Dictionary of Americanisms, by John Russell Bartlett. (NY: Bartlett and Welford, 1848)

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In venturing to lay before the public a Vocabulary of the colloquial language of the United States, some explanation may be necessary for the broad ground I have been led to occupy.

I began to make a list of such words as appeared to be, or at least such as had generally been called Americanisms, or peculiar to the United States, and, at the same time, made reference to the several authors in whose writings they appeared; not knowing whether, in reality, they were of native growth, or whether they had been introduced from England. When this list had expanded so as to embrace a large number of the words used in familiar conversation, both among the educated as well as among the uneducated and rustic classes, the next object was to examine the dialects and provincialisms of those parts of England from which the early settlers of New England and our other colonies emigrated.

The provincialisms of New England are more familiar to our ears than those of any other section of the United States, as they are not confined within the limits of those States, but have extended to New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan; which States have been, to a great extent, settled by emigrants from New England.

On comparing these familiar words with the provincial and colloquial language of the northern counties of England, a most striking resemblance appeared, not only in the words commonly regarded as peculiar to New England, but in the dialectical pronunciation of certain words, and in the general tone

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and accent. In fact, it may be said, without exaggeration, that nine tenths of the colloquial peculiarities of New England are derived directly from Great Britain; and that they are now provincial in those parts from which the early colonists emigrated, or are to be found in the writings of well accredited authors of the period when that emigration took place. Consequently, it is obvious, that we have the best authority for the use of the words referred to.

It may be insisted, therefore, that the idiom of New England is as pure English, taken as a whole, as was spoken in England at the period when these colonies were settled. In making this assertion, I do not take as a standard the nasal twang, the drawling enunciation, or those perversions of language which the ignorant and uneducated adopt. Nor would I acknowledge the abuse of many of our most useful words. For these perversions I make no other defence or apology, but that they occur in all countries, and in every language.

Having found the case to be as stated, I had next to decide between a vocabulary of words of purely American origin, or one in which should be embraced all those words usually called provincial or vulgar—all the words, whatever be their origin, which are used in familiar conversation, and but seldom employed in composition—all the perversions of language, and abuses of words into which people, in certain sections of the country, have fallen, and some of those remarkable and ludicrous forms of speech which have been adopted in the Western States. The latter plan seemed the most satisfactory, and this I determined to adopt.

With so broad a ground, many words must necessarily be embraced, which are to be found in the dictionaries of Drs. Johnson and Webster, with the remark that they are low, or vulgar, or only to be heard in familiar conversation. Another class, not in the dictionaries referred to, is contained in the provincial glossaries of England. A third class, entirely distinct from the preceding, consists of slang words which are not noticed by lexicographers, yet are so much employed as to deserve a place in a glossary.

Such is the plan which I have thought most advisable to

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adopt, and which I hope will give satisfaction. In carrying out this plan, I have endeavored to give the most accurate definitions, citing the authorities in all cases where I have been enabled to find any. Except as regards words of purely American origin, (e. g. those derived from the Indian languages and from the Dutch,) I have generally kept aloof from etymologies and etymological discussions. These the reader will find in abundance—such as they are—in the works of Johnson, Todd, Webster, and others.

Words of a provincial character, and such as have become obsolete in composition, are often of doubtful signification. Illustrations, from well known authors, wherein such words are employed, are of service in arriving at their true meaning. These have been employed in the present glossary, and serve the double purpose of illustration, and of rendering the book more readable than of confined to a dry collection of definitions. This mode of showing the sense in which words have been employed by authors, was first practised on a comprehensive scale by Dr. Johnson, whose labors are thereby greatly enhanced in value to the philologist; and has since been carried out more completely in Mr. Richardson’s dictionary.

The class of words which are purely American in their origin and use, I have also attempted to illustrate, by extracts from American authors, whose writings relate to that class of people among which these words are chiefly found. These books contain descriptions of country life, scenes in the backwoods, popular tales, &c., in which the colloquial or familiar language of particular States predominates. The humorous writings of Judge Haliburton of Nova Scotia, give a tolerably correct though exaggerated specimen of the provincialisms of New England. The letters of Major Downing are of the same character, and portray the dialect of New England with less exaggeration. There are no books in which the Western words and phrases are so fully exhibited; though all the works which aim to illustrate Western life, contain more or less of the idioms peculiar to the people. Judge Hall, Mrs. Kirkland (Mary Clavers), the author of the New Purchase, Charles F. Hoffman, and various tourists, have displayed in their several

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works the peculiarities of the people of the West, and occasionally their language. Mr. Crockett, however, himself a native of that region, associating form infancy with its woodsmen, hunters, and farmers, whose language is full of quaint words and figures of speech, has unintentionally made us better acquainted with the colloquial language of the West than any other author.

I am also indebted to a series of books published by Messrs. Cary and Hart, called the “Library of Humorous American Works,” which consist of a series of tales and adventures in the South-west and West by Wm. T. Porter, editor of the New York Spirit of the Times; John S. Robb and J. M. Field, Esquires, of St. Louis, Missouri; the editor of the New Orleans Picayune, and some anonymous writers. In these several works, the drolleries and quaint sayings of the West are admirably incorporated into tales of the settlers, their manner and customs, vivid descriptions of Western scenery, political and dramatic scenes, etc. We have no books which present so graphic an account of Western life, related in the exaggerated and metaphorical language peculiar to the people of that region.

In Southern provincialisms I find myself most deficient, having seen no books except Major Jones’s “Courtship” and “Sketches,” “Georgia Scenes,” and “Sherwood’s Gazetteer of Georgia,” in which however a considerable number of local words are to be found.

The newspapers have afforded me many illustrations of the use of words, which I have not failed to make use of. These illustrations, it will be seen, are chiefly from the New York papers, viz. the Commercial Advertiser, the Tribune, and the Herald, for the simple reason that I have been in the practice of reading them daily. When I met with a word or phrase peculiarly American, or one which was employed in a sense differing from the use of the same in England, it was at once noticed and secured. All our newspapers contain more or less colloquial words; in fact, there seems no other way of expressing certain ideas connected with passing events of every day life, with the requisite force and piquancy. In the English newspapers

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the same thing is observable, and certain of them contain more of the class denominated slang words than our own. The Whig papers throughout the United States employ certain political terms in advocating the principles of their party, and in denouncing those of their opponents. The Democratic papers pursue a similar course. The advocates and opponents of Abolition, Fourierism, etc., invent and employ many words peculiar to themselves. So with the religious sects; each new-fangled notion brings into existence some addition to our language, though that addition is not always an improvement.

The value of this glossary would have been greatly enhanced, if, as is usual in the compilation of similar works, I had been able to avail myself of the assistance of persons residing in various parts of our country. No collection of words, professing to contain the colloquial languages of the entire country, can approach any degree of completeness or correctness, without the aid of many hands and heads. None but a native of New England, educated on her soil, and who has mingled with all classes of society, has the requisite familiarity with the words and phrases peculiar to her people. So with the Western and Southern provincialisms. One born and brought up where they are spoken, who has heard and used them when a boy, and grown up in their midst, can portray them in their true sense. The aid of such persons it was impossible to procure, and the words here brought together have been, with very few exceptions, collected by myself. The deficiencies and imperfections are such, therefore, as could not be avoided under the circumstances.

The words of Dutch origin, most if not all of which are used or understood in the city of New York and those portions of its vicinity colonized by natives of Holland, were furnished by Mr. Alexander J. Cotheal, a gentleman born and educated in New York, whose learning in other branches of philological science is well known to many. A few other words have been given me from time to time by other friends, who knew that I was making this collection. To all of these I am happy to express my acknowledgments.

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When the work had advanced far towards completion, and one half had been put in type, the occurrence of some terms, common in political language, the exact meaning of which was not clear, led me to apply to my friend John Inman, Esq., editor of the New York Commercial Advertiser, for aid. He readily compiled with my request, and kindly furnished the definitions of several terms of daily occurrence in the political language of the day. I regret that I did not have his valuable aid in defining and illustrating the use of words and phrases which occur in the early part of the glossary. The contributions of Mr. Inman are acknowledged where they appear.

To my friend Mr. Wm. W. Turner, I am under great obligations for aid rendered me in preparing this work for the press. Mr. Turner’s extensive acquaintance with the European and Oriental languages, together with an unusual sagacity in philological criticism, have peculiarly fitted him to give aid in the preparation of a work like this. I have, therefore, submitted the whole to his supervision, and adopted his views in all my conclusions. At his suggestion, I have struck out many etymologies taken from standard dictionaries, which it was evident were wholly erroneous.

In noticing the words embraced in this glossary, the reader will probably think that many have been admitted which ought not to have a place in a Dictionary of American Provincialisms. From what has already been said, it will be seen that it is very difficult to draw the line between what should be admitted and what excluded; and I have thought it better to err on the side of copiousness, than by too rigid a system of selection to run into the opposite extreme.

A careful perusal of nearly all the English glossaries, has enabled me to select what appeared most desirable to embrace, and what to avoid, in an American book of a similar kind. Cant words, except such as are in general use, the terms used at gaming houses, purely technical words, and those only known to certain trades, obscene and blasphemous words, have been discarded.

For a better understanding of the subject, as well as to show the importance of collecting and preserving the colloquial

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dialects of our country, I have prefixed to the Vocabulary some remarks on language, in which the reader will find that the study of dialects and provincialisms is considered as worthy the attention of philologists, as the investigation of the language of literature.

DIALECTS OF ENGLAND.

The most recent investigations in which the science of philology has been brought to bear on the English language, have shown that it is of purely Gothic origin, descended through languages of which sufficient remains to make grammatical as well as etymological comparisons practicable. It is true that some have regarded it as a perfect mongrel, without any natural parent, compounded of various languages and dialects, Greek, Latin, Saxon, French, Welsh, etc., etc. But although the language is very much mixed, it is a question whether it is not as pure, and as closely allied to the Anglo-Saxon and Mœso-Gothic, as the languages in the south of Europe are to the Latin. Or, in other words, it is probable that the English is not more impregnated with words of the Latin stock, than the Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese are with words of the Teutonic stock.

The natural tendency of language is to improve; and when a people cannot express in a comprehensive manner a particular idea or shade of meaning, they either form a word to denote it from a root or roots already in the language, or borrow a word from other languages which expresses it already.

With regard to the English language this last mentioned process has been adopted to an extent which, while it has enriched our vocabulary with a vast number of terms, has, it must be confessed, greatly impaired its reproductive power. The original substratum of Anglo-Saxon speech has been overlaid with multitudes of common and conversational words from

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the French, literary and ecclesiastical terms from the Latin, and technicalities from the Greek; and the process is constantly going on. Yet in spite of these immense accessions to its vocabulary, the structure of the English has remained in all essential respects the same from the period when it first became a language. Moreover, the number of foreign importations contained in our dictionaries gives by no means a correct idea of the number of such words which we actually make use of. The greater part of our household, colloquial, and poetical expressions are Saxon, and so are all those important words called particles, on which the whole structure of speech hinges; whereas an immense number of the words derived from other sources belong exclusively to the language of books, and many even to particular sciences.

There is another fact to be observed, which is that these different classes of words are not used in the same proportion by all members of society. Persons without education, and who are consequently not familiar with the language of literature, employ almost exclusively in their conversation the simple and expressive Saxon terms; while persons belonging to the more favored classes of society, supply the place of many of these terms by others derived from the language of books. The old words thus discarded, which are often far more expressive and more consonant to the genius of the language than the apparently more elegant novelties by which they are supplanted, are from that time considered as the exclusive property of the common people, and receive the name of provincial, colloquial, or vulgar.

But notwithstanding all this, the common speech often enters largely into composition, and in some instances constitutes the chief excellence of a writer. In dramatic composition the colloquial language predominates. In Shakspeare we find every variety of idiom of which the English language is susceptible, from the loftiest flights of the statesman and philosopher to the familiar language of the lowest of the people. In Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Shirley, and other dramatic authors, we find the familiar idiom to be the most prevalent.

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If we examine the literature of other countries, we shall find that the colloquial tongue has been employed in written compositions of a similar kind and with equal success. In addition to Aristophanes and Plautus among the ancients, Don Quixote may be mentioned as an example in Spain, and the writings of Rabelais and Molière in France. The colloquial dialect is generally more ancient than the literary language; as the latter is constantly changing, while the former remains nearly stationary.

If any person will take the trouble to examine the early dictionaries of the English language, or the dictionaries of which English forms a part, he will be surprised at the large number of words which have become so completely obsolete as to be undeserving a place in modern compilations. Even the English dictionary of Bailey, which, at the time Dr. Johnson published his, was the standard, abounds in words which are now never used in composition. This class of words was employed by authors from Chaucer’s time, or about the year 1400, to the beginning of the seventeenth century. By the middle of that century they had ceased to be used in books, but were preserved in dictionaries for a century longer. The great mass of them, however, are found in one or more of the numerous provincial dialects of England to the present day.

The dialects of the English language now spoken in England have existed from a very early period. It is not pretended by writers on the subject that any are of recent origin. “In early times,” says Dr. Bosworth, “there was clearly a considerable dialectic variety in the writings of men residing in different provinces. The differences observable in the language of the most cultivated classes would be still more marked and apparent in the mass of population, or in the less educated community. These, from their agricultural pursuits, had little communication with the inhabitants of other provinces; and having few opportunities and little inducement to leave their own neighborhood, they intermarried among each other, and, from their limited acquaintance and circumscribed views, they would naturally be much attached to their old manners, customs, and language. The same cause operating from age to age would keep united the greater part of the population, or the families of the middle

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stations of life; it may, therefore, be well expected that much of the peculiarity of the dialect prevalent in Anglo-Saxon times, is preserved even to the present day in the provincial dialects of the same districts. In these local dialects, then, remnants of the Anglo-Saxon tongue may be found in the least altered, most uncorrupt, and therefore its purest state.”*

In an ethnological point of view the English dialects afford important materials for elucidating that portion of English history which relates to the early colonization of Great Britain; for, if history were silent on the subject, a philological test applied to the dialects of the country would show what nations contributed to its colonization.

The Edinburgh Review for April, 1844, in an article on the Provincialisms of the European Languages, gives the following results of an inquiry into the number of provincial words which had then been arrested by local glossaries:

“Admitting that several of the foregoing are synonymous, superfluous, or common to each county, there are nevertheless many of them which, although alike orthographically, are vastly dissimilar in signification. Making these allowances, they amount to a little more than 20,000; or, according to the number of English counties hitherto illustrated, to the average ratio of 1478 to a county. Calculating the twenty-six unpublished in the same ratio (for there are supposed to be as many words collected by persons who have never published them) they will furnish 36,428 additional provincialisms, forming in the aggregate 59,000 words in the colloquial tongue of the lower classes, which can, for the chief part, produce proofs of legitimate origin.”

