Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-07-02
CuRIOsITIBs Oh, LANGUAGE.


MeontuR Oh some EBEascs - 1850
Day Life.
TAKING HoRN.-This cant phrase
for glass of spirits is, perhaps, derived
from the ancient Saxon drinking horns,
which were in common use among our
ancestors of that race, and often highly |
ornamented. But the delivery Of horn
was aneiently in England, a mode of con-
veying landed property. The estate of
Pusey, in Berkshire, is still held by the
possession of horn, By the delivery Of
which it was granted by Canute to an
officer of his army, for important service
rendered. This horn was probably
Oanute's drinking horn.
TAKE OE.-This phrase is common in
| New England to express excessive grief
It was once, and may be now, in common
use in England, and was probably thence
derived through the early colonists Of
Massachusetts, and, as 10 the case of
many other peculiar words and phrases,
preserved there long after their disuse,.
whence they originated. Though con-.
j sidered low, it can undoubtedly claim
considerable antiquity. According to T..
Nashe, in pamphlet by him, 1892, it
once signifed to be enraged, as some
will take on like a madman.'' "Take
on, says Stevens, in one of his Shakes
perean netes, lis q phrase still In use
: among the vulgar, and signifies to persist
in clamorous lamentation." Y
TERMAGANT-Origlnslly this was the
+ name of noisy and malignant Saracenic
deity. 1t has been suggested that this
, term did not come to be applied to tur-
bulent woman, without passing through
! several gradations Of meaning.
/ The GRAY MARE THE BETTER HORSE
-Macaulay suspects this proverb to b
derived from the preference generally
given to the gray horses of Flanderi
/. over the finest coach horses of England
"Dappled Flanders mares were marks o
greatness in the time of Pope, and eyer
: latter"
To PoTTER.-T That is to poke about, t
disturb. Used in the North of Englsn'
and in the United States. z r q Vgg
To R1LE.-Used commonly in the sens
to enrage. 1t is a corruption of roll,
provincialism in England. In the Esse,
dialect it has the same sense as i
America. -asf.zs l.EluBE
, ToRY.-This is said to be an Iris
word demo ing robber--perhaps from tel
q bush, as the Irish banditti lived in tn
mountains or woeds--or more probabl
because they concealed themselves be
hind the bushes to await their prey. A
any rate, when it was applied to tn
party which now bea-S the name 1t wa
j in bitter hate and scorn. $3.50
WHIrTLE.-From the ancient name (
pocket clasp-knife, and still the com
mon name for q knife in the indian
counties Of England From the name
: the instrument was derived the term 6
o well understood in the United States
for the act of shaving e piece Of woo
with knife. ~ s-gF. v
"W1sE AND MASTERY INAerIvITY."-
This celebrated phrase has been creG
= tied to John 9. Calhoun, who employe
, it in a speech on the Texas question
y lS47, but it has been also ascribed
y John Randolph, WHO certainly was dis
: tinguished for frequent happiness Of phrs
seology. 1t is claimed that he used it
: 1927 in the House Of Representatives.
r WREAK.-As in the phrase "wrea
: vengeance Wreak. once meant yer
geance itself, but is now only employe
to express the action. The followin
are examples of its original sense:
"A heart of wreak in thee"
: Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude.
"Ifbe sbould pursue Sarpedon's life
Or take his friends, wreake on his men,.
: .s.- d.. -Cnspmsns version of the liliad.
YAXKEE.-0f several hypothesis
the origin of this queer but widely use
> term, that of Cooper that it is frol
1 "Y engeese," the Indian pronunciation
English, is the most plausible. at
: singular" he remarks in note to Deer
e slayer, there should be any questio
D concerning the origin of the well,know
| sobriquet of Yankees Nearly all II
old writers, who speak of the Indiar
: first known to the colonists, make the
: pronounce the word English as Yer
geese Even at this day it is a provir
cialism in New England to say 'Eaglisl
. instead OF 'Inglish,' and there is
: close conformity Of sound betwee
2 | 6tgIisH anu 1enBeesoJ mOIe esPeSiali
if the latter word, as was probably Il
= case, be pronounced short. The trans
ton from 'Yengeese,' thus pronounce
n to Yankees is quite easy. If the formC
o is pronounced 'Yangis' it is almost idel
g tical with Yankees and Indian wore
). have seldom been spelt as they wei
= pronounced. Thus the scene Of this ia
G (Deerslayer) is spelt '0tsego,' and
properly pronounced 'OtSagO' I'll
> liquids of the Indians would easily cor