capita, Past. 16, 5.
Bosworth, Anglo-Saxon Dictionary,' and
'English Dictionary,' p. 226.) This old
Saxon word, used in its primitive sense,
still survived in the provinces, and was
carried by persons, accustomed to its sound
537
Tough
e
and use, to America, where it has never
ceased to be used. At the same time Eng-
lishmen were all more or less familiar with
the word tolt, the name of a writ, by which
the proceedings on a writ of right are re-
moved (carried) from the Court Baron into
the County Court, the precept of the sheriff
being, quia tollit atque eximit causam
curia baronum (3 C., Blackstone, 'Commen-
taries,' p. 34). Blount's Law Dictionary'
(1691) states, that the familiar term tolt
was derived from the Latin verb tolle, to lift
or remove. In the colonies this word and
the Anglo-Saxon TOTE, combined to express
the process of removing corporeal things as
well as incorporeal, and being short and easy
of pronunciation, the negroes especially
readily seized upon it, to denote the lifting a
thing with a view of carrying it from one
place to another. That the word is by no
means unknown in England may be seen.
from the fact that already Piers Plowman
says in his Crede: 'Then TOTED I into a
taverne and there I espyede two frere
Carines' (Ed. 1,553, B. III.); and that the
handle of a carpenter's plane is to this day
called a TOTE in England, evidently from the
Anglo-Saxon verb mentioned above.
TO TOTE FAIR.-To be fair in
dealing; to act "on the square."
TOTE LOAD.-As much as one
can carry.
TOTEM.-A red-skin's "coat of arms,"
the device being painted on the
breast. Each tribe and family
have different " bearings," which
serve as a name or designation.
Totems are generally representa-
tions of animals. Also TOTEMIC,
i.e., pertaining to the totem.
TOTTLISH.
Unsteady; vacillating;
not to be depended on. From
totter," to reel; to shake.
"
TOUCH, TO (Cant). To steal. An
impressive commentary on the line
of thought adopted by the criminal
classes.
TOUGH. Explained by quotation.
Little Phil was decidedly TOUGH-in both
the meanings of the word in the West. He
was, so his mother and early companions
say, extremely TOUGH in fiber, as healthy
as a pine knot. It is not probable that he
68
Tow
ever cost his parents 5 dollars in medicine.
But he was also a trifle TOUGH in the slang
meaning of the word, a fighter, and prone to
mischievous pranks.-American Humorist,
July 21, 1888.
-TOUGHS.-A New York term
for a rowdy; from the second
signification given in previous quo-
tation.
This was the opportunity of some New
York TOUGHS and pickpockets who had
accompanied the picnic, and they proceeded
at once to stir up a fight.-New York Herald,
July 29, 1888.
Tow or TOWBOAT.- -A freight boat; a
barge, or canal boat. TOWHEAD.
(1) A small recently formed island.
In the Mississippi especially, by the
silting up of mud round sunken
trees and through other causes,
towheads are in continual process of
formation.
On this up trip I saw a little TOWHEAD
(infant island) half a mile long, which had
been formed during the past nineteen years.
Since there was so much time to spare that
nineteen years of it could be devoted to the
construction of a mere roWHEAD, where was
the use, originally, in rushing this whole
globe through in six days? It is likely that
if more time had been taken, in the first
place, the world would have been made
right, and this ceaseless improving and re-
pairing would not be necessary now.-Mark
Twain's Life on the Mississippi, p. 452.
(2) A Western term for a man
wearing tailor-made clothes and
otherwise of a more dandified
appearance than is customary in
those parts of the country.
TOWHEE.-The CHEWINK (q.v.).
But many of our birds, especially those
found in the wooded river bottoms, answer
to those of the East; only almost each one
has some marked point of difference from its
Eastern representative. The TOWHEE has lost
all title to its name, for its only cry is a mew
like that of a cat-bird.-Ranch Life in the
Far West.
TOWN.-Worcester describes a town
in the New England meaning as
(1) a small territorial district,
538
Tow Row
whether densely or thinly in-
habited. (2) A body of voters
within a township, district, or
parish. -TOWNHOUSE.-(1) This
has the same relation to townships
as "town halls" have to boroughs
in England. (2) In Connecticut,
an almshouse. -TOWN LOT.-See
LOTTO PAINT THE TOWN RED.
-To go on a drunken spree, and
generally "to act the fool."
'He stains the town incarnadine,'
The Boston maiden said.
The western maid remarked, 'You mean
HE PAINTS THE WHOLE TOWN RED.'
-Washington Critic, 1888.
The flannel shirt is an excellent thing
To wear on a summer day,
And we don't object to the style at all-
But what we were going to say
Is,
That
A man who will wear a flannel shirt,
And hold up his pants with a sash
AS RED as a TOWN that is PAINTED right,
Is the man that we want to smash.
-Washington Critic, 1888.
But as Lumpkin takes in the money he
spends it like a Prince. After a big day's
business he has been known to blow in
one thousand dollars in a single night
PAINTING THE TOWN RED. The result is
that when the office is open for business
the next morning the cash drawer is empty.
-New York World, 1888.
TOWNSHIP. The district or
territory of a town. In the United
States, many of the States are
divided into townships of five, six,
or seven, or perhaps ten miles'
square, and the inhabitants of such
townships are invested with certain
powers for regulating their own
affairs, such as repairing roads and
providing for the poor. The town-
ship is subordinate to the county.
-Webster. In Canada (Province
of Quebec), the districts or parts
that are exempt from feudal laws
are called townships.
Tow Row.-A shindy; a noise; a
racket.
TRACK.
Track
The "permanent way" of
English railways; the space
between the rails.
Lincoln Street Car Passenger (to driver)—
'This line must have been improved
recently!'
'No, sir. No changes have been made.'
'But this car runs very smoothly."
Well, you see it's off the TRACK.'-Lincoln
Journal, 1888.
To CLEAR THE TRACK is the
American equivalent of the English
"to clear the deck.
TO BE ON
THE INSIDE TRACK, doubtless an
allusion to the inside track of a race-
course, signifies to be in a command-
ing position; to occupy the coign
of vantage.- IN ONE'S TRACKS,
for "immediately," says Lowell,
is an importation from the Latin
e vestigio, or the Norman-French
enes les pas.-Big. Intro., 169.
TRADE, TO. (1) To sell or barter;
and, used as a noun, the operation
itself.
A Louisiana man has had three wives in
four years.
He TRADED one for a farm,
another for a pair of horses, and the third for
a mule. He is only forty years old, and
expects to stock his farm entirely if he has
good luck.-Abilene (Kas.) Gazette, 1888.
Says he, Look at your members now,
There's Jones got drunk, and Swem
Will cheat a friend to make a TRADE;
Ain't I as good as them?'
-Detroit Free Press, May, 1888.
-(2) Medicine is also strangely
named trade in Rhode Island.
TRAIL.-Dodge says that a trail is a
succession of marks left on the
ground or grass by anything moving
to a definite end; as, a trail of
troops, an Indian trail, a deer trail,
a wagon trail. Sign is more or less
proof positive that something has
been present on the ground. A trail
is made up of "sign"; but "sign
is, by no means, a trail. Feeding
deer make "sign,
sign," but it may be
There
impossible to trail them.
may be abundance of sign in and
539
Transient
about an Indian camp; yet it may
take the keenest eye and closest
scrutiny to detect the trail by
which they left it.-See SIGN.
TO BLIND A TRAIL; also "TO TRASH
A TRAIL," i.e., to remove the traces
of one's actions; a phrase, the
figurative meaning of which is
evidently traceable to the days of
Indian warfare, when even the lives
of those engaged often depended
upon the success with which they
blinded or obliterated the
traces of their trail. ON THE
TRAIL-Cattle, while being driven
from one range to another, or to a
shipping point for beef, are said to
be on the trail.
The TRAIL Work of a cowboy's life is some-
thing by itself. The herds may be ON THE
TRAIL several months, averaging fifteen
miles or less a day. The cowboys accom-
panying each have to undergo much hard
toil, of a peculiarly same and wearisome kind,
on account of the extreme slowness with
which everything must be done, as TRAIL
cattle should never be hurried. The fore-
man of a TRAIL outfit must be, not only a
veteran cowhand, but also a miracle of
patience and resolution.-Century Magazine,
1887.
TRAIN. In the Dominion of Canada,
a sleigh used for transport purposes.
From the French traineau, a sledge
or sleigh.
To TRAIN. New
England girls use this term to
denote acts of romping, or, to
employ an English phrase, which
seems its exact equivalent, to train
is" to carry on."- TRAINERS.-
Militia when in training.
TRAMPOOS, To.-To wander about
aimlessly.
TRANSIENT.-In hotel and boarding-
house parlance, a temporary visitor,
as distinguished from a permanent
boarder.
1416
WASHINGTON AVE. With
board, nicely furn. rooms; TRAN-
SIENT accommodated.
—Advertisement in St. Louis Globe Demo-
crat, 1888.
Trash
Bartlett states that a distinction is
made between the two classes; but
if the following story be true, the
difference is unusually marked.
A visitor who has just returned from a
vacation among the Maine watering places
relates an amusing incident that occurred
at a small New England hotel where he
chanced to stop for a day while journeying
to Bar Harbor. The principal person in
charge of the office was the daughter of
the proprietor, a buxom lass of probably
twenty summers. When the morning of
departure came this fair Diana presented
the hotel bill to the traveller, and it so hap-
pened that neither of them could change a
note that was tendered in payment. In a
gallant way the traveller smilingly offered
to kiss the young lady and let the change go.
She drew herself up haughtily. 'I'd like
you to know, sir, that in this hotel we don't
kiss TRANSIENTS,' she replied in freezing
tones. Such a privilege is only given to
regular boarders. Will you take a prospectus
for next season?'-Detroit Free Press, Sept.
29, 1888.
TRASH.-(I) See POOR WHITES.
(2) The leaves when stripped from
the sugar-cane in order to allow it to
ripen more readily.To TRASH.
