The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-04-04

are the lemon the pear, the caisson ana
the gourd There are many terms re-
ferring to money, but the most impress
slve is simply That" They say of a
rich. man IL a de ca, or He has some
of that"
They also describe a rich man as hav-
ing hay in his boots and bread on his
shelf They say that he has made his
butter, and that he has "monacos," the
reference, of course. being to Monte
Carlo. 4 monaco is slang for franc
piece
\ bankrupt is said to be "A fond de
GALE which Prof. Marchand gives rs
in the steerage.' but which really
means a much lower depth than that.
The list of expressions applying 10
bankrupts and the hard luck brigade Is
a long one. These unfortunate individ-
uals are described as without a radish,
in the soup, in the PURGE, in the mo-
lasses, on the straw. living on fresh
air. of the firm of Misery and Company.
The extreme of establishment is in
Dictated by saying Il turn blue at that"
Many of their comomn EXPLANATIONS
seem queer TO US; as. for example,
"BoutiqueHp which, while being the sim
pie word shop may be translated,
What a shop or What a layout"
Another is Good hundred"
Then there are Thousand bombs!'
Thousand thundersn' Name of a
name@ Name of dog" Name of Il
pipe@ But perhaps the most utterly
ineonsequent way of relieving ones
feelings is by exploding with Sac a
papier!' which being interpreted il
merely Paper bagw
Little boys are addressed by such pet
names as my big rabbit" or my little
IL MI,
girls are called my angel" my love-
or my beauty"
To get bald Is to lose ones features
"se deplumer'' the opposite expression,
.se remplumer," means to get fat after
an Illness. To be guillotined is to be
shortened" 1t is more or less clear
why to tattle or to repeat gossip is to
.'cancaner."
A dry goods clerk is "a calico" An
old actress is AN old feather" y faded
beauty is AN old picture" The pawn
broker is not ones uncle, but ones aunt.
Monkey is the name the soldiers give
their canned meat.
A cab taken by the hour is "a gnawing
worm because it keeps eating UP ones
money. A drink of absinthe is simply "a
green or "a parrot" The peanut gal
lery is the chicken roost.
A swallow-tail coat is a Goldfish tail.
Bullets are prunes. An office boy is "a
gutter jumper" Twenty-Five francs Is
IAN egg sur lie plat''-that is shirred.
The explanation is that a silver 5-franc
piece with a gold 20-franc on it would
be like the white and the yolk of the
egg.
The slang phrase for ones wife is ma
legitime," a phrase which is rich in sug-
gestion The nickname for a comedian
is delicious. 1t is "a have you seen me-
By the way, if one wants TO say thing
is delicious one says: ITS butter.
A negro is "a chocolate or "a badly
washed For the cheering of those who
ride in Paris it may be stated that the
nickname for a cab driver is 'u1 colig-
non: Collignon having been the name
of a cabby who murdered his passenger
for the latters money. The mill is IA
douloureuse."
A ruffian is an apache; gorgeous
dinner is a balthazar; too full cup OF
coffee is a footbath; a boarding school
is a box; old shoes are des boneauX OF
water drinkers because when the streets
are wet they drink the water