The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-09-05
WORLD METROPOLIS
SECRET Lam GUA CTS
(Reciprocal News Service

Reciprocal News ScrNlct)
London, July 26,-(By mail -
In London. the cosmopoliS, all Ian
guages are spoken-English, French
Polish, Welsh, German, Czech, Nor
wegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch,
Chinese, Japanese, Swahili, Urdu,
Iindustani-oh, and a lot of 9TH
ers. But where so many languages
are spoken it is difficult to convey
secret information, meant for SIM
Gle ear. without the danger OF be
ing overheard by someone priVy TO
that language. so the London black
sheep. instead OF speaking in for
eign languages to his cronies. in
vents csoteric languages OF his own.
You may remember that excellent
balladc by +. Henley, written en-
tirely in thieves slang; with its sol
emn burden:
lis up the spout and Charley Wag
With booze and blowcus and what
not.
suppose YOU melt the multy swag :
Booze and the blowens cop the
lot.
1t was an excellent specimen OF the
curren slang OF its time, but that
Slang is no more. The trouble about
these manufactured languages is
that they are so soon out of repair
After a few months use the police
and. indeed, the general public, have
discovered the dictionary; and once
they are common property they are
valucleSS for sccert intercourse.
Most criminals and coppers' marks
are compelled to transact their bust
ness in crowded places like saloons
and street corners, where casual
conversation may be picked up by
a rival. and a secret language Is OF
great use to them-while its secrecy
lasts. Every week old slangs are
developed or new dialects invented.
Most OF these anomalous and ESQ
teric languages derive from the
Romany. Years ago gvpSies began
TO frequent race meetings, telling
iortuens and forecasting the winner.
Their Romany dialect was picked up
bv the bookmakerS, vaudeville ar
fists ard petty fry OF the CRIMINAL
world, and by them slightly varied,
and circulated as a medium OF prl-
vate intercourse.
But there is always some fool
member OF the gang who passes the
secret TO some one else, who tells
pal. who tells a vaudeville artist,
and the vaudeville artist spreads it
among his friends, and across the
footlights. and there is an end OF 1t.
You may be quite sure that whatev-
cr new secret language is invented,
the vaudeville people will have it
next week and destroy its utility.
| have been doing bit that way
myself Just lately, by trying to teach
rhyming slang to doughboy, in re-
turn ior his kindness in putting me
wise TO baseball language. But eth
er I'm punk stuff as an instructor. or
he's fool--and Lord forbid that |
should suggest the latter. Believe me,
after three hours hard coaching, |
turned to him, and spoke unto him
in this wise:
NV ell, me old also, shall we Samp-
son to the nearest evening and have
skating? ! told the worry and
the godier that | wouldn't be home
till gypsies." :" ,
And he said he didn't understand
Why. its easy, isn't it? Just look at
it carefully, and remember that it's
rhvming slang which, as the phrase
tell Won, is based on rhyme. Has it
got YOU beat? Well, I'll explain. In
rhvming slang. YOU take the word
YOU want to say, and then think OF
some phrase whose final word
rhymes with your word. But you do
not use the final word, you use the
first word OF the phrase containing
the rhyming word. The following