The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1892-01-01
EXPRESSIVE SLANG.
CURIOUS WORDS AND PHRASES
THAT OBTAIN POPULARITY.

Nearly Every Walk of Business Life.
The scholar Seldom Invents Slang.
Well Known Sentences.
In it's inception the most characteristic
slang is evidently due to defective educa-
lion and the neeG to express ideas for which
very limited vocabulary furnishes no
adequate terms A man of culture finds
no difficulty in putting his thoughts into
fitting words If his own tongue fails him,
he may borrow from a foreign language
clever gamn might invent slang; Il
scholar never would And it 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 ganin makes the homespun material
for common wear
Financial disaster in its various aspects
is a prolific source of contemporary slang
Poverty laughs grimly at it's own rags,
and makes Il jest of its hunger pangs
man is said to be ION his uppers" when he
has reached state of destitution where,
actually or metaphorically, he may be sup
posed To have worn away the soes of his
shoes Milder forms Of the same unpleas'
ant predicament are variously designated
us broke" or dead broke cleaned
out, up the spout, busted" and laid
on the shelf Laid out cold" is grisly
suggestion in the same category
If your friend Graves a temporary loan,
ne may assure You that he lis short, lin
a hole, or lin box and if you cannot
accommodate him he will feel that he is
BADLY left In default of an expected re
mittance or on Il slump in stocks" or
break in pools, he may experience
marked fall of the moral thermometer; in
which case it will he "a cold day" with
him The latter phrase is frequently used
n an exactly opposite sense; and when EN-
phasized with disdainful accent and a
knowing look, the assertion that 1T is a
cold day when get left" expresses the
very sublimation of worldly wisdom and
aStuteness. Yet the same clever individ-
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 "A strange town, has
literally counted the railway ties on
his painful journey on foot. While the
"ghost walks" i. e., while salaries are reg
ularly paid, the theSpian is equally con
tent, whether in New York or New Tea
land, but when the bright simoleums"
grow scarce his sou longs for "the Rialto'
or the 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 frankness more
apt perhaps, than graceful Meeting Il
particularly Stolid and unprepossessing
person, you are requested to ''kick it and
see if it is alive:' or you will be asked if
'the door was open and the wind blew it
in?' Pronounced with due gravity of
voice and manner these sentences will be
found most effective to infict keen suffer
ing on sensitive natures.
1t is prudent to he certain of your own
muscular superiority before tempting
physical repartee, otherwise you may
chance to ''hear something drop" or be
done up in great shape" a process of
which the consensus of human experience
utCidicS W VIC llOiIl CuJOJub
A ''chump," derived from the Icelandic
kumbr, log. is something more than
fool and less than'a knave. that is to say,
the mass of stupidity is leavened with just
the merest trace of rascality. A "gump"
is pure idiot, allied to the more archaic
"saphead," ''chuckle head, "blockhead"
and "jolter head Goose" and goose
cap" generally feminine descend to us
from our grandmothers. A Crank" is
mental oddity. often of sour temper, while
a freak" is commonly marked by physical
deformity. though latterly any form of
eccentricity. whether of mind or body, is
placed in the same category.
Dude" is II comparatively recent inven-
tion-at least in the popular acceptation of
the term-and somewhat difficult of clas-
sification A dude is not dandy; there is
nothing gallant or dashing about him.
Quite the contrary. He 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 rs smart aleck," ''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 familiar
figure ON our thoroughfares, arousing in
the minds of graver spectators sinful
dreams of heavy boots as applied to the
anatomy of the ogling gallant. He travels
on his shape" a phrase whose fine satire
touches the very heart of personal vanity.
He is also stuck on himself" and like
wise has ''the big head" species of mental
dropsy which afflicts all classes and condi-
lions of men. A bladder" is commonly
also wind bag" the combination is also
happily designated rs "a suit of clothes and
a noise" or collar and tongue"
OF another ilk are the disreputable en-
titles known as the "fakir," the tramp"
the ''rounder" and the Skin, beat" or
fraud" The kicker" blood relation to
the crank" is one who finds himself at
variance with the conditions of existence
To make grand kick" however, is some
times commendable, as proving your indie
pendence of spirit and your resolution not
to be imposed upon.
A person who is out of temper is said to
be ION his ear" If he leaves your pres
ence in a rage he walks off on his ear"
If you suspect him of a gross perversion of
ideas you may accuse him of being "off