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Since the above was written, a most important contribution to this department of literature has been made in the publication of “A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the fourteenth Century. By J. O. Halliwell. 2 vols. 8vo., London, 1847.” This admirable work actually contains 50,000 words, a great portion of which are illustrated by extracts from manuscripts. It will be found by most persons to amply supply the place of the numerous separate glossaries for studying the dialects of England, while it affords indispensable assistance for the correct understanding of the early writers.

As it does not fall within the scope of these inquiries to discuss the languages with which the English bears a relationship, we shall pass over these, and come at once to the Anglo-Saxon. This forms the basis of the English language, and is to be considered as the mother-tongue, upon which many words and phrases from other languages, at successive periods, during a space of fourteen centuries, have been engrafted.

The Saxons brought their language into Britain in the year 449, when the invasion under Hengist took place. What the language was at this period it is impossible to show, as no writings of the time have come down to us. It probably approached nearer to its immediate progenitor, the Low German and Mœso-Gothic, than the form it assumed several centuries later, when we first find written documents.*

The large number of invaders who followed Hengist compelled the ancient inhabitants to retire; and in about a century the whole country was formed into a Saxon kingdom, wherein their language took the place of the Celtic. This language, thus introduced and so firmly established, has been called pure Saxon by the learned Dr. Hickes in his “Thesaurus Veterum Linguarum Septentrionalium.”

The languages of the Angles and Saxons were closely allied to each other. In fact, from a comparison of the earliest speci-

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mens that have come down to us, it is evident that they were merely dialects of the same tongue, spoken by peoples living contiguous to each other. The other Gothic invaders or colonists of Britain, who have left traces of their language, are the Jutes of Jutland and the Friesians of Friesland.

The Danes made their first descent on the English coast in 787, and were soon repelled. Successive invasions followed, and while Charlemagne compelled them to retreat before his victorious armies, they sought a refuge in Britain, laying waste the country and plundering wherever they came. The Saxons always got rid of them as soon as possible, either by force of arms or contributions of money. Yet, in many instances, they established colonies, and after 230 years of warfare they succeeded in raising a Danish king to the throne of England in the year 1017. His reign, however, was short; for in 24 years the Danish dynasty was extinct, and a Saxon king again succeeded.

This is the period where Dr. Hickes places the second stage of the Anglo-Saxon language, being that in which it was affected by the Danish invasions, receiving new words or dialectical changes. Mr. Forby, in his remarks on the dialect of East Anglia, says that no part of England was more completely overrun or longer occupied than this; but he denies that a number of words sufficiently large was imported to give a new color and character to the Saxon tongue.*

“The French element appeared in our language with the battle of Hastings (A. D. 1066), perhaps in a slight degree during the reign of Edward the Confessor.”† It is the dialect spoken in the northern parts of France and denominated Norman French, which has had the greatest influence upon the English language.

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AMERICAN DIALECTS.

Dialects originate in various ways. First, by the proximity of nations speaking different languages, in which case many words and phrases are borrowed from one into the other; witness the Scotch and Irish dialects of the English. Secondly, by migrations. This is the most fruitful and permanent source of dialects. We see its effects in the English language; for the immigration of various nations into Great Britain from the Saxons down to the period of the Norman conquest are yet distinctly marked in the dialects of that country.

In the United States it is easy to point out causes, which, in the course of a few generations, will materially affect the English language in the particular districts of country were those influences are at work. Dialects will spring up as marked as those of Great Britain. A free intercourse may in some cases check the permanency of these dialects; but in those parts of the country aside from the great thoroughfares, where a dialect has once become firmly established, a thousand years will not suffice to eradicate it.

The State of New York was originally settled by the Dutch. The number of their colonists was never large, nor did they extend their settlements beyond the valley of the Mohawk and lands adjacent; yet we find even in this thickly settled State, after a lapse of two hundred years, that they have left evident traces on our spoken language. In the cities of New York and Albany many Dutch words have become incorporated into the common speech. In some of the inland villages of Dutch origin, the inhabitants still use the language of their fathers; and there are even individuals who never spoke any other.

The words so adopted by us embrace geographical names,—a class of words which the first colonists of a country or the primitive inhabitants themselves generally leave to their posterity or to the subsequent occupants. Many of the other words which the Dutch have left us are terms belonging to the kitchen. These have been preserved and handed down by cooks and domes-

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tic servants, until from constant use they are become familiar to all. Among these terms are cooky, crullers, olykoke, spack and applejees, rullichies, kohlslaa, pit.

The terms for various playthings, holidays, &c., preserve among children their original Dutch names; as scup, hoople, pweewee, pile, pinkster, paas. Other words confined to children are pinky, terawchy.

Articles of wearing apparel in some instances retain their Dutch names; as clockmutch.

Besides these there are terms the use of which is not confined to the districts originally colonized from Holland, but has been extended to New England and several of the Northern States; such as stoop, a porch, boss, a master-workman.

If a few Dutch colonists mingled with the English have been able to engraft so many words on our language, what may we expect from the hundreds of thousands of Germans in the State of Pennsylvania? There the German language will doubtless exist for centuries; for, although they are situated in the midst of an English-speaking population far more numerous than themselves, and although the government and laws are conducted through the English language, still the tendency of a people of common origin to cling together,—the publication of newspapers, almanacs, and books in German,—and the cultivation to some extent of German literature, will tend to preserve the idiom and nationality of the people. It is true the language is already much corrupted, and in the course of time it must give way to the English; but it will leave behind it an almost imperishable dialect as a memento of its existence. In the State of Ohio, where there are large settlements of Germans, a similar result must follow.

In the State of Illinois is a colony of Norwegians. These people before coming to America sent out an agent, who selected and purchased for them a large tract of land in one section of that State. They were accompanied by their clergyman and schoolmaster. They are thus kept together, and will for a long time preserve their language and nationality. But it must also eventually give way, after engrafting on the English language in that vicinity a Norwegian dialect.

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There are large settlements of Welsh emigrants in the States of Pennsylvania and New York. In the latter, in Oneida county, one may travel for miles and hear nothing but the Welsh language. They have their newspapers and magazines in their native tongue, and support many churches wherein their language alone is preached. The Welsh, however, are not in sufficient numbers, nor are they sufficiently isolated to retain for any length of time their native tongue; neither can they produce any sensible dialectical change in our language, owing to the great difference between it and their own. They will, however, add some words to it.

In the State of Louisiana, which was colonized by the French, and Florida, which was colonized by the Spaniards, there are many words of foreign origin, scarcely known in the Northern States. The geographical divisions, the names of rivers, mountains, bays; the peculiarities of soil and climate; all that relates to the cultivation of the earth, the names of fishes, birds, fruits, vegetables, coins, &c., &c., retain to a great extent the names given them by the first possessors of the country. The same class of words is preserved in Lower Canada, where they were originally given by the French. They are now adopted by the English, and will for ever remain in use. Among the words of French origin are cache, calaboose, bodette, bayou, sault, levee, crevasse, habitan, charivari.

The Spanish colonists in Florida, and our intercourse with Mexico and the Spanish main, have been the means of introducing a few Spanish words. Among these are canyon, cavortin, chaparral, pistareen, rancho, vamos.

The Indian terms in our language, as might be supposed, are numerous. First, as to geographical names. These abound in every State in the Union, though more in some States than in others. In New England, particularly on the coast, Indian names are very common. Nearly all the rivers, bays and prominent landmarks bear them, as Housatonic, Connecticut, Quinnebaug, Pawcatuck, Merrimack, Kennebec, Penobscot, Narraganset, Passamaquoddy, &c. In other parts of the country too the rivers retain their aboriginal names, as the Mississippi, Ohio,

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Susquehanna, Roanoake, Altamaha, Chattahoochie, Alabama, &c., &c. And the same may be said of the great lakes, nearly all the bays, mountains, and numerous geographical divisions and localities. Many of the aboriginal names, however, have been discarded for others less appropriate. In New England the towns and villages were chiefly named after the town in England from which the early colonists emigrated. In the State of New York there is a strange anomaly in the names of places. Before the Revolution the people seemed to prefer the aboriginal names; not only the rivers, lakes, hills, &c., but many of the towns received them. After the war, the names of distinguished statesmen and soldiers were applied to the new counties and towns.

The great perversions of the English language arise from two opposite causes. One of them is the introduction of vulgarisms by uneducated people, who not having the command of proper words to express their ideas, invent others for the purpose. These words continue among this class, are transmitted by them to their children, and thus become permanent and provincial. They are next seized upon by stump-speakers at political meetings, because they have an influence and are popular with the masses. Next we hear them on the floor of Congress and in our halls of legislation. Quoted by the newspapers, they become familiar to all, and take their place in the colloquial language of the whole people. Lexicographers now secure them and give them a place in their dictionaries; and thus they become firmly engrafted on our language. The study of lexicography will show that this process has long been going on in England, and doubtless other languages are subject to similar influences.

But the greatest injury to our language arises from the perversion of legitimate words and the invention of hybrid and other inadmissable expressions by educated men, and particularly by the clergy. This class is the one, above all others, which ought to be the conservators rather than the pervertors of language. It is nevertheless a fact which cannot be denied, that many strange and barbarous words to which our ears are gradually becoming familiar, owe to them their origin and intro-

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duction; among them may be mentioned such verbs as to fellowship, to difficult, to eventuate, to doxologize, to happify, to donate, &c., &c.

Political writers have made and are constantly making large additions to our stock of words and phrases. Alex. Hamilton’s writings abound in newly coined expressions; many of which have been adopted by Dr. Webster, and have a place in his dictionary. But few, however, have come into general use, as his writings have not been widely diffused, and there is nothing to recommend them for adoption by scholars. Judge Story has contributed his share of new words; but as they are confined to legal treatises and works on the Constitution, they can never seriously affect the language.

Writers of political articles in the newspapers, stump-orators, and the members of legislative bodies, have added much to the English vocabulary. This class of words, though not remarkable for their elegance, are often expressive and become more widely known than other classes. In many instances, however, their existence is but short. They often spring up with a party; and as the parties become extinct, or give place to new ones, the terms which express their peculiar ideas or doctrines likewise fall out of use. In this class may be included such terms as Old Hunker, Bucktail, Federalist, Barnburner, Loco-foco, Young Democracy, Democratic Republican, Native American, Nullifier, Nullification, Coon, Coonery, &c.

There are words, however, in this class, whose origin has grown out of our peculiar institutions, and which consequently are of a permanent nature. The origin of some of these is involved in obscurity, while that of others is well known. Sometimes a little incident trivial in itself has brought into existence words which are extremely expressive, and which will remain as long as our institutions exist. In this class we find Caucus, Buncombe or Bunkum, Congress, to Lobby, Mileage, Gubernatorial, General Court, General Assembly, President’s and Governor’s Messages, Senatorial, &c., &c.

The peculiar physical features of the country—its animals, productions, aborigines, forest life, &c.—have been a most fruitful source, from which has sprung perhaps the largest

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number of new words, as necessary and useful to ourselves as any derived from our Saxon ancestors. These terms are not used in England, for the simple reason that there they are not wanted. Although I cannot agree with Dr. Webster, that “we rarely find a new word introduced into a language which is entirely useless,”—for there are unquestionably thousands of words encumbering our dictionaries which might well be dispensed with,—yet there is no doubt that, in most instances, “the use of new terms is dictated by necessity or utility; sometimes to express shades of difference in signification, for which the language did not supply a suitable term; sometimes to express a combination of ideas by a single word, which otherwise would require a circumlocution. These benefits, which are often perceived, as it were, instinctively by a nation, recommend such words to common use, till the cavils of critics are silenced by the weight of authority,”—Letter to J. Pickering, p. 7.

Were we to classify the periods when names were applied to places in the State of New York, for example, we would call that in which the Indian names were applied, the Aboriginal period. This is as far back as it would be safe for ordinary mortals to go, leaving the “ante-diluvian” period to the second sight of such seers as Mr. Rafinesque.*

The Indian names seem to have prevailed till the revolution. Then came a burst of patriotism among the settlers, many of whom doubtless had served in the war, and every new place was christened with the names of the warriors and statesmen of the day. Thus arose Washington county, Washington village, and Washington hollow; Jefferson county, village, lake, &c. The State of New York has thus perpetuated, in her towns and villages, the names of Adams, Jay, La Fayette, Hamilton, Madison, Pinckney, Putnam, Pulaski, Schuyler, De Kalb, Steuben, Sullivan, Gates, Wayne, &c. This may well be styled the Patriotic period. But New York appreciated also the military and naval geniuses of other countries, for we find a Nelson, a Moreau, a Waterloo, &c. within her borders. The names of statesmen and generals did not suffice for the patriotism of our early pioneers, for we find interspersed among

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them the names of Freedom, Freetown, Freeport, Independence, Liberty, Victory, Hopewell, Harmony, Concord, &c.

Next comes the Classical period; for by what other term could we designate a period when towns were christened by the names of such men as Homer, Virgil, Solon, Ovid, Cato, Brutus, Pompey, Tully, Cicero, Aurelius, Scipio, Ulysses, Seneca, Hannibal, Hector, Romulus, Lysander, Manlius, Camillus, and Marcellus; or of such places as Athens, Sparta, Troy, Corinth, Pharsalia, Palmyra, Utica, Smyrna, Rome, and Carthage.

Testimony to the piety (to say nothing of the good taste) of our forefathers is also afforded by the occurrence of such names as Eden, Babylon, Sodom, Jerusalem, Jericho, Hebron, Goshen, Bethany, Bethpage, Bethlehem, Sharon, &c. There are towns named after nearly ever country in Europe, as Norway, Sweden, Denmark (with a Copenhagen adjoining), Russia, Greece, Italy, Sardinia, Holland, Wales, as well as after their principal cities. There is a town of Mexico, Canton, Peru, Delhi, Cairo, China, Cuba. Distinguished men in English history, as Milton, Addison, Dryden, Scott, Byron, Chesterfield, Marlborough, Junius, have towns christened with their names. But little fondness is exhibited for dramatic authors, as the names of the greatest of them all has been forgotten. Not even a pond, a hollow, or a swamp has been honored with the name of Shakspeare. If we were to classify all the names of places in the State of New York, we should be puzzled for a place to put the names of Painted Post, Oxbow, Halfmoon, Owl Pond, Oyster Bay, Mud Creek, Cow Neck, Mosquito Cove, and the like. The name of Pennyan is said to have been manufactured by the first settlers, part of whom were from Pennsylvania and the rest from New England, by taking the first syllable from “Pennsylvania,” and the last from “Yankee.”

Now the Mexican war is over, we shall doubtless have a large fund of names to use in our newly acquired territories, and the new States at the West. The old generals of the revolution will be passed by, and the span-new heroes of this war will be handed down to the admiration of posterity in the metamorphosed shape of cities, towns; and villages, yet to come into

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existence. As the simplicity of the revolutionary period no longer remains, the plain surname will not answer now-a-days; but the love of glory and the love of magniloquence may both be gratified in such euphonious compounds as Quitmanville, Pillowtown, and Polkopolis!

