The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-22

the smoothest thing that ever came down
the pike to signify something especially
unique and desirable. Her brothers ex-
preston, the prettiest girl that ever hap
pened,' has for her D. less recent equiv
alent in He's q daisy. or a Jim Dandy
Certain abbreviations run rife In both
mems and women's colleges alike-for in
stance, gym tit. 'math and chem
That most dgnified study, political eeon-
omy, is dubbed by its devotees 'pol econ
pronounced polly CON-. Lab is common
parlance for laboratory investigation. The
fac bone and dig are quite as much
a part OF the college girls vocabulary as
of her brothers.
ITO have crush or be crushed is
even better understood in a womans than
In a mans college. Bluff and 'squelch,
ore not infrequently heard from the self
assertive young woman. The more man
nish, or masculine, she is, the more she
affects the masculine by Georger or
Thunder
Yes, the use of slang is on the in
crease, just as boys and girls are on the
increase said the mother of five children
recently, herself a college woman of wide
experience. with boy and a girl in col
lege. There is no especial harm in boys
using boys slang and. girls using girls
slang, because 1t isaAmerican But when
the girl uses the boys slang. il becomes
coarse, and when a boy says a thing is
perfectly lovely" or simply sweet" you
at once set him down as effeminate. AS
Tor boys, you may as well let them have
1t out for it is kindsof fever; but slang
is not so essential TO a girl and for
tunately she sooner outgrows it,
yet even If the use of slang is appar-
entity on the increase. as common obser-
walton would indicate, in those modern
centers. women's colleges, there is a coun-
ter current, as with many another ex-
IRENE tendency. The increased attention
TO the study of English pure and unde-
i1led,' the insistence on more careful
forms of speech, the very acceptance of
the fact itself that there is undue use
or slang, all have a strongly corrective
effect. When the definition of slang. in
all its baroness, is brought before set
OF students, even the most thoughtless
stops to think. The dictionary defines
slang as ID "a fetter worn by convicts,
so-calied from being slung on their legs
oy string to prevent slipping to the
ground; co vile, low, or ribald language;
the cant of sharpers or of the vulgar;
gibberish'
Inc president of prominent woman s
college in recent address on some col
lege tendencies expressed herself admir-
ably on the subject of pure speech: IF
the sensible girl should be guarded in her
actions, she should be no less so in her
speech. 1t is a capital exercise in English
to md equivalents for slang phrases. The
Jargon which creeps into use is often
picturesque and adds favor to conversa-
ton But is it always. an agreeable fla
vor? We should often be shocked IL we
could trace the origin of some of the
words which slip so lightly from our
tongues. Clean speech is as essential to
pure woman as clean hands. l have
seen pretty girls, who resemble the prin-
cess in the fairy tale, who was lovely to
look upon, but the instant she spoke
frogs and toads Issued from her mouth
l have often wondered If the old myth
meant that she spoke horrid things. or
spoke in a croeking voice. Both are to be
guarded against
Fortunately" continued the professor,
Just as by no means all girls use slang,
so neither do all college girls. But it is
too often true that the conspicuous few
give tone to the many, as, for instance, is
so often the case with Americans travel
ing in EuroDe'' t