National Republican., 1877-03-07
iMERICHNISNIS.
Some Homo Expressions that Crate HarshIy
on the British Ear.
ny A DRIToN.

waited land Of the northern United Sta,e'; and
the happy chirp OF the English house spirros is
familiar In American cities. Equally complete
is the settlement which the English tengue has
effected, go that people whose surnamos betray
all sorts OF original nationalitlcs now speak It
more purely than the majority of tho people OF
England ITSELF Tho locomotive habit, of
Americans, and their universal habit Of reading
tho newspaper have saved them from provincial
isms. Yet there are moderate peculilritios of
diction In particular Statss, and over the country
at large words and idioms are used which are
uni nown, or at least are differently understood,
In Glelt Britain. These constitute the list Of
"Am,r canisms," to which new additions arc
being IN ade from timo to time.
On cur arrival by sea at Now York. We aud
ourselves face to face with these expressions.
People arc everywhere guessing" and "caicuia.
ting" without the slightest perception that there
IL anything odd in the phraseology. We look
after our luggage and find that II all has become
baggage" An "cxpressman" is introduced to
us, answering TO the parcel.conveying agent of
Britain, and, amer taking down our address, he
hands us brass "chcck" for each piece OF bag.
Esgo, fastening the counterpart OF the check on
the articles themselves. We ask tho way to tho
railway terminus, and arc Informed that IL We
pass so many "blocks'' we shall be at the rail.
rOad depot;" or, still better, II we get into the
"street care" which we find to be genuine tram.
way carriages-the word tramway seems to be
unknown in Amerlea-wo shall be at the depot
right away" u. c., immediately
Having purchased our tickots, we nrc intro.
duced to an American 'railroad car" with It's
two long rows OF cushioned seats, It's oom irritable
stove. its iced water its other convenienccs, and
icOlOred" & black" is not applied to the human
fnd cut, being siead heads e. e., having free
passes on tho traln). We soon SEQ evidence Of tho
on American travelling All aboard for Phiia.
delphia," Is the warning that the train Is soon to
start; tho snort!ng OF the locomotve's steam horn
ftg horn, to which his ears were accustomed on
the voyage; Freight train" appears In large
call o goods tiain;" and after we have started.
| the conductor" representing the English
suard) comes through the car, examining and
Of them. Tho locomotive has % on rs 'front.' 'front.'
a "cow.cstcher," which OMEN saves tho lives Of
hs and d % Samss GT nssS
station" Thus we come to learn that "slation /"
tion signifies that IL is only by notice or signal
that passengers are put down or taken up at Ger.
Arrived at our destination, We write to advise
friends % Of our safety. and on proceeding TO the
shops are called, tho term L" shop being con, Ic
an article, arc iniormsd that sit IS worth I i "thS, as
the store. keeper puts the matter-so many IDOL
lar. ?, ,ss, 50 many s peth.P, ws are
so many "pense, and, although surprised at the
eHorbitapt price asked, we proceed te pay the
what we had set upon It. that the pence or cents and
the shillings each Of them twelve cents, or six.
Our maid, who had accom- panied us from the
old country, is somewhat put out by the novelty
Of terms, The small Jugs are all "pltOhers," I"
storekoeper. who had never heard OF stone meas
ure Of weight, inquired If II was a stone for the
noOr ,he wanted. A hundred weight means 100
and the storekeeper have difficulty In discover.
ing that "stoye.pOlish" is the article in quest.
and "Irotics" protect the feet In cold weather.
The sign boards arc instructive. One Of them
ssP,esen the es!aGltshmsnt 5ns as dry goods
bears s tho Whimsical lcgand, notions y
Ioure.enting small wares of various kinds, Our
who are king and queen q our domestic castle,
are no more "master" and "missus." The free air
and the country ic which has an our
SsI and employer e |. to be
and hard English biscuit is called n "craker.'
Notes representing a number Of dollars are called
@ sSiS G tSp on S5 ST @
"Lumber" signifies timber or sawed boards
called "Shi,e pine" Vine is used generally
Oiogy runs grape vino vine" and again
English terms of natural history arc misapplled
| Of Great Britain. Tho American 'srobin' is a
large, rec. d.breasted thrush; the shaw" is a kind
o. Plun,tree; daisy" is not the sweet, crimson.
'Ulever" does not indicate mental ability
(which is expressed by '.abie" or 'smart,'J but
| means generosity Of spirit.
The accent and tone Of words is sometimes IS pecu-
llar Mamma and papa, with accent on the nrst
with long o, not testimony as in Europe.
| we are soon warned to avoid certain forms OF
Just as an English lady is not plain" or an irish
lady ordinary" these terms being all euphlstic
for ugly" The pillars Of tho human frame are
limbs, to the exclusion of the shorter word
though never saw trousers on the legs Of a
| piano.) This prudlshness is set of by a few OK.
iorts Of iiies and beetles are termed "buss," The
hfefy being the lightning bugs" and so Of May
bugs; and other bugs of attractive and not ropui
The pecularities Of expression may be traced
to various sources. The American Indians have
name, and also In few words which persist Ia the
language Of the country, as "hominy," for food
prepared from indian corn. Some OF their words
miean, are becoming classical English terms
Maize originated In the West indies; "cob,
"Ihuck" for Its husks, are probably indian words
as Is tho widely-known Tobacco" ''GuanO" Il
Ss r s"In . IN s
of ofoatmeal, is called "mush, or ''oatmeai mush,
or simply "oatmeal." Supper" means the Eng
lsh tea" saving that tea is rarely used at it,
conee being the national beverage, "Cookey" "a
Christmas cake), "dough-nuts" (balls of sweet.
ened dough frled), "bush" (land covered with
seer), are OF Dutch .parentage. "Prairle" /,
French; and quite large number are Spanish
as muiatto, quadroon, creole, nlibuster, savan
| nah, stampede. Germans, Negroes and Uhinse
have also made their mark In the popular vocab
ulary.
The history and circumstances of the country
are responsible for many significant expressions
A stump orator " Is one who made his speeches
with the stumps OF feled trees as his rostrums
A bee Is party Of friendly neg hbors come tC
help man In some piece Of work; building bees
snd quilting bees, and now spelling bees, illus
trats the use and modification of the term. bun
combe, as hypooritical enthusiasm In speechify
Ing, came from place which one Of these orator.
represented; "spread.eagl " is proclaimi ing
how America beats the world; " high falutin " Ii
abombastic style Of language. (None Of these
"BoBus means deception, amer the name of one
who was able at counterfeiting. " Shoddy came
fr' IN England; II means shreddy, as made up Of
rotten shIeds, and was applied to bad clothing
furnished BY Government contractors
| Some OF the Americanisms SAVIOR OF slang; thus
to run" concern or to run a church, Is 10 man
age It's finances and II tho affair "comes t
grief" as the English say, "Brother Jonathan
remarks that i "has gone up the spout;" II 1t II
only In difficulties, thon he says at is gone up
tree" llike an opossum when hunted). III,
"hub." or nose OF cart-wheel, means the centr,
OF refinement, and, having bson applied to Bostot
by one OF Its own citizens, the name stuck. Ske
6aGdle Is Scotch Tor Greek) term American
lied, and Is retained because Of It's odd sound
| ~ n n m hv haa fInp lnr