Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-08-26
THE ENGLISH OF TRADE
many Familiar Words are Made n r.,
VI New Meanings for Business I'LL ase


The belief exists In certain ned..,,
cifcIca mat the English Language wac
| not made for man, but man for tba rds was
| lish I1n2uaEc. There is no d0nht Ing.
| lhe Vdiuc and beauty of tho rn,pt aDput
| tongue, ana the care which sba'ptd sr M
tlvcn 10 y. but after ali. a language - e
longs to the people and tbev .hs,, pe-
allowed, within discreet limits t,' r pe
use ~ their own as they please ~
grammar is outside the 1uestin, Dao -
point X, how Tar good English wnrdg w NJ
pune lineage, shall be turned o,t ~. n
.iIhIfht ana narrow path Of their arces
to"s to 90 special duty for the m,das.
world. IN this Gaze what are disc raa,
limits? The spirit Of America wbs,a'.'.
iis noble qualities. has NOT dnvaiar'e.
reverence 10 m undue extent ana haga.
.itoiiion .,', Il Isnig W"rn in certsit,
stiiSc merely LecsUSc that is The wa : ~
winch IL has b1en pscd for 80 years tn ~
result is come curious specimens ~ az
iegcd English, many of them digtinc,iy
ueyond charity. ~
- a<iaaf an ancient tongue To rnadern
uses - rsIIstenfiy evident and thera II
tiic,1 to- be SAID for the minentiy ex-
pressiVe1 .diction OF cornnerpial t,s,o,.
soplc Of st8ic words emil5eycd ma t.. IT,
S'Hprlsed tosiind themselves descended n,
sGch haze uTcS. bat they prove tbet
aliapfabiiity iy. giving certain rary All
p"s.tcHesS 70 u. sentence. Dne reals h
far
spots and "fuuIcs" with A Uttio -
wiiderment. until further on reference -
made TO spot fomatocs" and "ItIt,. ~
geacht 81 Whereupon the former phras,.
becomes ycleaf and even picturesn,c
'OEieniafs SDfriten. reads 4 Iinc N .a-
other psPer, which Is nor giving infnr
nation an regard TO Hpris.ngs In lna5a
but Is endeayoring 10 convey the fact
maj ofiental rugs are in demand Sol.
leather Is referred toaas becomin. @meJ-
-ow. mn adjective not without attrac,,ya-
ness ~ that coDnection. a '-melI0u'' shc,
IS a pleasing conception In let anornnr
J9urhai Is the startling line. "CsnslderabI.
excitement in Baked Beans. which re-
MINDS one Of the advertisement Of an en-
terprising dealer In household furnish
.nes: IA Nltier IN brass bedsteads'' 4
Esws Item which appeals strongly ID
neiy imagination. reads: Last wee,
ore wac slump in watermelons wIich
greatly alarmed dealers. They got o., :.
.---- e.i..e- =" 10 would not retire from
the neighOorhOod Of "slumping" water
melons with the greatest expedition? In
WIS h, NO. 3. peeled pie or "unpeeled
PIE Sometimes the language OF
these reports seems arbitrarily complica.
Ted. as when IL is stated that Sugar ia
steady ior raw Tea may be pure high
bodied. or the kind which produces FL
liqIor robust and rosy, syrupy ami
JIicy. There il something singuarly
lilp4sdks3sii ABOUT lNe lGcd OF rosy
to the average mind. but the adjective
has apparently some weight with tn.
initiated. When coffee is spoken of a,
'fair 70 fancy, II almost seems az Il
the dealer had been reading an undue
4umhcr OF 18th century love songs out
he explanation is commonplace enough.
-ur hc is merely referring to the grades
fair and fancy
Different professions have their special
AFE5ns. but these have in 90 man in
n yf1ff All
erm- that they must be treated with re-
Spcct. The printing ofhce and the theatre
raN- perhaps the most elaborate jdrgon,
but IL is difficult to tell what Is leglti-
mate and wnat is not. New words are
needed. ana the best method Of supplying
them ~ to ada nav meanings 70 Old
wCrcs. IL would take far too much tine
ana ingenuity to invent them. The ia
miliar use Of Tie word story for ill
stance, shows how easily the language
may be shifted about. 10 the advantage
NJ everybody concerned. \ news item il
nuf au 'article,n and article" j. to0 dig
nin,d word Tor human natures daily
.aod. amy way. Now. STORY nils the gap
admirably. referring TO news items, spe-
-Iu articles ana what not. When word
s. needed tn tax" tie place which STORY
t.ft vacant Nh,n appointed 10 a new pO-
-iriun. -'fiytirn' comes I'D neatly. Every
l"Ly ~ made happy and the English Ian
II-' ought not "a have grievance. In
tho theatrical profession business. to
4'.I''Tt Atlf aflfhn Ift*SSlldttN u Inv
parts nils a place for which the baniShe'i
word would seem To have as many guili-
1Cutilu- Get "A hand, as les diGnihri
than receive applause. appeals ~ thr
careless actor. although the proper eN-
preston tS no longer. ana applause -
4 sufficiently common word to come
easily To aDIhody's lips.
II would seem that the desire Tor piu.
fcSSiuual language. something IN winch
thu outsider cannot share. Is universal.
Each calling has its shibboleths. some
lne wrIIrc az slang said that the eS-
Sence OF ii iS that ii embodies the instinct
of familiarity precisely as does a mex
name when applied To a person, II rep
Scscnts some eudeavor to pat lie IN tne
back-to dig ii In the ribs. IL this y
true NJ slang. it is trle Of proiessinnal
iargon. And since these misused words
are pulled ont Of their places in order
that man MAJ express affection ior hls
chosen trade. or at least. make himself
feel more at ease in H. they are serving
Il not unworthy purpose, and prohahy
II their own opinions could hc t1hN. az
not object half 50 StrenUuUSi5 - ttH
,eif-constituted guardians, The pIriSts-