The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1882-01-28
SLANG IN SOCIETY.

4
The enormous increase OF slang Of
late years, and the conspicuous part it
plays in the conversation Of young men
and women who lay claim to the best
birth and education, marks the absence
Of some of the instincts which 60 to pro-
duce brilliant society. Slang is simply
slipping ones thoughts into the cheapest
and most slip.shod ready-made clothing,
and instead of being an evidence Of wit
or originality, as is sometimes ignoranly
supposed, il is only an indication Of lazi-
ness or limited command Of language.
There is nothing that more entirely robs
conversation OF Hits freshness and orig
inality than free indulgence in slang.
There is no room for any individuality
Of expression, for any effort of appro-
priateness of epithet or Justice Of opinion;
but an idea which might be expressed in
fifty different ways, by different people,
is s'ereotyped into some meaningless
slang formula and becomes common
property. II is certainly within the
limits Of moderation to say that ninety
girls out ofevery hundred would describe
every variety of social pleasure or amuse-
ment by declaring that they had chad
a good time" or ''lovely time" or
"beautiful time" lawfully NICE" and
lawfully jolly" are sufficiently indef-
mite to qualify almost any noun in the
dictionary, and are conveniently vague
way Of conveying ones impressions
without requiring that the impressions
shall be too closely defined OF analysed,
and they dispense with the troublesome
necessity Of fitting the words to the
thought, which becomes unavoidable if
one is obliged to find ones self in ex.
tpressions. Slang phrases constantly
present themselves as the easiest and
most obvious thing to say about people,
or places, or books, or sensations, when
il would involve some mental eff
forts TO describe them more accurately.
And then such indefinite judgments do
not compromise one powers Of discrim-
ination and cannot be cast up as an in
tellectual reproach by people of more
penetrating facilities and inconvenient
memories.
The field OF slang offers no restric-
tons, and is open to women as to the
privileged sex, and such expressions as
"put in a good time," "put in appear
ance," "take the cake" stake the rag
off the bush" "give man the mitten,"
or 1.-The gum drops" "kick tree foot"
"have mash on" some one, "sit in a
girls pocket, "high jinks," "cut up"
"brassy," cheeky" etc., indefinitely,
may be heard coming from lips SO pretty
as almost for the moment to make one
tolerate anything they may choose to
utter. This slovenly, conventionally
unconventional way OF expressing ones
ideas has more positive i'll results than
merely suppressing freshness and ndipeff
Of style. II exterminates all dignity
and refinement Of thought and speech
and makes woman not only common
place, but common. II makes girls
mind seem a place open to all corners
"A court without sanctuary. The ac-
feasibility and "hail-fellow-well-met"
air goes far to destroy the distinct, de-
finite charm Of woman's conversation.
II is not necessary that people who speak
good English should be elaborate, or
stiff, or pedantic. The very best and
most vigorous English is made up oil
short, simple words and idiomatic, nat.
ural expressions, and as far removed
from Journalism or affectation as slang
itself. The charm Of a clever, fascina.
ting woman's conversation. like the
charm Of some Of the most beautiful
poetry, often lies more in the manner
than in the matter. A free, facile.
graceful use Of language was one Of the
most conspicuous accomplishments oil
those charming, elegant women who
nodded modern society in their saloons
and made conversation fine art. II is
a very generally conceded fact that in
the societies Of most civilized countries,
there are more agreeable women than
men, reckoning purely from a social
} point Of view, and one reason of this is
that most educated women are dilettanti,
and dilettanti are proverhially pleasant
people. They ale not hard workers,
but they rove easily from flower to flower
and gather agreat deal Of sweetness from
them all. There is not often much that
is very solid to show for all these sunny
flights, but they get the full flavor and
sweetness ofthe Summer and the flowers,
and are lighter and more graceful crea'
: lures than the steady plodders who keep
close to the clover and the buckwheal
fields, with view to the excellent yield
and quality Of the honey, and the mon
ument Of wax which Is to crown theil
labors.
But a woman who wishes to acquire
that permanent charm Of conversation
which a clever, cultivated woman may
so abundantly possess, should carefully
avoid slang words and phrases. Slang
II is true, may not seem to interfere will
immediate success. Her partner in tn.
cotillion may not mind 1t, nor the mar
with whom she plays tennis and dance
at Newport, or the man who takes he
out moonlight row at Mount Desert
as there are men who profess to like .
girl with plenty of ego" and ssdash ans
vivacity;" but the effect is not the les
deterioratinp on society in general