-To strip the leaves from the
sugar-cane. The dead leaves are
allowed either to rot on the ground
for manure, or, when dried, the
trash is used as bedding for cattle
or thatching for houses.
TREE, TO.-To get out of harm's way
by taking refuge in a tree. An
Americanism which is now gene-
rally common in England. Not
so, however, TO TREE ONESELF,
i.e., to hide behind a tree. Το
tree is also used in the sense of
to kill. Game having taken to
a refuge of this kind, is practi-
cally at the hunter's mercy, and
therefore as good as dead.- -To
BARK UP THE WRONG TREE.-See
BARK. TREE CRANBERRY.-See
CRAMP-BARK.
TREE PRIMROSE
(Enothera fructicosa).-A member
of a well-known genus which, in
America, attains a considerable
540
Trimmings
size.—TREE MOLASSES and TREE
- Products of the sugar
SUGAR.
maple.
TREMBLING PRAIRIE. See SHAKING
PRAIRIE.
TRICK, in Arkansas speech, means a
number of things - a child, an
article, a stratagem, a machine; in
fact, it is as hard-worked a word
thing."
as
"
If he was too busy to go to school himself,
he never was too busy to drive the little
TRICKS Over to the school-house, and, every
evening, Bulah, the least little TRICK of all,
used to teach him what she had learned.
Bulah was very fond of Jeff, in a filial way;
but Jeff loved Bulah with all his heart
and soul and strength.-Scribner's Magazine,
1887.
-TRICKSY. This old form is
still retained in the popular speech
of many parts of the Union.
TRICUMLEGIS (Cant). — A quirk or
quibble.
TRIG. TRIGNESS. -Smart; smart ap-
pearance. Obsolete words in Eng-
land, but still in common
in the Old Dominion. From "to
trick," i.e., to decorate.
use
The descriptions of fifty years ago (of
Louisiana) do not need to have a word
changed in order to describe the same region
as it appears to-day except as to the
TRIGNESS of the houses.-Mark Twain's Life
on the Mississippi, p. 373.
One of the bifurcations goes on deeper
into the swamp, the other deflects toward a
clearing wherein, back of cotton-fields and
garden, stands a comfortable battened house,
the widow Brand's house. A certain TRIG
look about land and buildings may be due to
the fact-always kept well to the fore-that
the widow came from Georgia.—Scribner's
Magazine, 1887.
TRIMMINGS.-In culinary phraseology
a generic term for accessories to
any dish, such as flavorings, sauces,
The word, however, has also
etc.
Trimontain City
a far more extended application,
and is used alike of a woman's
frills and furbelows, the trappings
of a horse, and the decorations of a
house.
TRIMONTAIN CITY.-Boston, Mass.-
See ATHENS OF AMERICA.
TROUT.—In every section of country
the "gamest "fish found is almost
invariably trout. Thus, in some
portions of the Southern States,
the trout is a black perch. In
Texas, and in the Indian territory,
to as far north as Canada, the
trout is a magnificent bass, very
like the striped sea bass in appear-
ance.
In the Rio Azul of western
New Mexico, and in many other
pure streams where the real fish
does not exist, the trout is a dace.
}}
TRUCK.-Primarily meaning "stuff,'
this term is generally understood
to denote market produce, which
is also called garden-truck and
market-truck.
In the entire territory [Colorado] prob-
ably twenty-five or fifty bushels of wheat was
grown. Beyond this and the garden-TRUCK
nothing worth mentioning was raised.-
Field and Farm, 1888.
-Hence TRUCK-PATCH.-A plot
of ground devoted to the raising of
vegetables. -TRUCK, TRUCKMEN,
and TRUCKAGE, are synonymous in
New England with cart, cart-man,
and cartage as used elsewhere.-
POOR TRUCK. A contemptuous
expression in the South for any
person or thing of weak character
or inferior quality.
TRUMPETER SWAN (Cygnus buccinator).
-They are as white as snow, and
measure about seven feet from tip
to tip of wing. The range of this
magnificent bird is chiefly from the
Mississippi valley, extending north-
541
T. T.
ward as far as the Pacific. It is
found in Canada at Hudson's Bay,
and occasionally on the Atlantic
coast. It breeds from Iowa and
Dakota north. They winter in the
waters south of the gulf. They fly
principally at night, and take their
name from the trumpet tones with
which they call to each other.
TRUNT (Cant).-The nose.
TRUSTS. Combinations made for
the purpose of concentrating and
controlling the manufacture and
sale of various articles of necessity.
This is the latest dodge of mono-
polists, and is only another name
for systematic robbery. So no-
torious is it that trusts place people
at the mercy of a few unscrupulous
men that a call has been made for
investigation into their methods of
doing business. The iniquity of
these transactions will be readily
understood when it is remembered
that a trust is not organized alone
to increase the price of the article
of its production to the consumer,
but also to decrease the price of
the articles which the trust has to
purchase. They purchase every-
thing, transportation included, at
prices far less than any of their
competitors, and they force all
holders of their necessaries, in-
cluding the railroad companies,
to sell at the price fixed by the
trust. The Sugar Trust, for in-
stance, cannot only raise the price
of sugar to the consumer, but it
can reduce the price of the raw
material to the producer. They
monopolize not only the selling,
but the purchasing of sugar.
T. T. - Too thin; an abbreviation
used both in writing and spelling,
concerning matters thought to be
doubtful in character. A palpable
attempt to deceive would be des-
Tuckahoe
cribed as T.T., i.e., too transparent
to impose upon one.
TUCKAHOE.-A variety of truffle which
grows in Virginia, and which is
also known as INDIAN BREAD and
INDIAN LOAF.
It is a natural production, the origin of
which has greatly perplexed naturalists, as
it is commonly found several feet under the
surface, and, like the truffle of Europe, has
apparently no stem or leafy appendage con-
necting it with the external atmosphere.
They are generally found through the instru-
mentality of hogs, whose acute sense of
smelling enables them to fix upon the spot
where they lie buried. They are usually of
a globular or flattened oval shape, and
rather regular surface, the large ones re-
sembling somewhat a brown loaf of coarse
bread. The size varies from an acorn to the
bigness of a man's head.-Farmer's Ency-
clopædia.
TUCK AND NIP.-The same as NIP and
TUCK (q.v.).
TUCKERED OUT.-Wearied; tired out;
fatigued. This colloquialism,
though most common in New
England, must yet be regarded as
part of the popular speech of all
Americans.
'You look clean TUCKERED OUT!' remarked
the ex-guide. 'Wouldn't you like to have a
drop o' tea sent up to your room? The sun's
been too much for you, I guess. That boy o'
yourn had oughter take better care o' you.'-
New York Herald, July 21, 1888.
TUCKET.-The young green ear of
Indian corn. Gathered when soft,
and cooked in milk, the dish,
though wasteful, is esteemed a
great delicacy.
TUG.-A name given to peat.
TULAR.-A marsh covered with the
reed-like TULE (q.v.); these are
common in Texas and California,
and are sometimes simply called
TULES.
542
Tuna
The up-stage was stopped at Granger's;
the last mail had been abandoned in the
TULES, the rider swimming for his life.
'An area,' remarked the Sierra Avalanche,
with pensive local pride, as large as the
State of Massachusetts is now under water,'
-Bret Hart's How Santa Claus came to
Simpson's Bar.
TULE (Scirpus lacustris).-A reed-like
grass or bulrush, widely spread
over all the South-western States.
The name is Mexican.
TULIP-TREE (Liriodendron tulipifera).—
A tree bearing large, tulip-shaped
flowers, whence its name. It is
also called WHITE-WOOD, and in
the South POPLAR.
The mantelpiece was commonplace
enough, of poplar wood-that is, TULIP-
TREE-painted brown. The paint while
fresh had been scratched in rhythmical
waves with a common coarse comb. This
graining was supposed to resemble the grain
of some wood yet undiscovered.-Century
Magazine, 1887.
TUMBLE.-In Connecticut a hay-cock.
TUMBLE BUG (Canthon lolvis).—
A common insect known also as
the DUNG BEETLE, and in England
as the STRADDLE BOB. -TUMBLE
WEED, otherwise ROLLING WEED.
One of the globular perennials of
the plains, which, when dead, is
pulled up by the wind, and goes
rolling over the plains at the
mercy of the blast.
TUMP, TO.-In Maine to drag home
game.- -TUMPLINE.—A contriv-
ance also peculiar to the State of
Maine, consisting of a strap so
placed across the forehead as to
assist in carrying a pack upon the
back. This practice is said to have
been derived from the Indians.
TUNA (Cactus opuntia).-The Spanish
name of the PRICKLY PEAR OF INDIAN
FIG (q.v.). A pleasant beverage
made from this fruit bears the same
name.
TUNK.
Tunk
-An English provincialism,
denoting a blow with the fist; it is
colloquial in New England.
TUPELO. See PEPPERIDGE.
TURFMAN.-A racing man; a turfite.
Literally one who is always on the
turf.
TURKEY.-TURKEY BUZZARD (Cathartes
aura).-An American vulture, the
compound popular name of which
is therefore a misnomer. There is
a slight resemblance, however,
between this bird and the turkey.
543
-TURKEY-CORN.-Sec CORN.
MARBLE-HEAD TURKEY.-A Massa-
chusetts' term for the cod-fish.
Never said tURKEY.-This phrase
is applied to persons lacking in
hospitality, or who make unfair
division of spoils. It had its rise
in a story illustrative of the greed
and rapacity shown by white men
in their dealings with the Indians.
-TO TALK TURKEY.-To indulge
in grandiloquent periods; to use
high-sounding words, when plain
English would do equally well or
better. An allusion to the manner
in which the male bird spreads and
plumes itself.
'What the devil does locum tenens mean,
Tim?' he asked all in a puzzle.
'Don't you know that, John?' replied the
New York stateman, with a touch of pity in
his voice. Why, that's TURKEY for pro
tem., of course.'-Washington Critic, 1888.
