The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-01

~
meaning that it will not close. 1t is evident
that go to" was formerly used in con-
versation as we now employ its equivalent
shut up" meaning "hush" or "stop talk
ing that way" GO to" in the Bible has a
like significance Two Gentlemen of We
roma" has made a virtue of necessity
as plain as nose on a mans face" you
gave me bitter pills" ''You. Sir Thurio
are not sharp enough" says Proteus and
Valentine tells Thurio that upon home
ly object love can wink" "homely'' being
used in the very same sense that is now
said to make it an Americanism. Then we
have in the merry Wives" good luck
lies in odd numbers" despite of the teeth
of all rhyme and reason" Il cannot tell
what the dickens his name is" upon ia
miliarity will grow more contempt" "the
short and the long of it," throw cold
water on what a taking was he in!''
run through fire and water for a person
or thing, "she does so take on, "as poor
as job" and in this comedy Dame Quick
ly praises Rugby as mo telltale nor no
breedbate" A few years ago member of
the Virginia legislature used "breedbate"
in a speech, and a ellow-member at once
challenged the word as meaningless; yet it
is still in everyday use among our inlet
tered people, meaning fomenter of quar-
rels by carrying tales to and fro, and,
with the same definition, was once a we'll
known legal term.
In the First Part of King Henry W."
Falstah declares that ''if reasons were as
plentiful as blackberries l would give no
man a reason on compulsion, l." We are
told by commentators on this that raisins
were called reasons in Shakespeare
time; and the same pronunciation of raj
sins prevails in our vernacular to-day.
Care killed a cat" says Claudio, in
Much Ado About Nothing;" there also
we find ''milksops' land Richard III calls
Richmond "a milksop:'D also like to
have had our noses snapped off" Mac
beth urges that 1--WE have scotched the
snake, not killed it; she'll close and be her
SELF wherein we have not only one of
our most familiar saws, but a reference
to a popular belief, still strong in Virginia
that certain snakes although beaten into
pieces can close up and become whole
again. The fool in king Lear" SAYS of
sunshine friends that they will pack
when it begins to rain" Besides a com
mon proverb the line contains a word
as common here as ii is in Shakespeare;
but we are assured that it is American
slang when employed in the sense of
go" as it is often employed here and in
the plays Of Shakespeare. In king Lear
we have follow their noses" upon the
CAD, land pat he comes" when the cart
draws the horse" Tor, as we have it, the
cart before the horse), more knave than
fool, the prince of darkness is a gentle
man." worth the whistle" In Romeo
and Juliet we have make thee think thy
wan crow" wild goose chase "a
FOOLS paradise" las word and a blov, -
! am peppered-'hit, wounded; "blister-
ed by thy tongue?" Romeo at the han
says he will be only a candle holder"
In LAS You Like IT, we have chars
all one" 'too much of a good thing" In
'Pericles' the fishermen promise the
prince "puddings and hapjacks" Still we
are soiemnly assured that 'flapjacks' is a
wicked Americanism for pancakes
Bucklngham, in king Henry VIII"
says Of Wolsey, mo mans pie is free
from his ambitious finger" And in This
play we find rules the roost," main
chance" "blte his tongue" 81 danced at
tendance, there's two of you-the devil
make the third" In "Coriolanus" occurs
a much disputed word Cominius at the
capitol, says of Coriolanus, He lurch'd
all swords O. the garland" Our people
nave q common saying ito leave in the
lureh' (meaning to battle, defeat frus-
trate, outgeneraD, which fully explains
the verb "lurch'd,'\ and also its origin. as
Shakespeare is full of like verbs from
similar sources. Triolus and Cresida" fur
nishes these: Hit or MISS" "he knew his
man. more deaf than adders." $50
Pidsuy proud NdnOlnef alleged American
ism. Hamlet" abounds with saws that
our folks still have, as "tis bitter cold
mot mouse stirring" "this dead hour"
(of the night, "the whisper goes.' take
it to heart" "in my minds eve" 'as
hush as death" "Plgeon-lvered," "speak
daggers'' (our folks more often say, look
,daggers') Polonius burial is thus spoken
of by the king:
We have done but greenly.
In hugger-mugger to inter him.
In our vernacular "hugger-mugger is stul
used to signify any secret or underhand
action where open dealing Is proper: and
'greenly," or green" has popular cur
rency In the same sense meant by the
king, and as used in king John" and
elsewhere.
The meaning Of "hefted," as used by
Lear, Is still under discussion. some insist
ing that the word and its meaning are from
heft, a handle, haft. hilt, while others ia
vor the derivation from heft, a heaving
quick breathing, painting. In the Virginia
Vernacular we have " to feel the heft'' of
anything, by lifting 1t or taking IL in the
hand, the phrase meaning ito feel the
weight. rSqhander," as employed by
the verb "fef, meaning TO feel the
weight "Squander." as employed by
Shylock with reference to Antonio's ships.
stH survives among our people in the
sense Of to disperse, to scatter. In ante
bellum days, some OF our old country mill
"a IaHH linz