Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-06-25
THE ANTIQUITY OF JOKES.

|
THE ANTIQUITY OF JOKES.
Some Sayings Regarded Modern as
| Old as the Hills.
That many of the familiar phrases
and jokes which pass current at the
present time are Of ancient origin Is nc
longer matter of mere surprise. 1t is
being esta ablished by archaeological and
pathological research. much to the dis
comf1ture Of the modern joker.
The popular notion that the ancients
were very serious persons who, when
not engaged in killing one another
spent their sober moments In abstract
philosophical debates, will have to be
revised in the light Of discoveries that
they were humorists of no mean CALI
bre. At any rate, DR.. Flinders Petrie
the eminent archaeologist, has come
forward with little story which can
not but have this effect.
i II.
ciphered the cuneiform inscription on a
tablet which he excavated in the plains
OF Assyria, and believes that it is d
copy Of q prehistoric comic paper
Among other items it contains the fol-
lowing merry jest, in which the ancient
prototype Of the present day "oldest
inhabitant" is plainly outlined. DR.
Petrie's translation reads:
Now, there were gathered together
at the place of telling stories many OF
them that have lived long in the land
and one of them lifted up his voice and
said:
Behold, it groweth cold with mncl
extremeness."
Whereupon another made answer
saying:
"Verily it doth. But let us get hence
for here cometh Methusalem, the aged
and If we tarry he will tell us again OF
the cold spell Of the year 4O."
And they gat hence with much speed
In a similar line with DR.. Petrie's dis
covery are the results of the researches
of a learned German philologist, who
has recently traced several of the ia
miliar slang phrases now In vogue
through half dozen languages to their
beginnings. Here are some of them:
ITO give the cold shoulder" 1t ap-
pears that it was at one time the Gus
tom in France, when a guest had out
stayed his welcome, to serve him with
cold shoulder Of mutton at dinner In
stead of a hot roast. When the cold
shoulder made it's appearance at table
therefore, the guest was supposed to
take It as a gentle hint that it was time
for him to go.
ITO kick the bucket" Is another
phrase that might be presumed to have
originated with the light and flippant
youth .of modern times. but 1t seems
that dates back to the days OF good
Queen Elizabeth, Of England. One
Hawkins, a shoemaker, committed sui
eide one day by standing on bucket
which he had placed upon a table in
order to raise himself sufficiently tc
fasten the moose to a convenient rafter
When the knot was tied, he kicked the
bucket away and swung into eternity
| "Apple- order" Is, on its face. a
term of good old New England origin
for where else has pie f1ourished III
equal luxuriance? A certain Hepzibat
Morton, whose name smacks Of New
England equally with pie. was in Puri-
tan times in the habit of baking two OF
three dozen apple pies every Saturday
which were to last the family through
the week. Hepzibah placed the pies III
the pantry, labelling certain number
for each day Of the week. Needless tc
say the pantry thus arranged was In
apple-pie order.
The term "deadhead," according tc
the German investigator, is as old as
the Christian era, fact which ought
to afford some consolation to modern
proprietors Of the theatres, owners OF
railroads, operators of telegraphs. and
others who have calls upon them fol
"deadhead" favors. In Pompeii people
who gained admittance to an enter
tainment without paying were called
"deadheads," because the checks used
for such admissions were small ivory
deaths heads.
"a feather in ones cap" is also a
phrase Of some antiquity. 1t origi'
mated from the custom Of the Hunga-
rians, during their wars with the Turks
to wear a feather in their caps for each
Turk killed. In it's modern application
it is not always necessary to kill g
Turk in order to be eligible to have a
feather in the cap, but a killing OF
some sort is certainly presupposed.
The word "chic." so dear to the
French heart, and, indeed, of very fire.
quent use the world over, which has
just secured recognition by the French
Academy, is fully two and half GEN.
turies old, and Is Of German origin
In it's original form it was spelled
"Shick," and was thus used by Schiller
in the first piece Of the Wallensteir
trilogy. Two cavaliers boast of their
pranks and prowess to Wachtmeister
and flatter themselves that posterity
will talk Of them for centuries to come
The Wachtmeister replies: shall these
things be talked about? 1t is not riot
and junketing that make soldier. He
needs time to acquire wit and schick.
! This "schick" was doubtless a patois
abbreviation of "geschick," which ad-
dress or skill, and also appearance. Its
expressiveness at once appealed to the