The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-11-13 00:00:00

MODERN SLANG.

In the current Macmillan there is a short article on
the suNect of "Oxford slang," which, though not at
all exhaustive, gives um some amusing specimens of the
u tanner in which words andpbrisii are converted into
cant (remarks the Daily Nam). But while much of
tLa queer jargon which is used in modern polite con-
versation may come from the University, there are
.hrases quoted by this writer which bear distinct evi-
dence of having been coined in the Cockney mint. Of
'ate years even Society has begun to patronise slang in
a mild way. The word "plunger," to repre-
, sit a gentleman of fast habits, in in corm
.etin use; "going the pace," and "taking a crop-
" per," are gradually being admitted into small talk
where the Turf element is not predominant. For a
word which is sensibly connected with a sport or a
trade, ittul which has not established itself outside the
patrons of the special pursuit, cannot be regarded as
genuine slang. Sometimes, however, a phrase, without
the trace of a metaphor, and with nothing marked in it
except the traces of reckless stupidity, is found to be
.vonderfully populaz high and low. "Awfully j..lly!''
'Awfully nice !" "Awfully hot!" belong to this
....tegory. The word " jolly " itself has become a per-
ect nuisance, from the manner in which persons
who ought to know better bandy it about on every
conceivable occasion. "Beastly," too, is a word which
ea.; forced its way into circles in which it certainly
tvould not have been mentioned when ladies read
" Itteletick Random " without s scruple, In Mac-
millan we are told that "in the "Swim" owes its
,taternity to the Thames fishermen, but that it has
iteett largely a lopted at Oxford ; it has long been used
to the City to express the chances of falling in with
he current of good heck. Of late, "bad form" has
!teen substituted for "bad style," in reference to man-
ters, and this notion is obviously borrowed from ath-
letic trainers.

Within twelve months a curious fashion enough has
!rept into our colloquial intercourse, which might be
described as the Socratic method. At the close of an
answer to a question another inquiry is put, such as,
"Don't you/ " and it is wonderful with what facility
3000 g ladi,s and gentlemen have taken up this
practice. It enables them to talk and fence with each
other, to escape the burden of starting fresh topics.
Between "Awfully jolly," " Don't you?" "Such a nice
lot of people ;" "N,,, did you?" that heavy quarter of
an hour which would otherwise be passed in silence is
agreeably frittered away.
Some teen make rapid pattering slang (slang that
just escapes vulgarity) a serious study, and often by a
crateful manner really impart to what they say a
point and a briskness that does not belong to the ideas
so smartly dressed. Mr. Robertson is an industrious
and vigilant observer of gentlemenof this kind, although
he overdoes them a little in his plays; yet such a
sentence as this has been heard in the smoking-room of
is mixed set—" Poor Tom, sir, did all he knew to get
a little lit of paper done, but couldn't bring it off, and
now he's gone a cracker over head and ears, and must
bolt or Lay up." What would Dr. Johnson have
thought of such a sentence if spoken even by the
lively Beauclerk ?