The sun., 1903-01-18
SLANG HEARD OUT WEST.
Picturesque Expressions In the Upper and
In the Under World.

IN the Nndef WOri0.
.How are you feeling. old manf' asked
a traveller from the East Of al acquaint.
ance in Kansas City the other day.
Not very well. I'm all shot to pieces.
was the reply.
Tho West is both picturesque and origi.
nal in slang. .All shot to pieces TO in
die ate that one is below par, physically
smacks Of the unit trammelled West, Is full
of local color and in a few words tells 9
good deal.
Another new expression to the touring
Fastener was good INDIAN Somebody
once said that the only good Indians were
the dead Indians; but good Indian in
its newest use in the West means q good
fellow.
westerners used the word line q good
deal In s'nrC sense. a line Of talk. foI
inst ance. tells its own story. Like~ ise in
the West when one person gets ahead OF
another, either by action or In conversa-
ton, he 'beats him TO it, TO pass hin,
up" meaning TO give him up or perhaps
have nothing more to do With him. WA
heard q long time In the West before II
was heard hereabouts.
Appropriateness and brevity are com.
bined to telling degree in Western phrase
for those whose habit II Ia to patronize
the free lunch. In Missouri these individuals
are known a. the -nosebag bunch.-
But slang In its highest development ID
not to be found among respectable citizens
hut in the under world. Now and then the
professional hobos work. and a man who
Tor three months was thrown In with a
party Of them on . ranch in Wyoming &
not long ago made q note Of what he con-
sdered their most effective expressions.
In supplying slang the hobo IL progress
sve. He is constantly. repenishing his
vocabulary, and some OF his latest achieve
ments along this line are appended.
Say. Jack: 60 out and boost gump,
will yer?"
The request to .Jack'-.Jack" being the
general name used by tramps in address
to boost gunp' means to steal chicken
When the professional wanderer would
seek Natures sweet restorer. balmy sleep
he does not declare his intentions quite 40
poetically On the contrary. he says: "Hully
gee! guess ! II flemish meself down and
take me hoppin's.'
'Plingin' along the main stem is hobo.
eee for begging along the main line, and
when he has been put OF a train by eome
unfeeling brakeman. or shack and is
forced TO hoof IL for awhile, he hits the
grit
tOmdt n tcmdt hHlInOet dnvVnIng ROOO
to eat, and a stew. at the making OF
which some Of the -'bos' are adopts, il a
'mulligan.'
throw out your goose and AXE neckin's
means to look around. to reconnoitrc. 1t
II analogous to 'rubbering"
Az the hobo rider n good deal on trains,
il 10 natural that he should try 10 get pass
His 'pass' In a stout stick, so adjusted 10
the brake rod that he can sit on Il and be
whirled acrofs the country a. long as net
detected. The hobo argues that his 'pass
IL the most desirable on all free transporta-
ton. sipce II is good on anv road
There are vfr.ous sort sol cripples in the
don ain of the hobo. He who has a lame
leg is a "hnt wheel and the hobo with q
crippled arm becomes bum nit
In trampdom "salve' is butter. a meg
In 4 cent, sand ia sugar and "t.ump' is a
lodging house, rod is gun, and 20 on
without limit
There are different terms for peni,enti-
ary among crooks, sid an assistant pros e.
cutting attorney Of Western city the other
day, sbut the expression ! hear moet Ia
big house Crooks refer to a paw nsbop a.
villa &C. and handkerchief as snarling
but what struck me most forcibly Of their
peculiAitiee Of conversation is the wav they
express their bravado when sentenced 10
the pen. Why, I can stand on my head that
long II a common way OF proclsiming their
indiiferenca to the length Of their sentence.