The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-04-08
SLANG AND IT'S ORIGIN.
How Some Recent American Coinages
Came Into Use,


How Some Recent American Coinages
Came Into Use.
Another book on Americanisms, prin-
cipally political, has appeared, and our
British cousins, having conquered the
etymology of 'gerrymanders" and
"half-breeds, are now struggling with
that of ''mugwumps." Since the late
Richard Grant White wrote his slashing
review of "Bartlett's Dictionary Of
Americanisms" compilers have fought
shy of the subject, and the remarkable
expressions used by Americans in mod
ern English novels are either evolved
from the inner consciousness of the
authors or caught froom Cooks Tour
lists" who make a yearly stampede
across the Atlantic. American slang
will forever be a mystery to foreigners.
How it is used, what it means, and
above all, who uses it, is more thasa they
can grasp. When such a writer as
William Black makes charming
American girl say: That's the kind of
persimmon am" it is high time to
publish dictionary of American slang,
with an appendix to show how, where
and by whom it is employed.
1t is Thaokeray who makes the prig-
gish Laura say that modern men are so
afraid of being laughed at as sentiment
alists that they have invented slang as a
non-committal way of expressing them
selves, even in the most earnest mo-
ments. But Laura's remark does not
hold good on this side of the water
Slang in the Western States, where it
attains its gamiest flavor, is merely an
exaggerated form of expression. The
westerner loves to be emphatic. He was
not content with the modest little ad-
jective "heap;" he coined a beautiful
composite word with a hyphen, and
now says 'heap-sight'' a heap
sight bigger nor you" The somewhat
antiquated, though still popular, 81
should SMILE Il should snigger," II
should eackle," are nothing more than
an emphatic form of yes" and are
first cousins to 'Why, certainly" There
is saying current in the East that
when the Western miner pays his bill he
asks, with ferocious jocularity, "Wal,
what's the swindle?" which must strike
the hotel clerk as full-private James
joke did the General-"If this is joke,
full-private James, It's a joke of doubt
full taste" The word guess" used all
over the United States as think" every
one knows to be of English extraction
Wickliffe employed it in his translation
of the New Testament as .'think,"
Tyndal translated it as ''weenest, Gran
mer as "hast thought" and Chaucer
used it in ''Trollus and Cressida" and
other works for both think" and Sup
pose"
1t was originally a Southerner who
threatened, after the manner of gods
and Titans. to filing a rock at your
head" and then let fly small pebble;
but the Westerner, fascinated by the ex-
travagapce of the phrase, promptly
adopted it. Southerners are also re-
sponsible for '"Tou'uns" for you and
''we'uns'' for Us. During the war a
Northern officer met an old woman,
and asked her if she had seen any Union
troops thereaboUts. Wall" said she,
chewing a straw and considering, '.thar
was some of you 'uns over thar cross the
road, but some of we'uns came long,
and them uns got up and busted"
This is, after all, only American for
nous dutreS. Abbreviation of syllables
reaches its highest pitch in calling rub
ber shoes gums" as they do in Penn
sylvania and Ohio. What must have
been the feelings of the lady who, when
a young couple visited her, was answer
ed by the husband, on inquiring for the
wife: ''Emilyp Oh, she's outside clean
ing her gums on the mat"
do telln and Il want to know are
confined to New England. "Is that so,"
a heightened indeed is to the unre-
fined American what 80" is to the
ic nf
dozen different meanings. None but
the initiated know the amount of deli
cately-yeiled sarcasm with which it can
be infused. 1t is one of these apparently
harmless little phrases that can be made
to sting. 1t was also in New England
that 'budge" was seduced from its good
old Saxon meaning and converted into
q synonym of ''intimate. "Budge" was
never pretty word, and when it ap-
peared in such a sentence as "She and
your sister are quite bulge" it sounded
more unwieldy than ever. 1t has still
another slang meaning gentle
man is intoxicated it is delicately said
of him that he is full of budge."
New Jersey, beside talent for breed
ing mosquitoes as big as pullets, has a
little knack of inventing unique Ameri-
canisms, which are peculiar in that they
say quite the contrary of what they
seem to mean, as in parts of Lancashire
''cow'' is slang for horse" When a
Jerseyman says, "What ails you at
him?" he means What has he done to
youP"-a form of words popular even
among the clergy. Only lately divine
cried from the pulpit in heartrending
tones, -"My brethren. what ails you at
the Lord Jesus Christi" A New York
man, while staying in New Jersey, was
asked by friend to drive. At the ap-
pointed hour the friend arrived, and
with long face, said sadly: I'VE can't
60. l can't use the wagon; 1 have no
sword" The New Yorker Immediately
suspected incipient mania, and felt re-
ieved that they couldn't use the wagon.
He was not aware that in New Jersey a
sword means a coupling pole.
The etymology of many Americanisms
is impossible to discover. "Boss" is
taken from the Dutch Bass" or mas
ter, and is quite legitimate. Boom, I"
some clever person says, is derived from
the nautical phrase, ito boom out" as
applied to vessel tearing before the
wind; and the origin of "blizzard'' is
enveloped in obscurity, and "bulldoze"
has vanquished all the etymologists in
turn. Even Richard Grant White was
xuorctad in a sf1-1OOIa fo axtro ot its on ha