Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-26
HANDED HIM A LEMON

Pete Da-ey. the adipose actor man. is
sonally-conducted explanation. or elucida-
ton, Of the phrase Handed him lemon"
Everybody who halls chiefly from Moo
Yawk, by the way. thinks that he has the
key TO the newest mystifying slang phrases.
There Is no particular reason why Moo
Yawkers should imagine this for the ex-
cellent reason that nine-tenths of the nifti-
est, .pattest and most apt American slang
originates entirely elsewhere than in Moo
Yawk, although the belief Is generally held
that those near-wits of Moo Yawk fix up
most of our slang for US. Anyhow. Pete's
explanation of the lemon thing Is as good
as anybody's else, and he doesn't tangle
himself up with the story. either, which Ia
a-plenty modest on his part.
"Otis Harlan, who is the other fat actor
man-the- other to me, that fs-was the
springer Of the lemon thing" says Daley.
know yet, thinks that he plays the horses
sometimes. He has q good Imagination,
Otis. His idea Of playing the horses
selves on stools. Then Otis goes away and
finds some more money. Nobody ever saw
him get q rebate at q race track. Every
time I see Otis at a race track something
happens to me- he 10 such a hoo-Jonah.
only have to catch sight of him at race
track and then something severe swoops
upon me. Once, after I'd seem him my
house at Sheepshead Bay burned down.
That was because I had merely seen Otis at
the track. Again, after seeing him, broke
a leg-nothing in the world to that. except
that had seen the Jonah-hoo Otis at the
Gravesend track, and something just had to
happen to me.
''Once, since the year 1869, Otis has won
bet at the race track. Upon this occasion,
however, the -bookie WEIGHED on him And
it as-this WEIGHING occasion that started
the lemon thing.
'It was four years ago, and Otis was
romping up and down the Brighton Beach
wise S. note, and trying to catch some
layer who was off on the price of his pick.
He was always great for catching book
maker out OF line In his prices but when
ly or never caught the horse at the same
time-that Is to say, the horse never caught
the judges eyes at the opportune time.
Anyhow. on this occasion, Otis wanted
10 to 1 against mutt that the ringers
were only laying to 1 against. Otis lum-
bered up and down the main line looking
for 10 to 1. and then he nudged over to the
dead line to hunt for that figure. At the
very end of that dead line he came upon a
little shriveled bookmaking person, who
looked like q waiter, and this laying indi-
vidual had 10 to 1 chalked up against the
thing that Otis fancied
Hey. IS on that Otis painted. jumping
up to the shriveled layers stool. and the
BET. was. duly recorded-$5O to IS against
the one OtlS liked
:. Let's. see, how'll I remember this fell
lows looks?' said Otis to himself as he
stood hack. after making the bet. oh,
now Knowles sucking a lemon Thatll
Otis nudged out to the lawn to watch the
Three minutes later the Pinks were
asking II there was a medical man present
man down below in the betting ring who was
having commissions and medical attend
ance was required for him. The stout man,
of course. was my friend. Otis Harlan.
tie Otis at last on live one He'd been
playing 'em steadily, year in and year out,
ever since four, years after the close Of the
civil war. and had never. up to that time.
Is it any wonder that he gave under?
AFTER they'd, brought him around Otis
hustled down to the end Of the dead line to
get his $50. But the demonstrating book
from there. Otis, in great perturbation,
dug up John Cavanaugh. the master of the
ring, and arbitrator thereof. Cavanaugh
told him that the lemon-sucking bookie
had been cleaned good and plenty and was
off the stool. Otis ploughed all over the
place, trying to find his shriveled bookie,
but it was no go: At the close of the day
Otis left the track wrapped in gloom.
"On the in-train from the track, how
ever, he caught sight Of the shriveled
bookmaker, hpddled up in corner of the
car. he was sui sucking nan iemon.
".Hey. you demanded Otis of the
shriveled busted one, where's that kale
O. mine? Made a getaway, did you, be-
fore you paid Off? Slip mel
"'All got left mumbled the poor little
shriveled bookmaker, with a grin that was
sad and sweet, as he held out the lemon
that he was sucking.
"Otis was telling about it that night.
what dye think Of that hasher.' he
exclaimed moodily to his friends. just a.
handing me lemon?'
That's the way it started. That's what
Otis says, anyhow. If it didn't start that
way, 1t ought to've."