TO WALK TURKEY.-To strut;
and, idiomatically, to be unsteady
in gait.
Out on the bar the north wind commenced
to make the Yaquina WALK TURKEY, standing
her up on either end alternately and rolling
her both ways at once. There was a girl in
tears on leaving the wharf, whose emotion
was due to leaving her mother. When the
Yaquina's movements got in its deadly work,
she was willing to sacrifice every relative
and friend she had in the world should her
life be spared. She lived, and the gulls
Twice-Laid
waxed fat.-San Francisco Weekly Examiner,
March 22, 1888.
TURNED ROUND. Few persons with
any knowledge of geography or of
the points of the compass, have tra-
velled at all without having at some
time experienced the curious sensa-
tion of being turned round, i.e., been
in doubt as to one's whereabouts.
No
A man is going up the Hudson River in a
steam-boat, and walking from the cabin to
the guards, finds himself apparently going
down the river. A traveller looks from his
book or paper out of a car window, and
finds to his disgust that he seems to be going
back towards his starting point.
power of mind or will can change this feel-
ing, which, however, generally goes off by
itself after awhile, as mysteriously and with
as little cause as it came. It does not always
go off, and a wrong impression once made
may cling through life; as to me, Detroit is
always in Canada, and New Orleans always
on the right bank of the Mississippi, because
I happened to be TURNED ROUND when I
first arrived in those cities. Under such
curious circumstances the features of the
best known localities become strange;
everything looks different from what it
ought to look. This is getting lost in the
plains sense.-Richard Irvine Dodge's Plains
of the Great West.
-A gymnast. From the
TURNER.-
German.
TURN OF MEAL.-In Tennessee, the
quantity of corn sent at one time
to the mill is termed a turn of meal.
TURNSTONE (Strepsilas interpres).-A
bird which is also known under the
names of CALICO BACK, HORSE FOOT,
and BRANT BIRD.
TURPENTINE STATE.-North Carolina,
the extensive pine-forests of this
State having given rise to the
sobriquet. See also TARHEEL.
TWICE-LAID. Food prepared for table
a second time.
TWICE-LAID dishes I can stand; salt fish
and corn beef TWICE-LAID I sometimes con-
Twinberry
sait it as good as when it was first cooked.
-Sam Slick's Wise Saws, p. 12.
TWINBERRY.-The PARTRIDGE BERRY
(q.v.).
TWINS.-TO HAVE TWINS is a com-
mon expression in New England
for taking dinner and tea together.
TWISTICAL.- -One is twistical when
possessed of oblique moral vision;
unfair; not straightforward.
TWITCH, TO.-Among Maine lumber-
men, to drag timber by means of a
chain.
544
Туро
TWO-FORTY.-To go at two forty, or at
two forty pace, is to proceed at a
high rate of speed. The allusion
is to the record pace at trotting
matches, at one time a mile in two
minutes forty seconds being con-
sidered very good. Now the speed
attained is much higher.
Two PIPE SCATTER GUN.-A double-
barrelled rifle.
""
TYPO.-A compositor. A printer's
abbreviation of
typographer."
The equivalent in English printing-
offices is " comp."



MBRELLA-TREE (Magno-
lia tripetala). So
named from its re-
semblance to an
umbrella, the leaves
radiating from the
end of the branches
to a distance of three
A native of the
feet in diameter.
South.
"
UN.-A corruption of one," and
curiously used in conjunction with
personal pronouns in some parts of
the Union, especially among the
natives of the State of Indiana.-
See HOOSIER.
'Who be you'UN?'
I told him.
'Oh, yes,' he replied as he held out his
hand. So you'Un is he'un, be it? Glad to
see you. We'UNS hev all heard of you'UN.'
-Detroit Free Press, September 29, 1888.
UNBLEACHED
AMERICAN. A negro.
For a full list of synonymous
terms, see COLORED.
UNCLE. A familiar title for a negro,
as aunt is for a negress.
Both
these terms are mainly confined
to elderly black people.
UNCLE. One's self, c.g.,
-YOUR
Did you
do that? Your uncle did," i.c., I
did. UNCLE SAM.-A nickname
given to the American people as a
whole, or to the United States
Government as representing the
American nation. Its origin is
thus related:-
Immediately after the last declaration of
war with England, Elbert Anderson, of New
York, then a contractor, visited Troy on the
Hudson, where was concentrated, and
where he purchased, a large quantity of
provisions, beef, pork, etc. The inspectors
of these articles at that place were Messrs.
Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson. The latter
gentleman (invariably known as UNCLE Sam)
generally superintended in person a large
number of workmen, who, on this occasion,
were employed in overhauling the provisions
purchased by the contractor for the army.
The casks were marked 'E. A.-U. S.' This
work fell to the lot of a facetious fellow in
the employ of the Messrs. Wilson, who, on
being asked by some of his fellow-workmen
the meaning of the mark (for the letters U.S.,
for United States, were then almost entirely
new to them), said, he did not know, unless
it meant Elbert Anderson and UNCLE SAM
-alluding exclusively, then, to the said
UNCLE SAM Wilson. The joke took among
the workmen, and passed currently; and
UNCLE SAM himself being present, was
occasionally rallied by them on the increas-
ing extent of his possessions. Many of
these workmen, being of a character deno-
minated as food for powder, were found,
shortly after, following the recruiting drum,
and pushing toward the frontier lines, for
the double purpose of meeting the enemy
and of eating the provisions they had lately
labored to put in good order. Their old jokes
accompanied them, and before the first cam-
paign ended this identical one first appeared
in print it gained favor rapidly, till it pene-
trated and was recognized in every part of
the country, and will no doubt continue so
while the United States remain a nation.-
Frost's Naval History of the United States.
UNCLE SAM'S CRIB.-The
Treasury of the United States.
UNDER-BIT. A mark used in branding
cattle. See BRAND.
UNDER-COAT.-In North Carolina a
petticoat. Compare with Coat.
69
Underground Railroad
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
This term,
no longer of exclusive meaning,
was, before the abolition of slavery,
applied to a very energetic organi-
zation for enabling slaves to escape
to the Free States or Canada.
UNDER-HACK.-A cattle mark.-See
BRAND.
UNDER HEW. A term which, as
applied to timber in Pennsylvania,
is explained by Haldemann to
denote a piece of timber which
should be square to come up to
measure, but which has been
hewn in such a manner that, while
it looks full size, it really does not
hold the requisite number of cubic
feet.
UNDISGRUNTLED,-See DISGRUNTLED.
UNESCAPABLE. Not to be escaped. A
factitious form; as also is
UNFELLOWSHIPPED.-Lacking, or de-
barred from Church fellowship or
social recognition.
UNHOUSE, TO.-To render homeless.
The cyclone that visited Mount Vernon,
Illinois, yesterday afternoon, at five o'clock,
destroyed nearly three hundred residences
and places of business, and UNHOUSED from
1,200 to 1,500 people. In the fall of the walls
many persons were buried under the débris,
and thirty-five were killed, while twice as
many more were injured, eight or ten so
seriously that their recovery is doubtful.
Montreal Herald, February 21, 1888.
UNICORN (Cant).-A band of two men
and one woman, or vice versa, who
work together in a thieving part-
nership.
546
Up-Town
UNION. The Confederacy of States
known as the United States of
North America.-UNION MEN.-
Those who, at the time of the
Civil War, stood out against
secession.
UNIVERSANIMUS.-This is supposed to
be an invention of J. Russell
Lowell's. It means, if anything
at all, a more complete agreement
than is expressed by its more
simple and orthodox congeer
"unanimous."
UNLAUNDERED. Undressed, i.e., as
applied, for example, to shirts.
UP AND DUST! Look alive! be
quick! make the dust fly!
UP COUNTRY, The interior or
BACKWOODS (q.v.).
M
UPLAND
COTTON. See COTTON.
UPPER HOUSE.
The Senate
as distinct from the House of
Representatives. The Senate is
National or State. First used
officially in Massachusetts in 1718.
(See Drake's History of Boston, p.
558.) "Lower House," as applied
to the more popular branch of
legislature, originated at the same
time. UPPER TENDOM. The
fashionable world.
..
UPRIGHT.-In Western parlance, a leg.
An idiotic perversion of words.
UP-TOWN.-The fashionable quarter
of American cities. See DOWN
TOWN.
An honored guest at one of the UP-TOWN
hotels recently, was a portly and dignified
old lady. She was dressed in rustling black
silk and a stiff white cap, and even the clerk
was awed by her presence and conversation
-American Humorist, 1888.
Usable
USABLE.-Capable of being used. Of
American birth, this word has
made its way into colloquial use in
England.
U: S. PLATE (Cant).-Fetters or hand-
cuffs.
547
Uxoricide
UXORICIDE.-Wife murder.
A new
form on the model of parricide,
matricide, etc., etc.
UXORICIDE AND SUICIDE.-Peter O'Neil
kills his wife and then sends a bullet into his
own brain-the murderer still alive.—Pitts-
burg Times, February 8, 1888.



ACHER.
A herdsman
or cow-boy, to both
of which terms it
has largely given
way. From the
French.
VALEDICTORIAN.-The student of a
college who pronounces the vale-
dictory oration at the annual
commencement.-Webster.
"
VALLEY. — In New England a valley
becomes a
gulch"; or in the
West a " hollow."
VAMOOSE, VAMOS, VAMOSE, TO.-A true
Americanism signifying "to go,"
SKE-
and of the same order as
DADDLE and ABSQUATULATE. De-
rived in the first instance from the
Spanish imperative vamos, let us go,
vamose has passed into the general
speech of the American people.
A couple of Mexicans had robbed Mike
Dorsey's cabin and VAMOSED.-American
Humorist, Sept. 1, 1888
TO VAMOSE THE RANCH, is "to
clear out," though, in Spanish, it is
a familiar, conversational interjec-
tion, as well, come now."
