The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-08-02
FOUNDRY FOR SLANG.
now ODD BUT EXPRESSIVE PHRA-
sEs ARE COINED.

"FiW3 1910 without ne - Most of tho
Phrases Originate on Farm or Ranch.
The London Society of Amateur PHI
loioglsts, the members OF which are
devoted to the study of language. has
gravely decided that If It were not for
the additions made from time to time
by Americans, English would have TO
De classed as dead or at least as a
rapidly dying language
IRON this country, however. come
SO many apt and novel phrases which
arc incorporated into the body Of the
English tongue that It is still alive
ana growing. And both in the United
states and abroad students are begin
ming to recognize the importance and
the value of words and phrases which
start as slang and, because they wildly
describe some prevailing condition
gradually find their way into the stand
ard dictionaries.
The English society mourns because
almost all the slang which is found
worthy of permanent adoption arigi-
mates IN the States. But 1t is proud
OF the fact that in England has orig
mated at least one popular phrase
which has not found its way into this
country, and which, If one may ven
lure an opinion, is never likely to do
SO. The new English phrase is TWEEN
cent" and it is used to describe any
thing which is extremely up to date.
1t IS, of course, an abbreviation of
zOth century, and in the English eye
Is a remarkable example of condensa-
ton and wit
But the philologists of London and
American authorities agree in the
opinion that comparatively little slang
OF the sort which endures and becomes
part OF the language originates in large
cities. Nor is it used first by educated
and refined people. The so-called ed
ucated classes ada little to a language
except some stilted words which are
borrowed from the classics, or scien-
titic terms, which are also likely to be
derived from one of the dead Ian
guages 1t is the men on the farm, on
the western ranches, in gold and sill
yer mines and in other similar occu-
pations who give the language it's Vi
tality and growth.
Thus the men who pack mules and
horses for the trail over the mountains
and plains of the great West put a
tight ''cinch" on many "critter" be-
fore the general public began to talk
Familiarity Of getting a cinch" on any
proposition in which it was interested.
The lumbermen in the great woods
Of Wisconsin and the Northwest piled
up many millions of logs in booms
and watched the logs go tearing down
the swift little rivers after the boom
was busted" for many years before
the stock brokers and real estate
agents adopted their phraseology Now
there are few people indeed who do
not know what boom" is and what
is likely to happen when a boom is
busted"
Speaking broadly there are two kinds
of slang. One depends for its popular
ity on the mere fact that the phrase
is mouth filling and pleases the popu-
lar fancy. Such slang is likely to
have only temporary popularity. The
slang which lives and which sooner
or later becomes a permanent part of
the language is that which really
means something, which describes
some fact or condition in a new and
vivid way There are many people
who are greatly impressed by the
sound of any phrase the meaning of
which they do not understand. 1t was
this feeling which proved so effective
when Dr. Samuel Johnson was vocally
attacked by one of the famous fish
wives of Billingsgate. DR.. Johnson
knew that it would be idle and useless
to answer the woman in kind, even if
he had been willing to lower his dig
nifty to that extent. At the same time
he did not wish to listen to any more
of her abuse Accordingly he pointed
the finger of scorn at her and eX-
claimed in a voice of indignation and
contempt: Madam, you are an isosce-
les triangle, a parallelopipedom an oc-
tagonal rhomboid" The fishwife was
totally overcome and was unable to
answer the doctors scathing denun-
citation, but it is not recorded that the
use of mathematical terms has ever
become popular in the vocabulary Of
Billingsgate.
Another kind of slang which has
merely temporary popularity is that
which exaggerates an already slang
expression and carries it beyond the
point of absurdity. Two street arabs,
for instance, may be quarreling in the