The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1883-07-04
ORIGIN OF POPULAR PHRASES
Written for the Globe- Demoerat.

Written for the G lobe-Demoerat.l
PRINCE OF CHARLATANs.-A nanny |
given to Paracelsus, who was STYLED be |
himself the King of Physic. Al,
though he protested to have discovered !
the elixir of Life, it did not seem to
have been efficacious in his own case.
for he died at the early age OF As years,
NOTHING, If NOT CkIrIcAL.--The
quotation,
For am nothing, il not critical,
| is from Shakspeare's Othello, Act l.,
scene 3. A striking illustration of the
aptitude of the saying is given by
! the remarks Of a German critic in
explaining the text Of one of Shaks-
peare's own comedies--"As You Like
/ it.. Coming to the following passage:
Tongues in trees, books in the running
brooks, ia.
Sermons in stones, and good in everything,
he made this comment: "The lines as
they now stand are manifestly wrong.
Il No one ever found books in the running
N brooks. or sermons in stones. But a
slight transportation of words reduces
: the passage to sense. Ehakspeares
, meaning is clear, and what he meant he
! must have written. The passage should
!, read thus
I Stones in the running brooks
: Sermons in books. and good in everything
: CARRYING Coal 10 NEWCASTLE, s.
8 An old North of England phrase, which
d finds its parallel in the Persian taupt 9
s aCarrying pepper to Hindostan, and il
q the Hebrew, ITO carry oil to the City o
n Olives.
,fl Down Upon Your MARRoW-BoNEs
j The expression, "Pll bring him dow
: upon his marrow-bones, is frequentl
y heard, meaning I'll make him bend h
9 knees as he does to the Virgin Mar.
It Supposed to be from Mary Bones, a
j.. Objectionable term used by the Prote
1t tants in reference to the supposed ador
n. ton Of the Virgin Mary by the Cath
q lies. @
"a APPLE Pre- ORDER A few years az
,dfthe, origin of ithis phrasewas the subje
: of discussion in london Notes az
~ Queries. The most probable derivatit
e. is that which attributes it to CORFU
er ton of alpha beta order, that is alph
lie betical order; but even this is dout
tie full
" CowARD.-According to Edwards Il
w. word is derived from cone, the tail,
Ar allusion to the fact that most amino
"a when frightened put the tail betwe
~ ~ their legs Some. have. thought it a g
yes ruption Of acow-herd,a and say til
it was term of reproach used by t
ar Normans to the Anglo-Saxons; but Il
ess il improbable, because the term OF sec
In. herd is pure Saxon, and won
~ not be likely to be familiar to the N
= man invaders. Coward III heraldry
Va applied to "a lion OF. other beast hay
up his tail hanging between hfs shihdsleg
n ~ "JAcK-A-NApEs- Sharon Turner,
,ie' his History of England" Vol. Ill.
be- 80 stys that in the British Museum
nix balladsof tfesdate 1850, referring to
, to Duke of Suffolk and his friends in N
ars offensive terms. 1t designates the ID
n Of Suffolk by the cant name of ia
81 napes,'' and is perhaps the. earliest
tre stance discovered Of the abusive ap
cation of the word ,'iack-a-napes." !
ldl- icographers derive this word from J
ling and ape, but the ballad shows t
day "napes" was term of derision sign
I25 ing a knaye, and is, therefore, the Sa
,oas cndpa, which bore also this mean
Isn If this be SO, 1t will explain why,
iah : third figured card is called Jack"
= lo1 also "knave," and proves that JAG
be napes meant Jack the sknAve! W. r
.ope JOHANNES FACToTU.
best --a . - !.