The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-08-05
THE ORIGIN OF SOME
VERY QUEER PHRASES

Lord Curzon has been speaking at
Oxford of Mr.. Kipling as the poet
of Empire" Mr.. Kipling has long
been known as the bard of Empire"
and, by Mr.. Stead, as the "banjo bard
of Empire" He will doubtless be
proud to be known by either of the
first two, with the banjo eliminated.
A chance appellation is apt to make
lasting title, and it is always inter-
esting to trace such terms to their
source. To do SO Is sometimes sur
prisingly difficult. Nobody can say
now who first employed the term
whole hogger" in the fiscal contro-
versy, though Lord Rosebery seems
to have the best title. There is less
doubt as to Lord Hugh Cecil's first
proclaiming himself and friends lit
tie piggers." 1t is never certain that
a phrase will catch the ear. Some
one predicted that Mr.. Chamberlain's
description of opponents of the Boer
war as "copperheads' would last,
but it never entered seriously into
competition with ''pro-Boer. A
deadly term was struck dead in the
house of commons shortly after the
exposure of the Pigott forgeries.
''Pigottism! "Pigottry!" were the
cries raised. Speaker Peel at once
banned the expression, and it has not
since had a place in the political vo-
cabulary.
We borrow many phrases from
America and some from the Colonies
In many cases the American produc-
tions are but notifications of old
English terms. With the colonial
figures of speech it is different. Aus
tralia has slang vocabulary which
is as foreign as Russian to the Briton
at home. Sir Robert Reid spoke in
the Commonwealth parliament of an
opponent as political smoodger."
The term came over to England 1t
had an unpleasant sound, and SEEM
ed useful for the political platform.
But few people here know what a
'smoodger" is. 1t is Australian for
a sneak or servile member of the
gang upon a squatter's ranch. From
the same quarter comes "JackerOo,"
raw hand new from the Old World;
and there is "roustabout" for the
gentleman in caps and aprons whom
we are advised to employ in our
houses in place of maidservants.
"Sundowner" is the pseudonym of a
pleasant writer down under, and has
been applied to Australians general
ly. Really the term is not compli-
mentary, for it describes the profess
sional tramp who arrives at sun
down and departs at sunup, without
having worked for his bed and
board.
"Boycotting," an expression which
unfortunately is very much in use
again in Ireland just now, takes its
name, as everybody remembers,
from the Captain Boycott, who was
its first victim. The curious thing
is that he and the tenants with whom
he had been at war came, in the end,
to be the best of friends. When Ire
he took a trip to London, and one
day strolled into restaurant in the
Strand. Having ordered snug lit
tie dinner, he took look about him
The gentleman placidly eating his
meal on the other side of the little
table met his gaze. The two men
jumped, looked toward the door,
| thought better of it, smiled, then
heartily shook hands. The stranger
was Michael Davitt, the redoubtable
leader of the Land League, and the
man by whom the captains rebels
were led. Perhaps after-events had
nothing to do with that meeting.
Anyhow, when the fierceness of the
contest died down, landlord and ten
ant came together, and agreed to be
the best of friends, and never regret
| ted their bargain.-Obilter Scripta,
Farm Gazette.