"
VAQUERO. A cow-boy or herdsman.
An equivalent, from the Spanish, of
the French vacher.
VARA. A Spanish lineal measure,
equal to thirty-nine inches. Occa-
sionally heard in California.
VARIETY STORE.-A general store; a
bazaar.
VEGETABLE.-Vegetable IVORY.-See
IVORY NUT.- -VEGETABLE MAR-
ROW. Also called the ALLIGATOR
PEAR (q.v.).
-VEGETABLE OYSTER.
-The salsify. Also called oYSTER-
PLANT.
VENDIBILITY.-The quality of being
saleable.
VENDUE.-(I) (French vendu sold).-
A shameless assignment of offices
to the highest bidders. In a non-
political sense the word was used
as early as 1754 in Pennsylvania
(Mittelberger's Travels, p. 22). Polit.
Americanisms. (2) Also collo-
quial in the West Indies for an
auction sale.
VENT. A cattle brand.--See BRAND.
VENTILATE, TO.-Except in the appli-
cation of this verb to persons, there
is nothing specially American in
the use of ventilate, meaning to
make known.
VERTICAL SAW.-An outrageous joke;
a dangerous piece of horse-play.
VEST. PULL DOWN YOUR VEST.-
Pull yourself together. A street
catch-phrase, originating, no one
knows when; employed indiscrimi-
nately, and, in the lips of most
persons, of doubtful meaning, being
a phrase and nothing more.
VETERAN.
Veteran
A soldier who, having
during the Civil War (which lasted
seven years) served the period for
which he originally enlisted, en-
listed again. The result was that
there were many thousands of
youthful veterans, if such a mis-
permissible. To
To make veteran
soldiers by the process aforesaid.
nomer
is
VETERANIZE.
VICTUALLING
stomach.
p
OFFICE (Cant). The
VIGILANCE COMMITTEE VIGILANTES.-A
body of persons who, when judges
are intimidated, juries partial and
guilty of the same crimes as those
they are called upon to condemn,
band themselves together to detect
and punish criminals. Closely allied
to LYNCH LAW (q.v.).
VIM.-Spirit; energy; activity.
While the children were at supper the
grown folks were given a turn at dancing.
After supper the children resumed the floor
and danced with renewed VIм for an hour or
so, when they were borne away happy, con-
tented, tired, and drowsy, to go over in their
dreams the happy hours just passed.—
Missouri Republican, March 5, 1888.
VINEYARDIST.-The cultivator of a
vineyard. One of the new forms
based on a now familiar model.
VIRGIN DIP.-The flow of turpentine
from pine trees during the first
year of cutting.
VIRGINIA POKE.-Explained by quo-
tation.
549
Dave cursed his infernal luck, as he called
it, and when the twelfth round left Tom
about a dollar ahead, he gave the cards a
VIRGINIA POKE whenever it came his turn to
cut them; that is to say, he pushed one card
out of the middle of the pack, and put it at
the back. By this means Dave proposed to
change the luck, as he said; but George
Lockwood, who looked over Dave's shoulder,
was not for a minute deceived by this ma-
nœuvre. He knew that this affectation of
Vum
a superstition about luck and the efficiency
of poking the cards was only a blind to cover
from inexpert eyes the real sleight by which
Dave, when he chose, could deal himself
strong hands. Even the VIRGINIA POKE did
not immediately bring a change, and when
Tom had won a dozen games more than
Dave, and so was a dollar and a half ahead,
and had got his pulses well warmed up,
Dave manifested great vexation, and asked
Grayson to increase the stakes to half a
dollar, so as to give him a chance.-The
Century, 1887.
-VIRGINIA REEL.-The country
dance as known in England.
VITAL STATISTICS.-The announce-
ments of births, deaths,
deaths, and
marriages.
The registrar of VITAL STATISTICS' report
for January shows four births, eleven mar-
riages, and thirty-four deaths.-Troy Daily
Times, February 8, 1888.
VLY. A Dutch survival in New York
for a marsh or swamp.
VOODOUISM. Superstitious observ-
ances, practised by the negroes in
secret. In Hayti and San Domingo,
these barbarous rites are said to
be accompanied by human sacri-
fices.
VOWEL! (Cant). Give your note!
i.c., an I.O.U.
VOYAGEUR.-A French-Canadian term
for a boatman.
VUM.-I VUM.-I swear.
I swear. A New
England euphemistic oath.
But the deacon swore (as deacons do,
With an 'I DEW VUM,' or an 'I tell yeou ')--
He would build one shay to beat the taown
'N' the keounty 'n' the kentry raoun';
It should be built so that it couldn't break
daown;
'Fur,' said the deacon, ''tis mighty plain
Thut the weakes' place mus' stan' the
strain;
'N' they way 't' fix it, us I maintain,
Is only jest
To make that place uz strong uz the rest.'
-Oliver Wendell Holmes' The Wonderful
One-Hoss Shay.

15026

ABASH, TO.-To cheat.
This term, though
undoubtedly of In-
dian origin, is un-
certain in deriva-
tion.
W
WABBLE, TO.-To clatter with the
tongue; to be given to excessive
talking. Western.
WAD.-A slang term for money.-See
CHARM.
WAGGED OUT.-A Massachusetts term
for tired out; exhausted.
WAGGLETAIL.-The lava of the mos-
quito. A variant is WRIGGler.
WAGON, TO.-To convey or transport
by wagon.
WAIN.-A waggon. This Old English
term is still colloquial in America.
WAIT'A-BIT TREES.-A facetious term
given to a kind of bush. The
derivation is obvious from the
following quotation :—
It
This bush generally puts a prompt quietus
on the most sanguine temperament.
stands thick as hair on a dog's back, about
twelve feet high, the straight stems from the
size of a pipe stem to two inches in diameter.
Lateral branches spring out from every stem
so thickly as to make a jungle almost impene-
trable even of themselves; and when each
is armed with innumerable thorns, bent like
fish-hooks, sharp as needles, and strong and
tough as steel, it will readily be seen that
hunting in such a thicket is no sport.-
Richard Irvine Dodge's Plains of the Great
West.
WAIT UPON, To. To court; to pay
attention with a view to matri-
mony.
WALK. - To TAKE A WALK. - A
euphemism signifying dismissal.
Employés take a walk not to return
to their duties when dismissed.
Some time ago Tascott worked for Berry,
the confectioner, dispensing soda water
from one of his numerous fountains on West
Madison Street. The fruit syrups and the
mineral water disappeared with an alarming
alacrity, but the cash returns were so out of
proportion to the sales, that Mr. Berry con-
cluded to make a change and Tascott TOOK A
WALK.-Chicago Herald, 1888.
WALKING PAPERS or WALKING
TICKET.-Letters of dismissal, and
generally employed with a political
bearing.-See BEHEAD and DE-
WALKIST. This
villainous form denotes a profes-
sional pedestrian.—WALK OUT.
-A strike.
CAPITATE.
The WALK OUT of brewery employés, de-
cided upon at last night's meeting of the
union, was considerable of a fizzle. Less
than thirty men left their work. At Yung
and Borchert's brewery, where eighty men
are employed, all but seven agreed to forsake
the union and remain at work.-Chicago
Inter-Ocean, 1888.
WALL STREET.-A thoroughfare in
name and something more-the
financial centre of the mercantile
finance of the United States. It
is the Stock Exchange of New
York, and dates back to 1653,
Walt
deriving its name from the wall
or defence erected by the Dutch as
a protection against the inroads
of the aborigines. From the be-
ginning it was the scene of a lively
trade, at first with the red man,
its merchants gradually extending
the area of their operations, until
now it ranks with any of the
great European Bourses. From
1835 onwards it has been the
centre of speculative finance.
WALT.-Lop-sided; said of ships with
a list.
WALTZING GIANTS.-A Nevada term
for a curious species of sand-storm.
Great cylinders of sand, from eight
to twenty feet in diameter, go
rearing across the desert with a
whirling, waltzing motion that is
very graceful. Often there will be
one big column, with a lot of little
columns attending it. The effect
is the strangest thing imaginable.
They are never seen except in the
summer time, and they are most
frequent in July. They have their
beginning in some incipient whirl-
wind, which snatches up a handful
of sand while the surrounding air is
still, and then they keep on growing
and moving onward. They are
not like the cyclones of the East,
for they move with very little
noise, and, instead of being funnel-
shaped, are of the same size from
top to bottom. The motion is the
same, being both circular and ad-
vancing. They draw up into the
cylinder fabulous quantities of
sand, tons of sage brush, and some-
times good-sized stones.-Portland
Transcript, March 7, 1888.
WAMBLE-CROPPED.-A curious New
England phrase for sickness at
the stomach. Its meaning has
been idiomatically extended to
convey the idea of abasement and
humiliation.
551
War Cries
WAME (Cant).-The stomach.
WAMPUM.-An inferior Indian shell
currency. See COHOG.
WAPATOO. (Sagittaria variabilis).—An
Oregon Indian name for this bulb,
which is used by these red-skins as
an article of food.
WAPITI (Cervus canadensis).—A Cree
Indian name for the American elk.
WARB.-A Song. -To WARBLE MANY
WARBS.-A slang expression.
WAR CRIES. The presidential cam-
paign of 1884 saw the introduction
of a species of political war-cry not
previously in vogue. It was based
on the well-known habit of drill-
sergeants in marking time for a
squad of recruits, to enable them
to march in step. He calls out as
the respective feet touch the ground,
"Left left — left right — left!"
the pauses between Nos. 1, 2, and 3,
being twice as long as those be-
tween 3, 4, and 5. It is believed
that the idea of calling out " Blaine
-Blaine-James-G-Blaine," in
this cadenced measure, originated
in a Republican meeting in New
York, where in a pause between
speeches, a party of Columbia
College students began stamping
in cadence after the manner of the
"gallery gods," during too long an
intermission at the play. Some
one started the Blaine cry, the idea
took instantly, the whole assembly
followed suit, and when the meet-
ing was over, the crowd formed
an impromptu procession, and
marched in step to its own music.