The class of words which owe their origin to circumstances or productions peculiar to the United States, such as backwoods, backwoodsmen, breadstuffs, barrens, bottoms, buffalo-robe, cane-brake, cypress-brake, clapboard, corn broom, corn-shucking, clearing, deadening, diggings, dug-out, flat boat, husking, pine barrens, prairie, prairie dogs, prairie hen, shingle, sawyer, salt lick, savannah, snag, sleigh, &c., are necessary additions to the language.

The metaphorical and other odd expressions used first at the West, and afterwards in other parts of the country, often originate in some curious anecdote or event, which is transmitted from mouth to mouth, and soon made the property of all. Political writers and stump speakers perform a prominent part in the invention and diffusion of these phrases. Among these may be mentioned, to cave in, to acknowledge the corn, to flash in the pan, to bark up the wrong tree, to pull up stakes, to be a caution, to fizzle out, to flat out, to fix his flint, to be among the missing, to give him Jessy, to see the elephant, to fly around, to tucker out, to use up, to walk into, to mizzle to, to absquatulate, to cotton, to hifer, &c., &c.

Our people, particularly those who belong to the West and South, are fond of using intensive and extravagant epithets, both as adjectives and adverbs, as awful, powerful, monstrous, dreadful, mighty, almighty, all-fired, &c.

The words bankable, boatable, mailable, mileage, are well formed and useful terms which have been generally adopted by those who have occasion to make use of them. But the words dubersome, disremember, decedent, docity, cannot be called useful or necessary addition to our language.

The Indian element in our language, or rather the Indian words which have become adopted in it, consist, 1st. Of geographical names. 2d. Of the names of various animals, birds, and fishes. 3d. Of fruits and cereals; particularly the several pre-

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parations of the latter for eating. Thus from Indian corn, we have samp, hominy, and supawn; from the manioc plant, mandioca and tapioca. 4th. Such articles known to and used by the Indians, which the Europeans did not possess, as canoe, hammock, tobacco, moccasin, pemmican; also, barbecue, hurricane, pow-wow.

The Indian names of animals, fishes, and reptiles, are generally local. Thus a fish may be known by different names in Boston, New York, and Delaware Bay, as scup, paugie, and scuppaug.

There is a diversity in the pronunciation of certain words in different parts of the United States, which is so perceptible that a native of these particular districts may be at once recognised by a person who is observant in these matters. Residents of the city of New York are, perhaps, less marked in their pronunciation and use of words, than the residents of any other city or State, the reason of which is obvious. The population is so fluctuating, so many people form every part of the country, as well as from England, Scotland, and Ireland, are congregated here, who are in daily contact with each other, that there is less chance for any idiom or peculiarity of speech to grow up. The large number of educated men in New England, her admirable schools and higher institutions of education, have had a powerful influence in moulding the language of her people. Yet, notwithstanding this fact, in Boston and other towns in Massachusetts, there exist some glaring errors in the vulgar speech. There are peculiarities also to be observed in the literary language of the Bostonians. The great extent to which the scholars of New England have carried the study of the German language and literature for some years back, added to a very general neglect of the old master-pieces of English composition, have had the effect of giving to the writings of many of them an artificial, unidiomatic character, which has an expressibly unpleasant effect to those who are not habituated to it.

The agricultural population who live in the interior of New England, have a strongly marked provincial dialect, by which they may be distinguished from the people of every other part of the Union. The chief peculiarity is a drawling pronuncia-

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tion, sometimes accompanied by a speaking through the nose, as eend for end, dawg for dog, Gawd for God, &c. Before the sounds ow and oo, they often insert a short i, which we will represent by the letter y; as kyow for cow, vyow for vow, tyoo for too, dyoo for do, &c. &c. The numerous words employed in New England, which are not heard in other parts of the country, are mostly genuine old words still provincial in the North of England; very few are of indigenous origin.

The chief peculiarity in the pronunciation of the Southern and Western people is the giving of a broader sound than is proper to certain vowels; as whar for where, thar for there, bar for bear.

In the following table of words, incorrectly pronounced, such as belong to New England are designated by the letters N. E.; those exclusively Western, by the letter W.; the Southern words, by S.; the rest are common to various parts of the Union. In this attempt at classification there are doubtless errors and imperfections; for an emigrant from Vermont to Illinois would introduce the provincialisms of his native district into his new residence. [Transcriber’s note: Bartlett uses the “i” with a macron (the “long i”) twice in this list; I’ve indicated them by [i macron]; pronunciation of “hoist” is “h i-macron st”; pronunciation for “joist” is “j i-macron st.”]

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Before closing these observations on American provincialisms, I should do injustice to previous writers on the same subject, not to speak of their works. The earliest of these, as far as my knowledge extends, is that of Dr. Witherspoon. In a series of essays, entitled “The Druid,” which appeared originally in a periodical publication in 1761, he devotes numbers 5, 6, and 7 of these essays, about 20 pages in all, to Americanisms, perversions of language in the United States, cant phrases, &c. They were afterwards published in his collected works, in 4

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vols. 8vo., Philadelphia, 1801, and may be found in the fourth volume.

The most important work of the kind is that of the late Hon. John Pickering. He began with an article in the “Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,” Boston. This was soon after enlarged and published in a separate volume entitled “A Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and Phrases which have been supposed to be peculiar to the United States of America. To which is prefixed an Essay on the present state of the English Language in the United States.” Boston: 1816. Pp. 206. (Containing about 520 words.) This valuable and interesting work received much attention, and in the following year appeared a pamphlet, entitled “A Letter to the Hon. John Pickering, on the Subject of his Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and Phrases, supposed to be peculiar to the United States.” By Noah Webster. 8vo. Boston: 1817. Pp. 69.

In the transactions of the Albany Institute, 1830, vol. I., is an article entitled “Notes on Mr. Pickering’s Vocabulary, &c., with Preliminary Observations.” By T. Romeyn Beck. In Mr. Sherwood’s “Gazetteer of Georgia,” is a glossary of words provincial in the Southern States. The latest work on provincialisms, but chiefly of errors in grammar, is “A Grammatical Corrector, or Vocabulary of the Common Errors of Speech; Alphabetically Arranged, Corrected, and Explained for the Use of Schools and Private Individuals.” By Seth T. Hurd. 12mo. Philadelphia: 1847.*

As the charge has been frequently made against us by English critics of perverting our vernacular tongue, and of adding useless words to it, it will not be out of place to state here, that in the belief of the author, the English language is in no part of

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the world spoken in greater purity by the great mass of the people than in the United States. In making this assertion he does not depend wholly on his own observation; it has repeatedly been made by intelligent Englishmen who have travelled in the United States, and had an opportunity or judging. On this subject, the author of an English work, entitled the “Backwoods of Canada,” has the following judicious remarks:

“With the exception of some few remarkable expressions, and an attempt at introducing fine words, the lower order of Yankees have a decided advantage over our English peasantry in the use of grammatical language; they speak better English than you will hear from persons of the same class in any part of England, Ireland, or Scotland; a fact that we should be unwilling to allow at home.”—P. 83.

The Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, President of Princeton College, born and educated in Scotland, made a similar remark in 1784. In an essay on language, he says:

“The vulgar in America speak much better than the vulgar in Great Britain, for a very obvious reason, viz. that being much more unsettled, and moving frequently from place to place, they are not so liable to local peculiarities either in accent or phraseology.”—Works, Vol. IV. p. 281.

We cannot say as much, however, in favor of our literary dialect. The ripest scholars among us acknowledge the fact, that in the best authors and public speakers of Great Britain, there is a variety in the choice of expressions, a correctness in the use of the particles, and an idiomatic vigor and freshness of style to which few or none of our writers can attain. The unfortunate tendency to favor the Latin at the expense of the Teutonic element of our language, which social and educational causes have long tended to foster, has in this country received an additional impulse from the great admixture of foreigners in our population. It is not likely that the pure old idiomatic English style can ever be restored in this country; but there is no good reason to doubt, that the fusion of the present rather heterogeneous elements of which our society is composed, will result in the production of a style and a literature which will also have their beauties and merits, although fashioned after a somewhat different model.

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ABISSELFA. A, by itself, A. It will be recollected by many, that in the olden time, the first letter of the alphabet was denominated “abisselfa” when it formed a syllable by itself, as in the word able. The scholar, in spelling the word, was taught to say, “a, by itself, a, (rapidly, abisselfa,) b, l, e, able.” We derive this word and the use of it from England, where it is used in Suffolk County.—Moor’s Glossary.

ABOVE-BOARD. In open sight; without artifice, or trick. “A figurative expression,” says Johnson, “borrowed from gamesters, who, when they put their hands under the table, are exchanging their cards.”

ABOVE ONE’S BEND. Out of one’s power; beyond reach. A common expression in the Western States.

ABSQUATULATE. To run away, to abscond. Used only in familiar language.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE CORN. An expression of recent origin, which has now become very common. It means to confess, or acknowledge a charge or imputation. The following story is told as the origin of the phrase:

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ACCOUNTABILITY. The state of being liable to answer for one’s conduct; liable to give account, and to receive reward or punishment for actions.—Webster. This word, so much used by our divines, is not to be found in any English Dictionary except the recent one of Mr. Knowles. Mr. Todd, in his additions to Johnson’s Dictionary, has accountableness, the state of being accountable.

We would use accountability instead, as in the following example:

ADAM’S ALE. Water. A colloquial expression, used both in England and America.

TO ADMIRE. 1. To like very much. This verb is much and very absurdly used in New England in expressions like the following: “I should admire to see the President.”

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TO ADMIRE. 2. To wonder at; to be affected with slight surprise.—Ray. In New England, particularly in Maine, this word is used in this sense. Some of the old English writers so employed it.

ADOBIES. (Sp. adobes.) Sun-baked brick used for building houses, fortifications, and making inclosures on the Western frontier of the United States.

TO ADVOCATE. (Lat. advoco. Fr. avocasser.) To plead, to support, to defend.—Todd. To plead in favor of; to defend by argument before a tribunal; to support or vindicate.—Webster.

This word has been particularly noticed by recent Lexicographers; as it is one of that class which has fallen into disuse in England, and, by English and American critics not familiar with its history, has been set down as an Americanism. It is a useful word, and has long been employed by our best writers.

In speaking of this word, Mr. Boucher observes in his Glossary, “that it has been said that it is an improvement of the English language, which has been discovered by the people of the United States of North America, since their separation from Great Britain;” but that it can be shown to be a very common Scottish word. Mr. Todd, the learned editor of Johnson’s Dictionary, is also unwilling to allow this concession to us, and says, “It is an old English word, employed by one of our finest and most manly writers; and if the Americans affect to plume themselves on this pretended improvement of our language, let them, as well as their abettors, withdraw the unfounded claim to discovery, in turning to the prose writings of Milton. In the Dictionaries of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, however, as in the Latin of Thomas, the Spanish of Minshew, the Italian of Florio, and the French of Colgrave, advoco, advogar, avocare, and avocasser, are rendered, not to advocate, but “to play the advocate.”

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“Though this verb is found in Milton,” says Mr. Pickering, “yet it does not appear to have been in common use in England, either at the time he wrote, or since that period. It has very recently been adopted by a few other writers, and seems now to be getting into use in England.” Dr. Webster makes no remarks as to the legitimacy of the word, but gives several examples of its use. From the vocabulary of Mr. Pickering, the Glossary of Mr. Boucher, and the Dictionary of Dr. Webster, the following illustrations have been selected.

From American writers are the following examples:

AFEARD. (Ang. Saxon afered.) Afraid; frightened; terrified.—Todd’s Johnson.

This is a good old English word, though now considered a vulgarism; and as common in ancient times, as afraid is at present. It is provincial in various parts of England, and among uneducated persons in the United States.

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It has been supposed, that in Chaucer’s time, there was a difference between the significations of afeard and afraid, as in one instance he employs both in the same verse.

The following are examples of the use of the word by American writers:

AFORE. (Sax. ætforan.) Before; sooner in time; in front; rather than.—Todd’s Johnson.

This old word is gone entirely out of use in elegant language. It is now provincial in England, and in the United States is used only by the illiterate.

AFOREHAND. (Old English.) Beforehand. Aforehand in business, i. e. successful.

Once good English, now a provincialism.

AFTERCLAPS. Unexpected events happening after an affair is supposed to be at an end.—Todd’s Johnson.

Although this is a genuine old English word, it is now seldom heard except in familiar conversation.

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AFTER NIGHT. After nightfall; in the evening; as, “A meeting will be held in the court-house after night.” This expression is said to be peculiar to Pennsylvania.—Hurd’s Grammatical Corrector.

AGY, for ague; fever-nagy, for ‘fever and ague;’ common among the uneducated, wherever this distressing disease is known.

AHEAD. Originally a sea-term. Farther onward than another.—Johnson.

This word has now become very common, and signifies forward, in advance.

ALBANY BEEF. Sturgeon; a fish which abounds in the Hudson river; so called by the people in the State of New York.

ALEWIFE, plur. alewives. (Indian, aloof. Alosa vernalis, Storer, Massachusetts Rep’t.) A fish of the herring kind, abounding in the waters of New England.

The name appears to be an Indian one, though it is somewhat changed, as appears by the earliest account we have of it. In former times, the Indians made use of these fish to manure their lands, as the menhaden are now used. Mr. Winthrop says, “Where the ground is bad or worn out, they put two or three of the fishes called aloofes under or adjacent to each corn-hill; whereby they had many times a double crop to what the ground would otherwise have produced. The English have learned the like husbandry, where these aloofes come up in great plenty.”—Philosophical Trans. 1678.

ALIENAGE. The state of being an alien.—Webster.

Neither this nor the following word is to be found in the

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English dictionaries, except the recent one of Mr. Knowles. They are common, however, in professional books.

ALIENISM. The state of being an alien.—Webster, Knowles.

ALLEY. (Lat. albus, white.) An ornamented marble, used by boys for shooting in the ring, &c.; also called in England, a taw. It is often made of white marble or of painted clay.

ALL-FIRED. Very, in a great degree. A low American word.

ALL OVER. Bearing a resemblance to some particular object. The word is common in familiar language.

The Southern Standard, in noticing Dombey and Son, says: “We have read this work so far with great interest; it is Dickens all over.” Meaning that it partakes fully of the character of Dickens’s writings.

By the following example it appears that English writers use the word in the same sense. Sir George Simpson, in speaking of the indolence of the Californians, and of the deficiencies in all the comforts of life, says:

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ALL-OVERISH. Neither sick nor well. A low word, used both in England and America.

TO ALLOT UPON. To intend, to form a purpose; as, I allot upon going to Boston. Used by uneducated people in the interior of New England.

TO ALLOW. To acknowledge, to think. Used in a very loose manner like the word guess.

ALL SORTS OF. A Southern expression, synonymous with expert, acute, excellent, capital. It answers to the English slang term bang-up. It is a prevalent idiom of low life, and often heard in the colloquial language of the better informed. A man who in New England would be called a curious or a smart fellow, would in the South be called all sorts of a fellow. Sometimes one hears the expression “all sorts of a horse,” or, “all sorts of a road.”

