The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-11-18
Origin of Popular Phrases.

following clrcumstances Will Somers, the
celebrated jester to Henry VIII, happened
to call at Lord Surveys whom he had Of
ten, by we'll timed jest, saved from the
displeasure of his royal master, asd who
consequently was always glad to zee him
was on this occasion ushered into the
avlsry, where he Sound my lord amusing
himself with his birds Somers happened
10 admire the plumage of kIngfisher.
"By my lady" said Surrey, my prince
of wits, | will give it to you"
viii skipped about with delight, and
swore nv the great Henry he was most
iuobie gentleman. Away went VIII
With hls klngfSher, telling all his &C
uuaintances whom he met that his friend
Surrey had just presented him with 1t.
! Now, il happened that Lord Northamp-
ton, who had seen this bird the day previ-
Gus, arrived at Lord Surveys just as Will
Somers had left, with the intention of ask.
ing 1t Of Surrey for u present to lady
friend Great WAS his chagrin on finding
! the bird gone. Surrey, however, cOnsOled
him with saying that he knew Somers
would restore it to him If he Surrey
promised him two another day.
Away went messenger to the prince, of
wits, whom he found in rapture with his
bird, and to whom he delivered his lords
message. Great was Wills surprise, but he
was not to be bamboozled by even the mo-
march himself,
"Slrrah," said he, tell your master that
am obliged for his liberal offer of two for
one, but that prefer one bird IN the hand
to two in the bush.'
Hence originated this oft-repeated say
ing. ....
TO Talk Like a Dutch Uncle--Dr. Brew
err ia his Dictionary Of Phrases and Fa'
ble," says the significance of this saying is
to offer severe reproof," and quotes from
the Latin classics to prove the awe in
which an unclc's rebuke was held. lie
does not treat the word Dutch" under this
head, but in a nelghboring paragraph de
clares that during rivalry between Eng
land and Holland the word Dutch" was
synonymous with all that was false and
hateful" So a Dutch uncle" may be re-
gardcd as more caustlc than one Of any
other country According to Hotten
Duck uncle" Is "a parsonage often intro
.,-.i l1) cOugorsa,'or, but exceedingly !,
Difficult, to describe. 'l'll talk to him like
a Dutch uncle conveys the notion of any.
tuluS Jul q dCblluDlC ICldtlOu. DutCA
Is slang term tor any language which Is
unintelllgible to the hearer. TO talk "dou.
bic Dutch backward" signifies extreme
qulckness IN the use OF gibberlsh. This
may tend to explain the above.
o. Kit has been asserted that these
letters were first used by Andrew Jackson,
as ..u abbreviatiOn of "all correct" One of |
"Old Hickorys" friends, however, comes
to the front with the declaration that from
close and intimate acquaintance and con.
nection with jackson during his whole
presidency from 1929 to 1887, he knows
that jackson never used such an express
sion. He was very courteous and gentle
manly person, and retained his military
habit OF devolv,ng Ill his epistolsry mat
tera upon hrs secretaries; that 80. K" was
popular slang of Jackson's day, which was
then attributed TO David Crockett. Still
another asserts that this peculiar mark of
approval was first officially used by
statesman connected with the New York
City government about 1878, and the intro
dSCtisl Of "pipelsyiDg" - political fine
art. The fact is, that neither jackson,
Crockett nor the aforesaid New York City
statesman had anything to do with origin.
The cabAlistic letters are automatically
traced TO Old Keokuk, Pacific Chief OF the
SEC and Fox Indians, who, when he sold
Iowa to the United States government,
signed the deed with the initials 20. K"
His cochief, the fiery Black Hawk, refused
to sell or sign away the rights of bis PEG |
pie to the beautiful land, and hence the
Black Hawk war OLD Keokuk years ago
passed on to the happy hunting grounds
OF the Crest Beyond, bat his sign continues
10 supply long icit aaIt IN the English |
language.
Put Your Trust in God NV Boys, and
Keep Your Powder Dry.-This expression
is attributed to Col Blacker, who put it
into his "Oliver's Advice" There is a we'll
authenticated anecdote, however, which
makes Cromwell its originator On Ger.
tam occasion when the troops of the great
Christian soldiers were about crossing a
river to attack the enemy he concluded an
address couched in the usual fanatic terms
IN use among them, with these words
"Put your trust in God; but mind to keep
your powder dry" This we have on the
authority of Hayes, In his Ballads of Ire
land"
Passing the Rubicon.-The RuDicon is
considered by Cluverius and D'Auyille to
b. the fiarnecino of Italy, and their opin.
ion Is supported by the inhabitants OF
Rimini, in whose territory it IS; the point
being ford on the road from Revenna.
The celebrity Of the event has passed into
q proverb; hence TO pass the Rubicon" Is
TO take desperate step in an enterprise, or
to adopt measure from which one cannot
recsdc or from which he is determined not
to recedc.
Blsckmail.-"The extortion of money
from person by threats" Is the definition
given by Webster. In the Anglo Saxon
the word black originally signifed pale"
In 1888 1t was interpreted as meaning "un.
lawful" wicked" examples OF its use in
this connection beng found in black art,
blackguard, etc, 1t was also used as
term OF reproach IN the books entitled the
BOARD of Green Cloth" The word mail"
Is derived from Saxon male, "renttax."
Mails and duties in Scotland are rents
of an estate IN money or otherwise.-!St'
L0uis Globe Democrat.