These war-cries proved a conspic-
uous feature of the campaign.
Both parties invented five-footed
sentences and distiches, and the
esprit of great processions every-
where was increased tenfold by
Washer Lady
""
these cadenced sing-song cries,
which almost compelled men to
march in step, and kept up the
excitement as nothing else could
have done. They even assumed a
threatening character during the
days immediately following the
election, when the result was still
in doubt, and might easily have
become war-cries in earnest had the
suspense continued a little while
longer. During this campaign, too,
the peculiar student cheer (Rah
-Rah-Rah), instead of the old
time and more formal Hurrah,"
repeated three times, was for the
first time generally used in political
ranks. So, too, was the custom, also
borrowed from the colleges, of
spelling some catch-word in unison,
as for instance, "SOAP!" The
separate letters were pronounced
in perfect time by several hundred
voices at once.-Political American-
isms.
WAR HORSE. A term
likely to be applied to any ener-
getic political worker. It is used
derisively as well as in an honor-
able sense. The combinations
in which this
Occurs are too
numerous for specification, but one
may be cited as peculiarly effective
phonetically: "The war horse of
the Shawangunk (pronounced
Shongum," a range of mountains
in Northern New Jersey).To
GO ON THE WAR-PATH.-To attack ;
to be in fighting mood. A phrase
derived from Indian warfare.
WASHER LADY.-A washerwoman.-See
LADY.
Walking down broadway, one sees a
wealth of dress stuffs and colors, but there
are the same monotonous effects of corset
and bustle on every woman one meets, from
the elegant dame of wealth and leisure, who
cheerfully pays two or three hundred dols. for
her walking dress, to the daughter of the
WASHER LADY, who makes her own dresses
by the aid of a cut paper pattern, and a
monstrous and unnatural figure of a woman
in the latest style fashion journal.-Daily
Inter-Ocean, February 13, 1888.
552
Water
WASHOE ZEPHYR.-The Washoe Zephyr
(Washoe is a pet nickname for
Nevada) is a peculiarly scriptural
wind, in that no man knoweth
"whence it cometh." That is to
say, where it originates. It comes
right over the mountains from the
West, but when one crosses the
ridge he does not find any of it on
the other side! It probably is
manufactured on the mountain-top
for the occasion, and starts from
there. It is a pretty regular wind
in the summer time. Its office
hours are from two in the after-
noon till two the next morning
and anybody venturing abroad
during those twelve hours needs to
allow for the wind or he will bring
up a mile or two to leeward of the
point he is aiming at. And yet
the first complaint a Washoe
visitor to San Francisco makes, is
that the sea winds blow so there!
There is a good deal of human
nature in that.-Mark Twain.
WASHOUTS.Floods are so called in
popular parlance.
Extensive WASHOUTS near Kansas City,
Mo., have caused railway trains to be delayed
since Friday.-New York Herald, March 27,
1888.
WASTAGE.—The drippings of a barrel,
box, or other package.
WATCH OUT, TO. In Pennsylvania,
this idiom is the equivalent of "to
look out."
WATER.-WATER DOGS.—In the West
SALAMANDERS (q.v.) are so named.
a
WATER LOT.-A building lot
over which water has taken
heavy mortgage. In some cases
fraudulent speculators have even
sold to unwary victims plots of
land situated several hundred yards
out at sea, and on inspection jeer-
ing bystanders have offered the
Waving the Bloody Shirt
poor consolation that the sea was
receding from the land at the rate
of so many feet in a century!
WATER OATS.-CANADA RICE (q.v.).
-WATER PRIVILEGE.-The ad-
vantage of a water-fall in streams
sufficient to raise water for driving
water-wheels, or a place affording
such advantage.- WATER PUP-
PIES. The same as GROUND
PUPPIES.—WATERSPOUTS.—
Dodge thus describes the American
usage as regards this word :—
Almost all positions of the high plains are
occasionally visited by most terrific rain-
storms, so severe that they have the general
name WATERSPOUTS. The quantity of water
poured from the clouds, and the effect pro-
duced, are so apparently incredible that I
would hesitate to describe them but that the
facts are perfectly known to every plainsman.
These storms generally occur in the after-
noon of a sultry day, and, in gathering and
coming up, have all the appearance of an
ordinary thunderstorm. The rain, however,
does not fall in drops, but in streams as if
poured from the strainer of a shower bath.
As the myriads of streams are caught by the
wind and deflected from their direct course,
they present an appearance of sheets or
waves of water, and form in the air
thousands of mimic cascades of every
conceivable variety; now falling in a
smooth, unbroken, inclined sheet, now
flying into an infinity of jets, down or up,
or sideways, as if fretted by opposing rocks.
Nothing can be more beautiful or more
disagreeable than these storms; and when
the deluge of rain is, as is often the case,
accompanied by huge rounded lumps and
shapeless chunks of ice, they become really
very serious,
WATER-WITCH.-(1) A dowser; a
diviner of the presence of water
by means of the divining rod.
WAVING THE BLOODY SHIRT.-
See BLOODY SHIRT.
WAX-
WAX, TO.-To overcome difficulties,
or to obtain an advantage by dip-
lomatic measures.
MYRTLE.—This is generally called
the CANDLE-BERRY MYRTLE, candles
being made
from the wax it
supplies. WAX-PLANT (Mono-
553
Wear
tropa uniflora).—This is more gene-
rally known as the INDIAN PIPE
(q.v.).
WAY. A corruption of
of "away,"
which is frequently heard, e.g., "He
comes from way back." WAY-
FARING TREE (Viburnum cantanoides).
-A straggling shrub, other popular
names for which are TANGLE-LEGS
and HOBBLE - BUSH.
WAY-UP
SPREAD.-A good feast; something
superlative in the matter of eating
and drinking.
WEAKEN, TO, i.e., to grow weak; to
abandon an undertaking; to give
way. A phrase much in vogue in
the newspapers of the day.
The Chicago Tribune has for weeks begged
Blaine to recant. It has gone so far as to
outline a little talk that he ought to make.
But the gentleman from Maine still carries an
obdurate heart and a stiff neck. If there is
any WEAKENING it must be on the part of the
Tribune.-Dallas News, 1888.
These men (bullies or bad men) are, of
course, used to brawling, and are not only
sure shots, but, what is equally important,
able to draw their weapons with marvel-
lous quickness. They think nothing what-
ever of murder, and are the dread and terror
of their associates; yet they are very chary
of taking the life of a man of good standing,
and will often WEAKEN and back down at
once ifconfronted fearlessly. With many of
them their courage arises from confidence in
their own powers and knowledge of the fear
in which they are held.-Ranch Life in the
Far West.
WEAK FISH.-The SQUETEAGUE (q.v.).
WEAK SISTER.-An unreliable person.
"I
WEAR.-To wear a name; a facetious
manner of stating one's name.
wear the name of So-and-so.”
Then I said aloud, in a firm voice, 'Father,
I cannot, cannot WEAR the name of Samuel,
-Mark Twain's Screamers.
-TO WEAR THE COLLAR.-To be
subject to control.
70
Wearables
WEARABLES. Clothes; wearing
apparel.
WEATHER-STRIPS.
STRIPS.-Sandbags;
draught-excluders.
WEATHER-STRIPS in felt and rubber, to
keep out cold and dust; for sale, wholesale
and retail, by the Roberts' Hardware Com-
pany, 1640 and 1642, Larimer-street.-Advt.
in Denver Republican, 1888.
WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES.-Americans
have somewhat fancifully amplified
the idea contained in the celebra-
tion of silver and golden weddings.
The following list will show to
what extremes this pleasing fancy
has been carried.
At the end of the first year comes the
cotton wedding. At two years comes the
paper. At three the leather. At the close of
five comes the wooden. At the close of
seven the friends assemble at the woollen.
At ten comes the tin. At twelve the silken
and the fine linen. At fifteen the crystal
wedding. At twenty the friends gather with
the china. At twenty-five the married
couple, who have been true to their vows for
a quarter of a century, are rewarded with
silver gifts. From this period forward the
tokens of esteem become rapidly more
valuable. When the thirtieth anniversary
is reached they are presented with pearls.
At the fortieth come rubies. At the fiftieth
occurs the golden wedding. Beyond that
time the aged couple are allowed to enjoy
their many gifts in peace. If, however, by any
possibility they should reach their seventy-
fifth anniversary, they are presented with the
rarest gifts to be obtained at the celebration
of their diamond wedding.
WEDGES. TO KNOCK OUT THE WEDGES.
-See under KNOCKDOWN. MAUL
AND WEDGES. See under MAUL.
-WEDGE TENT. A common
shaped tent, similar to the tente
d'abri of the French.
WEEDING (Cant).-Taking a part and
leaving the balance in such a man-
ner as not to excite
to excite suspicion.
When a thief abstracts a portion
from the plunder without the know-
ledge of his pals, and then receives
an equal proportion of the remain-
554
We-Men
der, it is called
SWAG.
called WEEDING THE
WELL! (1) The American use of
this conversational interjection re-
ceives a flood of light from Mr.
Lowell, who says in his introduc-
tion to the Biglow Papers :-
Put before such a phrase as 'How d'e
do?' it is commonly short, and has the
sound of wul, but in reply it is deliberative,
and the various shades of meaning which
can be conveyed by difference of intonation,
and by prolonging or abbreviating, I should
vainly attempt to describe. I have heard
ooa-ahl, wahl, ahl, wal, and something
nearly approaching the sound of the le in
able. Sometimes before I it dwindles to a
A friend of mine
mere 1, as 'l I dunno.
told me that he once heard five WELLS, like
pioneers, precede the answer to an inquiry
about the price of land. The first was the
ordinary wul, in deference to custom; the
second, the long perpending ooahl, with a
falling inflection of the voice; the third, the
same, but with a voice rising, as if in des-
pair of a conclusion, into a plaintively nasal
whine; the fourth, wulh, ending in the
aspirate of a sigh; and then, fifth, came a
short, sharp wal, showing that a conclusion
had been reached.
