Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-03-27
THE ORIGIN OF DOODLE.
ITS ANCESTOR CAME OVER WITH
THE DUTCH OF NEW YORK.

Specification,
The new Century Dictionary contains the
word Doodle, and refers to a Seventeenth CEN
fury word, buddle, which it says is the same
as our DOODLE, 1t adds that, although the two
words are probably one and the same, "boodlen
may be a corruption of the word caboodle
This, however, is not tenable hypothesis, as
caboodle is itself a corruption arising from
the old New England slang phrase, kit and
Doodle" signifying the whole lot. This was
the original form, and the transformation
into exit and caboodle" naturally grew out of
a mad desire for ALTERATION in sound.
HOW HOLMES USED IT.
The Seventeenth century use of the word
buddle is illustrated in Markham's Book of
Honour: ""Men curiously and carefully cho-
sen out from all the 'buddle' and masse of
great ones for their approved wisedome"
The meaning here is the whole. Oliver Wen
dell Holmes, in the "Autocrat," has the fol
lowing: "He would like to have the whole
Doodle Of them q demonstrated against this
word, but the professor said it was diabol-
ish good word, with their wives and children,
shpwrecked on a remote island" Here
again she word signifies the whole lot. AL
though it is a "vie word as Polonius would
say, it is still 'diabolish good word" 1t is
not a nice word, but when the "Autocratn
was written, some thirty-ive years ago. was
still in good standing.
Among criminals the word seems to have
been first used by counterfeiters to signify
the spurious coin The Dictionary of Slang,
Jargon and Can't" published in London,
1889, says the word is used in the United
States among thieves to denote only counter
felt coins or bills Technically it is never
used to denote genuine money used for nefa-
rous purposes The "boodler" is he who
carries the counterfeit or ''queern money,
while the 'shover' is he who passes it off
"At the first sign of trouble the Doodle car
rier vanishes leaving nothing to criminate
his companion rogue" Among confidence
men of the species called in some places
"Mags men, the word is used to denote
roll of paper skillfully rolled in and covered
by greeubacll or bank note. The roll is used
in their confidence games. Among gamblers
doodle" is sometimes used to describe the
pile of coins gathered in by the winner of the
game
1t seems pretty certain that the word has
been ard is thus used among criminals with
these technical meanings. In its evil sense
Doodle is defined as money fraudulently
obtained in public service, especially money
given to or received by officials in bribery or
gained by collusive contracts appointments,
etc, by extension, gained from cheating of
any kind" And again; "booty, profit, per-
quisite plumber, commonly used with regard
to government contracts, etc, by which the
public are cheated"
1t is also pretty well agreed that the word
in this sense is of American origin The
Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant, be-
fore referred to, quotes:
Twas Yankee Doodle once, swore,
But it is Yankee Doodle now.
Which sounds as though written by an
American exile in Canada. But though its
American origin may be allowed it has be-
come domesticated in other lands
But while the word as we have it is thus
identified with the cant of criminals, it still
remains to show how the criminals got it.
THE DUTCH WORD.
"Boodlen agrees in pronunciation with the
Dutch boedel signifying estate, possession,
which, SO The Century Dictionary says, it
may have been taken in the Elizabethan
period in the general sense of the ''whole lott
or whole property. There is also German
word beutel, signifying purse, which CORE
y
the same sense sometimes used in England
There is Friesic word budel, denoting an
estate, especially bankrupt estate, and
there is also another Dutch word buidel,
meaning pocket The old English bottel,
signifying a bundle, is probably of the same
family.
All these are cognate words and are either
different forms of the same word or are vari-
y,F 1l1,I,1
that the New York criminals, among whom
the word 'boodlen is first found, got it from
an English source. The meaning of "buddle,"
as used by Markham, or of ''boodle,n as used
by the Autocrat was not sufficiently fruitful
of criminal suggestion to thieves and coun-
terfeiters, although etymologists would find
little difficulty in establishing a family rela-
tionship between the "boodle" of Holmes and
the "boodle" of city councilman and other
gentlemen of easy virtue But thieves are
not troubled with chronological niceties They
take what they find words as well as Doodle, /
and the New York criminal probably found
in the Dutch boedel, which came to New Am
sterdam with the Holanders, a word which
survived amid political and linguistic trans
formation, preserved its meaning, "stulf,n
and finally found its way into the criminal
y
ing we have seen. From this, like river
lost underground, it energies when it is want.
ed, considerably soiled, it is true but still a
most useful member of the family philolog. .
ical
An examination of the Dutch influence in
New York will probably strengthen this hy-
pothesis of the origin of "booden as we use
it. The word "stoOpn will be called to mind
by many, "Blickey," signifying in New
York and New Jersey a tin pail; "bockey,n .
denoting vessel made from a gourd, Dutch
word used only in New York, while ''boss," .
another significant word originating in New
York city politics. is probably only another
form of the Dutch baas, signifying master or
overseer. There are, however, English words .
which may be the parent Of this latter
Altogether it seems reas enable to believe
that the Dutch boedle, Wandering from its
homely uses and put to the evil service of
thieves and counterfeiters, has returned like
the prodigal son to the company of its re-
spectacle brothers The use to which we have
put the word is one to which il has identified
by its long experience among the criminal
classes SO. Louis Post-Dispatch. III
wish He wouldn'tH'
ooh, wish he wouldn'tln said dear girl,
az she opened the box and for one long mo-
ment of pure delight drank the exquisite
beauty and perfume of the great cluster of
yelvety jacks
"They're lovely and so is he, but do wish
he wouldn't!n she repeated as she lifted out
the great bunch and thrust them with the
most elaborate and artistic carelessuess into
a great cut glass rose bowl.
.Fv,H+ /.