New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-30
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL.
GOOD AND LAD ENGLISH.

GOOD AND BAD ENNLlSli.
TO the Rditor Of The Tribune.
sir: AS /; seems TO be fashionable nowadays TO
crItice other peoples English, and thereby acquire
reputation for bene purist and fanatic. !, too. am
anxious TO join the everncreaslng throng. and have
the honor here and now TO unload my hat!ul Of indlc
ments.
Imrrlmis: What Is clasptknife'l Ny dictionary
describes all manner OF knives except this; yet
suicides and other murercrs persist In their ncarious
work with ela-pknlves.' The article must be nu-
merous enough. once. for the evlldoers all seem
to have laid IN an apparently nexhaustlbe supply OF
these weapons; but | have never one TO know
1t, and ! would Ike to leain what claspkni
really Is While the agreeable subject, Why Is IL
that murderers choose revOlvers-that is. when they
can be induced to break away from the of clasp
knivesS-of precisely SO calbiei Are all rcvolvers
3.-callbre7 They surely must be. for have never
heard OF any deviation when pistol shot wounds have
been under discussion / don't wish to be fppant but
could 81 calibre revolver people graveyard as ca
pedtously IS his terrible brother, the %
When WIS boy In the country any fraction of
load OF hay was called Jag. that is. small load.
by an easy transition, one heated with wine was said
to have load be loaded, but nowadays 1t is com
mon to hear him described having frightfu old
jag on meaning the biggest kind of load. Is this
Of the word jag' broadening Of our language.
is IL akin TO the analogy of the foreigner who
~
ladder
Returning to my childhood days again. I remember
that any place Of business in basement was called
dive" because it involved the descent of flight of
stairs to get It, Such places rented at low figures
and no merchant would have "dlve' If he could
get another place. Now, however, place that is
dlsreputabe particularly lquOr-saloOn is dive
nor does 1t make any difference whether II Is on the
street floor or In the attic.
Some years ago, and even now, In some quarters,
that division Of the Supreme Court called the nis prius
called also the court Of jail delivery and very
justly so. Now, whenever band OF criminals break
Jail and escape the correspondents and reporters speak
OF the circumstance Jail delivery" Certain debts
and petty offences become outawed by the statute OF
limitations tat 49, by a fixed system of ouawry but
these msusers OF English whom / have pointed out
do not hesitate TO, describe Mexican acts OF
lawlessness, for instance, as "ouuawry In
Mexico" How many writers speakers are
there who use the correct proposition after
The word "cnter1l A glance at the
dictionary would show them that have borrowed
this word from the French acheter, meaning to pur-
chase or TO buy; yet they, having no disposition to
Join the new army of pursts and fanatics, right on
talking about catering to the public" This rep
rehenslble crowd instead Of joining the Fole Hun
dred, will persist in declaring that SO-and-so dned
quietly" at the Astor House to-day, was married
quietly in the country to-day; thus inferentialy
/
this sort SOand accustomed to bass drum or
fog horn accompaniment. They will continue to tell
US that the s police gathered him in" but would not
dream OF saying that the police "accumulaedH him. or
| d" collected him, but which would be just as proper
They Will continue out In the hard rain Of popularity
! and talk about brany" men and "nervy" women
and catchy songs, and inform us that the football
| club lined up follows"
Having opened wide the door for all the male
factors to enter the home Of the select let me drive
them In, the temperance lecturers do. by the In
| strumentaity OF the horrible example" once
| there was well-known hostelry In New.lork,
| called the Hoffman House the % In Hoffman nav,
ing tho sound that II also has In so many 81 our eOOd
| English words, such as come London, brOtlicr
other and few million, more or less, 0tlerS) III
moment OF inspired afectation and to crafty an I'M
| Welding disposition TO be different from anybody else,
and 10 show others that he unyammelled by arb,
trary rules this horrible example without any show OF
right or reas m recstened this h0selry the Hartman
| House His friends and nelghbors Joined his unnoy
rebelon and to-day they outvote us ten to one Here
now is their chance TO reform. Let them enter; and
| having entered let them remember, as they would
| doubtless themselves say q In this connection the
three sweetest words In the language-money honey,
| mother GROWLER FROM GROWLNlLLE.
| New-York, Nov. IL, 1891.