(2) A vulgarism for healthy.
Many men invariably express surprise
upon seeing General Terry that his health
should ever have been made the subject of
newspaper comment, for his appearance is
that of a perfectly WELL man.-Daily Inter-
Ocean, February 3, 1888.
TO LIVE WELL.-In New Eng-
land to be good humoredly drunk
-in that state when everything is
of a roseate hue.
WE-MEN.-The fierce military spirit
of the South was shown in the
scorn and contempt which they
heaped on men who refused to go
out to battle. In Texas they were
called, with a play on the word,
women (in the South often pro-
nounced weemen), and a hint at
their former gasconade as to what
we could do-we-men. Some boasted
that one Southerner could whale
ten Yankees.
Wench
WENCH. A word only used of
negresses.
WENDIGO. A term denoting a hob-
goblin among the Northern Indians.
WENT.-LET HER WENT!-A slang
expression indicative of surrender
and abandonment-Let it go!
WEROWANCE.-A chief of the Indian
tribes of Virginia and Maryland.
WESAND (Cant).—The throat.
WEST.-A rough-and-ready popular
territorial division embracing that
part of the Union lying beyond the
States of Pennsylvania, Virginia,
and Carolina, as far as the Pacific
littoral. Variants are Far West,
Great West, Wild West-a country
of almost boundless extent and
enormous capabilities. WEST-
ERNER. A native of, or resident in
the Western States of the Union.
WESTERN RESERVE.-A name
formerly given to a tract of country
reserved by the State of Connec-
ticut, at the time of the cession of
the North-west Territory the
า
United States. In 1800, jurisdic-
tion over this tract was relinquished
to the Federal Government, the
State reserving the right to the soil
and disposing of it in small lots to
settlers (from which sales were ob-
tained its magnificent school-fund),
while the Indian titles to the rest
of the soil were bought up by the
General Government. Wheeler's
Dictionary.
WEST POINTER.-
A cadet at the U.S. Military Aca-
demy at West Point-an establish-
ment answering to Sandhurst and
the Royal Military Academy at
Woolwich in England.
WET.-TO VOTE or GO WET (or DRY,
q.v.). To vote against prohibition
in the licensing question.
555
Wheal
In Missouri eighty-two counties and
twenty towns have voted on the licence
question; forty-nine counties have voted
WET, and thirty-three dry. Thirteen of the
twenty towns went dry, and seven WET.—
The American, 1888.
The repeated contests in Atlanta have had
the effect of dividing the regular party men,
and of making the black vote an important
factor, a power most earnestly to be sought
by both WETS and drys.-Philadelphia
Bulletin, February 27, 1888.
WET DIGGINGS. A miner's
term for diggings situated near a
river.
WHALE AWAY, TO.-To talk without
let or hindrance, with force and
vigor to boot. WHALER. A
big strapping fellow, or an event
or object of imposing proportions.
WHAP-OVER, To- A New England
expression, signifying to overturn
with violence; to knock over.
WHAPPER, JAW.-See JIMBER JAW.
WHARF BOAT.On the Western rivers,
the height of the water is so vari-
able that a fixed wharf would be
useless. In its place is used a
rectangular float, in part covered,
for the reception of goods, or for a
dram-shop. It is generally aground
on the shore side, and is entered
by a plank or movable platform.
This is a wharf boat.-Bartlett.
TO WHARF-UP.-In New England
To
to embank; to pile up earth.
WHAT For A. -What kind of a. This
idiom, which is peculiar to the
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH (q.v.), is a
literal translation of the German
Was fur ein.
WHEAL, TO.-To swell; to pout. An
obvious relation exists between
this idiom and the weals or swell-
ings raised by beating.
Wheat and Indian
WHEAT AND
INDIAN.-
INDIAN.-A mixture of
wheaten flour and maize meal.
WHEATON, To.-A West Point cadet's
colloquialism for "to malinger "
or
"to pretend sickness." Dr.
Wheaton was once the resident
physician at the Academy.
WHEEL. WHEELBARROW BOAT.—
A STERN-WHEEL BOAT (q.v.).
Wheel horsE.-A crony; an in-
timate friend; or a leading man.
This Western term is directly
traceable to the almost reverential
esteem in which horses are held.
The phrase is an everyday col-
loquialism, both politically and
socially. TO GREASE THE
WHEELS. - To find the where-
withal (generally money) for carry-
ing out an undertaking.
WHELK.-A Synonym for a wale, a
sore, a swelling, and a pustule.
WHIFFET.-A small insignificant man;
a whipper-snapper.
Mr. Henpeck (a very small man)—' What
shall I get up on that chair for, Mirandy?'
Mrs. Henpeck (very large and masculine)
-'Get up on that chair, you insignificant
little WHIFFET, so I can box your ears with-
out having to stoop over. Get up on that
chair! Do you hear?'-Texas Siftings, Oct.
20, 1888.
WHIFFLE-TREE.-The whipple-tree, or
bar to which the traces of a leader
are attached.
Just ten minutes after Ham Cherry was
holding up the WHIFFLE-TREE with one hand
and driving his team down the lane to-
ward the field on a sharp trot.-American
Humorist, 1888.
WHIGS. The colonial period of
American history knew two parties
-Whigs and Tories-and these in
their pre-revolutionary form are
hardly entitled to recognition in
strictly national politics. They
556
Whip
to
were merely importations, and men
belonged to one party or the other,
according to the predilections of
their forefathers in the mother-
land. When, however, the disturb-
ing questions arose which led to
the Revolution, party lines became
marked for local causes, the Whigs,
as a general thing, declaring for
independence, while the Tories
remained loyal to the Crown, or,
at most, favored passive resistance.
After independence was achieved,
'Tory" ceased to be recognized
as a party name, and was popularly
used only as a term of opprobrium.
The Whigs survived, but shortly
divided on the then young State-
rights question into "Particular-
ists" and "Strong Government
Whigs." The former were,
adopt modern phraseology," State-
rights men," while the latter
favored centralization, and sub-
sequently adopted the less awkward
title of FEDERALIST (q.v.), and
the Whig name temporarily dis-
appeared, to be revived in 1820,
when it at once commanded a con-
siderable following, but was not
strong enough to achieve success
until 1848, when it elected General
Zachary Taylor to the presidency,
defeating the Democrats for the
first time in nearly half a century.
Their last appearance on the
political battle-field was in the
campaign of 1852, but there are
still living old Whigs who fondly
cherish the memory of what was
once a grand old party." -
Political Americanisms.
WHIP, TO. To surpass; to outvie,
e.g., To whip all creation" is a
favorite Yankee simile.- -WHIP
POOR WILL (Antrostomus vociferus).
-A common Southern bird with
many names, amongst which may
be mentioned CHUCK WILL'S WIDOW
and BULL BAT (q.v.). Other species
sometimes receive these names.
Whisker
WHIP-SAWING. -The accept-
ance of fees or bribes from two
opposing persons or parties. It is
believed to have originated in the
New York State assembly, and is
evidently derived from the whip-
saw of mechanics, which cuts both
ways.
WHISKER (Cant).-A big lie; equiva-
lent to a whopper.
WHISKEY
BLOAT. - A confirmed
whiskey tippler.
WHISKEY
JACK (Garrulus cristatus).-The BLUE
JAY. -WHISKEY MILL.-A grog-
shop is thus known in the West.
WHISKEY PLANT, or WHISKEY
ROOT.-See the following quotation.
It
It is what the Indians call Pie-o-ke.
grows in Southern Texas, on the range of
sand-hills bordering on the Rio Grande, and
in gravelly, sandy soil. The Indians eat it
for its exhilarating effect on the system, it
producing precisely the same as alcoholic
drinks. It is sliced as you would a cucum-
ber, and these small pieces chewed, the
juice swallowed, and in about the same time
as comfortably tight cocktails would stir the
divinity within you this indicates itself;
only its effects are what I might term a little
more k-a-v-o-r-t-i-n-g, giving rather a wider
scope to the imagination and actions.-New
Orleans Picayune, 1888.
WHISKEY RING.-A ring of
whiskey dealers who, through the
connivance of Government officials,
were enabled to evade the revenue
laws, and amass large fortunes.
The ring was temporarily broken
up in 1875.-Political Americanisms.
-WHISKEY SKIN.-A concocted
drink of whiskey, sugar, crushed
ice, and mint.
WHISTLER or WHISTLE-WING.-The
GOLDEN-EYE (q.v.).
WHITE.-A slang usage denoting a
high meed of praise, white being
the emblem of "straightness" in
a man or thing; of course the
epithet is comparative, ideas of
557
White
right and wrong being variable
quantities.
Put Buck through as bully as you can,
pard, for anybody that knowed him will tell
you that he was one of the WHITEST men
that was ever in the mines.-Mark Twain's
The Innocents at Home, p. 21.
All right; tell them to send along a tender-
foot who's posted on that sort of thing. We
want a first-class display. We'll pay all his
expenses and use him WHITE. He'll have the
biggest time he ever had. You come out
with him and show him the way, and we'll
use you WHITE too.-Detroit Free Press,
September 1, 1888.
WHITE CAPS.—A mysterious
organization in Indiana, who take
it upon themselves to administer
justice to offenders independent
of the law. They go at night
disguised, and seizing their victim,
gag and bind him to a tree while
they administer a terrible whip-
ping. Who they are is not known,
or if known no one dares to make
a complaint against them. They
are trying to correct and purify
society, a work for which they do
not consider the machinery of the
law adequate. They are particu-
larly severe against wife-beaters,
but a spell ago an offender of that
class escaped because the leader
of the white caps did not show up
at the place of rendezvous.
attempted to lick his own wife
and got the worst of it, so that
he was laid up for a week or more.
Another time a common drunkard,
who had been notified that he was
to have temperance whipped into
him, got off because the caps were
on a big "drunk " themselves.
