Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-11-29
A PHILIPPINE GLOSSARY
BRAND NEW EXPRESSIONS BROUGHT
HOME BY THE VOLUNTEERS.

/
| A Short Vocabulary for the Convenience
and Edifcation OF People Who Have
Not Had tho Advantage of Recent
Philippine Travel.
Now that the volunteers are re-
turning from the Philippines there is
trouble ahead for the dictionary
makers. 1t is a popularity of Ameri-
can slang that it is at once so concise,
picturesque and graphic that most
new words of this kind eventually
force their way, despite dissent, into
the lexicon. The volunteers will
bring back with them SO many brand
new expressions of this character that
their vocabulary may prove all but in
comprehensive. For the convent
ence of people who have not had the
advantage OF recent Philippine travel,
aud also for the future reference of
our photographers, short glossary,
with comments may be valuable.
One of the words most commonly
used in this dialect is 'hike." lis
derivation is doubtful, but its de-
scriptive power great and swift. ITO
hike" means to travel with amazing
speed. 1t is generally used to give
some idea OF how fast the Filipinos
can run when defeated in battle. In
cidentally, hiking" is p term ap-
piled to the speed which American
soldiers are obliged to develop when
trying to catch the fleeing Filipino:
So, in more general way, hiking"
is applied to any swift and fatiguing
travel, while "hiker" is obviously
man OF hustling and enduring powers.
''Cold feet" is an expression often
heard in Manila. It's plain Anglo
Saxon synonym is cowardice. Just
how the two became identified may
not at once be apparent. but he who
falters and fears in battle is apt to feel
cold chills chasing down his spine. 1t
is the most natural anatomical result
for these cold chills to settle
in the feet. Hence the term.
"Woolen socks" or, more briefly,
"socks," means anything that will
cure or overcome "cold feet"
Coffee coolers" ere those who man
age to get detached from their regi-
ments in the field and assigned to
moro or less easy and eminently safe
berths in Manila. A ''coffee cooler"
is supposed to be unable to swallow
his boiling hot coffee on the morning
of battle. Obviously, ifhe wants to
drink his coffee, he must remain be-
hind and cool it while his regiment is
moving out to the fray. Needless to
say, "coaiee coolers" ure not esteemed
by their comrades.
A "googoo" is q Filipino who fol"
lows the cause of the revolution.
While the derivation OF this term is
rather obscure, it is limited that it
must be sought in the annals of Am
erican political history. An "ami-
CO." by contradiction, is a Filipino
who protests his loyalty to the United
States and his disiucliuation to fight.
According to the soldiers, the only
difference between "googoo" and
m ''amigo" is that the former wears
the blue and white uniform of the in
surrecto, while the latter wears the
white cotton garments of peace. Each
is equally at heart q rebel against
Uncle Sam. Hence, i'll the American
soldiers vocabulary, amigo" has
come to signify false friend.
Grain maker" is not a term of
Philippine birth, but it is here that it
has gained its vogue, and so is worthy
of place II this description. When
the Third infantry wenton its Leech
Lake Indian campaign, lust previous
to embarking for these islands, there
were several doctors along with
the regiment. While the pow-wows
with the Indians were going on the
redskins manifested some interest in
our army surgeons. The red healer
could prepare medicine" which was
warranted to bring about copious
rainfall in time of drouth. Could our
medicine men do as much? Of course
it would never do to confess our doc
tors to be inferior to the untutored
savage, and so the Thirds officers un-
hesitatingly asserted that our sur
geons, too, could make rain. That
fastened the name of Grain maker"
to our army surgeon, and the term
has gained great favor on Luzon is
land.
''Bom- bonn" is a noun of strictly
native invention. The more accurate
term would perhaps be native imita-
tion. A cannon on being discharged
gives forth an angry roar of "bom!"
In second or two the shell explodes
with a fainter ''bomI" Coupling
cause and effect gave us "bom-bom. {"
If native desires to explain that a
big fight is on, he plaintively says,
'mucho bom-bom. This phenome-
non of artillery fire is a good deal of
tragical puzzle to the little browny.
remember seeing couple in Melo-
ban, man and wife, who found an un-
exploded navy shell in their back yard.
Full of desire to penetrate the mys-
terry of the bonn bonn, they placed the
shell in mortar used for grinding
corn, and treated it roughly with the
pestle. The doctor who was called
recovered oil the fragments of the
shell from their bodies, but, in spite
of his tenderly humane care, both
unfortunates soon penetrated the
greatest mystery conned by man.
"Aqui" is not really slang. 1t is a
Spanish word for "here, and is also
used in the sense of "come here" but
it has gained SO firm a place in
the soldiers vocabulary that it must
not be forgotten. "Pronto," mean
ing ''quick, and ''para," for 'stop"
or "ha!t," are other words of Spanish
extraction.
MEX" is now typical Philippine
c1onp IT. refers tn tha Meyipon dol