Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-01-03
England,s had Enrlish.

IcmelAocT HeaTluS WIN aStOnlShmcnt. q
dozen years ago, from an English gentleman of
culture and high social standing, that it was
necessary to remove the gates of Quebec, 'to
give more room for traffic." 1 asked no ques-
tions. but wondered inwardly whether the peo-
PIE OF the American Gibraltar were in the habit,
like the ancient Orientals. of resortinr to the
gates OF the town to exchange commodities with
each other. On our arrival next morning the
mystery was solved; it was travel. not barter,
that my friend meant py traffic. The word is
continually thus misused in England, and it
must be sorrowfully admitted that the bad
habit is now slowly invading this country as
well. Other examples-as yet, happily not
naturallZed In American usage-are: Famous,
for excellent bargain, for hagg!e: ti,'esome. for
disagreeable; rot for. nonsense; ,tq, for pitcher
good form form good taste: trap. forlght wagon:
tub, for bathe stop. for remain: assist for be
present; plant. for fixtures; intimate. for an
nounce, and tidy for almost anything compile
mentary. London paper made mention the
other day of - a very tidy bull " the writer mean
ing valuable animal, and by no means intending
to refer to any particular neatness i'm the beasts
habits. English hostlers also-to get pretty well
down in the social SCALE though by no means
going as low as do the cOmpilers of what are
termed Americanisms in their search for blum
ders-English hostlers sometimes speak of chill
ing cold water, meaning warming it slightlv-an
extraordinary perversOn of a very common and
elementary word. 1t is not only however in
ASSIGNING
OF new meaning to the Old terms that the Eng
lisll have made reckless changes in the body of
our speech where the American practice adj
heres to the former standard. They have swung
OIL in the opposite direction also, curtaing to
no good purpose the significance of several
words. young person" is always a girl in
England. An Invalid is gill, not sick. unless
he happens to be nauseated, though it is re-
garded as perfectly proper to describe him as
confined to sick-rOOm or stretched upon q
-hQ1 &c ;Rnl
riding in carriage. although he makes no
scruple OF riding in an omnibus or street car
When you enter the vehicle at the side YOU
drive; when at the end you ride And if the
author of 'Macleod of Dare" is a trustworthy
guide. the word up, used in reference to a
journey in Great Britain, indicates not
that the traveller is seeking more elevated
region or moving northwardly, but solely that
he is going toward the capital; Cup to London
and down to the Highlands" are it appears,
that seems to have grown up in Great Britain
TO greater extent than in this country is the
habit of turning active and especially reflective
verbs into neuter. as don't trouble for 'dont
trouble Yourself" AS long ago as 1854 Miss
flung away and was rushing off, Charles
Reade, whom the astute FitZedward Hall ranks
among ''the choicest Of living English writ
ers," Is guilty of such phrases as "Wardlaw
whipped before him." [Little.] flung out of
similarly incomplete sentences certainly strike
the American ear as decided innovations, and
constitute popularity Of dicton very rarely to
DE observed on this side OF the water. The Eng
lish have also practice, more pronounced by
far than our own, OF abbreviating good many
words in their common talk. They never call
their consolidated government bonds ANYTHING
but 'consols." The Geological Gardens in Lon
dOn are the ZOO, and series of popular con-
certs given every season in the same city are
euphonl0uslv denomnated the monday Pops"
Hampshire is .'Hants;" Buckinghamshire,
Bucks" Hertfordshire, "Herts." A similar
liberty is taken with the names of firms; ''Smith
q Co. Is made to do duty. even in formal
business letters, for the established title,
"Smith, Brown & Robinson" In the con-
structlon of many sentences however, an Op-
poslte plan is frequently followed, the fhser-
tlon OF utterly superfuous words. Thus one oc-
caslonally hears English ladies ask. "Whateue,.
are you doing?"-meaning, "What are you
dolng!" In Herbert Spencer on Education, we
read That I'm Russia the infant mortality is some
tha,tg enormous" Few Americans would have put
IN the something" And who has not been dis
gusted oy the innumeraDle gors with which so
many English pages fairly bristle?-in places, 1
mean, where the author does not intend to con-
vey the slightest idea of getting, but not only
that OF present possession. The general
American dislike OF this word, and our practice
where the past participle of get must be used of
adopting the old and softer form gotten (now
scarcely ever heard in England) are not exactly
what would be expected of people who are
running the language.-GiDe,t N. Tucker, in
North American Reuie,c.