There are a good many reformers
of that sort in the world.-
WHITE FISH. The MENHADEN
(q.v.). WHITE FROST. The
universal term when speaking
of hoar frost.- WHITE HOUSE.-
The President's official residence at
Washington.- WHITE LEAGUE.
-An organization formed in the
South in 1874 to check the growth
He
Whit-Plotting
of political power among the
negroes.
WHITE
LINERS. - A
political party localised in Louisi-
ana. -WHITE MAN'S FLY.-An
Indian name for the honey-bee.
This insect is not indigenous to
America, but was imported by the
early settlers. MEAN WHITE, or
S
can
WHITE TRASH.-See POOR WHITES.
WHITE OAK CHEESE. · A
cheese, hard and tough as
well be imagined; a product of
skim milk. WHITE TAILED
DEER.-See BLACK-TAILED DEER.
WHITE WALNUT or LONG WAL-
NUT (Inglaus cinerea).-A beautiful
tree with wide-spreading branches.
The juice of the fruit, rich in oil,
serves as a dye, and hence its
popular name of BUTTERNUT, which
was also applied to Confederate
troops dressed in uniforms of home-
spun cloth which owed its color to
the nut. The name white walnut
is derived from the color of the
wood. WHITE WOOD. The
TULIP TREE (q.v.).
WHIT-PLOTTING.-A Nantucket term
for friendly visiting.
WHOLE CLOTH.-An expressive usage
obtains in reference to this word
in which the idea of thoroughness
is conveyed. Thus a lie or a
truth made out of whole cloth is
an out-and-out falsehood, or the
reverse; in which there is no
admixture of truth.
was
You can say for me that there is no truth
whatever in the statement, which
manufactured out of WHOLE CLOTH. Not
only is the statement untrue in every
particular, but there is no foundation for
even a rumor of that sort.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat, April 29, 1888.
This charge against the fair name of Mrs.
Langtry is one of the most outrageous,
malicious and groundless lies ever manu-
factured by that vile journal. That the lic
is made out of WHOLE CLOTH is evident by
the fact, that while this alleged banquet was
being held I was on my journey to Chicago,
558
Wide-Awakes
Mrs. Langtry having been ill for some time
before I was summoned.-New York World,
March 5, 1888.
WHOLE-FOOTED, WHOLE-
HEARTED, and WHOLE-SOULED, are
popular cant terms, used with a
profusion and want of discrimina-
tion which has utterly destroyed
their original meaning. Any de-
vising man, who invites a crowd to
"
drinks all around," is instantly
praised as a whole-footed man; and
the calculating speculator, who
gives a piece of land for a church
with a view to the enhanced value of
the adjoining lots, which he retains,
appears in the newspapers as a
noble, whole-souled gentleman, whose
liberality will earn him the thanks
of his countrymen, and the grati-
tude of coming generations.'
WHOLE TEAM.-See TEAM.
"
International courtesy by a distinguished
English physician and surgeon. We publish
a letter from Dr. Wharton P. Hood. I am
sure that if this WHOLE-SOULED gentleman
should ever visit New York City, he will be
extended a right royal welcome by Manhat-
tan Athletic Club.-Manhattan Athletic Club
Chronicle, 1888.
WHY, CERTAINLY!-An Eastern phrase
-one of the more delicate American
catch - phrases, signifying either
acquiescence, or employed as a
variant of "Well, really!"
WHYO.-See DEAD-RABBITS.
WICOPY.-The LEATHERWOOD (q.v.).
WIDE-AWAKES.-During the first Lin-
coln campaign (1860), torch-light
processions were as popular as they
are now. One of these was
ordered by the Republicans of
Hartford, Conn. and some of the
participants, clerks in a large dry-
goods' establishment, provided
themselves with capes and caps of
glazed cloth to protect their cloth-
ing from the torch-drippings. The
Wife
marshall of the occasion, having an
eye for uniformity, collected these
men and placed them at the head
of the line, where they attracted
much notice. The idea was at
once taken up by wide-awake Re-
publicans; all the local clubs were
uniformed, other towns and states.
followed suit, and in a surprisingly
short time the Northern States
were mustered in the wide-awake
ranks. The organization and drill
was semi-military, and many a
soldier, who subsequently fought
in the Union cause, thus received
his first training. The Democrats
caught up the idea, and organized
clubs called LITTLE GIANTS (q.v.),
on a similar plan, in honor of
their candidate, the Hon. Stephen
A. Douglas. These also served as
training schools for Northern
soldiers. The name wide-awake
was, as early as 1853, applied to
the KNOW-NOTHINGS (q.v.), and the
light-colored soft felt hats, which
they were supposed to wear, were
termed wide-awake hats. Political
Americanisms.
WIFE (Cant).-A fetter fixed on one
leg only.
WIGGLE, TO.-To wriggle.
Ball is popular with the boys. He is a
genial fellow in his relations with men, but
as a state senator his record was not such as
to commend him to public favor. During
the great railroad fight last winter and last
spring he WIGGLED in and WIGGLED out, was
here to-day and there to-morrow, and no-
body could ever tell what he favored or
where he stood. It is certain that he was
not an uncompromising friend of the people
during that great fight.-Missouri Republican,
February 16, 1888.
-WIGGLE-TAIL.-The larva of
the mosquito.
WIGWAM.-Primarily an Indian word,
meaning a cabin or hut. The
Tammany Society of Philadelphia
559
Wild Cat
called its place of meeting a wigwam
as early as 1789, and during the
Harrison campaign (see LOG CABIN,
etc.), log cabins were used as
campaign meeting places under the
same name. As early as 1859-60,
huge buildings of rough boards
were erected for political purposes
in large towns, and the practice has
been kept up ever since. These,
too, are known as wigwams.
My native stream-its bosom never
The Red Man more may see;
The Pale face rears his WIGWAM
Where our Indian hunters roved;
His hatchet fells the forest fair
Our Indian maidens loved.
-Bryant's Last of the Red Man.
-See COUNCIL FIRES.
WILD CAT.-A bank in Michigan, bore
a wild cat or a panther on its face
as a vignette. The bank proved
utterly insolvent after having
sent out a large number of notes,
and for many years afterwards all
irresponsible banks, which then
abounded, were designated as wild
cat banks, and their notes, often
very curtly and severely, as wild
cats.
Every State in the Union should rigidly
proscribe and prohibit the establishment of
the WILD CAT and one-horse banking con-
cerns which have produced so much mis-
chief, and brought discredit on all banking
institutions.-New York Sun.
The term was also applied to all
bogus and swindling concerns, such
MINES, WILD
as WILD CAT
WHISKEY.
CAT
There were more mines than miners.
True, not ten of these mines were yielding
rock worth hauling to a mill, but everybody
said, 'Wait till the shaft gets down where
the ledge comes in solid, and then you will
see!' So nobody was discouraged. These
were nearly all WILD CAT mines, and wholly
worthless, but nobody believed it then.-
Roughing It.
Those were WILD CAT days, and this was
a WILD CAT broker. Ten minutes later, Mr.
Tullingworth-Gordon received a notice
Wild Cat
which informed him of the fact that he was
expected to put up his margin for fifty
thousand shares of Snorting Geyser.-Puck,
1888.
in
WILD CATTLE. A strange
breed of wild cattle is found
the high hills skirting the Umpqua
valley, Oregon. In the mountains,
near Riddles and Rosebud, they
are probably most plentiful, but
they do not venture down in the
valley much. They stay on the
hills, and get water on the living
springs which rise there. For the
most part they are concealed in
the dense growth of oak and fir in
these mountains. There is heavy
underbrush, too, so that it is a
hard matter to get them. They go
in bands of six or eight usually,
but at night a herd of forty or fifty
get together and lie down in the
same yard-that is, they sleep in
the same spot, which is usually a
secluded place among the trees.
The cattle are of all colors, and
wilder than deer. It is a hard
matter to get a shot at them for
the reason that their scent is so
keen. A peculiarity about these
cattle is that their eyes and horns
are jet black. The retina, iris, and
the whole apple of the eye are
mass of black. The horns,
too, while being black as ink, are
long and sharp. Brought to bay,
the Oregon wild cattle are very
wicked fighters.- -WILD LAND.-
Unsettled land. A Western term.
-WILD RICE. The FOLLES
one
AVOINES (q.v.) of the early French
settlers. WILD TRAIN or WILD
CAT TRAIN.A train not scheduled
on the time-table.
It will be remembered at that time the
Montreal night express was thrown from the
track near Coon's crossing, on the Delaware
and Hudson road, by a wILD CAT engine that
had been turned loose at the Mechanicsville
yards by an evil-disposed person.-Missouri
Republican, Feb. 23, 1888.
A bad collision occurred this morning on
the Iowa Central, two miles north of
560
Winery
Hampton. The dispatcher at Marshalltown
was at fault, forgetting a wILD TRAIN that
was running north from Marshalltown.-
Daily Inter-Ocean, March 7, 1888.
WILLIAMS; BLUE WILLIAMS (Texas).-
100 dollar and 50 dollar bills of the
Confederate States.
A Texan once told me, with a fierce glitter
of satisfaction in his eye, that he had 100,000
dollars in WILLIAMS laid up against that
day, which was certain to come, when he
could exchange it, dollar with dollar, for
greenbacks. The poor fellow! I should
much prefer a draft for ten cents on the Old
Lady of California-street.-Overland Mail.
WILMOT PROVISO.-A measure intro-
duced into Congress by David
Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, in 1846,
absolutely excluding slavery from
the new territories then about to
The
be acquired from Mexico.
measure was debated at great
length, and finally suffered defeat,
but the agitation led to the first
formation of the FREE SOIL PARTY
(q.v.).-Political Americanisms.
WIND UP, TO.-To give a quietus to
an antagonist; to settle one's
hash."