ALL-STANDING. Without preparation, suddenly.

This, like many other common expressions, seems to be borrowed from the sea. Thus, a ship in full career, whose course is suddenly checked by striking against a rock, or by a squall of wind, is said to be brought-to all-standing, i.e. with all her sails set and unprepared for stopping. And hence we say, for instance, of a horseman or an orator whose course is suddenly checked, that he is brought up all-standing.

ALL-TO-SMASH. Smashed to pieces. This expression is often heard in low and familiar language. It is an English provincialism. Mr. Halliwell says, that a Lancashire man, telling his master the mill-dam had burst, exclaimed, “Maister, maister, dam’s brossen, and aw’s-to-smash.—Archaic and Prov. Dictionary.

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ALL-WINSOME. Winsome is a word used in the north of England, (Ang. Sax. winsum, pleasant,) sweet, pleasant. I have never heard the word, although an American writer thus uses it:

ALONE. Sole. The German allein is used in like manner thus, alleinbesitz, sole, exclusive possession; alleinhandel, sole trade, monopoly. Mr. Todd says, the English word was formerly written all-one, and was used in this sense by old writers. Mr. Pickering says, “It is often heard from our pulpits in expressions like the following: The alone God; the alone motive, &c. It is now rarely used, although I heard it in a prayer during the present year (1848). The following examples from English writers cited by Johnson and Pickering show its use:

TO AMALGAMATE. This word, which properly denotes the compounding or mixing of metals, is universally applied in the United States to the mixing of the black and white races.

AMALGAMATION. The mixing or union of the black and white races.

AMAZING. Wonderfully; very, in a great degree. A vulgarism.

AMAZINGLY. Exceedingly, very much. Used only in colloquial language and applied to trifling things.

AMBITION. In North Carolina this word is used instead of the word grudge, as, “I had an ambition against that man.” I am credibly informed that it is even used in this manner by educated men.

TO AMBITION. (Fr. ambitionner.) Ambitiously to seek after.—Webster.

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This word is not common. It is not in the English Dictionaries; yet examples may be found of its use by late English Writers.

AMENABILITY. State of being amenable or answerable.—Judge Story. Webster.

Not in the English Dictionaries.

AMERICANISM. A way of speaking peculiar to this country.—Witherspoon.

“By Americanism,” says Dr. Witherspoon, “I understand a use of phrases or terms, or a construction of sentences, even among persons of rank and education, different from the use of the same terms or phrases, or the construction of similar sentences, in Great Britain. In this sense it is exactly similar in its formation and signification to the word Scotticism.”—Works, Vol. IV. p. 82.

TO AMERICANIZE. To render American; to naturalize in America.—Webster.

AMOST. Almost. A vulgarism alike common in England and the United States. E’en amost is often heard in New England.

AMONG, for between. This word is often used when reference is made only to two persons. Ex. “The money was divided among us two.”

AMPERSAND. The character &, representing the conjunction and. It is a corruption of “and, per se, and” (and, by itself, and). This expression was formerly very common in this country, but seems now to have gone out of use. It may, however, be retained in the interior, where the modern system of education has not reached. Mr. Halliwell, who notices this word in his Archaic and Prov. Dict’y, says, that it is or was common in England. In Hampshire it is pronounced amperzed, and very often amperze-and. Strutt, in his Sports and Pastimes, mentions an ancient alphabet of the fourteenth century, now in the Harleian Library, at the end of which is “X Y wyth ESED AND per se—Amen.”

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ANGELOLOGY. A discourse on angels; or the doctrine of angelic beings.—Webster.

ANNULMENT. (Fr. annullement.) The act of annulling.—Pickering’s Vocab.

This word was not in any English Dictionary before Todd’s edition of Johnson.

AN’T, or AINT. A common abbreviation in colloquial language for am not and are not. It is often improperly used for is not. It is equally common in England.

ANTAGONIZING. Conflicting, opposing.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

This word, says Mr. Pickering, has been censured by an American critic, in the following passage:

The verb is given by Johnson, but not the participle, nor is it noticed by Webster. Prof. Goodrich has inserted it in his new edition (184S) of Webster’s Dictionary.

ANTI-FEDERALIST. “This word was formed about the year 1788, to denote a person of the political party that opposed the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, which was then always spoken of by the name of the Federal Constitution. The word is not now much used; having been superseded by various other names, which have been successively given to the same party.”—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

ANTI-SLAVERY. Hostile to slavery.

ANTI-MASON. One hostile to masonry or free-masonry.—Worcester.

ANTI-MASONIC. Hostile to masonry.

ANY HOW. At any rate, on any account, in any way.

This expression is not peculiar to this country.

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ANY HOW YOU CAN FIX IT. At any rate whatever.

ANY MANNER OF MEANS. An expression much used instead of any means.

TO APE ONE’S BETTERS. To imitate one’s superiors.

APPELLATE. Relating to appeals.

For a fuller account of this word, about which there has been much discussion by lexicographers, see Mr. Pickering’s Vocabulary, where many authorities are cited. It was first given by Mason in his supplement to Johnson’s Dictionary, and was afterwards adopted by Todd.

APPLE BUTTER. A sauce made of apples stewed down in cider. This is generally made in quantity, and kept for use during the winter.

APPLE BRANDY,}
APPLE JACK.} A liquor distilled from cider; also called cider brandy.

APPLE-PIE ORDER. An expression used in familiar conversation, denoting perfect order. It is used alike in England and America.—Halliwell’s Dict’y.

APPLICANT. A diligent student.—Pickering’s Vocab. One who applies himself closely to his studies. A sense of the word common in New England. The English appear to use the word only in the sense of “one who applies for anything,” in which sense it is most commonly employed by us.

APPOINTABLE. That may be appointed or constituted; as officers are appointed by the Executive.—Federalist, Webster.

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TO APPRECIATE. v. a. To raise the value of.—Webster.

This sense of the word is not in any English dictionary except Knowles’s, which is quite a recent work.

The common use of this verb, however, is, as in England, to set a just value on. Also, v. n. to rise in value; as, “the currency of the country appreciates.”—Webster.

APPRECIATION. A rising in value; increase of worth or value.—Webster.

This noun, like the verb from which it is derived, is commonly used by us in its appropriate meaning of a just valuation; and this will hereafter be understood of all similar words where a peculiar meaning is assigned to them, unless an express statement is made to the contrary.

TO APPROBATE. (Lat. approbo, to approve.) To express approbation of; to manifest a liking, or degree of satisfaction; to express approbation officially, as of one’s fitness for a public trust.—Webster.

Dr. Webster observes that this is a modern word, but in common use in America. Mr. Todd introduces it in his edition of Johnson, from Cockeram’s old vocabulary, the definition of which is, to allow, to like. Mr. Todd says it is obsolete.

“This word,” says Mr. Pickering, “was formerly much used at our colleges, instead of the old English word approve. The students used to speak of having their performances approbated by their instructors. It is now in common use with our clergy as a sort of technical term, to denote a person who is licensed to preach: they would say, such a one is approbated, that is, licensed to preach. It is also common in New England to say of a person, who is licensed by the County Courts to sell spirituous liquors, or to keep a public house, that he is approbated; and the term is adopted in the law of Massachusetts on this subject.”—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

TO ARGUFY. To import, to have weight as an argument; to argue.

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This vile word has a place in several of the English glossaries. In this country it is only heard among the most illiterate.

ARK. The common abbreviation for “Arkansas.”

ARK. A large boat, used on some of the Western rivers, to transport merchandise. Before the use of steamboats, they were employed on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Dr. Harris thus describes them: “They are made with plank, fastened upon ribs or knees, by wooden bolts. They are from twelve to fifteen feet wide, and from forty to sixty long; carrying, commonly, sixty or eighty tons burden. They float down the stream with the current, and are not worked with oars, except to direct and propel them to the shore. These boats go down the river to New Orleans; and after discharging their cargoes, they are taken apart, and sold for lumber with very little loss.”—Tour in Ohio in 1803.

ARY, either. A vulgarism used by the illiterate.

AS GOOD AS GO.}
AS GOOD’S GO.} In the phrase, I’d as good’s go to New York, instead of “I might as well go to New York.” “I’d as good’s do this,” for, I may as well do this. Only heard among the illiterate.

ASH-HOPPER. A lie cask, or an inverted pyramidal box to contain ashes, resembling a hopper in a mill. They are common in the country, where people make their own soap.

ASSOCIATION. In ecclesiastical affairs, a society of the clergy, consisting of a number of pastors of neighboring churches, united for promoting the interests of religion and the harmony of the churches.—Webster.

ASSOCIATION. In civil affairs, this word is much used at the present day, to denote the principle of uniting the producing classes in societies, for the purpose of obtaining for themselves a larger share of the fruits of their labor.

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ASSOCIATIONAL. Pertaining to an association of clergymen.—Webster.

ASSOCIATIONIST. One who advocates the Fourier doctrine of association.

AT, for by. Used in this expression, “Sales at auction.”

The English say—”Sales by auction,” and this is in analogy with the expressions—Sales by inch of candle; sales by private contract.—Pickering’s Vocab.

Sometimes English writers use the word as we do.

ATHENÆUM. A building or an apartment, where a library, periodicals, and newspapers are kept for public use, or for a reading room.—Webster.

ATOP. On or at the top, upon. Atop of a horse. A vulgarism common in England and America.

ATTACKTED, for attacked. This corruption is only heard among the most illiterate.

It is common also in the dialect of the lower classes in London.—Pegge’s Anecdotes.

ATTITUDINIZE. To assume affected attitudes.—Worcester.

AUSPICATE. (Lat. auspicio.) To foreshow or foretell the event.—Richardson. This old word, though unnoticed by Johnson, may be found in Holland’s translations, Ben Jonson and other early writers. It is but rarely used at the present day.

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AUTHORESS. A female writer who has printed her compositions.—Jodrell’s Philology.

The use of this word has been questioned in England. It is not in Johnson’s Dictionary, and as he says, it is not much used. This was sixty years ago. The British Critic, in the year 1793, says of it, “We do not acknowledge the word.” Since that time Mr. Todd has inserted it in his edition of Johnson’s Dictionary, from Cotgrave, (French, authrice, or autrix, authoress, or actress,) and defines it, “a female efficient.” This sense of the word is different from that in which we use it.

AUTHORITY. In Connecticut the justices of the peace are denominated the civil authority.—Webster.

Mr. Pickering says, “This word is also used in some of the States in speaking collectively of the professors, &c. of our colleges, to whom the government of those institutions is intrusted.”

AVAILED. Dr. Witherspoon notices this word as used in the following example:—”The members of a popular government should be continually availed of the situation and condition of every part.”— Works, Vol. IV. p. 296.

The newspapers sometimes say “an offer” (for instance) “was made but not availed of.”

AVAILS. Profits, or proceeds. It is used in New England for the proceeds of goods sold, or for rents, issues, or profits.—Webster.

It is used in other ports of the country in like manner.

AVERSE. On the use of this word, Mr. Pickering has the following remarks: “American writers, till within some years

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past, generally employed the preposition to instead of from with this adjective. Dr. Witherspoon thinks, that “as averse properly signifies turned away, it seems an evident improvement to say averse from;” and the Scottish writers generally seem to have preferred this. Dr. Campbell, however, observes, that “ the words averse and aversion are more properly construed with to, than with from. The examples in favor of the latter preposition, are, beyond comparison, outnumbered by those in favor of the former. The argument from etymology is here of no value, being taken from the use of another language. If, by the same rule, we were to regulate all nouns and verbs of Latin original, our present syntax would be overturned.”—Campbell’s Rhetoric. Dr. Webster remarks to the same effect. Mr. Todd says many examples may be brought to show the prevalent use of the word from in connection with averse, before Clarendon; but now the usage of to prevails.

AWFUL, adj. 1. Disagreeable, detestable, ugly.

A word much used among the common people in New England, and not unfrequently among those who are educated. The expression, “an awful-looking woman,” is as often heard as “an ugly woman.”

AWFUL. Very great, excessive. This sense of the word is peculiar to the West.

It is even used in this sense adverbially, and with still greater impropriety, like many other adjectives. Thus we not unfrequently hear such expressions as “an awful cold day.”

AWFULLY. Exceedingly, excessively.

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We give an example of the same use of this word by a popular English writer.

TO AXE. (Ang. Sax. acsian, axian.) To ask.

This word is now considered a vulgarism; though, like many others under the same censure, it is as old as the English language. Among the early writers it was used the same as ask is now. In England it still exists in the colloquial dialect of Norfolk and other counties. A true born Londoner, says Pegge, in his Anecdotes of the English Language, always axes questions, axes pardon, and at quadrilles, axes leave. In the United States it is somewhat used by the vulgar.—Forby’s Vocabulary. Richardson’s Dic.

Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby, in a letter to her son, Henry VII., concludes with—

In the next reign, Dr. John Clarke writes to Cardinal Wolsey, and tells him that—

TO KNOW b FROM A bull’s foot. It is a common phrase to say, “He does not know B from a bull’s foot,” meaning that a person is very illiterate, or very ignorant. The term bull’s foot is chosen merely for the sake of the alliteration; as in the similar phrases, “He does not know B from a broomstick;” or “B from a battledoor.” It is a very old saying; Mr. Halliwell finds it in one of the Dighy MSS.

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BAA-LAMB. A pet term for a lamb in England and America.

BACHELOR’S BUTTON. (Lychnis sylvestris.) The common name of a flower, supposed by country people to have some magical effect upon the fortunes of love. It seems to have grown into a phrase for being unmarried, “to wear bachelor’s buttons,” in which, probably, a quibble was intended.—Nare’s Glossary.

BACK, is often used for ago; as in the phrase, “a little while back,” i. e. “a short time ago.”

BACK AND FORTH. Backwards and forwards, applied to a person in walking, as, “He was walking back and forth.” A common expression in the familiar language of New England.

BACKWOODS. The partially cleared forest region on the western frontier of the United States, called also the back settlements. This part of the country is regarded as the back part or rear of Anglo-American civilization, which fronts on the Atlantic. It is rather curious that the English word back has thus acquired the meaning of western, which it has in several Oriental languages, and also in Irish.

BACKWOODSMAN. In the United States, an inhabitant of the forest on the Western frontier.—Webster.

TO BACK OUT. To retreat from a difficulty, to refuse to fulfil a promise or engagement. A metaphor borrowed from the stables.

Mr. Bedinger, in his remarks in the House of Representatives on the Mexican war, Jan. 25, 1848, said:

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BACK. Behind the Back. When a person is slandered in his absence, it is said to be done behind his back, that is, in secret, or when his back is turned. It is the same as backbiting.

BAD, for Ill, as, I feel very bad to-day; also, for much.

BAD BOX. To be in a bad box, is to be in a bad predicament.

