Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-06-23
POPULAR PHRASES.
How some Of Our Common Words and
Phrnses Originated.

VI thio iuothtiOH hhS DceH SIioHtoubiJ
attributed to Shakespeare. It was
originally used in AN old Scotch ballad
entitled "Jolly Robin Roughhead."
The following is the verse in which the
quotation occurs:
Tush tush Ny lasso, such thoughts resign
Comparisons are cruel
Fine pictures suit in frames as fine,
Constituencies a Icwcl,
For thee and mo coarse clothes are beat,
Rude folks in homcly rnimcnt drcsi,
Wife Joan and goodman Robins
"Whom the gods would destroy they
first make mad" A very ancient Greek
proyerb. 1t occurs in note on frag-
ment of Euripides, but is probably of
much earlier date than the Attic
dramatist. It is often met with trans
lated into Latin, and may be found
among the classic quotations in Web
ster's dictionary. In confirmation of
its great antiquity, it may be observed
that the passage, both Latin and Greek.
reads not gods, but God or Jupiter, re-
ferring il, perhaps, to the period Of
purcr worship, when the Egyptian
sages inculcated doctrine Of the Divine
Unity, and the Athenians raised altarB
to the unknown God.
Bankrupt."-Few words have so re-
markable history as this The money
changers ofItaly had, it is said, benches
or stalls in the Bourse or exchange in
former times. At these they conducted
their ordinary business. When any OF
them fell back in the world and became
insolyent his bench was broken, and
the name broken bench, or banko rutto
was given to him. When the word was
first adopted into English it was nearer
the italian name than it now is, being
bankarout instead Of bankrupt.
Bust. This word Nisconti traces
to the place Of Bustum, for burning
dead bodies, which was soon transferred
10 the numbcrlcss images there set up.
"Blackmail. In ancient times the
farmers OF the north OF England and
the south Of Scotland wcrc compelled
to pay a certain rate OF money, corn,
cattle or other things to certain men
who were allied TO the robbers, to bc
10y them protected from pillage, which
was called blackmail. "Black" denot-
Cd tho low coin in which i, was paid ::
or, in the moral sense, the illcgality of
the payment. Rent received in silver.
and for legal purpose, was called
white money and white rent. In the
United States this word has come into
general use as a term applied to per-
sons who cI;ort money from thrcats of
accusation or exposure OF some alleged
offcnse.
"Unclc Sam.".Thc name originated
from Samuel Wilson, beef cfinspector
at Troy, n. Y, during the Revolution
airy war. He was very popular with the
men in his employ, and was alway 8
called Uncle Sam. The boxes Of pro-
visions were shipped to a contractor
named Elbcrt Anderson, and we're
marked "E. A. L. s." A joking work =
man was asked what these letters stood
for, to which he replied he did not
know, unless il was Elbert Ander-
son and Uncle Sam. The joSc took,
and afterward packages marked L. S.
were said to belong to Uncle Sam.
"Sclab. Derived from the Hebrew
word selAh, to repose, to be silent. II
is, however, n word Of doubtful mean
ing, occurring very frequently in the
Psalms; by some supposed 10 signify
silence or pause in the musical per-
formance of the song; by others, to
indicate special attention TO the sub
iect.
"Dry Winc."-That in which the sac.
charino matter and fermentation are so
exactly balanced that they neutralize
each other, and no sweetness is percepti.
BILE. II means opposed to sweet
wine, in which the saccharine matter is
in excess.
"Skedaddle. This word may bc
easily traced to a Greek origin. The
Greek verb rendered in Roman lctters)
skedannumi, of which the root is skeda'
is used freely 10y Thucidides, Hcrodotus
and other Greek writers in describing
the dispersion Of a routed army. From
the root skeda the word skedaddle il
formed by simply adding the euphoni.
Gus termination "dle," and doubling
the d, AS required by the analogy of our
language in such words. An old yer.
sion of the Irish New Testament con.
tains the passage: "For IL is written,
will smite the sheppard, and the sheep
Of the flock shall he sqedad OIL"
molly Mcguire. Some fifty odd