, 1897-11-23
,iORTALITY OFSLANG
WOROS and PHRASES THAT RUN
WILD AND ARE SHORT LIVED.

The Italian method of pretixing an
to a word to give 1t n damaging signifi
cance can be employed with good elfec,
in christening that maynard and de
generate offspring of English known a.
slang. In its present state slauguag.
has attained to such a luxurious com
pleteness that 1t warrants serious treat
ment. So copiOus and comprehensive
has it become that there is hardly a hu,
man want feeling or emotion Of tho
heart that cannot be translated into til.
vernacular of the UootblaCk. In study,
ing the philosophy of slang the frs,
natural query is. How and why did i,
originate: To the first question one
might give, with certain notifications,
the same answer that would be given q
the question. Why do people swear.
The human animal. like "A locomotive.
seems to require escape valves for OCca
slons when there Is too much steam in
the boiler. When Il man is uverflOwiug
with admiration, anger or wonder. the
ordinary adlcctivcs do not COR he thinks
they do not meet the emergency They
"' "a ''At''' iA7 H'ht tp luI4llisN any
more than Il sip from Il dcwdrop wouli
quench a mans thirst. The natural mar
Ii the natural woman sometimes find
relief under strong emotion in explosive
~utterances. In the case of anger the es-
cape valve explelive is an oath unless
the man in question happens to be a
gentleman and sometimes, though very
rarely. when he is.
1t will thus be seen that slang. being
of emotional ancestry, is Il first cousin
to the oath, and both are used by those
who mentally resemble the man whose
use OF Intoxicating drinks has made him
forget or underestimate the attractions
of pure water. Slang, in sooth. is q
whisky distillation of language. 1t is
SO strong that it may be taken only very
rarely with impunitv. and herein lies
the chief danger i'll its use. Not only
does the slanguist find ordinary English
find any English at all.
Another fatal characteristic of slang
is the very Il which at first secures its
adoption-namely. its pungency. The
same law that makes quiet colors and
shades wear well in the world of fabrics
has its counterpart in the world of
speech. We tire very speedily of Il start
ling costume, in high colors, and Just
as speedily do We tire of slang, which
is startling, high colored speech.
Still another reason why slang can
V gain u permanent foothold in the
language is its utter lack of dignity
Nc subject can be seriously treated in
slanguage. Its sole function is to tickle
by its patness Or its grotesqueness. 1t
reflects q fugitive iridesccnce upon cur
rent wit and humor, as like the bub.
BILE catches prismastic colors, but. like
the bubble, it vauishes evcn while you
behold it. Naturally there are slang
phrases of MI degrees of goodness and
badness, ranging from the word which
is only a slight remove from a forcible
but perfectly decorous adjective to
slang of the most daring, deep dyed or
der, At M END of the scale, for in
stance, II might place ~"fetching'' and
at the other end its speculative rum
Again. the injunction play ball. is
gentle and seemlv, i'll comparison with
~ u hsIbN sNNA a lll'N' N
Along certain lines the slanguist seems
to revel i'll e~xtravagant synonyms and
antonyms, especially i'll those express
ing some iniirmity i'll the upper story
The man who has ''whcels'' is also
popularity known as "nutty. "''cracked"
or"off his trolley" Again. if he comes
from the country, he is corn raised,'
has seed i'll his hair. or his face
doesn't fit him." Call" nerve"
check, sand. brass" and face
are also nearly SYNONYMOUS terms for
qualities whose universally has made
them Il target for popular satire. Equally
prolific is the slanguiSt i'll coming
terms for money. Dust. tin. -
sand. '.rocks. ''chink" and ''spon
dulicks'' are only IA few of the words
that translate filthy lucer."
Two of the slang phrases now in
gallingly frequent use are, That's
right" and THAT won't cut much
ice" The latter. it must be confessed,
has certain cool tigurative qualities
which give it a saving color of grace.
But most of thes. phrases rely chiefly
pom their condensed eXpressiveuess,
which is the trademark of their Amer
lean manufacture. They are but one Of
the many devices of the masses to com-
pass u crosscut and avoid circumlocu-
lions. Thu snap and ''cinch' are
time economy for a moneyed sinecure
and an assured competence.
One of the surest tests of h rapid
mortality of slang is the extremely pain
full sensation produced by hearing anti
Quated slang phrases uscd-and there
are always people who are two OF
three or ten years behind i'll their use
Of such phrases. When other people are
saying Not On your tintype." the
user of widowed slang feebly cJac-
ulates Il should smile" The piquaucy
and patness Of certain phrases make it
hard to declare that slang has 40 legiti-
mate use. But concerning its misuse,
there can hardly be two opinions among
people whose opinions are worth any
thing. A careful study of the qualities
of men and women who h%abitually III.
terlard their remarks with slang will
furnish anybody with a world of con-
vincing conclusions in favor of pure
English .-Critic.
The hagfish, or myxine, has a custom
of getting inside the cod and similar
~ Al -