Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-19
USES OF SLANG.
Writer Quotes Examples and Deplores
Prevalence Of Coined Phrases.

Letter to Editor Of Chicago Record Herald.
Affairs have reached a point where the
good old Anglo-Saxon OF our fonefatherB
seems Inadequate to express the iatter-day
thought. Each month, each week. new
words are coined and more colloauiallsms
are added to our already overwhelmed sup
ply 1t seems to be the modern idea to
have fashions In speech which we may put
on or of as we do our spring bonnets, and
no doubt the time Is near at hand when
we shall find ''barkers'' with their wares
at every corner. crying fresh phrases
There is certainly disagreeable habit
prevalent among the young people Of the
through desire to appear original One
bright beautiful girl speaks of things as
being terribly pretty" and uses the word
nendish' to express the superiatiws d.
gree of everything.
Webster defines slang as "iow. vulgar.
unauthorized language" and tells US the
word Is said to be OF gypsy origin; yet every
college has a dictionary OF slang" pe-
culiar to students, and some Of them are
30 atrocious as to be really picturesque.
One metaphor used by the boys In an east
ern school is the application of the term
talk dance nor look pretty. Another is
Holy Joe'-their name for the chaplain
Of their institution.
The young man Of tender years, deeply
IipISSoea Will the laed OF the important
place In the world which he fills, has vo-
cabulary that would put Webster to shame.
Home Is 'the COOP; father is "guv"; moth
er. his personal publisher; his associates.
chases tea fights and when she weeps
has busted her tear Jug" The cook has
spiders In her cupola," and fathers ste
nographer 10 the type puneher." When
oils his castors' or "trolleys" When he
studies he "rubs his think-tank for sparks"
His face Is his mug his head his .knot''
and his injured eye "a bum lamp Things
''cinch," and affairs which do not interest
him 'cut no ice'' or chop no HASH
Our adored Shakespeare spoke Of shut
fling off this mortal COLL but the humorist
OF today could scarcely be accused Of quot
ing Shakespeare when he speaks of shut
Hing this coil for new deal"
A newspaper reporter describes an en-
counter between a policeman and flying
thief thus:
The man turned suddenly, made lunge
and struck the officer full In the ribs
Tho small boy reads 1t and repeats to
his companions.
''Hully gee! De tief turned on de con and
hit him fierce poke in de slatsf,
A lumberman, talking to his foreman
concerning refractory workman, said:
IF he does not work tomorrow just give
and tell him you are acting under my Or.
ders." The next day the lumberman hap
pened to be passing that way again and
saw his foreman shaking his fist in the face
OF a man PROSTATE upon the ground say
ing, as he did so: There! De boss told me
II you didn't work today to land you
Jolt In de Jaw what would jar yer relatives
In de old country. an I've done it!'
The foreigners who come to this country
appropriate the slang phrases In common
use very quickly. A western householder
employed only Chinese servants and was
much annoyed by the opium smoking
among his help. He had one young man
whom he felt to be trustworthy, and SO
set him to watch the remainder of them.
One day this boy came to him and said in
great excitement: Hip Lee hittee plipe
ale samee CLAIM
1t Is remarkable even among people not
accustomed to the free usage of slang how
much more an antiquated bit CRATES upon
the ear than new phrase.
Not long since a writer was reading aloud
an ayticle just completed in which the
phrase Cut that OUT had been used. The
college man of the family objected seri-
ously to the back number slang, and sug-
gested in its place Strange it,
A noted magazine writer of the day gave
an interesting bit of testimony, which Is a
deplorable evidence of the growing popu-
larity of so-called "up-to-date slang One
Of his stories had Just been returned to
him for the twenty fifth time, and he set
his wits to work to discover the reason for
this continued refusal Finally, in despair.
he rewrote the entire article, putting ii
into slang, and was able to sell Ii at once