BACON. To save one’s bacon. A vulgar expression, meaning to save one’s flesh from injury, to preserve one’s flesh from harm or from punishment. We say also, to escape with whole skin. A very old phrase.

BAGGAGE. Literally, what is contained in a bag or bags. The clothing or conveniences which a traveller carries with him on a journey. This word is applied by us to the trunks, clothing, &c. of a traveller. The English now use the less appropriate term luggage. Baggage was formerly used by them.

This is sometimes called more fully bag and baggage.

BAGGING. A coarse linen cloth, chiefly manufactured in Kentucky, for packing cotton in.

BAIL. (Fr. baille.) The handle of a pail, bucket, or kettle.—Forby’s Glossary. A common word throughout New England.

TO BAIL, OR BALE. Literally, to lade out with a bail or bucket. A sailor’s term, applied to lading water from a boat.

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BALANCE. A mercantile word originally introduced into the ordinary language of life by the southern people, but now common throughout the United States, signifying the remainder of anything. The balance of money, or the balance of an account, are terms well authorized and proper; but we also frequently hear such expressions as the “balance of a speech;” “the balance of the day was idly spent;” “a great many people assembled at the church: a part got in, the balance remained without.”

BALDERDASH. Empty babble, nonsensical talk. The etymology of this word is doubtful, for in no word do writers more widely differ. It seems to be connected with the Icelandic bullder, “the prating of fools” (Jamieson); and the Welsh ball dardd or ball dordd, “to babble, prate, or talk idly” (Boucher). It is chiefly used in conversation.

BALLYHACK—Go to Ballyhack; a common expression in New England. I know not its origin. It savors in sound, however, of the Emerald Isle.

TO BAMBOOZLE. To deceive; to impose upon; to confound.—Todd’s Johnson. To make a fool of any one; to humbug or impose upon him.—Grose, Prov. Dic.

Mr. Todd calls it a cant word from bam, a cheat. It is provincial in England, and is seldom heard here except at political meetings or in familiar conversation.

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BANG. To beat, i. e. excel, to surpass. “This bangs all things.”—Ohio.

BANKER. A vessel employed in fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. “There were employed in the fisheries 1232 vessels, viz. 584 to the Banks, 648 to the Bay and Labrador; the Bankers may be put down at 36,540 tons.”

BANKABLE. Receivable at a bank, as bills; or discountable as notes.—Webster.

Among the great variety of bank notes which constitute our circulating medium, many are below par, and consequently are not received at the Banks. Those only, which are redeemed with specie or its equivalent, are received at the Banks, and are of the class called bankable.

In New York, at auction sales, the auctioneer, in stating the conditions of the sale, if for cash, invariably states, that the money must be bankable; otherwise the purchaser would be likely to pay him in bank notes below par.

BANK-BILL. A bank-note.

Neither Johnson nor the other lexicographers have the term bank-note, though they all have bank-bill, which Johnson defines, “a note for money laid up in a bank, at the sight of which the money is paid.”

In the United States these are invariably called bank-bills, while in England this term is obsolete, and bank-notes universally used.

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BANNOCK. (Gaelic, bonnach. Irish, boinneag.) In Scotland, a cake of oatmeal baked on an iron plate.

In New England, cakes of Indian meal, fried in lard, are called bannocks.

BAR, for bear. The common pronunciation in certain parts of the Southern and Western States.

BANQUETTE. The name for the side-walk in some of our Southern cities.

BARBECUE. A term used in the Southern States and in the West Indies, for dressing a hog whole; which being split to the back-bone, is laid flat upon a large gridiron, and roasted over a charcoal fire.—Johnson. Webster.

Formerly it was customary to make a fire in a large hole in the ground, lined with stones, and then to put the hog in whole and cover it up until cooked.

TO BARK ONE’S SHINS. To knock the skin off the shins by stumbling or striking against something.

Mr. Hortshorne calls this a very old metaphor, and says is found in the ancient popular poetry of Scotland.—Shropshire Glossary.

TO BARK OFF SQUIRRELS. A common way of killing squirrels among those who are expert with the rifle, in the Western States, is to strike with the ball the bark of the tree immediately beneath the squirrel; the concussion produced

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by which, kills the animal instantly without mutilating it.—Audubon, Ornithology, Vol. I. p. 294.

TO BARK UP THE WRONG TREE. A common expression at the West, denoting that a person has mistaken his object, or is pursuing the wrong course to obtain it. A metaphor of Western origin. In hunting, a dog drives a squirrel or other game into a tree, where, by a constant barking, he attracts its attention, until the hunter arrives. Sometimes the game escapes, or the dog is deceived and barks up the wrong tree.

BARRACLADE. (Dutch barre kledeeren, cloths undressed or without a nap.) A home-made woolen blanket without nap. This word is peculiar to New York city, and those parts of the State settled by the Dutch.

BARN-DOOR FOWL. The common fowl; also so called in Scotland.—Jamieson.

BARRENS. Elevated lands, or plains upon which grow small trees, but never timber. Pine barrens are common throughout the United States.

BASE. A game of hand-ball.

TO BASE. To lay the foundation of an argument. This word is not in the English Dictionaries in this sense. We say, for example, “He bases his arguments on these facts.” It is used in good language both in England and America.

The Washington correspondent of the N. Y. Journal of Commerce, in speaking of a rumor that Mr. Pakenham had made overtures to our Government, says:

BAYOU. (French, boyau, a gulf.) In Louisiana, the outlet of a lake; a channel for water.

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BARNBURNERS. The nickname of one of the present divisions of the great Democratic party, otherwise called the Young Democracy; the other is called the Old Hunker.

The following editorial of the Ohio Union, a Democratic paper in Cincinnati, will define the political sentiments of these parties:

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BE (Ang. Sax. beo, 1st person sing. and 1st, 2d, and 3d plur. See Rask’s Gram. p. 84), instead of am and are. Ex. Be you cold? Where be you going? This use of this word is confined to uneducated people. It is common in several of the provincial dialects of England. In the Bible it often occur instead of are.

BEAD. The bubbles which rise on a glass of wine or spirits, by which the strength and quality of the article is known.

BEAKER. (Germ. becher, Dutch beker.) A tumbler. “This word,” says Mr. Pickering, “not many years ago was in common use in New England, as well as in some other parts of the United States; but it is now seldom heard except among old people.” We derive it from our ancestors from Norfolk and Suffolk counties, where it is still provincial. It is also used in the north of England and in Scotland.—Jamieson. Forby.

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TO BE AMONG THE MISSING. To be absent, to leave, to run away.

BEAR, for bar. Connecticut and Virginia.

BEAR. A word to denote a certain description of stock-jobbers.—Johnson.

The same term is used among the brokers and stock-jobbers of Wall street, New York. Their plans of operation are as accurately described in the annexed extract from Warton, as they can be at the present moment:

He who sells that of which he is not possessed, is proverbially said to sell the skin before he has caught the bear. It was the practice of stock-jobbers, in the year 1720, to enter into a contract for transferring South Sea stock at a future time for a certain price; but he who contracted to sell, had frequently no stock to transfer, nor did he who bought intend to receive any in consequence of his bargain; the seller was therefore called a bear, in allusion to the proverb, and the buyer a bull, perhaps only as a similar distinction. The contract was merely a wager, to be determined by the rise or fall of stock; if it rose, the seller paid the difference to the buyer, proportioned to the sum determined by the same computation to the seller.—Dr. Warton on Pope.

The stock speculators of Wall street are denominated Bull-backers or Bear-traps, according to the nature of their operations. The first signifies that they have bought stock largely and hold it; and the second, that they have sold stock which they have not got, and trust to circumstances to be able to supply it. The brokers themselves in these cases are called Bulls and Bears.—A Walk in Wall Street, p. 80.

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TO BEAR A HAND. A seaman’s phrase. To be ready ; to go to work; to assist.

BEAST. A common name for a horse in the Southern States.

TO BEAT. To excel, surpass in a contest. Thus we say, one racer or steamer beats another.

Also, to overcome with astonishment, to surprise. We sometimes hear, especially from the mouths of old people, such expressions as “I felt beat,” “I was quite beat,” i. e. utterly astonished.

TO BEAT ALL HOLLOW. To surpass or overcome completely; thus, “Eclipse beat Sir Henry all hollow.” Also, to take wholly by surprise.

This phrase seems to be common in England. There, however, they do not use the word all, which invariably forms a part of it here.

A late English traveller under the assumed name of Rubio, says:

BECASE, for because. A common vulgarism.

BED-SPREAD. In the interior parts of the country, the common name for a bed-quilt, or coverlet.

BEE. An assemblage of people, generally neighbors, to unite their labors for the benefit of one individual or family. The quilting-bees in the interior of New England and New York, are attended by young women, who assemble around the frame of a bed-quilt, and in one afternoon accomplish more than one person could in weeks. Refreshments and beaux help to render the meeting agreeable. Husking-bees, for husking corn, are held in barns, which are made the occasion of much frolicking. In new countries, when a a settler arrives, the neighboring farmers unite with their

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teams, cut the timber and build him a log-house in a single day; these are termed raising-bees. Apple-bees are occasions when the neighbors assemble to gather apples, or cut out them up for drying.

BEE-LINE. To take a bee-line, is to take the most direct or straight way from one point to another. Bees in returning to their hives after having loaded themselves with honey always fly back to the hive in a direct line. For a further explanation see the phrase lining bees.

BEECH-LE-MAR. (Fr. biche de mer.) A kind of slug taken on the coast of some of the South sea islands, where it is cured for the China trade.—See Morel’s Voyage.

BEING. (Also pronounced bein, been.) Pres. part. of the verb to be, equivalent to because.

This word is noticed by Boucher, as much in use in the Middle States of America, and as an idiom of the Western counties of England. It is also heard among the illiterate in New England.

BELITTLE. To make smaller; to lower in character.—Webster.

This word is but little used, either in conversation or in composition. President Jefferson is the only writer of authority who has used it.—Notes On Virginia.

BELLWORT. The popular name of plants of the genus Uvularia.

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BENDER. In New York, a spree; a frolic. To go on a bender, is to go on a spree.

BENT GRASS. (Genus, agrostis.) The popular name in the Northern States for a common grass, sometimes called red-top.

BERATE. To revile; to abuse in vile language.—Worcester.

This is a common word in New England, and is not in the English glossaries. Mr. Worcester quotes Holland for his authority.

BESTOWMENT. 1. The act of giving gratuitously; a conferring.—Webster.

This word, which is much used by our theological writers, is not in the English dictionaries.

2. That which is conferred or given.—Webster.

Mr. Todd has bestowal in his edition of Johnson, but cites no authority for its use. Dr. Webster thinks bestowment preferable on account of the concurrence of the two vowels in bestowal.

BETTER, for more; as, “It is better than a year since we met.”

BETTERMENTS. (Generally used in the plural number.) The improvements made on new lands, by cultivation and the erection of buildings.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

“This word,” adds Mr. Pickering, “was first used in the State of Vermont, but it has for a long time been common in the State of New Hampshire; and it has been getting into use in some parts of Massachusetts, since the passing of the late law, similar to the Betterments Acts (as they are called) of the States above mentioned. It is not to be found in Mr. Webster’s, nor in any of the English dictionaries that I have seen except Ash’s; and there it is called ‘a bad word.’ It is thus noticed by an English traveller in this country, in speak-

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ing of those people who enter upon new lands without any right and proceed to cultivate them:

BETTERMOST. The best. Used in New England.

BETTY. (Ital. boccetta.) A pear-shaped bottle wound around with straw in which olive oil is brought from Italy. Called by chemists a Florence flask.

B’HOYS. i. e Boys, a name applied to a class of noisy young men of the lower ranks of society in the city of New York.

The New York Commercial Advertiser, April 12, 1847, in speaking of the approaching election, uses the following language:

BIDDY. A domestic fowl; a chicken. A term generally used in calling fowls to eat.

BIBLE CHRISTIANS. The Philadelphia Mercury thus gives a summary of the creed of this new sect: “This denomination abstain from all animal food and spirituous liquors, and live on vegetables and fruits. They maintain the unity of God, the divinity of Jesus, and the salvation of man, attainable only by a life of obedience to the light manifested to his mind and a grateful acknowledgment of his indebtedness to the great Giver of all. The congregation numbers about seventy members.”

BIG-BUGS. People of consequence.

BIG-WIGS. People of consequence. The same as the last.

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BIG FIGURE. To do things on the big figure, means to do them on a large scale. This vulgar phrase is used at the West and South.

BILBERRY, (genus vaccinium.) The popular name of a shrub of several species, and bearing fruit resembling the whortle berry.

BIME-BY. By-and-by, soon, in a short time.

BINDWEED. The popular name in Massachusetts for the convolvulus.—Bigelow’s Flora.

BINDERY. A place where books are bound.—Webster.

The Penny Cyclopedia thinks this a new, but not a bad word.

BISHOP. An appendage to a lady’s wardrobe, otherwise called a bustle.

BIT, past part. of the verb bite. Cheated, taken in. In Yorkshire, England, a cheat is called a bite. Dr. Johnson notices this vulgarism.

A BIT. A little; a little while. As “wait a bit;” “after a bit.”

BIT. (Span. pieza.) The name in the Southern States of silver coin of the value of one-eighth of a dollar. The Spanish real (de plata).

BITTER COLD. Very cold. This common colloquial expression is used alike in England and America.

BITTERS. A liquid or spirituous liquor, containing an infusion of bitter herbs and roots.—Worcester.

Bitters, before the temperance reform, were much in fashion, taken before breakfast to give an appetite. The custom

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is now confined to the back parts of the country, or to professed tipplers.

BITTERSWEET. (Solanum dulcamara.) The popular name of a medicinal plant, which has a place in most dispensatories. It is also called the Woody Nightshade.—Big. Flora.

BLACK. To look black at one, to look at one with anger or deep resentment depicted on the countenance.

BLACK AND BLUE. The color of a bruise; a familiar expression for a bruise, here and in England.

BLACK AND WHITE. To put a thing into black and white, is, to commit it to writing. In use in Scotland.—Jamieson.

BLACK-BOOK. A book was kept in the English monasteries, during the reign of Henry VIII., in which details of the scandalous enormities practised in religious houses were entered for the inspection of visitors, in order to blacken them and hasten their dissolution. Hence the vulgar phrase, “I’ll set you down in my black-book.”

BLACK-LEG. The common term here and in England for a gambler.

BLACK-MAIL. Formerly, money paid to men allied with robbers to be protected by them from being robbed.—Cowell. In the United States it means money extorted from persons under the threat of exposure in print, for an alleged offence, or defect.

BLACKSTRAP. Gin and molasses. The English sailors call the common wines of the Mediterranean blackstrap.—Falconer’s Marine Dictionary.

BLACK WOOD. Hemlock, pine, spruce, and fir.—Maine.

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BLADDER-TREE (genus straphylea). A handsome shrub, from six to ten feet high, remarkable for its large inflated capsules.—Bigelow’s Flora Bostoniensis.

