Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-01-12

he says cover the Left sin Horn" or,
'In Pigs Eye" all of which are com
mon EXPLANATIONS of disbelief In what Is
being narrated The earliest record OF
the former.heing used is found in the rec
ords of the County Court in Hartford in
t70j, man by the name of Waters was
fined e5 for contempt of Court, in saying
to the Judge, as he left tile court after q
trial in which he was one of the principal
parties, "God bless you, ocer the teff shout
derr p
"The elephant" is one of the peculiar
attractions of New York, which gaping
greenhorns from the rural districts are so
anxious to see when they make their
maiden visit TO this city The " animal
is, however, myth, but the term is used
to convey the idea of disappointment of
high-raised expectations, and arose at the
breaking out of the gold fever, when
those who went to California and returned
disappointed. were said "to have seen
the elephant" 1t is metaphor, probably,
taken from the travelling mcnagerie,
where the show closes with an exhibition
of the elephant.
Cock of the walk" is, in street par
lance, master spirit or leader, and owes
its origin to the fact that places where
poultry are fed are called walks in Eng
land, and the barn-door or game cocks in
variably fight for supremacy until one has
obtained the victory.
Policemen have received numerous nick
names, and a street-boy is scarcely ever
heard to mention one by the above title ;
but calls him a "cop or "peeler,"
and shouts to his comrades when he sees
one coming to "cheese IL, stew it, +" or
clay low" Cop means to catch, and
to beware, and by the addition of er is
formed into a personality as copper
an old London term for a policemen.
When Sir Robert Peel introduced the
new police in England they were called
"peelers," which has emigrated to this
country and become engrafted on our
stock. " Cheese il" is corruption of
"ccase it, to leave off or to hold ones
nose.
A dead beat is person completely
worn out or done for, and his effects are
said to be cup the spout" or "in hook"
or at his "unclc's," where they have been
placed to "raise the wind" or ''whistle
up the breeze" Up the spout" origin
ated in pawnbrokers shop, where the
spout is the elevator by which goods are
removed from the ground floor TO the
lofts. The "beat" is often heard to sigh
for "old times rocks" when he was
"some pumpkins or "a big thing on ice,
and was able to 'step up TO the captains
office and settle" like 'any other man."
and was called "a bully boy with glass
eye" by the "b'hoys.' He ran with the
machine" too, and was always ready to
go the whole hog or none" when every
thing was lovely and the goose hangs
high" But he went "to fight NIT Sigel,"
and having "seen the elephant" he re-
turned without any ''stamps," for he lost
all his "spondulicks" in "tighting the til
GER" which finally "settled his hash"
Almost all the popular English phrases
find their way to this country, and are
received with open mouths by that class
of people included under the head of vul-
gar. The reverse, however, is not equal
" true, for the English do not adopt
have been carried there in various ways,
and are "current coin, but the great ma
iOr;ty lose their point when they leave our
shores
Tommy Dodd' has been for long
time one of the pet phrases of London
sporting men, and a stock term in ire
quent use at the London music halls. 1t
accompanied the British blondes to New
York, and was introduced by them in the
song of the same name, which begins
with the words, "Heads or tails, I'm
bound to win" The term is used in "toss-
ing up" when the odd man goes out, but
its origin is unknown.
A Londoner, when he wishes to threaten
a person, says 'Tll warm you;" New
Yorker exclaims '1'll put head on you.
The former sprung into existence and
popularity few years ago, when every
body was expecting the appearance OF the
great comet 1t spread like wildtire, and
in few days after its birth it was uni
versally prevalent in the streets OF Lon
don. 1t still retains the popularity which
it obtained
"Would it surprise you TO learA" is at
the present time the most popular phrase
in England Ministers use it in their ser
mons; lawyers utter it at the bar; physl-
clans announce it to their patients; and
song has already appeared in which the
line is brought in. Would it surprise
shilling?" is placarded outside of the chop
houses in London. " Would it surprise
you to learn that wet carpets can be had at
| bargain?" stares you in the face
on every corner, and member OF the
| boot black brigade salutes you with the
| query, "Would il surprise you to learn
that l black boots for tuppence!" The
expression arose in the celebrated Itch
borne case, where it was continually used
by Sir ROUNDED Palmer, and repeated 50
often that it became a standing joke.
Returning to New York, we find that. a
slang term is creeping into use, which, al
though worn out in London, is new TO the
majority of New Workers. 1t is ''snyed"
or ''snied," a term of contempt, meaning
worthless, mean, or, to use a popular .eX-
preston, "good for nix" The word is a
corruption of the German SctaeideT, which
means tailor
An appropriate term to mention in clos.
ing is "solong,' which is frequently heard
nowadays, and is synonymous with
goodbye" or ''adieu." 1t has been in
use for a long time in Scotland, and is one
of the stock phrases of that country,
where it probably originated.-Neeo York
Nal.