The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1899-01-04
Cartons Examples of Yankee Slang.

pick up Sucn coDgiODl-rhilOu OF slang
terms in the few short months that
they have been away passes my under
standing" said an army officer the
other day. lie had been listening to a
couple of returned soldiers who were
swapping stories of the war, and was
much amused and apparently not lit
tie perplexed by their language.
'It is certainly not Spanish, /" he add
ed, "but whatever it is, il is decidedly
Dutch to me. During the war (the
Civil War, mean-we have to distin-
guish our wars now the boys added a
great many slang words TO their voeab-
uiary, but these young 'uns beat US out
of sight 1t is a sign of the times, /
suppose, but if they had stayed in Cuba
much longer they would have bad to
bring back an interpreter with them.
can't understand half they say as
it is"
As the officer walked Off the two pri-
Yates looked at one aTother, winked
and commenced to laugh.
"What was the boss mean the
Captain-saying TO your asked one of
the soldiers.
''Said you were talking so much slang
he couldn't understand YOU
Guess he wasn't in the South then,
but we were pitching it rather fierce,
ell, bunkie ?' to his companion.
"Bunkie" didn't say anything, only
grinned.
"But say" continued the other, you'd
a died 10 see bunkie here when he came
down to Cuba and heard the men talk.
Say, it was out o sight. He's sno sweet
tempered angel at the best Of times,
and he's been my bunkie that's my
tent mate) an so / know. He was one
of the last recruits 10 reach the island.
We call the recruits rockies now. At
first they was new boys, but now
they're rockies. The grub boss, that's
the qnartermaster sergeant, comes
around next morning an sees my
bunkie sitting in front of the tent.
Here, rookie, he calls. tell your
bunkie 10 come and get his punk.
Punk means grub, anything 10 eat,
you know. Bunkie looks at him, an
then be says, 'Aw, what're you giyin'
us?' That's all right, rookie, said the
grub boss, jest you tell your bunkie.
That's him in the tent there
'Then bupkie got mad Now, just
you look here, sereant, says he, just
you mind who you're addressin'. See?
You amt the whole push cause you
got stripes on your arm. Don't you
call me out o my name, cause il don't
90, see? j amt no bird, an / won't
stand for it, Gosh, he was mad
told him rookie was ouIy slang for re-
crnit, but he said he didn't want any
slang in his. But you got used 10 il
'fere long, didn't ycn, sYntie2'
The terms rookie and ''bunkie'
and ''siopsp for clothes, used so fre-
quently by the soldiers, are all expires
sions in vogue in the English army,
and are quoted frequently by Kipling.
For instance, in Back to the Army
Again, he says, ~ couldn't 'elp odd
ing straight when me an the other
rockies come under the barrick gate"
The derivation Of other expressions
is doubtful, If not impossible to ascer-
tain. Most of them probably had their
genesis in the fertile brain Of some SOL
dier who described fact in terms
that amused his companions. Others
caught onD because Of their literal
truthfuiness. As an example of the
latter class the expression ''shop' ex-
cept when referring to intoxicatiOn,
has been changed to "mausered.n II
a man was wounded otherwise he was
probably ''macheted" If he was kill
ed, cause of injuries unknown, the sol
diers would tell you that he was ''da-
COED" and let e go At that The reason
for calling the Cubans "eubebs" is not
hard TO find, nor why the Spanish vic
tins Of their butchery were ''dagOed. F"
The Spanish sharpshooters were not
lynched by the American soldiers, they
were strapped, which isa distinction
with only a slight difference. Ropes
were not handy" and rifle straps al
ways were.
The soldier in Santiago didn't take a
walk or make a march he did hyke.
Any soldier knows what hyke is, but
very few seem to know why it is. a
volunteer soldier in the Army building
yesterday said that he had been "hyk-
ing all over looking for transporta-
ton"
"What does hyking mean?n he was
asked.
ooh, you know. Just-ah-to hyke, I"
vas his reply.
Food is, II course, grub, but bread
and hardtaek are often known as
"punk,p while the word rations has
been abbreviated to ''rats" Hardtaek
by itself is commonly known as IAN
gel food" a soldier who was asked
the reason for this term simply laugh
ed and replied, "Canse it amt"
A soldier doesn't lie nowadays, at
least those who have been in Cuba
don't. They only "pitch you fierce
one," or possibly ''give you a pipe. F"
If soldier has doubts as to your vera
city he may insinuate that you are
dreaming or that your "pipe is out. y
II he wanted you to infer that he had
been locked up in the guard house by a
member of the provost guard, he would
probably say that he had been ''cooped
in the BOBBY hatch by bull" Should
a soldier inform a civilian than his
bunkie was 'baked by bull for jump
in a gump," he would probably be
misunderstood. His meaning would
be that his tent mate had been arrested
by the provost guard for stealing a
chicken, which is not quite so bad as
it sounds.
Private soldiers are known as either
Jack or Pete to their comrades Any
of them will answer TO either name
Lieutenants are .luffsp TO the men,
while the captain is ''his nibs" OF
'.eap-n Any colonel, with the excer'
ton of him of the Rough Riders, i;
known by the appellation of "the boss.