The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-04
SLANG OF ENGLISH SCHOOL BOYS.
Quaint Language Used at Winchester,
England.

There appeared in a, recent number
of the Chautauquan rather interest
ing, If somewhat vague and uncertain,
account of life at the three great Eng
lish public schools, Elton, Harrow and
Winchester, written under the caption,
San Englishman's Education" IN the
article casual reference was made to
the fact that the language used be-
tween themselves by any Winchester
college boys would be quite unintelli-
gible to an outsider not familiar with
the strange slang in use at Winchester
to-day, and, in fact, for the past 500
years.
This Winchester slang is indeed one
of the most peculiar things in English
verbiage, being quite separate and dis
tinct from the schoolboy slang in gen.
eral use throughout the schools and
colleges of the country, differing even
from the peculiar dialect INDUCED in
by Rudyard Kipling's "Stalky and Co."
the latter an admixture apparently of
general slang and the quaint express
sions used in "Alice in Wonderland"
1t Is sui generis and is made up chiefly
of early English, Latin and French,
some expressions funnily enough in
common use in this country to-day.
Suppose a boy at Winchester-the
Duke of Marlborough, for example,
who was at Bramstone's house from
1885 to 1SS9-should, when going to the
class rooms from his tutors house, ask
friend to walk with him, he would
give utterance to the following lucid
request: II say, Smith, socius up to
books
Or on an extra half holiday being
given on the birth of a little son to the
head masters wife he would probably
exclaim: What a thoke Tomorrow
an extra half-rem.' A half holiday at
Winchester was "a half rem" If a boy
became sick and was kept out of school
he was spoken of as being continent.
When he came back to WORK again he
came abroad" If late to work he was
"tardy," if he "shirked," i. e., remain
ing away from chapel, and was asked
the cause the excuse was always,
"Tardy, sir" To which the inevitable
would be. "Well, then, Thompson, bring
me - 'er, the first 200 lines of the v
book of Virgil
In the college buildings the quasi
secretaries at which the voys sat and
did their work We're called toys" and
throughout the school preparation time
in the evening was known as toy
time" A set of boys was known as
pitch up"-you We're a member of
certain set or pitch up. Chapel bells,
ringing at intervals for a time, then
chimes, then single bell tolling. We're
spoken OF as DellS go rotten, bells
go double bells go single" To work
hard was to mug" whether it applied
to study or to oiling a bat. To be
"frightful grub meant you We're very
greedy boy. To be trout" meant to
be angry. The word coy" so rare in
latter day speech, is used at Winches-
ter in its original sense of "bashful."
To blow" meant to blush. To TASK"
meant to put one's-self forward, at
tract attention to one's-self. A
'boker'' was cushion, "clean straw"
clean sheets, this latter expression
clearly survival of the habits in vogue
few hundred years ago.
Motions" is the name given by Win
chester boys or men, as they call them
selves, to their particular slang.
To brock" meant to bully. "Swag-
ger" man applied to youth good at
athletics, the possession of school colors,
was another euphonious term To
Jockey" meant to choose or engage or
take possession of. Long heads" APP
piled to late hours for staying out, a
privilege enjoyed in summer.
There were, in fact, hundred ex-