The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-05-11
AMERICAN STREET SLANG.
An Interesting, If not Instructive, Com
pilatiOn OF the Talk Of the Theater, the
Sawdust Arena and the Bar.ROOm.

pilation OF the Talk Of the Theater, the
Sawdust Arena and the Bar-Room.
[From the Cincinnati Enquirer.]
The habit of using slang phrases in
the everyday walks of life, while by no
means notion of the nineteenth CEN
tury, has obtained of late years a
growth in this country that can not
have failed to attract the attention of
all classes of society. 1t prevails in the
family circle, in the resorts of business
men, and in the haunts of sporting
classes. Among the young men of the
day it is a mania, and no youth who is
inclined to taste of the sweets of fast
life considers himself up to the times
unless he can converse with his con-
freres in a dialect that would have been
as unintelligible to his forefathers as the
Chinese language.
In illustration of this fact the reader
can refer to the talk of the bar-room,
which is the most extensively cultivated
slang of the period. The young man of
to-day, when he enters saloon with a
party of friends, is liable, as his first
demonstration, to salute the bar-keeper
with some such remark as "Hello,
Boss.' That is usually the first saluta-
ton, but it is often varied, and such
high-sounding names as "Senator,
Governor " General" Colonel"
6 Major" "Captain,'' ssJudge,"
ssDuke, !" Z" Deacon made to take the
place of the word ssBoss.''
After this preliminary the party ar
range themselves at the bar and are re-
quested by their entertainer to shave
some whisk," or s. take smile, shave
one," stake ball. sstake hist,
"take horn,' - s. take a noggin, y $ get
vaccinated," all OF which mean that one
and all shall have drink. The invita-
ton is usually greeted with such ex-
clamations as "don't care if l do, ;"
!" cert etc., after which the young man
who does the treating requests his as
sembled fellow citizens to nominate, y
and "don't be bashful.'' They then
nominate
They nominate s bottled electricity, !"
lemonade with stick in it," Gig
water,'' "budge," "bilge-water, !"
burr-juice,'' rat-poison," "fusel-
oil,'' 'sred eye,'' "liquid ointment, -
"cut nails,' " rd-head, - $. benzine, -
"nitro-glycerine, !" 6 oil, tea," "eye-
water, "chain-ightning.' They
nominate suficiency Of articles to
stock secondhand store, and yet they
all want the same article-alcohol,
more or less diluted. The bar-keeper
comes to the relief Of any hesitating
member of the party by asking him If
he will stake it straight or have an
eye-opener," to which he is generally
: expected to answer that he will take
some g hard-stuff," which means plain
whisky.
II After all have nominated, ,'such re-
, marks pass as "spiel, put it down. y
: s.here's looking at you, "''tip,'' "here's
CO." Then they s'tip,'' in the 'sPhil-
adelphia," the "New York, +" the "Chi-
: cago," or some other fanciful style of
: the art The most fancy tip consists in
3 each man touching the top and bottom
i Of his neighbours glass with his own.
The party are supposed to be ssoff on
E a tear and should one of them, at this
t stage Of the game, 'sget it up his nose, .
t he is asked by his beloved associate il
: he has ..got 'em,'' and is requested to
ssheave her up, old man. The belief
of the party is that he has "snakes il
q his boots" and by way of getting rid
!: of them he is told to sset 'em up" OF
b ''whoop 'er up again
fl After he has "whooped her up' and
is saving holes in his pockets in an in
a efectual attempt to /" find a stamp,
: the bar-keeper calls out, "Say, yor
: snoozer, pony up" This the unfortu
: nate would undoubtedly do in a mo
!. ment if he had pony, but as he wa
never known to possess any other ami
NAL than nightmare, he is told by hi
equally !" busted companions to ''stan'
him up" "give him the slip,'' s'pu
y up your educated forefnger at him."
t But the bar-keeper will not accep
r "wind'' for his liquor, and he offers t
/ bet his sshigh muck muck that b
J. will not. In proof of this, he beautiful
Q " remarks, /" You bet your bloody life,
n which so terrifes the young man, who
o in the absence of a stomach-pump, ha
|, no means of rendering his creditors jus
n tice, that he feels impelled to ask hi
d friends if they have any "rocks'' o
], st shinnies" about them. They say the
It had &C century" every day in the wee
s at period when keno was to Cincinna
It unknown, but now s. hopper may die ife
I, goter caser 'bouter close, s'elp me-
VI These classical observations NOV
le the bar-keeper to inquire what they al
d +" shooting off their mouths abou
+. then?'' They ask him, then, if /
X sever heard Of Keh p" and if he ha
N not "better take tumble, cullyF
!" These remarks tend to soothe him col
1t siderably as he mildly inquiries if the
t. are trying to "roast'' him or give hi
ga BRACE Then the spokesman
i the party says ssyou can chuck me
,or tho or1ftar fiam >, yvhila his more halli