Evening star., 1938-10-02
DETECTIVES TRAIL
AMERICAN WORDS
II Years Spent, They Expect
at Least 5 More in
Making Dictionary.
~ the Associated Press.

p the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, Oct. 1.-Word historians
at the University OF Chicago estimated
today they were $500 words away
from their photographic goal-the
completion Of record Of the Ian
guage Of the United States.
For IL years-from 1925 to 1886
they spent all Of their time gathering
words.
Since then $500 American words
and word-phrases have come from the
presses in dictionary form-consti-
tuting the first four parts Of the Amer
tacn- English dictionary.
At least five years-posSibly more
must pass before the monumental
task Of getting the language of the
United States into type can be COM
pleted.
Back to 1907.
Every new word or phrase or new
meaning Of an English word that
originated on this side of the Atlantic
Ocean since 1907 is the objective.
Millions of words from thousands
Of books by American authors have
already been scanned by the univer-
sity photographers in their search for
purely American expressions-expres-
sions that have pictured for them all
the romance and glamour Of Americas
achievements, the humor and pathos
Of its best writers, the struggles of its
pioneers, its folklore and its political
tntrigues.
Days, weeks months-even years
have passed before some words needed
for the undertaking are encountered.
Milford Mathews, an associate edi-
tor Of the dictionary, the example,
read for 13 years before happening
on the word ''sevvey"-the name of
a coin used in the Southwest around
1870.
Estimates of the time and the num-
Der of words to go were based on the
10 years it took to finish the Oxford
English dictionary, which is three
times as long as the University of
Chicago work will be.
Mark Twain Rich Source.
To Mark Twain. described by the
researchers as perhaps the most
American of all American authors"
almost certainly will go the honor Of
supplying the largest number of quo
tations.
Approximately $4,000 reference slips,
each bearing quotations from Twain,
are being used in compiling the work.
Among the words he supplied is cen
trail" meaning a telephone exchange
or operator. 1t was taken from his
"A Connecticut Yankee" in which he
wrote in 1889:
Il used to wake and say Hello,
Central just to hear her dear voice."
Holding the bag" an expression
some may think is Goth century slang,
came from Americas third President,
Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in 1898:
If the bankruptcies of England
proceed to the length of a universal
crush on their paper, she will leave
Spain the bag to hold"
Gold Rush Provided More,
From those daring Americans who
IN 49 daubed "California or bust"
on their prairie schooners before they
headed for the gold fields has come
the material for a colorful portion Of
the dictionary.
When the lure Of gold separated hus-
bands and wives, the expression, Cali
fornia widow" sprang into use. A
deck OF cards became California
prayer book" and a bowie knife a
California toothpick."
Not only books but magazines and
the yellowing pages of American
newspapers are being employed in
the hunt for words. From the sports
pages have come such words as "bean-
pole" and "basestealing." In this
connection the etymologists pointed
out, however, that their work is nei-
ther dictionary merely of American
1sms," nor a book of slang, but will
include, as far as possible, every word,
phrase or usage of truely American
origin.
Sir William A. Craigie and Prof.
James r. Hubert of the University's