The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1874-09-27
Idiomatic Iterations.

It has been observed that, if we listen
often to particular speaker, we rarely fail
to notice that he has not only his pet words,
but set of expletives, stereotyped phrases,
and favorite maxims, which he mecbanl-
caily throws in, in the same way, and much
for the same purpose, as the popular bards
hummed, at the end of every stanZa, G
burden, while summoning their memory or
their invention to help them out with the
next verse.
A trick of speech, or a familiar phrase,
will sometimes sink into a mans very ma
ture, and, once fairly adopted, is found to
be all but iperadicable. Wilkje is report
ed to have had trick of speech of this
sort.
"Do you know" said Colcott to him,
THAT every one complains of your continu-
ed 'rea- ally T."
Wilkie mused a moment, looked at Cal
colt, and drawled out
"Do they rea al ly Z"
ssYou must leave it off"
"I will, rea- ally"
"For Heavens sake, don't go on repeat
ing it," said Colcott, +" for it annoys me-"
Wilkie looked smiled, and in the most
unconscious manner, said:
"Rea-al-ly ]"
In wilkes case, it has been observed,
this popularity, as showing simple ma
ture, was not unpleasant but people who
are not geniuses sometimes become in
tolerable to susceptible nerves from some
unmeanipg expletive having grown to their
tongues end, as it were.
John Locke remarks Incidentally, in his
chapter on "Perception," that men who,
by custom, have got the use of by-word,
" do almost in every sentence pronounce
sounds which, though taken notice of by
others, they themselves neither hear nor
observe"
Addison tells story of an honest gentle
man of lis acquaintance who invited to
dinner one day half dozen of his friends,
each of them famous for inserting several
redundant phrases in his discourse, as ::
"d'ye hear me 7" dye see !" "that 49,"
"and go, sir" Each of the guests, making
frequent use of his partic ular elegance, ap-
peared 30 ridiculous to bis neighbor that
he could not but reflect upon himself as
appearing equally ridiculous to the rest of
his company, by which means, we are told,
one talking with the greatest circumspec-
tioD, and carefully avoiding his favorite
expletive, the conversation was cleared of
it's redundancies, and had a greater guam
tity of sense, though less of sound in it.
John Taylor, the sometime proprietor
and editor of the Sun newspaper, is cele-
brated for his applying indiscrimiuately to
all sorts of persons, be his knowledge OF
them what it might, the peculiar expression
Gas Elliston's biographer styles it), He's
an odd man." For example, he would say,
al called yesterday on So and-sO-he's an
odd man." Saw his wife-she's an odd
woman. The young curate was at dinner
-clever-but he's an odd man. Saw the
new Juliet last nigbt-nothing remark
able about her-but she's an odd girl"
Both philology and psychology take ac-
count of those illustrators of the rapidity
of the minds action adduced by Locke,
who by custom have got the use of some
by-word, and in almost every sentence
pronounce words which, though taken no.
tice of by others, themselves neither hear
nor observe. The most opposite temper
aments and degrees of intelligence are
known to have fallen into thene habits