The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1884-03-15
English Verbal Fashions.

words which are so much deSplSed b.
the would-be genteel. In olden time
ladies always spoke of their opposit,
sex as ''gentlemen," and gentlemen o
''ladies." Now, a lady who talked
among her equals of a friend as a gen.
tleman would be considered either ex
traordinarily old-fashioned, or else never
to have lived in quite a good set. o.
course in speaking to servant, she
would mention friend as ga gentle.
man," to her equals. She would say,
"Aman who came to seen yesterday"
"two or three men dined with us last
night" "Have the men come in from
shooting2" To a servant she should
say, care the gentlemen come in?'
'Two gentlemen will dine with us to-
-;~l.. "a .fTA e~..41-------a: :---s--s,--
stay" The converse is not so certain.
A gentleman speaks generally of "wo-
men, but he often uses the word ''lady."
Still he would say, "She is nice wo-
man." or "clever woman" not a
"clever lady," Of course he, too,
would speak to servant of lady as
ga lady" not ga woman" Formerly
gentlemen spoke of ''young ladies'"
now such term would be rococo; they
are always spoken of as ''girls," always,
The word "papa" and "mamma"
have been so appropriated by the would
be-genteel that are now anything but
fashionable in good society, and the
good old term father and mother are in
finitely better style.
Some ladies who live on the fringe of
good society, but who are yet not of it,
often that imagine in going just little be-
yond what they hear the well-bred of
their acquaintance say they are show
ing their intimate acquaintance with
that innermost circle where they fain
would be but where they never arrive.
Such ladies are apt, for instance, to use
the word "fellow' for man, and con-
ceive that they are showing themselves
more an fatt of the manners of the up
per ten than their neighbors, while they
are only exhibiting themselves as fast,
slangy, and ignorant of the shibboleth
of good set. To an experienced ear
there are many phrases perfectly inno'
cent in themselves, which tell as plain
ly as possible in what sort of society
those using them are accustomed to
move. Little tricks ofspeech are caught
up insensible and tell tales of which
those using them unconsciously have
very little idea.
1t cannot be too strongly impressed
upon young people, more especially OF
course, on girls, that the use of slang is
extremely vulgar and foolish. Gener-
ally girls catch it up from their young
brothers -schoolboys being seldom re-
markable for good taste-and acquire a
habit of using silly, if not absolutely
ebieetionable, words which should at
words, not absolutely slang in them
selves, which it yet becomes a fashion
among silly young people to use, in and
out of season, without the slightest regard
to the their meaning. Such are the ad-
iective and adverb "awful'' and ''aw-
fully" In the proper place these
words are perfectly unobjectionable; ;
can awful accident" can awfully sud-
den death," for instance, are legitimate
occasions on whichto employ them but
"awful fun," and "awful jolly" ''aw-
fully pretty" are not only vulgarisms,
but give an idea of utter brainlessness,
which the young people using SO glibly
would probably be the first to resent. 1t
is an excellent plan, whenever a girl
uses a word in the wrong sense, to IN
sist on her fetching the dictionary and
reading aloud the meaning of the word
she has misused. The annoyance and
trouble of doing this will do more to
break off the silly parrot-like trick than
any amount circumstance. Theworst
of it is, that because others do it young
people are apt to think it smart and
fine, instead of as is really the case sim
ply idiotic. Another word which is
coming into fashion for simple misuse
is the unpleasant epithet of "ghastly. "
sI have got through CHASTITY lot OF bus
iness," otis CHASTITY way off," Can
anything be more ridiculous? 1t is
worse than "awful," being an uglier
word, and conjuring more unpleasant
images. But astill worse word is "beast-
w." which, though certainly one most
inappropriate in lady's mouth, is fal
from uncommon now -a-days. ''What
beastly weather" "tis abeastly shame"
are bad enough, and should be correct
ed even in a schoolboy; but his sister
should be taught that such language il
quite objectionable.
Purity of English is certainly no
sought after by the youth of the presen
| day-they appear to glory in such vul
garisms as CANT" for cam not" an1
to think vulgar expression from SLANG
burlesques suitable method of express
ing such few ideas as they seem to pos
sess. Some who wish to be though
an fait of Partisan life are fond of say
ing, when they wish to express that
thing is smart or fashionable, that it
very chic (sad to say frequently pro
nounce it chickD Now, this is con
sidered vulgarism in well-bred French SO
ciety, and it is not less SO in the mouth
offoreigners. Another vulgarity whic
Young ladies permit themselve
withdeplorable frequencyis to say,whel
wishing to express that anything quit
right, that it is "quite the cheese,
"ouite the ticket" Ifthey only kne'
how bad either expression sounds tror
their mouths, we feel sure they woul
never use either again.
~"Yes, Sir" said shoemakerto
customer, "they beat palmistry all no
low. Take yourself, for instance;
your shoes / can see vacillation, irrest
luton, fickleness, a tendency towar
negligence or evasion and unpleasar
duties, occasional spells of morosenes
Show me any persons foot-coverin
after two months wear, or often lie
than that, and I will tell you that pc
sons character. If both heel and SO
, are evenly worn level the wearer
; clear-headed, decisive and resolute,