The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-07-20
Origin of Familiar Phrases.
THE LAST FEATHER WHICH BREAKS
TIE HORSES BACK.

LIE hOhoLS DAM
This phrase was first written by Bram-
hall in 1865, in consequence of a conversa-
ton between Hobbies and himself, but was
not published until 1855. The paragraph
in which it appears (Abp. BramhalIs
"Vindication of True Liberty Against Mr..
Hobbesr) is as follows: The last dictate
of the judgment concerning the good or
bad that may follow on any action is not
properly the whole cause, but the last
part of it, and yet may be said to produce
the effect necessarily in such manner as
the last feather may be said to break q
horses back, when there were so many
laid on before as there wanted but that to
do it."
DURANGO VILE.
This literary will-o' -the-wisp mas been
traced TO Burns and Smollett. 1t originally
,ppeared, however, in Johnes' "Froissart."
Describing the capture of st. Venaut, in
1888, by the troops under the command of
the Bishop of Norwich, Froissart says that
Sir William de Melle, who defended the
place, was permitted by his captor to re-
turn to France AS a prisoner on parole, "ac-
cording to the manner in which all French
and English gentlemen behave TO one an
other in similar cases; but not so the Ger
mans, who, whenever they take a prisoner,
throw him into duraace uile, loaded with
irons, in order to gain n more considerable
ransom."
THUG.
The word thug" now so generally used
TO denote the "shOulder-hitters' and
thieves of our cities, is derived from the
HindOo MugIa, TO deceive. =
EMERALD ISLE.
The epithet, as applied to Ireland, was
first used by DIR. William brennan, author
of "Glendalloch," and other poems, who
was born at Belfast May %, 1884. The
phrase occurs in his beautiful poem enti-
tied Erin" from which n stanza is quoted
below:
Arm OF Erin prove strong but be gentle as brave,
And, upllfted to strike, still be ready TO save;
| Nor one feeling Of vengeance presume to dehle
The cause, or tho men, or the Emerald Isle.
To the words Emerald Isle DIR. Dren-
nan has added the following note 1t may
be puerile to lay claim to n priority of APP
plication in the use of an epithet; but po-
cts, like bees, have a very strong sense of
propriety, and both are of that irritable
kind as to he EXTREMITY jealous of any one
who robs them Of their boarded sweets.
The sublime epithet which Milton used in
his poem on the Nativity, written at
fifteen years of age, His thunder-clasping
hand would nave been claimed by him
as his OWL, even after he had finished Par
adise Lost And Gray would prosecute
as a literary poacher the daring hand that
would presume to break into his or
chard and appropriate a single epithet in
that line, the most beautifully descriptive
which ever was written
'"Tbe breezy call orincenseb breathing morn"
PETERS M
OLA, n Saxon prince, to ingratiate him
| ahlf in fIynF nf the gnypreiun lppnfif ON
gagged to pay him n yearly donation for the
support OF an English college at Rome;
aud, in order TO raise the sum, he imposed
n tax of n penny on eachShouse possessed
of thirty pence q year. This imposition,
being aitcrward levied on all England, was
commonly denominatcd Peters Pence.
TRUE Blue.
The first assumption of this phrase was
led by the C~ovenantcrs, in opposition to
the scarlet badge of Charles l., and hence
it was taken up by the troops of Leslie
and MontTose in 1888. Tho adoption of
The color was one of those religious pedan-
tries into which the Covenanters, in IN
pharisaical observance of the scriptural
| letter and the usage of the Hebrews, diT-
tinguished themselves. And thus they
named their children Hahakkuk and Ze-
rubbabel, and their chnpels Zion and Ebe-
| HUT L lfN AAtiplhAtAA th'll HNlNOhb Win
ribbons, because the following s%umptuary
precept was given in the law of Moses:
speak to the children OF Israel, and tell
them to make themselves frioges on the
borders of their garments, putting in them
ribbons OF blue" Numbers. Eyy 81.
oLD ARR
The popular attributes of the evil one
we're n human form, with horns, tail, and a
clovCn foot. These are very probably de
rived from the GrcCian fables, and from
the representations Of the Greek satyrs
and Roman iauns-thc gods of the noun
aims and groves; and it is also probable
hat odd Harry was originally odd
Harry The satyrs were said to have
lair like goats. shock is a head of
cough hair-a rough-haired dog. So there
IS doubtless an affinity between "Old Har-
ry' or odd Hairy and "Old Shock" the
English name given TO the demon suppos-
ed to haunt the roadsides and wild path
ways. The Lord Harry may allude to
the Scriptural terms, the god ofthe world"
the Prince of the powers Of darkness.
JUST II EEs
This familiar vulgorism, used in COM
mendation of a thing, it is a mere oriental
ism, meaning Just the thing, from cheez,
Hindostanee for "a thing"
GONE TO rot.
The phrase comes from n tailor in Sam
lrcand, who, living near a cemetery, had
an cGrthcn vessel on his counter into which
he east n pebble whenever n corpse was
carried past, and thus kept account of
the daily interments. At last his own
time came, and his ncighbors on inquiry
after him replied, Hes gone to pot, also,
TO 60 Il WHOLE
Generally set down as an Americanism,
but undoubtedly of Irish origin. Previous
to the year 1875, when the Irish metallic
currency was completely assimilated to the
English, the silver shilling circulated in
Ireland was equivalent to thirteen copper
pennies, whereas n silver shilling of Eng
land was OF the value of IL pence. In
Ireland the shilling was sometimes called
n thirteen" from the number of pence it
contained, and was sometimes called IN
hog When n man had n conviviul idea
of spending an entire shilling on n friend,
which tGuratively meant hat he would
not be chnry Of expense, he was said to go
the whole hog.