Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-08-21
BICYCLE LANGUAGE.
s )mething Regarding the Changes the
Wheel Has Made

)mething Regarding the Changes the
Wheel Has Made.
The Bicycle has brought In its wake
a track of slang. The tTall of the
Wheel Is over The English language of
today. The new vocabulary which has
on brought in with ne p shed land
l-h,r 4, II l. pu-nnAt'c the mas cuu4e
I &C, L"lguo.e is made up prize
ii UT tn ,laIg Vt ne leur ration bt
ore.
Now tne proper way TO speak OF a
man whose habits of life are expcnsii {
IS not TO refer To him as d FOUNDER, -
bon want or lone of the boys.
tie is simply "geared too high" So
"geared up To ninety SIX
Au expression of extreme anxiety
which was hitherto characterized as
careworn is now only variation of the
bicycle face"
The man who is little behind the
times was formerly person who had
dropped into rut, an "old fOgy," "a
to,sil' II you please. Those VINO make
the boulevard a cloud of wheels by day
aud pillar of scorchlng fire by night
refer 10 such one as "hlgh wheel.
by THAI they mean that he Is not "A
high roller. He is behind the times,
for the bicycle with the big high Wheel
aud the little wheel which truudled
slowly behind in frantic effort to keep
up with the procession, is considered as
vehicle very much behind the times
Whenever the bicyclsL wishes 10 IN
sinuate that your statements are not
AS truthful as they might be he lOOfs al
You in qulZzical sort of wav. and in
stead of remarking that you're off
your trolley" he simply says. My
TREND your tire is punctured. IF ~
thinks that your statements are reck
less rather than mendacious, he tesse S
his head knowingly and says, You r.
coastng now, amt you?"
The term chestnut as applied 10
An ancient story, has passed out OF u.s.
upon the boulevard. Suppose, for IL
stance, that you and she are trundliDg
along between the hill lined avenues
aud YOU say that she is the only gin
whom YOU ever loved. She, If she i
FAM, ar with the language of tn
wheel, will give the bell of her wheel n
merry tink' e and say, "Oh, Mr.. Blank.
ShaL IA century,
The use of The verb 70 scorch, as al
2!ed ~ isst hicycie riding, is ent'rel,
ew. Ii has crspt in within very few
vars. Accord ng In Mr.. Worcester
means ~ burn specifically. 81
apIdlv d. bicy cliSts ride these days
that thp> are supposed 10 parch tn.
very pavement under their swift tlelnl
heels one of these days the dictiOr
tIy will say that scOrch also means
10 ride bicycle AZ an extraordinarily
ugh rate of speed
NO. > The bicycle young woman vii
say. Il do not care especially for M
Van Skuler. Hes high wheel, and
MS talk is A century. | hope you won
Ehink | am coastng, but my pacemak
r saws that I'm likely to take headeI
md find myself i'm love with him
The covert suggestion is, that h
thinks her chaperon has wheels.
This bicycle craze has given variety
If names To the young woman VIII
rides the wheel. Here we call her tn
bicycle girl" and the youth of the Eas,
Side are wOntto speak of her as
'boomer." In Chicago where tn
ordinances against fast riding are no
40 strict as they are here, the Young
wolnan is spoken of simply as =
'scOot" In some Western cities sh'
g "scOrcher." while to New Iaalanc
remains the glory of coming that mus -
cal expression. "a cyclOdonna." or u
YOU please. bicycle lady The Ne"
Isalanders are polite and courteous
race. "CyclodOnna" is much more
musical term than "scOOt."