Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1863-12-25
From the Il. 7. Evening Post
The CurlOsities or tho English Lam
guage---fngeniOus Uses and Mis-
HGp9

AHU OOftOSASICb VI tuO EuS tlSu LdU-
guage---ingeniOus Uses and Mis-.
uses.
The English language, perhaps more
than any other, is capable of queer and
ingenious uses, misuses, transformations
and combinations. The student of the
curiosities Of literature is astonished at
its wonderful susceptibility to odd pranks
in the way of photography, syntax, pros
ody, pronunciation, rhyme and transla-
ton Some curious effects are some
times produced by an ingenious arrange
ment of pronunciation. A device has
hoften been used in political and other
partisan songs called "echo verses" in
which the sounds of the last words of a
line are repeated after the manner of an
echo, the whole being so contrived as to
lexpress some significant meaning. This,
though short specimen, is good illus
tration: "a
What are they who pay three guineas
To hear tune IF Psganini's,
hQe (Eeho) Pack o. ninniesi"
PLAY UPON WORDS
or course the whole innumerable host
of puns, bad and good, which are float
ing about in books and newspapers, as
we'll as in social circles, are all predicat.
ed upon similarities in pronunciation.
A pan that has in it sharp and witty
meaning is a good thing; but the i'm
mense deal of trash and of far,fetched
constructions that are put in circulation
by laborers after the pun, which is worth
nothing if it is not spontaneous, has Civ
en- this kind Of literature a bad reputa-
ton, so that few good authors will use it.
The similarity of sound has given rise to
such senseless productions as the follow
ing, which may be queer, but are GER
tainly not witty:
Mr.. Popp, of Poppyille, in Popp
county, fancying himself to be very pop
ular with his ladylove, popped the ques-
ton to her under the poplar tree, when
she referred him to her poppy, who when
asked for his consent, laboring under the
influence of gin-pop, popped him out of
tie door to the tune of Pop goes the
Weasel
Or this: gfe Fo sE
You have no business to have any
business with other peoples business;
but mind your own business, and that is
business enough" y
The following is given as statement
of fact which may possibly add something
TO its valuei sFnI b 0ilfvareF
"There is young man in the army
who was born July fourth, at 1 o'clock
p NJ at-No. A on street in this city,
1914, fourth child, has four names, en-
listed into Company d, of the fourth bat
tallion, forty-fourth regiment, fourth COM
paHy and ON the 4th day Of September
was appointed fourth corporal. and is
now going forth. to defend his country.
q Here is d travellers report or a c0nYer-
sation with backwoodsman:
Whose house7" "Mogs," "Of what
Frogs" What is the soil7" Bogs.p
"The climate7" Fogs" " Your diet"
"Hogs." "How do you catch themf"
Dogs. '''C.i- -i.3
"a An original instance is given of an
swering two questions at once:
Here Biddy, my darliut, what's the
time o night, and where's the pertaty
pudding"
!" It's eight, sir
3 Which may as well be followed by al
account of curious misunderstanding
" l come for the saw, sir, said al
urchin.
"What saucer2"
"Why, the saw, sir, that you Dor
rowed." s.
Il borrowed no saucer"
"Sure you did, sir-borrowed our saw
sir"
! "Be off, never saw your saucer"
But YOU did, sir-there's the saw, sir
now, SIR
"Oh you want the sac ~
Here is a Quaker toast that has
thought in it fUIl
"This is me and mine to thee an,
thine. l wish when thou and thine com
to see me and mine, that me and min
will treat thee and thine as kindly a
thee and thine have treated me an
mine"
This is new version of the old CON
pliment, which runs somewhat after thi
p wise : sl
II wish thee and thy folks loved m
and my folks as well as me and my folk
love thee and thy folks. For sure, ther
never was folks since folks was folks tht
ever loved folks half so we'll as me an
my folks love thee and thy folks"
WORDS WITHOUT RHYMES.
, Poets have been often greatly puzzle
! to find rhymes for particular words.
is said that there is no word in the E
: glish language which fairly rhymes vii
: "step" or mouth" Byron says that
is impossible to find a rhyme for tho zel
5 "siIver. Every little while some i
d quisitive genius proclaims that a parti
. ular word is without rhyme, and chs
1 lenges the world to disprove his asse
!. ton. Forthwith many people cudg
their brains, and sometimes dc produ
u the desired word Some years ago t
Knickerbocker offered a brass quart
dollar to the person who could find
~ rhyme to the word window. T
prize was earned by the following effo
: which furnishes the rhyme and has sor
At fun in it as well
o A cruel man a beetle caught ---
And to tho wzal him pinned, oh
! Than said tkassSn.etla TO he crowd