The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1897-05-18

ITO rat"-was levelled at tho con-
yerts to the Government of George
I, but gradually it obtained a wider
meaning, and came to denote any
sudden and mercenary change in
politics.
TO SMELL A RAT.
The expression "to smell rat"
moaning to conceive a suspicion, is
said to come from tho German phrase
Unrath written, to smell something
Objectionable. Tho German prefix
un has passed. into tho English urti
Gle a, and this and perverted trans
lation have given us tho phrase in
question. In tho phrase "dowso tho
glim," (put out the light,) tho word
"dowse' is from tho dialect vorb
dout-that is, to do out, or put out,
and "glim" is modification of
"glimmer," an uncertain light. "To
sloep like a top" sooms worry absurd
phrase. 1t is corruption of tho
French provorb, "domir commo uno
taupe," to sleop like Il mole. "Just
the cheese" is an Oriental phrase.
The word "cheese," from cheoz, Hin,
doostanee, means "thing." In Eng
land, persons who fawn upon tho ar.
istocracy arc called tufthuntors-a
phrase which rofcrs to tho fact that
at tho universities ut Oxford, Cam.
bridge and Dublin q student who is
a nobloman's son wears, or ut ono
timo wore, tuft or tasscl on tho
square cap worn by undor- graduates
at the university.
A "toad eater" is ono who docs tho
most nauseous things to please his
patrons-as mountcbank's boy in
the oldon timo ate toads in ordor to
show his masters skill in oxpolling
poison. "Stcaling another mans
thunder" dates back to Quoon Amos
time, iii England. John Donnls, Il
minor man of letters, whom Pope
satirized, wrote tragedy entitled
"Appius and Virginia." Tho picco
is now recollected only by tho cir
cumstance that tho author invented
some new thunder for tho perform
ance, and by his pitoous complaint
against tho actors for afterwards
"stealing his thunder" an expires
sion which became proverbial.
TO TOLL. A BELL.
| The phrase to toll Il bell" has a
very curious history 1t is an incor-
rect way Of saying, "to toll q knoll
on Il bell" When an inhabitant of
an English parish dicd, it was once
customary to sound tho church bell,
for two reesons--iirst, because it was
supposed that the agitation of the
atmosphere caused by tho sound from
consccrated bells tended to provont
OWL spirits molosting the parting
soul in it's flight toward Honvon; and,
second, to invite noighbors and
friends to join in supplicaticn fer
tho person about to depart. At II c
end Of the knoll proper it was -: al
to indicate, by some popularity in
the ringing, tho sox and ago of the
deceased; and this was dono by a
certain number of strokes sounded
apart usually throe for child, six
for woman and nino for a man.
These strokes were counted, and thus
tho knell at tho conclusion was sale
to be told; that is, countod-~as in
the phrase, "untold gold," or "Horc
is tho sum twice told" Gradually
| this idea was lost, and tho participlc
told was reforred to supposed in,
finitive, to toll, instead Of it's nature
lnhnltlYe, to toll, or count. Again.
tho strokes told, or counted at the
ond Of tho knoll, woro called tollcrs
and this term was corrupted into tail
ers, from their sounding at the end
or tail Of the knoll; and as nino oi
these wore given to announce tho
death of an adult male, this fact gave
! birth to tho saying, "Nino tailors
make man."
MIND YOUR P's AND o's.
Tho phrase "Mind your P's nnt
Qs" is generally, but enormously
supposed to have originated in the
score of P's and Q's Pints ant
quarts) chalked up in bar rooms ir