BLADDER-WORT. (Utricularia vulgaris). The popular name of an aquatic plant, appearing above water only with its stalk and flowers.—Ibid.

BLAME. A euphemistic evasion of the horrible word damn. Ex. “Blame me,” or, “I’ll be blamed, if;” also, “You be blamed!”

It is used both in England and in the United States, chiefly in New England.

BLARNEY. Marvellous stories, flattery. Ex. He deals in the wonderful, he is full of blarney. Grose derives this word from the Blarney stone, a triangular stone on the very top of an ancient castle of that name in the county of Cork, in Ireland, extremely difficult of access; so that to have ascended it, was a proof of perseverance, courage, and agility, whereof many are supposed to claim the honor who never achieved the adventure. Hence, in England, they say, “He has licked the Blarney stone,” i. e. he deals in the wonderful.—Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Dr. Jamieson doubts the Irish origin of this word, and adopts the French etymon baliverne, a lie, a fib, gull; also, a babbling, idle discourse.—Cotgrave, Dictionary.

BLATHER. Impudence. “None of your blather.”—Western.

BLATHERSKITE. A blustering, noisy, talkative fellow.—Western.

BLAUSER. The name given by the Dutch settlers to the hog-nosed snake, from its habit of distending or blowing up the skin of its neck and head. The other popular names in New York are Deaf-adder and Buckwheat-nosed.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

BLAZE. In traversing the dense forests of the West, a person would soon lose his way and find it difficult to retrace his steps without some land-mark. This is effected by cutting a

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piece out of the side of trees at a sufficient distance from each other to enable the traveller readily to discover them and thus follow the direct path or road. Such a mark is called a blaze, and trees thus marked are said to be blazed.

TO BLAZE AWAY. To keep up a discharge of fire-arms. A good English phrase.

BLAZES. Like blazes, that is, furiously.—Moor’s Suffolk Words.

This expression is common in low language with us. At the South it seems to be used as a euphemism for devil, etc.

BLAZING STAR. (Aletris farinosa.) A plant, the root of which is greatly esteemed by the Indians and people of the West for its medicinal virtues. It is also called star- oo [sic] and devil’s hit.—Flint’s Mississippi Valley.

TO BLINK. To shut the eyes, to wink. Hence, to shun, to avoid, shy at, as some animals avoid an alarming object, at the same time shutting their eyes so as not to see it. The leathern flaps on a horse’s bridle, over the eyes, are called blinkers. We use the verb in a metaphorical sense of avoiding or flinching from delicate topics. Thus we say, “He blinks

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the question,” that is, he shuns the true point of the argument.

BLIZZARD. A poser. This word is not known in the Eastern States.

BLOCK. A term applied in America to a square mass of houses included between four streets. It is a very useful one.

BLOCK-HOUSE. A small fort built of logs which project some six or eight feet over a wooden or stone foundation, fifteen or twenty feet high.

BLOUSE. (Fr. blouse.) A loose garment made of brown linen, fastened round the waist with a belt; worn by men and boys in France, and lately introduced partially into this country.

TO BLOW. To taunt; to ridicule.

TO BLOW. To turn informer on an accomplice.

BLOW. A gale of wind. Ex. A heavy blow! originally a seaman’s word, but now come into general use.

BLOW OUT. A feast; also called a tuck out. Both expressions are English as well as American.

TO BLOW OVER. Said properly of a storm; and hence generally, to pass away without effect. This metaphor is very common. We say, there is a great excitement about a certain matter; but it will blow over, i. e. pass away.

BLOW-UP. A quarrel; a dispute. A common expression, used in familiar conversation.

TO BLOW UP. To scold, to abuse, either in speaking or

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writing. A vulgar expression borrowed from sailor’s language.

BLUE. Gloomy, severe; extreme, ultra.

In the former sense it is applied especially to the Presbyterians, to denote their severe and mortified appearance. Thus, beneath an old portrait of the seventeenth century, in the Woodburn Gallery, is the following inscription:

In the latter sense it is used particularly in politics.

BLUE. A synonym in the tippler’s vocabulary for drunk.

BLUE-BERRY. (Vacinium tenellum.) A fruit resembling the whortleberry in appearance and taste.

TO LOOK BLUE AT ONE, is to look at one with a countenance expressive of displeasure or dissatisfaction.

BLUE-BOOK. A printed book containing the names of all the persons holding office under the Government of the United States, with the amount of their pay. It answers to the Red-Book of England.

BLUE DEVILS. To have the blue devils is to be dispirited.

BLUE LAWS. “Where, and how, the story of the New Haven Blue Laws originated, is a matter of some curiosity. Accord-

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ing to Dr. Peters, the epithet blue was applied to the laws of New Haven, by the neighboring colonies, because these laws were thought peculiarly sanguinary: and he says, that blue is equivalent to bloody. It is a sufficient refutation of this account of the matter, to say, that if there was any distinction between the colony of New Haven, and the other united Colonies of New England, in the severity of their punishments, New Haven was the last of the number to gain this bad pre-eminence. Others have said, that certain laws of New Haven, of a more private and domestic kind, were bound in a blue cover; and hence the name. This explanation has as little probability as the preceding, for its support. It is well known, that on the restoration of Charles II. the Puritans became the subject of every kind of reproach and contumely. Not only what was deserving of censure in their deportment, but their morality was especially held up to scorn. The epithet blue was applied to any one, who looked with disapprobation on the licentiousness of the times. The Presbyterians, under which name all dissenters were often included, as they still dared to be the advocates of decency, were more particularly designated by this term; their religion and their morality being marked by it as mean and contemptible. Thus Butler:

“That this epithet of derision should find its way to the colonies was a matter of course. It was here applied not only to persons, but to customs, institutions, and laws of the Puritans, by those who wished to render the prevailing system ridiculous. Hence probably a belief with some, that a distinct system of laws, known as the ‘blue laws,’ must have somewhere a local habitation.”—Prof Kingsley’s Hist. Disc.

BLUE-NOSE. The slang name for a native of Nova Scotia.

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THE BLUES. A euphemism for blue devils. To have a fit of the blues, is to have a fit of the blue devils, to be low-spirited.

BLUE-SKINS. A nickname applied to the Presbyterians, from their alleged grave deportment.

BLUE STOCKING. The American avoset (recurvirostra Americana). A common bird in the Northern States.—Nat. Hist. New York.

BLUE STOCKING. A ridiculous epithet applied here as well as in England to literary ladies, and borrowed from that gallant nation the French. Called also simply a blue.

BLUFF. A high bank, almost perpendicular, projecting into the sea.—Falconer’s Marine Dic.

In America it is applied to a high bank, presenting a steep front, in the interior of the country.

BLUFF. Steep, bold; as a hill.

TO BLUFF OFF. To put on a troublesome questioner, or dun, &c.

BLUMACHIES. (Dutch.) This Dutch word for flowers is still preserved in the New York markets.

TO BLURT OUT. To speak inadvertently, and without reflection.

BLUSTERATION. The noise of a braggart.—Brockett’s North County Words. Used among us only in low colloquial language.

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BOATABLE. Navigable for boats, or small river-craft.—Webster.

This useful word has only recently been adopted in the English dictionaries.

This word, says Dr. Webster, though of modern origin, is well formed according to the English analogies, like fordable, creditable, &c. The advantage of using it is obvious, as it expresses an important distinction in the capacity of water to bear vessels. Navigable is a term of which boatable is the species; and as the use of it saves a circumlocution, instead of being proscribed, it should be received as a real improvement.—Letter to J. Pickering on his Vocabulary, p. 6.

The objection to this word is, that it is a hybrid, composed of a Saxon noun and a Latin ending. It is like fordable, but not like creditable, which is all Latin. We would hardly use the word trustable.

BOATING. Transporting in boats.—Webster.

BOB. A knot of worms on a string used in fishing for eels.—Webster.

TO BOB. To fish for eels with a bob. This word is common in New England, and is used in the same sense in England.

BOBBERY. A squabble, a row; common both in England and America.—Moor, Forby.

BOBOLINK. The popular name of the rice-bunting (icterus), a bird which frequents the wild rice and marshes; on Long Island it is called the rice bird. In other places it is called the skunk-blackbird.

BOB-SLED. A sled prepared for the transportation of large timber from the forest to a river or public road.—Maine.

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BOBTAIL. (From bob, in the sense of cut). Cut tail, short tail.—Johnson.

BOCKEY.—A bowl or vessel made from a gourd. A term probably derived from the Dutch, as it is peculiar to the city of New York and its vicinity.

BOCKING. A kind of baize, or woollen cloth, either plain or stamped with colored figures, used to cover floors or to protect carpets. It is also called floorcloth.

BODETTE. (Fr. beaudette.) In Canada the common name for a cot-bedstead.

BODY.—A person. A colloquial expression used both in England and America.

BOG-TROTTER. One that lives in a boggy country. A derisive epithet applied to Irishmen.

BOGUS. A liquor made of rum and molasses.

BOGUS MONEY. Counterfeit silver coin. A few years since, a large quantity of this coin was in circulation at the West, where it received this name.

TO BOLT. To swallow food without chewing.—Forby.

TO BOLT. To start off suddenly in any direction. It is said in the first place of a horse starting from his course; and is then transferred to persons. Thus:

It is also applied especially to politicians who suddenly desert their party.

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BOLT-UPRIGHT. Perfectly upright.—Johnson. Used alike in England and the United States.

BOOM ALONG. To move rapidly. A sea term. A ship is said to boom along when under full sail.

TO MAKE NO BONES OF. To do a thing without hesitation. A metaphor borrowed from eating with dispatch as if it contained no bones.

BONESET. (Eupatorium perfoliatum). The popular name of a medicinal plant. Its properties are sudorific and tonic.

BONNY-CLAPPER.}
BONNY-CLABBER.} (Irish, baine, milk, and clabar, mire.)

An Irish term for sour buttermilk.—Nares’ Glossary.

BOO! BOH! An exclamation of terror among children. To one who is timid, it is common to say, “You dare not say boo to a goose.”

TO BOO-HOO. To cry loudly.

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TO BOOSE. To tipple.

BOOSY. Fuddled; a little intoxicated. A low word, only used colloquially, and alike common to England and America.

BOOSILY. Lazily, in a state of intoxication.

TO BOOST. To lift or raise by pushing.—Webster.

Chiefly used by boys, who apply it to the act of pushing one another up a tree or over a fence. “Boost me up this tree, and I’ll hook you some apples.”

TO BOOT. (Ang. Sax. to-bote.) In addition; over and above; that which is given to make the exchange equal.—Johnson.

BOOTEE, dimin. of boot. A boot without a top, or a shoe made like a boot without a leg.

BO-PEEP—To play at bo-peep. To peep out suddenly from a hiding place, and cry bo! a children’s game.

TO BORE. Used as a metaphor. To tease by ceaseless repetition; like the unvaried continued action of a borer.—Richardson.

BORE. A tiresome person or unwelcome visitor, who makes himself obnoxious by his disagreeable manners, or by a repetition of visits.

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BORN DAYS. One’s life-time ever since one was born; a vulgar expression used in various parts of the country. It is also used in the same sense in England.—Craven Glossary.

An expression nearly similar is used by Froissart:

NOT BORN IN THE WOODS TO BE SCARED BY AN OWL. Too much used to danger, or threats, to be easily frightened.

BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN HIS MOUTH. To inherit a fortune by birth.

Mr. Hood, in his History of Miss Kilmansegg, says

BOSS. (Dutch, baas. Danish, bas, a master.) A master, an employer of mechanics or laborers. It probably originated in New York, and is now used in many parts of the United States. The blacks often employ it in addressing white men in the Northern States, as they do massa (master) in the Southern States.

BOSS. (Lat. bos.) Among the hunters of the prairies, a name for the buffalo.

BOSSY. A familiar name applied to a calf.

BOTHER. Trouble, confusion.

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BOTTOM. Low land with a rich soil formed by alluvial deposits, and formerly the bottom or bed of a stream or lake. This is an old use of the word. Dr. Johnson defines it, a dale; a valley; a low ground.

BOTTOM-LANDS. In the Western States, this name is given to the rich flat land on the banks of rivers, which in New England is generally called interval land, or simply interval.—Pickering’s Vocab. Webster.

BOUGHTEN. Which is bought. This is a common word in the interior of New England and New York. It is applied to articles purchased from the shops, to distinguish them from similar articles of home manufacture. Many farmers make their own sugar from the maple-tree, and their coffee from barley or rye. West India sugar or coffee are then called boughten sugar, etc. This is a home-made carpet; that a boughten one, or one of foreign manufacture, bought at a shop.

BOUNCING. Large, heavy. Often applied, in familiar language, as in the phrase, “a bouncing girl.”

TO BOUGE. (Old Fr. bouge, swelling.—Cotgrave). To swell out, to bulge. This old word is noticed by Dr. Johnson. It is nearly obsolete in England, but is preserved in the interior of New England.

BOWIE-KNIFE. (Pron. boo-ee). A knife from ten to fifteen inches long and about two inches broad, so named after its inventor, Colonel Bowie. They are worn as weapons by persons in the South-western States only, and concealed in

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the back part of the coat. No gentleman at the North thinks it necessary to wear such a weapon.

BOW-DARK TREE. (Fr. bois d’arc.) A western tree, the wood of which is used to make bows with.

BRACK. (Goth. braka. Ang. Sax. bracan, to break.) A breach, a broken part.—Johnson.

Mr. Pickering says, “This old English word is still used in some parts of New England, where it is applied to a break or flaw in a piece of cloth.” It is to be found in old authors and is still provincial in England.

BRAKE. The common name for fern. In Sweden the female fern is called bracken. In the north of England it is called brackens.—Brockett’s North County Words.

It is a common saying in the Northern States, on the opening of spring, If you break the first brake, and kill the first snake, you will go through all you undertake.

BRAKE. A lever used for stopping cars on railways.

BRAKEMAN. The man whose business it is to stop cars on railways, by pressing a lever against the wheels.

BRAND-NEW.}
BRAN-NEW.} (Teut. brand new.) Quite new.

This word is provincial in the North of England, and is used in colloquial language in other parts, as well as in the United States. Mr. Todd suggests whether the expression may not have been originally brent-new, or bren-new, from the Saxon brennan, to burn, equivalent in meaning to fire-new, i. e., anything new from the forge; hence the secondary sense, just finished, quite new. The Dutch expression is explained by Kilian by vier-new.—Forby—Brockett.

Dr. Jamieson calls this a Scottish word.

BRASH. Brittle. In New England this word is used in speak-

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ing of wood or timber that is brittle. In New York it is often heard in the markets, applied to vegetables. Ex. “These radishes are brash,” i. e. brittle. In many parts of England, twigs are called brash.

Although this word is not used in the same sense in England, it seems to be properly derived from the Dutch braash, brittle. Brashy, in the north of England, means, delicate in constitution.—Brockett’s Glossary.

