Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1896-02-15
POPULAR PHRASES.
ORIGIN OF SOME OF THE CATCH
WORDS THAT EVERYBODY USES.

ORIGIN OF SOME OF THE CATCH
WORDS THAT EVERYBODY USES.
We Have Tai,.n Some From the English
We Came to Adopt Some of the Phrases
Which Are In General Use.
Mention has been recently made of
tho disputed origin Of the word tee
total, claimed by two inventors. one
living iii England and the other in
America, ard each Of whom may have
lit upon the word independently and
for the different reasons assigned. To
curious minded persons who like to
know the Y hys. whens and wherefores
Of everything the origin of popular
catchwolds and figures of speech is an
interesting subject.
The wGrd machine, as we use it po-
litically. is another which, like "tee-
total, " is of doubtful parentage. In the
days of the old volunteer fire companies.
which i'll large cities We're potent factors
i'll local politics, the phrase ITO run
with the machine" came into common
use. and il mcant that man so spoken
of was identified with the political CO.
tcric of the fire company with which he
trained. The famous Boss Tweed began
his career III New York running with
the machine" as u volunteer fireman.
Yet the term as we now employ it was
used i'll England long before. The Duke
of Wellington. in letter 10 friend in
1915 deploring the increasing influence
Of popular agitation ON the action of the
houses Of parliament, said: such is the
operation Of the machine as now eStab-
lished that no individual. be his char
acter. conduct i'll antocedent circum-
stances and his abilities what they may,
can have any personal influence i'll gen
eral. " We may have derived our term
'.thc machine" from our old volunteer
fire company days. but in the Eng land
Of Wellington time there We're no fire
companies exerting any political infiu
ence
That much overwoTked word "crank"
gained universal vogue i'll connection
with Guiteauis 5 assassination of Presi-
dent Garfield, but ii was long before
that applied hy the late Don Piatt, who
claimed 10 he its inventor. To Horace
Greeley. the purpose Of it being TO liken
the lannon's editor TO the crank of hand
organ, which is forever grinding ont the
samc old tunes. The word, as we have
now come 10 apply it. means much more
and worse. 1t implies condition of
mind verging upon insanity, and this
has given rise 10 the erroneous notion
that il has its origin il the German
word ''krank =
Tho word .dago," now commonly
applied to Italians all over the country,
came originally from Louisiana, where
il mt first referred only to people of
Spanish origin. but was later applied to
Italians and Portuguese rs well. The
word Is corruption of Diego"
(Jamesl. which is Il common Spanish
name, san Diego being the patron saint
of the Snaniards.
Another word Of incessant employ
mont i'll American speech is dude,
with its feminine complement. "du-
dine. This may have come TO us from
the old Lnglish word tor clothes
"duds," in earlier times spelled
"dudeS "
Thackcray writes Of one Of his charac-
tiers: Her dresses were wonderful, her
boast such dudes. Shakespeare. in
1.-THE Merry Wives Of Windsor" writes
| Of a "bucke Of dudes, meaning bas-
ketful Of clothes ready for washing. Its
present day literary currency dates from
February, 1876. when the word appear
ed in Putnam $ Magazine. But famous
New York clubman. Mr.. Hermann
Oelrichs. claims the credit of first start
ing il IS Il Popular term of contempt or
ridicuio f III overdressed person. He
claims that u youth of this type who
passed Ey the Union club window with
a mincirg step provoked himself and
another cluLman to hum together IN ac
compnninlont to the youth ; walk, thus.
Du, da. de. en- dn. du de. - and that
he remarked Good enough dude is
the proper name for it. and that thus
the word was born.
he words lingo" and ''jingoism"
are also Of disputed derivation. We all
know about the English music hall song
which set the word going with a new
meaning i'll 1871, but the original coin
age of the term by jingor' is quite
doubtful. In the Basque language the
word jingo means God, and ii is widely
believed that by jingo!" was form
Uf oath with which the Basque sailors
familiarized the English sailors and.
through them. all English speaking peo-
pie But others believe the word is
corruption of II. Gingoulph. II is ono
of the oddities Of popular wordmaking
that the term ''jingOism. as now used,
is u complete travesty of the sentiment
nf the song from which it was taken. A
lingo, either in Eng land or America. ia
how set down as IL man spelling for a
fight, eager for war at any cost. But the
original music hall song, with the jinSo
chorus. expressed exactly the opposite
Ikeniiment-a desire fer peace. 1t began
with I'VE don't want TO fight, 2" and its
1iercest war note was struck i'll the dec
laration that if they had To do what they
would rather not, they had plenty Of
,nen, ships ard money.
Speaking of Brother Jonathan, "
there i no doubt about its origin.
When General Washington went to Mas
sachusetts 20 lake command of the Revo-
lutionary army. he found a great lack OF
ammunition and other supplies. He
turned fer aid 10 Governor Jonathan
Trumbull If Connecticut. and got il,
and in many cmerg sncieS of that period
he used the phrase. I'VE must consult
Brother Jonathan ON the subject = The
expression became nationally current,
and il stands as the American parallel
to ".Ichn Bull. ''-Baltimore sun.
A man that loves his own iireside, and
can govern his house without falling by
the ears with his neighbors or engaging
III suits at law, is rs free as Duke Of
Venice. Montaigne.
Dinner Wines.
In serving wines with Il course dinner
II i Ntfsl,