South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1889-09-27
INTELLlGENCER
FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 81, 1859.
The Origin of Slang.

s"es NJ. YET All wnat - called slang 70
frequently the giving Of new meaning 10
old words or the inyen ton or new words
rom Old roots. II Is iGte resting to note
how many of the commo neat words and e.
ven phrases which once were regarded as
eisngy and iuelegant beccm, part OF the po-
iite Language OF the times. Words. ike
ives, have biography. saws n writer.
Many words, indeedJ have histories which
are histories OF important personsges and
events in the affairs OF the world This
mskes the history ola word often ss inter.
estipg and as valuable as that Of an indivl-
dual.
Dun is a word now whose. meaning IL
known 10 e.cry one who understands the
English Language. Too many wish they did
90, know it, Yet at tie beginning Of this
century IL was unknown About that
lime constable in England nsmel John
Dnn became celebrated as q 6rst.clazs col.
ector OF bad debts When others would
iAii TO collect bad account Dun would be
sure TO get IL out Of the debtor So WELL
known did this become that people from the
surrounding country sent him H. cir &C.
counts when they could not collect them.
IL sccr passci into current phrase tina,
when person owed money and would not
pay when asked he would have 10 be rDan.
NED Hence it soon became common ia
50 q cases TO say. you will have to Dun
so and ifyou wish to get your money
onul The nomination of Franklin Pierce
Tor the Presidency the word outsider was
unknown. The committee on credentials
came In to make its report and could not
get In because of the crowd of Pc ple who
were not members OF the convention The
chairman al the convention asked il the
COMMITTEES was ready to make Is report and
The chairman Of the committee answered:
YES. MIR. Chairman; bat the committee is
unable 10 get inside on account o! the crowd
and pressure of these outsiders The news.
paper reporters, ever ready 70 appreciate a
| COED word or phrase, took up the word and
! used II. Hoom, in its new sense of mean
ing popular cismor for a man, or for any
| question or movement Is a recent word
being hTst used as such in 1880. Grant was
being run for a third term. This brought
| out bitter opposition, even among repub,
Leans. One paper said the movement was
IKE boom across swollen stream, taking
| IN al! tsat WAS worth having. A ii. Louis
paper took it up, and said the third term
movement was properly called boom.
AS 1t raksi iu everything that wa, on
lhe surface OF the muddy stream Of politics,
meaning TO the word. Since then II ha1
been in common use as such,
'Cnestnuts, IN reference 10 repeating sto
ries that are Old. ia "A new word and not
much can be said in its favor excent that
being word that ia not inelegsnt either in
touhu or origin, and Expressing SO mach iu
.wo 81 liza plea. II has probably come with as
s'ny us origin Is not positively kuownI
and only two probable sources are given
One Is that some shrewd wit, seeing an an
aiogy between the propensity Of Joke to
become STALE and hat quickly, and the chest
nut 70 become wormy in few days, appl led
the WORD chestnut to a joke when repeated
100 OFTEN aud palmed OF as new on CON
pany which had heard Ii 60 freou ,Ativ n. m
| become n1fpd THE mn, he
am inclined to attribute it to the Other al.
SEQ source-to wit: that theatrical par.
" travelling on a train and trying to be
guiie the weery hours by reading aad tell.
ing Stories, bought lot of chestnuts at a
station 10 help pass the time mem Der
OF Tue company proposed that they tell sto.
ries and that whoever told a story that had
been told recently should be pelted with
caestnuts. A little bell in the party WAS 10
De rung whenever stale joke was perpe ra-
teo as sign they were TO fling chestnut at
the offender. This is said to be the origin
both OF the phrase and of the chestnut bell
craze which ragged over The entire Country
four years ago
You are daisy ia considered very
slangy by these who use it indiscrimiuateIy
aud oftentimes it is. But il used in the
sense in which its inventor. if ! mag 40
speak Of a word, Charles Dickens, intended
it. IL Is a < bod and forcible word In Da
vid Copperfeld it is FIRST used in the sense
of calling person daisy ia q way to ex
press admiration, and, at the sans time, 70
laugh al ones credulity. Steerforth says to
young Copt erheid: David, my daisy, you
are so innocent Of the world Let me call
you my daisy, as II is go refreshing in these
corrupt days to find one so innocent and
unsophis,icated Ny dear Copperfeld, the
daisie, Of the field are not fresher III IN you ,
Hence, when conveying the idea that per /.
son ia innocent and artless amid a skeptical
and scheming condition ofsoeiety, to cay
you are daisy Is not slang. II is forci-
BILE and elegant. The same massage gave
Us the other word meaning the same thing,
though sounding little harsher, fresh
We often hear The expression You're TOO
| iresh. Ihis. TOO was originally mesnt By
Dickens TO mean an innocent Ignorance OF
the ways OF the world. II was so used by
Steerforth in reference TO David CopperHeld
But when used IN mean that person Is i'm,
pudent or frowsrd, as is too frequently the
case now, 1t becomes slang, as such A
meaning is in reality senseless
Too thin Is a two.worded phrase heard
In ell classes OF society. BY some IL Is used
IN a vulgar sense. and 1. is Objectionable
slang by Others il Is used in the manner
which gave II TO us hs a good word. To say
when speaking OF an action, 'Oh, that is too
thin is vulgar slang, because an action
| Nt%AASN ~ N'''s DhA W WlFh ~ ket SUI
makes statement that is calculated to mis-
Lead oh, that IL too thin is not slang
IL was given currency by the Honorable
Alexander y Stevens OF Georgia, 10 the U.
= Congress 10 1870. Some member had
made reply 10 Mr. Stevens and The latter
bad his chair wheeled out 10 the aisle and
said 10 that shrill piping voice which al'
ways commanded silence Mr. Speaker, The
Rentlemau's arguments are gratuitous ssser-
lions made Up Of the whole cloth. And
cloth, sirJ go gaUzy and thin that II will not
hold water. IL is entirely too thin, sir
Brother Jonathan ss name for the q :.
nited States, is much older than this and
was given by Washington himself, though
that individual bad no idea OF making
slang phrase !or the name of bis county NJ
the time. Jonathan TrUmbull, governor OF
Connecticut, furnished the strugg ling conu'
mental army with funds and supplies on
many occasions. One time tie army was
10 sore distress add consultation was held
In tho midst Of " some one wondered what
would be done. Washington answered:
/ wei, vel have 10 put il OF until We can
sec Brother Jonathan as Gov. Trumbull
/ wss called he will help US out, ! guess.
/ And he did, and gave bic name TO The couh.
\ try bic zeal and patriotism bad helped 10
save
| Thus II Ia that words are made and phra-
se5 take on new meaning. In this mans
ner the language progresses by acer elton,
90 IL were. Such words as take new mean