BRAVELY. Excellently. The adjective brave was formerly used in the sense of excellent; as it still is, for instance, in German and French. It has now lost this meaning; but we continue to use the adverb in such phrases as “Templeton sang bravely,” “The sick man is now doing bravely.”

BREACHY. A term applied to unruly oxen in New England, particularly to such as break down fences or through inclosures. It is provincial in the South of England in the same sense.—Halliwell’s Arch. and Prov. Dic.

BREAD-STUFF. Bread-corn, meal, or flour; bread.—Webster. Pickering.

This very useful word is American. Mr. Pickering says, “It was first used in some of the official papers of our government, soon after the adoption of the present Constitution. . . . . . It has probably been more readily allowed among us, because we do not, like the English, use the word corn as a general name for all sorts of grain, but apply it almost exclusively to Indian corn or maize.” He cites the following authorities:

In Jamaica, the term bread-kind is applied to esculent roots, &c. substituted for bread.

BREAD-ROOT. (Psoralea esculenta.) A plant resembling the beet in form, which is found near the Rocky mountains, sometimes growing from twenty to thirty inches in circumfer-

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ence. It contains a white pulpy substance, sweet and palatable.—Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 50.

TO BREAK UP LAND. To plough up land that has lain long as a meadow, is the sense as understood in the United States. In England, according to Grose, land that has long lain fallow or in sheep-walks, is so called during the first year after the alteration.

BRICKLEY, for brittle. Used in Georgia.—Sherwood’s Gazetteer.

TO BRIDGE. To build a bridge, or bridges; as, ‘to bridge a river.’—Webster.

Mr. Todd, in his edition of Johnson’s Dictionary, says this unusual word was thought to be peculiar to Milton, who some supposed coined it; but that he has found it in Sherwood’s Dictionary of 1632, with the explanation, “that hath a bridge over it.”

BRIEF. Rife; common; prevalent. This word is much used by the uneducated in the interior of New England, when speaking of epidemic diseases. Mr. Halliwell, in his Provincial Dictionary, says, it is used in the same sense in England, and denotes the quickness with which the contagion spreads. Brief is also used when speaking of diseases in Virginia. It is not in any English dictionary except Bailey’s, in which it is defined as ‘common, rife.’

BRIGHT. Ingenious; possessing an active mind.—Webster.

This is a common use of the word in the United States. Neither Johnson nor Todd gives this definition of it. Two of their definitions are, “illuminated with science; sparkling

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with wit.” We say, a bright child, but would not say that Newton or Bacon was bright, for the term does not express enough to be applied to those great minds. In poetry, however, it does well enough, even when applied to one of these great philosophers.

TO BRISK UP. To come up with life and speed; to take an erect or bold attitude.—Webster. An Americanism.

BROADBILL. (Anas marila.) The common name of a wild duck, which appears on our coast in large numbers in October. On the Chesapeake it is called Black-head; and in Virginia, Raft-duck.—Nat. History of New York.

BROGANS.}
BROGUES.} The first word is used in the United States, to distinguish a heavy, coarse shoe, between a boot and a shoe. In England coarse or wooden shoes are called brogues. When filled with nails they are called clouted brogues.—Nares’s [sic] Glossary.

BROOM-CORN. (Sorghum saccharatum.) A species of corn which grows from six to eight feet high, from the tufts of which brooms are made.

BROTHER-CHIP. A fellow-carpenter; in a more general sense, a person of the same trade.

BROTHER JONATHAN.—The origin of this term, as applied to the United States, is given in a recent number of the Norwich Courier. The Editor says it was communicated by a gentleman now upwards of eighty years of age, who was an active participator in the scenes of the Revolution. The story is as follows:

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BROWN STUDY. Deep thought; absence of mind. “He is in a brown study,” i. e. in deep thought, or intent upon his book.

The adjective is here used in a metaphorical sense; brown being considered a dull, sober color. Comp. art. Blue.

BROWN THRASHER. (Ferruginous thrush. Audubon Ornith.) The popular name of the brown thrush. It is also called the ground mocking-bird.—Nat. History of New York.

BRUSH. A skirmish, or fight.—Johnson. Grose.

TO BRUSH UP. To prepare oneself; to take courage.

BUBBLER. A fish found in all the waters of the Ohio. Its name is derived from the singular grunting noise which it makes, a noise which is familiar to every one who has been much on the Ohio.—Flint’s Mississippi Valley.

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BUCK-EYE. In the Western States, the people of each are known by certain nicknames. The natives of Ohio are called Buck-eyes.

TO BUCKLE-TO. To set about any task with energy and a determination to effect the object. It probably comes from harnessing or buckling to a carriage, the horses, before starting. In Scotland, buckle to means to join in marriage.—Jamieson.

BUCKRA. A white man. A term universally applied to white men by the blacks of the African coast, the West Indies and the Southern States. In the language of the Calabar coast, buckra means devil; not, however, in the sense we apply to it, but that of a demon, a powerful and superior being. The term swanga buckra, often used by the blacks, means, an elegantly dressed white man, or dandy. I am indebted to the Rev. J. L. Wilson, who is familiar with the African language alluded to, for the etymology of this word.

BUCKTAIL. The name of a political party in the State of New York, which sprung up about the year 1815. Its origin is thus described by Mr. Hammond: “There was an order of the Tammany Society who wore in their hats as an insignia, on certain occasions, a portion of the tail of the deer. They were a leading order, and from this circumstance the friends of De Witt Clinton gave those who adopted the views of the members of the Tammany Society, in relation to him, the name of Bucktails; which name was eventually applied to their friends and supporters in the country. Hence the party opposed to the administration of Mr. Clinton, were for a long time called the “Bucktail Party.”—Polit. Hist of New York, Vol. I p. 450.

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BUCKWHEAT. A species of grain (genus polygonor), the flour of which is much used in the United States.

An etymology of this word has been suggested to me by a friend, which, as it is new, deserves mention. The Saxon for beech is boc, Dutch, bock. The mast or nut of the beech is of the same form and color as the grain of the buckwheat; hence we have the Dutch bock weyt, beech-wheat, and English buckwheat, or wheat resembling the buck or beech nut.

BUFFALO. A sort of fresh-water fish, resembling the sheep’s head, found in the Mississippi.

BUFFALO CHIPS. The dry dung of the buffalo, used for fuel on the prairies.

BUFFALO GRASS. A species of short grass from two to four inches high, covering the boundless prairies on which the buffaloes feed. A remarkable characteristic of some varieties of this grass, is that “the blade, killed by the frost of winter, is resuscitated in the spring, and gradually becomes green from the root up, without casting its stubble or emitting new shoots.”—Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 287.

BUFFALO-ROBE. The skin of the buffalo, dressed for use.

BUG. In the United States coleopterous insects are invariably called bugs; thus May bug, June bug, golden bug, &c. In England they are called beetles, and the word bug is restricted to the species found in bedding.

BUGGY. A light waggon for one horse.

BUGLE-WEED. (Lycopus Virginicus.) A plant which has much reputation for its medicinal properties. It is also known as the Virginian Water-horehound.

BULGER. Large.—Western term.

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BUILD UP. To erect; and metaphorically to establish, to found.

BULL. A stock exchange term for one who buys stock on speculation for time, i. e. agrees with the seller, called a bear, to take a certain sum of stock at a future day, at a stated price; if at that day stock fetches more than the price agreed on, he receives the difference; if it falls or is cheaper, he either pays it, or becomes a “lame duck.” This description of a bull from Grose’s Slang Dictionary, corresponds precisely with the bulls of Wall street, who speculate in stocks in the same manner. See Lame Duck and Bear, the names of other classes who figure in the stock exchange.

It is usual for the brokers to collect in Wall street, sometimes in such numbers as to obstruct the way. This led to a petition to the board of aldermen complaining of

BULL’S EYES, n. A coarse sweetmeat mixed with flour, and

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streaked various colors, greedily devoured by children.—Hartshorne’s Shropshire Glossary.

The same word is used here.

BUMBLE-BEE. The wild bee; also called the humble bee. In Yorkshire, England, to bumble means to make a humming noise.—Dr. Willan, in Archæologia, Vol. XVII.

Chaucer uses the verb bumble to describe the noise made by the bittern.

BUNCOME,}
BUMKUM.} Judge Halliburton of Nova Scotia, thus explains this very useful and expressive word, which is now as well understood as any word in our language:

“——All over America, every place likes to hear of its members of Congress, and see their speeches; and if they don’t, they send a piece to the paper, enquirin’ if their member died a natural death, or was skivered with a bowie knife, for they hante seen his speeches lately, and his friends are anxious to know his fate. Our free and enlightened citizens don’t approbate silent members; it don’t seem to them as if Squashville, or Punkinsville, or Lumbertown was right represented, unless Squashville, or Punkinsville, or Lumbertown makes itself heard and known, ay, and feared too. So every feller in bounden duty, talks, and talks big too, and the smaller the State, the louder, bigger, and fiercer its members talk.

“Well, when a critter talks for talk sake, jist to have a speech in the paper to send to home, and not for any other airthly puppus but electioneering, our folks call it Bunkum. Now the State of Maine is a great place for Bunkum—its members for years threatened to run foul of England, with all steam on, and sink her about the boundary line; voted a million of dollers, payable in pine logs and spruce boards, up to Bangor mills; and called out a hundred thousand militia (only they never come), to captur a saw mill to New Brunswick. That’s Bunkum—all that flourish about Right o’ Search was Bunkum—all that brag about hangin’ your Canada sheriff was Bunkum—all the speeches about the Caroline, and Creole, and Right of Sarch, was Bunkum. In short,

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almost all that’s said in Congress, in the Colonies, (for we set the fashions to them, as Paris gals do to our milliners,) and all over America, is Bunkum.

“Well, they talk Bunkum here, too, as well as there. Slavery speeches are all Bunkum; so are reform speeches, too,” etc.

The origin of the phrase, as I have read it, is somehow so: A tedious speaker in Congress being interrupted and told it was no use to go on, for the members were all leaving the house, replied, “Never mind; I’m talking to Buncombe.” Buncombe, in North Carolina, was the place he represented.

BUNK. (Ang. Sax. benc. Germ. bank. Danish, baenk, a bench, a form.) A wooden case used in country taverns and in offices which serves alike for a seat during the day and for a bed at night. They are common throughout the Northern States.

Dr. Jamieson has the word bunker, a bench, or sort of low chests that serve for seats—also, a seat in a window, which serves for a chest, opening with a hinged lid.—Etym. Dict. Scottish Language.

In some parts of Scotland a bunker or bunkart, which Dr. Jamieson thinks to be the same word, means an earthen seat in the fields. In the North of England, a seat in front of a house, made of stones or sods, is called a bink.

BUNK. A piece of wood placed on a lumberman’s sled to enable it to sustain the end of heavy pieces of timber.—Maine.

BUNGTOWN-COPPER. The old English half-penny, or copper. So called in various parts of New England.

TO BUNDLE. Mr. Grose thus describes this custom:

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“A man and woman lying on the same bed with their clothes on; an expedient practised in America on a scarcity of beds, where, on such occasions, husbands and parents frequently permitted travellers to bundle with their wives and daughters.”—Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Bundling is said to be practised in Wales. Whatever may have been the custom in former times, I do not think bundling is now practised in the United States.

Mr. Masson describes a similar custom in Central Asia:

“Many of the Afghan tribes have a custom in wooing, similar to what in Wales is known as bundling-up, and which they term namzat bazé. The lover presents himself at the house of his betrothed with a suitable gift, and in return is allowed to pass the night with her, on the understanding that innocent endearments are not to be exceeded.—Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, &c. Vol. III. p. 287.

TO BUNT. To push with horns; to butt. This word is given by Webster, but is not in the English dictionaries. Mr. Hartsborne notices this word in his Shropshire Glossary.

BURGALOO. A kind of pear.

BURGOO. A seafaring dish made with oat meal and water, seasoned with salt, butter, and sugar.—Falconer’s Marine Diet.

BURNT HIS FINGERS. When a person has suffered loss by a speculation, he is said to have burnt his fingers. It is used in the same sense in England.

BURR-STONE. A species of silex or quartz occurring in morphous masses, partly compact, but containing many irregular cavities. It is used for mill-stones.—Cleveland’s Mineralogy.

BUSHWHACKER. A raw countryman, a green-horn.

BUSS. A kiss. This word, once of sufficient dignity to be

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used by our dramatic authors, has now become so obsolete as to be heard only from the vulgar.

TO BUST. To burst; to fail in business.

BUSTER. Anything large in size; a man of great strength. A common vulgarism, which appears to be of foreign origin.

Dr. Jamieson, in his Scottish Dictionary, has the word bustuous, busteous, huge, large in size; also, strong, powerful; which is the same meaning usually understood by our vulgar word buster.

We sometimes hear this word applied to a gale of wind, as, “This is a buster,” i. e. a powerful or heavy wind. In the old Scottish poems there are examples of a similar use of the word.

The Icelandic bostra, great noise, seems to be analagous to the word.

BUSTER, or bust. A frolic, a spree. “They were on a buster, and were taken up by the police.”

BUSTLE. A pad stuffed with cotton, feathers, bran, &c., worn by ladies for the double purpose of giving a greater rotundity or prominence to the hips, and setting off the smallness of the waist.

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BUTTE. (French.) This word is of frequent occurrence in books that relate to the Rocky Mountain and Oregon regions, “where,” says Col. Frémont, “it is naturalized, and if desirable to render into English, there is no word which would be its precise equivalent. It is applied to the detached hills and ridges which rise abruptly, and reach too high to be called hills or ridges, and not high enough to be called mountains. Knob, as applied in the Western States, is their most descriptive term in English; but no translation or paraphrasis would preserve the identity of these picturesque land-marks.”—Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, p. 145.

Sir Geo. Simpson in his “Overland Journey round the World,” when traversing the Red River country, west of Hudson’s Bay, speaks of a conspicuous land-mark in the sea of plains, known as the Butte aux Chiens, … towering with a height of about four hundred feet over a boundless prairie as level and smooth as a pond.—Vol. I. p. 54.

BUTTER-CUP. The flower of the ranunculus ficarius. It seems to have obtained its name from a vulgar error, that butter is improved in flavor and color by cows eating this plant; though it is well known that they avoid it, on account of its acrid taste.—Craven Glossary.

BUTTERNUT. (Lat. Juglans cinerea.) Also called the oil-nut. The tree resembles the black walnut.

BUTTONING UP. A Wall street phrase. When a broker has bought stock on speculation and it falls suddenly on his hands, whereby he is a loser, he keeps the matter to himself and is reluctant to confess the ownership of a share. This is called buttoning up.—A Walk in Wall Street, p. 47.

BUTTON BUSH. (Cephalanthus occidentalis.) A shrub which

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grows along the water side, its insulated thickets furnishing a safe retreat for the nests of the black-bird. Its flowers appear at a distance like the balls of the sycamore tree; hence its name.—Bigelow’s Flora Bostoniensis.

