The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-09

ago, a private soldier of the former
cried out: Captain, I've caught
Tartar: Bring him in, them an
sWered the officer. Il can't, for he
won't let me-" was the response. Upon
investigation it was apparent that the
captured had the captor by the arm
ana would not release him. So catch
ing Tartar" is applicable to one who
mas found an antagonist too strong for
him.
The familiar expression ''robbing Pc
ter to pay Paul. is connected with the
history of Westminster Abbey. In the
early middle ages it was the, custom to
call the abbey st. Peters cathedral.
AT one time the funds of St. PauI's
cathedral being low, those in authority
look sutt1cient from st. Peters to settle
the accounts, much to the dissatisfac-
ton of the people. who asked. why
ROB st. Peter to pay st. Paul?" Some
200 years later the saying was again
used in regard to the same collegiate
churches, at the time of the death of
the Earl of Chatham, the city of Lon
don declaring that the famous states
man ought to lie in st. PauFs. Par
lament, however, insisted that West
minister Abbey was the proper place,
and not to bury him there would be,
for the second time, "robbing st. Peter
to pay st. Paul" The abbey properly
carried the day.
Dying in the last ditch" was. ac-
cordlng to Hume, first used by William
of Orange. When Holland was so hotly
pressed by her enemies that complete
disaster seemed imminent, the Duke of
Buckingham implored the prince to
change his tactics or the country would
be ruined. There is one way to pre-
vent my seeing the ruin of my coun-
try" answered the prince: II will die
in the last ditch"
HE has an ak to grind" Early in
the century the story was told of a lad
who was induced by a. promised reward
to turn the grindstone for one who
wished to sharpen his ak. The promised
payment was not made. Since then.
one who DISCUSSES his selfish aims by
false promises is said to have an ak to
grind.
90. K" has many alleged origins.
The most probable is the following: In
1910, when Alvah Adams organized the
Adams Express company, a young
country lad applied for work He was
employed to do all sorts of odd jobs
and make himself generally useful in
the office. The boy had an observant
eye, and saw that the shipping clerk
placed upon the managers desk each
night a list of the packages marked
all correct" The clerk being absent
one day, the boy was asked to write
the list, or, rather, to check it, When
he placed it on the desk it bore on the
outside the letters 40. K" Asked what
they meant, the youth replied: 80. X
means all correct Mr.. Adams en-
! joyed a hearty laugh, and adopted the
striking authorization thereafter.
| Cut and run" originated in a pecu-
| liar custom of the Egyptian embalm-
ers. a low-caste was employed to make
the first incision in the corpse, a pro-
cess viewed with much dislike by the
people, who held him accursed who
/ should mutilate the dead. As soon as
the fellow had made his "cut" he had
! to run through a storm of curses. stones
and sticks. He ''cut" for living. and
| had to run to save his life
The true origin of the expression "to
dun man" is curious. In the reign of
Henry VII a bailiff of Lincoln named
Joe Dun was so active and clever in
collecting debts that it became prov
erb, when a person tried to avoid pay
ment. why don't you Dun him."
| "Hobson's choice" is derived from
| one Hobson, who used to let out horses