Once again Madison Square Garden is the
scene of a tramping match. It may be the
last race that will be held in the old garden;
it is so announced, and the announcement
may have as much truth in it as that which
detailed the fact that John L. Sullivan
would act as starter for the men instead of,
as is usual with him, WINDING UP a man.—
New York World, May 7, 1888.
-TO WIND UP ONE'S WORSTED.-
To give the last turn of which an
undertaking is capable.
WINERY.-A distillery for wines.
Juan Gallegos is building a filtering ar-
rangement for the furnishing of pure water
for the Gallegos WINERY. One hundred tons
of gravel will be needed as a part of the
material used in the construction of the
filter. San Francisco Weekly Chronicle, July
26, 1888.
Winter
WINTER. TO WINTER KILL.-To be
killed by winter frosts. -WINTER
BERRY. -The ALDER (9.v.).
WINTER CHERRY.-The GROUND
CHERRY. A recent introduction
into American market gardens.
-
WIPE OUT, To.-To kill; to exter-
minate; to annihilate.
Mexican authorities are taking all possible
measures TO WIPE OUT Bernal's band of
outlaws. Missouri Republican, Feb. 22, 1888.
WIRE. WIRES.-The telegraph.
-To
WIRE. To send a telegram. All
these forms are now colloquial in
English commercial circles.
WIRED-UP.
Vexed or irritated.
WIRE-PULLER. The unsus-
pected political manager who
causes events to take place, as
does the operator of a Punch and
Judy show, himself being invisible,
and the machinery concealed.
In view of the WIRE-PULLING done last
night and early this morning, the result was
not a surprise to any of the inside operators.
-Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Feb. 23,
1888.
WISE, TO.-Said of a top when reel-
ing.
WITNESS TREES.-Trees used as land-
marks.
WOBALL (Cant).-A milkman.
WOLVERINE STATE.
Michigan.
The State of
WOOD.-TO WOOD UP.. -WOODING
PLACE. Terms connected with the
Mississippi steamer traffic denoting
the process of taking on board
fresh supplies of fuel. To wood up
also means to take a drink.-
WOOD LOT.-See LOT. -WOOD
MEETING.-A Mormon term for a
561
Wool
•
CAMP MEETING (q.v.). WOOD
SKIN. A canoe; the process of
manufacture is thus described:-
To make one of these wooD SKINS, a large
purple heart tree is cut down, and the bark
of the requisite length taken off. A wedge-
shaped piece is then cut out of the trough-
shaped bark from the top downwards, at a
distance of three feet or so from both ends
on each side, the ends are then raised till
the edges of the cuts meet, when holes are
pierced on either hand at a distance of six
inches from the cut, and numbers of turns of
a strong withe are passed through them
WOODCHUCK.-The GROUND HOG (q.V.).
WOOL. DYED-IN-THE-WOOL. Out-
and-out; unflinching partisanship.
Senator Voorhees accompanied a consti-
tuent to the post-office department a couple
of days ago and urged his appointment for
a subordinate position. The postmaster-
general received them courteously, and after
hearing the senator's statement, turned to
the applicant and asked him:
'What are
your politics?' 'I'm a DYED-IN-THE-WOOL
Democrat, sir,' was the prompt reply of the
Hoosier office-seeker.-Critic, 1888.
TO DRAW THE WOOL OVER THE
EYES. To hoodwink; to "use the
pepper box"; to throw dust in the
eyes.
You have no idea of the amount of speak-
ing that Congress does every year. Many of
these speeches are, however, never delivered
at all, and the congressman rises and says,
'Mr. Speaker,' and then asks leave to print
his remarks. He puts in a long harangue, in
which he denounces the opposite party, and
tries TO DRAW THE WOOL OVER THE EYES of
his constituents. He gets several thousand
extra copies printed at cost price or less,
and distributes them all over his district,
and the people think that he has really
uttered these words on the floor, while the
members with big eyes and open mouths
listened to them!-Florida Times Union,
February 7, 1888.
ALL WOOL AND A YARD WIDE.
-A Yankee simile for thorough-
going genuineness. WOOLLY
HEADS.-(1) Negroes; and (2)
Formerly applied to anti-slavery
politicians.
71
Worked
WORKED.-WORKED FOR ALL IT WAS
WORTH.-Manipulated to the best
advantage.
WORM FENCE.-A VIRGINIA FEnce
(q.v.).
WORRIMENT. Worry; trouble;
anxiety. A factitious useless word.
James McLeer is one of the notable
citizens of Brooklyn, and the consideration
of his name will give the Senate more
WORRIMENT than anything of recent date.-
New York World, February 14, 1888.
WORRISOME.-Worrying;
bothersome.
WORRY, TO.-To take a drink.
WRAPPERS.-Leggings.
562
Wunst
WRATH.-LIKE ALL WRATH. A
Southern simile for angry, violent,
or vehement; and also generally
employed to express great emphasis.
WRATHING.-Very WROTH.
WRECKERS. - A band of Baltimore
roughs.
WUNST.-A vulgarism for " once." So
also WUNCT.
In a dental office not one thousand miles
away the following colloquy occurred: 'Has
your tooth ever ached?' Oh, it just hurted
me a little WUNCT or twict.' 'Did it ever
ache?' 'It pained me a bit, but shure I
could stand it.' 'Pat, do you know what
toothache is?' 'Indade, an' I do, sor.' 'Has
your tooth ever ached? Well, thin, it did.
It kept me awake the night, bad luck to it.'
'Does it ache now?' 'An' if it didn't would
I be here?'-Nantucket Inquirer, 1888.
4


ANK.-(1) A jerk.-
To YANK, to jerk.
Countryman (to den-
tist)-'I wouldn't pay no-
thin' extra fer gas. Jest
YANK her out if it does
hurt.' Dentist-' You are
plucky, sir. Let me see
the tooth.' Countryman
'Oh, 'taint me that's got the toothache
it's my wife. She'll be here in a minute.'
-New York Sun, 1888.
(2) A contraction of YANKEE.
YANKEE.-The best authorities
on the subject now agree upon
the derivation of this term from the
imperfect effort made by the North-
ern Indians to pronounce the word
"
English." The Rev. Mr. Hecke-
welder, than whom few men have
been more thoroughly at home in
Indian speech and Indian character,
distinctly states, that they pro-
nounced it Yengees, and knew how
to distinguish them by their dress
and personal appearance, and that
they were considered as less cruel
than the Virginians or Long-knives.
YANKEEDOM.-New England.
YANKEE DOODLE. See the
following:-
In the summer of 1775, the British army,
under command of Abercrombie, lay en-
camped on the east bank of the Hudson
River, a little south of the City of Albany,
awaiting reinforcements of militia from the
Eastern States, previous to marching on
Ticonderoga. During the month of June,
these raw levies poured into camp, company
after company, each man differently armed,
equipped, and accoutred from his neighbor,
and the whole presenting such a spectacle as
was never equalled, unless by the celebrated
regiment of merry Jack Falstaff. Their
outré appearance furnished great amusement
to the British officers. One Dr. Shamburg,
an English surgeon, composed the tune of
'YANKEE DOODLE,' and arranged it to words,
which were gravely dedicated to the new
recruits. The joke took, and the tune has
come down to this day.

YANKEE NOTIONS.-A class of minor
conveniences known
Yankee
notions. See NOTIONS.
as
YARBS.-A New England pronuncia-
tion and corruption of HERBS.
Clerk Rendich, of Judge Walsh's Court, is
a pretty well informed man, but he knows
nothing of the properties of YARBS and
simples. He had a cold a few days ago, and
some one prescribed Iceland moss as a
remedy.-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1888.
YARD.-See GARDEN.
YAVUM (Cant).-Bread and milk.
YELLOW.-YELLOW BEHIND THE GILLS.
-Said of one of whom FEVER'N
AGER (9.v.) has laid tight hold.
YELLOW COVER.-A slang term for
a note of dismissal from Govern-
ment employ. In the public offices
yellow-tinted envelopes are largely
used. YELLOW JACK. The
popular name for yellow fever.
While the coast line from Tampico to
Bagdad is seldom scourged by vomito, the
usual calenturas and malarial fevers prevail
during the wet months, but are seldom fatal.
The natives are almost proof against them,
and to most foreigners they may be con-
sidered merely the common and necessary
process of acclimation. Cuidad Victoria has
never been visited by either vomito
YELLOW JACK, and its citizens, therefore,
consider it the healthiest, as it is certainly
Yellow
one of the prettiest places, on the planet.-
Troy Daily Times, February 4, 1888.
YELLOW
PUCCOON.
PUCCOON.-See
564
Zucke
YOUNG HICKORY.-Martin Van Buren
was so called because the political
mantle of Old Hickory" (Jack-
son) was said to have fallen upon
his shoulders.

7
AMBO.-See SAMBO.
ZENITH CITY OF THE
UNSALTED SEAS.
-Duluth.
Hon. Proctor Knott,
late governor of Ken-
tucky, is not only an able and humorous
speaker, but a sound financier and man of
great experience in public affairs. Born
August 29, 1830, at Lebanon, Ky., he became
a lawyer at the age of twenty-one, and
located in Missouri, where he was elected a
member of the legislature, and afterward
appointed Attorney-General of the State. In
1862 he returned to Kentucky, and in 1867
was elected to Congress by a very large
majority. He soon took high rank as a
working member of the Committees on
Finance and Judiciary, and early in 1871
blazed upon the country as a great humorist
in his brilliant speech upon Duluth, which
he christened the ZENITH CITY OF THE UN-
salted seas.-American Humorist, 1888.
ZIT, TO.-An onomatopoetic verb,
manufactured to describe vocally
the peculiar hissing of bullets
when striking water.
ZNEES (Cant).-Ice; snow; frost.
ZODIAC (Cant).-The top card in the
box at faro. More generally cor-
rupted into SODA.
ZOMBI.-A phantom or ghost.
ZOUCHER (Cant).-A slovenly fellow.
ZUCKE (Cant).-An old prostitute.


Course
Term
ATE
DO NOT
LATE
!

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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