New-York tribune., 1892-01-02

Nabal when carving provisions TO David. lie
spcalSs of the verb buckle to marry, as English,
whereas the use of it in this sense prooaoly
originated in Scotland. He speaks of bough'eh
as if it were an Amcrcanism, though 1t Is really
a relic of archaic us2.c, and in the s'Ntech'h
century was as proper English as one coui0 ash
for The phrase " \ bee in his bonnet Is ScV
down as an Amcricanism by Mr.. Maitah" "'O
tbc usc Of the word bonnet determines the
Scottish origin of the phrase, the only Amcnean-
ism about it being the adjective by which is speci-
fled the particular kind Of bee the bonnet i sup,
posed to contain. lie speaks of oroSucs'
brceches. as the corruption Of Dutch word' nnt
il is doubtful whether the word comes from tic
Dutch "brock7 or the Irish "hiog.
The unmoditcd sound Of the vowel l.
in favor Of the latter suppositon liaVlhg
defined BENJAMIN" the can't term lor "n
ovcrcoat. he incrprcts Bcnjy" TO he waist
coat. but misses the other more familiar mean-
ing. a low-crowncd, broad-brmmed straw nat
Sometimes lie adds a new definition when iorihS
an admirable supplement TO the Englsh dcll
ton For example, the Imperial Dclloh"i|
describes bender" in the sense OF lee aS d"
American euphusm, and quotes Lon9icllo" ipT
the use of the word Mr.. Maitland unconScouSN
returns the compliment by rcmarklnS 'ia' III
English slang bender" means arm and over
the bender" is used in the sense OF the phrase
familiar enough in this country, over the lcI''
\ number of phrases and words have been IN
cluded in the book which are not properly ci'sSi-
fed under the head of slang. he BuesI"S'
Region. as the name Of portion OF hen'ucNy'
is as far from being slang as Albion Is Wheh
apnlied TO England The fanciful tues ol III"
States in the Union. as " Buckeye STATE hooser
State and the like-though it is convenient /"
have them in a book of reierencc-are cer'aihiH
not SLANG In MANY cases they are exact al
lusiops n some pecularity Of the country or OF
the inhabitants Few will be ready TO allow
that the word bettcrmcnts" so common IN rail-
road reports is to be classified as slang. though
it was at the outset rude combination oil
sounds. Proverbial sayings which have been
LONG in use can hardly be called slang, even
when they are turned to some new use. An
instance of this is "between hay and grass
borrowed from farmer life to describe perlod
of deness.
more rigid method, though it might reduce
tbe number of definitions would leave space III
n volume of given size for complete study OF
obscure phrascs Wherever the origin of these
or some particulars of their history can be given
such particulas are always found 10 have the
highest interest Mr.. Maitland defines bile
very briefly thus. "tOld Eng, cheat. hard
bargain" If he had turned to "Thc Spectator,
he would have found the word used exactly as
one might now say "a sell" The anecdote Is
told there of dealer in cadavers, who was bargain
ing with condemned prisoners for their bodies
after execution. One of the convlcts, AFTER ne
had received his money, exclaimed in great Giee
"A bite a bite; I am TO he hanged in chains.
If the definitions were followed with quotations
and each Of these quotations were credited with
cxactness to it's proper source. the book would
have a value which now is certainly lacking.
Thorough good faith in this respect would also
inspire confidence in regard 10 those phrases which
Mr. Maitland quotes, not from printed books or
papers. but from everyday speech. An example
where there may well he doubt is his definition
of the word deringcr7 a revolver. If the
word is ever used in that sense, the error amounts
10 slang As a matter of fact, the derrlneer proper
is short single barrel pistol of large calbrc, and
in the days of its popularity was freqNcnly ear
ricd in the trousers-pocket by men in half cf>-ia-
Western towns. In spite of it's shortcomings, how
ever, the book makes good beginning. As only
limited edition is printed, and the author seeks
the assistance of all who can contribute 10 the
knowledge of the subject, ne doubtless aims at
bringing his work nearer TO perfection by future
ci.