Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-02-16
EXPRESSIVE SLANG.
CURIOUS WORDS AND PHRASES
THAT OBTAIN POPULARITY,

picturesque Language That Is Cureont in
Nearly Every walk Of Busiaess Life.
The Scholar seldom Inycnts Slang.
Well Known Sentences.
In its inception the most characteristic
slang is evidently due 10 defective oduca-
ton and the need to cypress ideas for which
a very limited vocabulary furnishes no
adequate terms, A man Of culture finds
no difficulty in putting bis thoughts into
fitting words. If his own tongue fails him,
he may borrow from foreign language.
A clever gamin might invent slang; II
scholar never would And ii is the gamin
who is the true language builder, for while
the scholar imports alien words or sen
fences TO express involved mental processes
the ganlin makes the homespun material
for common wear
Financial disaster in its various aspects
IL prolific source Of contemporary slang
Poverty laughs grimly at its own rags,
and makes jest of its hunger pangs A
man is said TO be ION his uppers" when lie
has reached state of restitution where,
actually or metaphorically, he may be sup
posed to have worn away the soles Of his
shoes. Milder forms of the same unpleas-
ant predcament are yariously designated
as 'broke," or dead broke" cleaned
out" "up the spout, " "busted" and laid
on the shelf" Laid out cold" is Il grisly
suggestion in the same category,
If your friend Graves Il temporary loan,
he may assure you that he lis short, Sin
a hole" or "in box" and if you cannot
accommodate him he will feel that he is
badly left" In default Of an expected re-
mittance, or on "slump in stocks" or IA
"break in POOLS" he may experience n
marked fall of the moral thermometer; in
which case it will be "a cold day" with
him. The latter phrase is frequently used
in an exactly opposite sense; and when en-
phasized with II disdanful accent and
knowing look, the assertion that ut is II
cold day when get left" expresses the
very sublimation of worldly wisdom and
astuteness. Yet the same clever indiyid-
ual, Notwithstanding his acquaintance with
the ways Of men and the mutations of for
tune, will not seldom get it square in the
neck"
EXPRESSIVE PHRASES.
He may even be forced to take tempo
rary employment with the well known
business house of "Leggit & Walker"
whose special line Of trade is said to be
measuring the sidewalks" Counting
the ties" is the brief record of many an
actual experience. More than one lu-
minary Of the stage, stranded, penniless
and without credit in Il strange town, has
literally counted the railway ties ON
his painful journey on foot. While the
"ghost walks" l. e., while salaries are reg
ularly paid, the thespian is equally con
tent, whether in New York or New Iea-
L.. u. / -
grow scarce his soul longs for 'the Itialto'
or "tlie Slave Market where boarding
houses leave the latchstring out and com
forting stimulants are procurable ION his
face"
Personal attributes and traits of char
acter are handled with II frankncss more
apt, perhaps, than graceful. Meeting Il
particularly stolid and unprepossrssing
person, you are requested to ''ldcIl it and
see IL it is alive" or you will be asked if
"ths door was open and the wind blew it
inp" Pronounced with due gravity of
voice and manner these sentences will be
found most effective to innict keen suffer
ing on sensitive natures.
1t Is prudent to be certain of your own
muscular superiority before tempting
physical repartee, otherwise you may
done up in great shape" process Of
which the CONSENSUS Of human experience
declares to he far from enjoyable.
A "chump," derived from the Icelandic
kumbr, log, is something more than a
fool and less than knave, that is to say
the mass of stupidity is leavened with just
the merest trace of raseality. A "gumpn
is pure idiot, allied to the more archaic
"saphead," "chuc<le head" "blockhead'
and "jolter head" Goose" and goose
cap" generally feminine, descend to us
from our grandmothcrs A "crank" is a
mental oddity often of sour temper, while
IA freak" is commonly marked byphysical
deformity; though attcrly any form of
eccentricty, whether Of mind or body, is
placed in the same category.
Dude" is n comparatively recent inyen-
tion--at least in the popular acceptation of
the term--and somewhat difficult of elias.
sification A dude is not dandy; there is
nothing gallant or dashing about him.
Quite the contrary. lie is soberness itself,
His dress is correctly ugly; his manner is
unassuming, his face is set in somber mold.
PERSONAL SYNONYMS.
Your self satisfied, loquacious and harm
lessly offensive gentleman will be cata-
logued as "smart alcck," n 'pill' or a
dose, " terms Synonymous with the ancient
and effective lass, but tinctured with
modern significance. That ravager of the
feminine heart the "masher" is a familiar
figure on our thoroughfares, arousiug in
the minds of graver spectators sinful
dreams of heavy boots as applied ~ the
ANATOMY of the ouling gallant lie travels
ON his shape" II phrase whose fine satire
touches the very heart of personal vanity.
He is also stuck ON himself" and like
...,,,, T. az, "a li,r hand - ep,,io- of mental