Smyrna times., 1866-11-21

1t is, ;ltter all, only temporary misadoptiOn of
the Y ueen,s English which the use of slang
permi ts. In the days of Steele and Addison,
hand some, dark-complexioned man was styl
ed pretty black gentleman" In Mr.. Can
ning'S' time, good joke was considered "mon-
strouS killing" But the original value or sig
mica ance of these words has not abated title
in consequence Of this perverted application.
To 81 Dortlng phraseology We are indebted for
many instances Of modern slang. 6 Hedging
a matter, backing" man, walking over"
at ele ctlons, and OF course, Lord PalmerstOn' s
'jud iciOus bottle holding" are all derived
from this source. From the cricket-feld we
get bowled OUT and "stumped;" )" but the
torm n expression seems to indicate the discov-
cry o some mlsdemeanOr rather than loss of
office while the latter may be taken to mean
not much complete failure as a temporary
checl
SlA ng terms of appreciation come from va
riOuS sources. A man at the top Of his profess
sion called A |. This, with the appelation
of Upper, savOrs evidently of salt water
Some how OF other, all Of those which are bor-
roweI from railway transit have a tinge of
mean ness about them which it is difficult to de-
line. The Idea OF mans getting on like
steal Is, to our mind, very unpleasant. Ot
the " modes OF progression, we should Ger
tainE prefer getting on like house on fire y
Aga II, the expression =" frst-class' is always
on tt e lips of a snob. 1t is only exceeded in
vulg uity, by the word prime" which would
neve + be applied in praise of anything but
chez Sc, or by anybody but a cheesemOnger. =
The word swell, in laudatOry sense, and
with reference to mans accomplishments,
seen IS generally recognized. Thus, we may
say Of Jones, the undergraduate, that he is a
swell | at Greek iambics or cricket. If he has
paid great attention to his toilet for an evening
part y, he may be described with perfect pro.
prG ty as terrific swell" But if he is en-
title to write " honorable" before his name
he nust not be called a swell on that account
lnd' ,ed, all slang words as gent, mob, y
&c, employed to represent social grade, be-
com e offensive. No one, whether he play:
card ) or not, can object to hear his friend call
ed trump" 1t is good, honest epithe
in 81 ang. So is sumner though it is less
rehn I'd. 10 speak OF a man as mutf is {
good -natured way of describing his stupidity
Publ ic schoOl-bOys know such and such tel
low. At Oxford and Cambridge you know 9
. ms N (never gentleman: celia can sans dire)
Sine the publication OfLeech' famous sketch
the word "party" is sometimes used in joke
ont f the city; but the worst expression of in
divit luality is chap" which has long beer
give a up to shopman. Shop slang is, by thu
way, always detestable. we can do you tha
scarf at four and nine, nice thing in turn
dow IS, and so forth Retail dealers have al
clip tlcal manner of expressing themselves
whic h, to the monumental ear, is very unsat
isfaci .ory. AT the China warehouses, for in
stanc e, they talk of " elegant cut sherries' anc
nea t green (hlOcks," when they really meal
the essels which are to hold that wine. Tht
brew ty and assurance of that unpleasant no
tice, terms cash, which one sees at the tol
of Gel tain tradeSmcns bills, must, we think, Of
tend even the most punctual customer. 1t i
so be rTibly lacOnic and to the point.
DR. Awing-roon slang deserves a separate con
slder ltion, which we have hardly space to give
It is wonderful to think how quickly young la
dies .ick up Bohemian and turfy words iron
their brothers, and the readiness with whic
they apply thm-how they will trot out
their partners n quadrille, twig" the gene
ralp .intS ofhischaracter, and are down upon
his weaknesses. "Piccadilly weepers don
fetch me at all " said an artess young thing a
o bal not lOngagO, meaning to express her dis
like to the l(ng whiSkerS of her UiS-d-UtS-
" Fe tching ont, f" is an Americanism. Al
Othe bit of Yankee slang was admirably rel
dere not long ago by Mr.. Punch, in a sketc
of a Transatlantic belle who declined secou
help ing at supper, because she "guessed 81
was pretty well crowded already" We hay
even heard of an English girl who familiarl
allu( led to her fathers dinner party as "blov
out, but this Is positively too dreadful ft
opirlion, it must be very mild form of sian
indG ed which we can tolerate from the lips
We oman.