BUTTON WOOD. (Platanus occidentalis.) The popular name in New England of the sycamore tree; so called from the balls it bears, the receptacle of the seeds, which remain on the trees during the winter.—Michaux’s Sylva.

BY THE BYE. To Mr. Richardson we are indebted for a fuller examination of this phrase, than other lexicographers have given it. In this expression the latter bye seems to be the same bye as in by-law, &c., and of course to admit a similar explanation. In Lord Bacon; “there is upon the by to be noted,” that is, upon the way, in passing, indirectly, this being a collateral and not the main object of pursuit. In Ben Jonson; “those who have saluted poetry on the by;” on their way, in passing; poetry being the collateral and not the direct or main object of their pursuit. By the bye then is by the way, in passing, such being a collateral and not a main object.—Richardson, Dictionary.

BY THE SKIN OF ONE’S TEETH. When a man has made a narrow escape from any dilemma, it is a common remark to say, that he has saved himself ‘by the skin of his teeth.’

BY-BIDDER. A person employed at public auctions to bid on articles put up for sale, in order to obtain higher prices. In New York city also called Peter Funks, which see.

BY GOSH! An inoffensive oath, used mostly in New England. Negroes often say, By Golly!

BY GUM! The same as the preceding. It is also noticed by Moor in his Suffolk Glossary.

BY GOOD RIGHTS. By right, by strict justice; as, “By good rights Mr. Clay ought to be President of the United States,” meaning that be is entitled to it by right, or by justice, and for the services he has rendered his country.

CAB. A small one horse carriage, lately introduced into our principal cities from England.

CABBAGE. A cant word for shreds and patches made by tailors in cutting out clothes.—Todd. From this comes to cabbage, to steal in a small way.

CABOOSE. The common pronunciation for camboose (Dutch kombuis), a ship’s cooking-range or kitchen.

CACHE. (French.) A hole in the ground for hiding and preserving provisions which it is inconvenient to carry; used by settlers in the West.—Webster.

CADDY. A small box generally made of laquered ware, and lined with sheet lead, for keeping tea in.

CAHOOT. Probably from cohort, Spanish and French, defined in the old French and English Dictionary of Hollyband, 1593, as “a company, a band.” It is used at the South and West to denote a company or union of men for a predatory excursion, and sometimes for a partnership in business.

CALASH. (Fr. calèche.) A two-wheeled carriage, resembling a chaise, used in Canada.

CALASH. A covering for the head, usually worn by ladies to protect their head-dresses when going to evening parties, the theatre, etc.

TO CALCULATE. This word, which properly means to compute, to estimate, has been erroneously transferred from the language of the counting-house to that of common life, where it is used for the words, to esteem; to suppose; to

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believe; to think; to expect; intend, &c. It is employed in a similar way to the word guess, though not to so great an extent. Its use is confined to the illiterate of New England.

CALABOOSE. (Fr. calabouse. Span. calabozo.) In New Orleans, the common jail or prison.

CALIBOGUS. Rum and spruce-beer. An American beverage.—Grose.

CALICO. Supposed to be derived from Calicut in India. The word was originally applied to white cottons from India. In England, white cotton goods are still called calicoes. In the United States the term is applied exclusively to printed cotton cloth. Dr. Webster says, to printed cotton cloth having but two colors. This is a mistake. Calicoes may have two or ten colors in them. The number of colors does not change the name.

TO CALK. In some parts of America, to set upon a horse or ox shoes armed with sharp points of iron, to prevent their slipping on ice.—Webster.

CALLITHUMPIANS. It is a common practice in New York, as well as other parts of the country, on New-Year’s eve, for persons to assemble with tin horns, bells, rattles, and similar euphonious instruments, and parade the streets making all the noise and discord possible. This party is called the Callithumpians, or the Callithumpian Band. On wedding nights the happy couple are sometimes saluted with this discord by those who choose to consider the marriage an improper one, instead of a serenade. See chiravari.

CALUMET. (Old Fr.) Among the aboriginals of America, an pipe, used for smoking tobacco, whose bowl is usually of soft red marble, and the tube a long reed, ornamented with feathers. The calumet is used as a symbol or instrument of peace and war. To accept the calumet, is to agree to the terms of peace; and to refuse it, is to reject them. The calumet of peace is used to seal or ratify contracts and alliances, to receive strangers kindly, and to travel with safety. The calumet of war, differently made, is used to proclaim war.—Webster, Dic.

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CAMP OUT. To encamp out of doors for the night.

CANADA RICE. (Zizania aquatica.) A plant which grows in deep water along the edges of ponds and sluggish streams in the Northern States and Canada. It is called in some places wild rice and water oats.

CANDLE. Hold a candle. To hold a candle to one, is to wait on him. Hence, ‘you are not fit to hold a candle to him,’ is equivalent to, you are not fit to be even his servant; or not to be compared to him.

CANE-BRAKE. A thicket of canes. They abound in the low lands of Louisiana and Mississippi.

CANOE. (Canóa, West Indies.) And Indian boat made of bark or skins.

TO CANT. To turn about; to turn over; a common use of the word, not mentioned by Johnson or Todd. It is, however, in Ash’s Dictionary, who defines it, a sudden kind of turn in moving a piece of timber.

CANT-HOOK. A wooden lever, with an iron hook at one end, with which heavy articles of merchandise or timber are canted over.

CAN’T COME IT, is a vulgar expression for cannot do it. “You can’t come it over me so,” i. e. you cannot effect your purpose. Mr. Hamilton notices this expression among the provincialisms of Yorkshire.—Nugæ Literariæ, p. 353.

CANTELOPE. A species of muskmelon.

CANTICOY, or Cantica. An Indian word, denoting a dancing

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assembly, still used by aged people in New York and on Long Island. Also, a noisy conversation.

CANYON. (Span. cañon.) A narrow, tunnel-like passage between high and precipitous banks, formed by mountains or table lands, with a river running beneath. These occur in the great western prairies.

TO CAP. To excel; to surpass. Ex. To cap all. Used in familiar language in New England. Mr. Hartshorne, in his Shropshire Glossary, has the expression, to cob all, meaning the same.

TO CAP THE CLIMAX, is to surpass everything. A letter from Mexico, in speaking of the excesses of the American soldiers, says:

TO SET HER CAP FOR HIM. To direct her attentions to him; to endeavor to win his affections. Dr. Johnson notices the phrase, which he says belongs to modern times. It is common in the United States, and may be heard in the best society, in familiar conversation.

CAPSHEAF. A small sheaf of straw forming the top of a stack.—Dorset Glossary. Figuratively used in the United States to denote the highest degree, the summit.

TO CAPSIZE. To upset or overturn.—Webster. Originally a seaman’s word; but now often heard among landsmen.

TO CAPTIVATE, v. a. (Lat. captivo, from capto, to take; Fr. captiver.) To take prisoner; to bring into bondage.—Johnson. To seize by force; as an enemy in war.—Webster.

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The Edinburgh Review, in its notice of the American Mineralogical Journal, published in New York in 1810, after speaking of other words, says, “Other examples, proving the alteration to which our language has been exposed, chiefly by the introduction of gallicisms, may be noticed in the rest of this Journal, resembling expressions found in American newspapers, where for a “ship taken,” we read of “a ship captivated!”

In his remarks on this word, Mr. Pickering says it was new to him, and that he had never seen it in the newspapers. Subsequently, however, he discovered it in two or three of our authors. It cannot be said to be in use among writers at the present day. It is well known that Congress, in adopting the Declaration of Independence prepared by Mr. Jefferson, omitted certain passages contained in the original draft. Among these was the omission of the paragraph relating to the slave trade:

In noticing the above passage, Lord Brougham says, The word “captivating” will be reckoned an Americanism (as the Greeks used to say of their colonists a Solæcism). But it has undoubted English authority—Locke among others.—Statesmen of George III.

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CARDINAL. The name of a woman’s cloak; from the red or scarlet habit worn by cardinals.—Todd’s Johnson. The cardinal worn by ladies at the present day is a short cloak usually made of velvet, satin, or other rich material.

CAROLINA POTATO. The sweet potato (convolvulus batata), so called in the Eastern States.

CARPET WEED. A small spreading plant, common in cultivated ground (mollugo).—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

CARROTY. Carroty-hair, red hair. A term common alike to England and America.

CARRYALL. A four-wheeled pleasure carriage, capable of holding several persons, or a family; hence the term, carryall. The name is common in the Northern States. In Canada it is applied to a sleigh.

TO CARRY A HORSE TO WATER, instead of lead or ride him to water. A Southern expression.—Sherwood, Georgia.

TO CARRY ON. To riot; to frolic.

TO CASCADE. To vomit—from the resemblance to a waterfall. It is a common word in England.

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CASSAVA, or CASSADA. (Cassabi, W. Ind.) The native name of a shrub of Central and South America, from the root of which the tapioca and mandioca arc extracted.

CATAMARAN. In the State of Maine, a raft for crossing rivers.

CATAMOUNT. Although this animal is peculiar to North America, a similar name, that of catamountain, for the wild cat, is common in the old authors from which we probably borrowed it. The catamount of North America is a larger and very different animal from the wild cat of Europe.

CATAWAMPTIOUSLY CHAWED UP. Completely demolished, utterly defeated. One of the ludicrous monstrosities in which the vulgar language of the Southern and Western States abounds.

TO CATCH A TARTAR. To attack one of superior strength or abilities. This saying originated from the story of an Irish solder in the Imperial service, who, in a battle against the Turks, called out to his comrade that he had caught a Tartar. “Bring him along then,” said he. “He won’t come,” answered Paddy. “Then come along yourself,” replied his comrade. “Arrah,” cried he, “but he won’t let me.”—Grose.

TO CATCH A WEASEL ASLEEP. It is a common belief that this little animal is never caught napping, for the obvious reason that he sleeps in his hole beyond the reach of man. The expression is applied to persons who are watchful and always on the alert, or who cannot be surprised; as, “You cannot deceive me, any sooner than you can catch a weasel

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asleep,” or, “You can’t catch a weasel asleep.” The expressions are common.

CATERWAUL. The wailing of cats in the night-time; and hence, any ludicrous, disagreeable noise that resembles it.

CATFISH. (Genus Prinelodus. Cuvier.) This fish in several varieties is common throughout the Atlantic States under different popular names. It is also called by the name of Horned-pout, Bull-head, Mud-pout, and Minister. There is a very large species called the channel cat-fish, which is noticed by Dr. Kirtland in his Report On the Geology of Ohio.

CATMINT, or CATNIP. (Nepeta cataria.) A well known medicinal herb.

CATS-PAW. To be made a cats-paw of. To be made a tool or instrument to accomplish the purpose of another; an allusion to the story of a monkey, who made use of a cat’s paw to scratch a roasted chestnut out of the fire.—Grose.

CATSTICK. A bat or cudgel used by boys in a game at ball. It is known by the same name in England, though used for a different play. I have never heard the word here except in Rhode Island.

CAT-TAILS. Hares-tail rush (erophorum vaginatum). So called from its resemblance to a cat’s tail. This name is

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common alike to England and America. It is used as a material for stuffing bed-ticks.

CAT-TAIL GRASS. Herds grass, or timothy.

CATTLE-RANGE. In Kentucky, a park.

CATTY-CORNERED. Diagonally. In his Craven Glossary, Mr. Carr gives the word cater corner’d.

CAUCUS. A private meeting of the leading politicians of a party to agree upon the plans to be pursued in an approaching election.

Gordon’s History of the American Revolution, 1788, contains the earliest account of this word.

“The word caucus, and its derivative caucusing, are often used in Boston. All my repeated applications to different gentlemen have not furnished me with a satisfactory account of its origin…… More than fifty years ago, Mr. Samuel Adams’s father, and twenty others, one or two from the north end of the town, where all ship-business is carried on, used to meet, make a caucus, and lay their plan for introducing certain persons into places of trust and power. When they had settled it, they separated, and used each their particular influence within his own circle,” &c. Vol. I. p. 240.

“From the above remarks of Dr. Gordon on this word,” says Mr. Pickering, “it would seem that these meetings were in some measure under the direction of men concerned in the ‘ship business;’ and I had therefore thought it not improbable that caucus might be a corruption of caulkers’, the word meetings being understood. I was afterwards informed that several gentlemen in Salem and Boston believed this to be the origin of the word.”

On the whole, this may be called a very useful word, the sense being so well understood in every part of the Union.

CAUSEY. A causeway, or way raised above the natural level

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of the ground, by logs, stones, earth, etc., serving as a dry passage over wet ground. This word is seldom used now.

TO BE A CAUTION. To be a warning. A common expression used in familiar language.

CAVALLARD. (Sp. caballardo.) A term used by the caravans which cross the prairies, to denote a hand of horses or mules.

TO CAVE IN. Said of the earth which falls down when digging into a bank. Figuratively, to break down; to give up.

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CAVESON. (French caveçon.) A muzzle for a horse.—New England.

CAVORTIN. (Span. cavar, to paw, applied to horses.) A word chiefly used in the Southern States. The following illustrations will show the sense in which it is used:

CENSUS. In the United States, an enumeration of the inhabitants of all the States, taken by order of Congress, to furnish the rule of apportioning the representation among the States, and the number of representatives to which each State is entitled in the Congress; also, the enumeration of the inhabitants of a State, taken by order of the Legislature.—Webster.

CENT. A copper coin of the United States, whose value is the hundredth part of a dollar.—Webster.

CHAIR. In the Southern Stares, this name is given to that kind of one-horse pleasure carriage, which, in the Northern States, is generally called by the old English name, chaise.—Pickering. The same word, in England, is applied to a vehicle drawn by one horse.

TO CHALK OUT. To mark or trace out as with chalk.—Johnson. To chalk out a plan or proceeding, is to devise or lay out a plan.

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The Liverpool Times, when speaking of Sir Robert Peel’s Tariff, says:

CHALK. Not by a long chalk. When a person attempts to effect a particular object, in which he fails, we say, “He can’t do it by a long chalk.”

CHAP. A boy, lad; a fellow.

CHAPARRAL. In Spain, a chaparral is a bush of a species of oak. The termination al signifies a place abounding in; as, chaparral, a place of oak-bushes; almendral, an almond orchard; parral, a vineyard; cafetal, a coffee-plantation, &c. &c.

This word having recently become quite common in our newspapers in consequence of the lamentable war with Mexico, the following description of a chaparral was given last year by a correspondent of the New Orleans Picayune, then at Matamoras: It is a series of thickets of various sizes, from one hundred yards to a mile through, with bushes and briars, all covered with thorns, and so closely entwined together as to prevent the passage of anything through larger than a wolf or hare. When they are in the course of a traveller, he must travel around them, sometimes four or five miles before he can make half a mile on his route. In the middle of most of them you will find a small prairie, with numerous beds of prickly pears, the fruit of which is often ventured for by those who are accustomed to its use, and “know the ropes.”

CHATTER-BOX. One whose tongue runs incessantly.—Todd.

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TO CHAW. (Saxon, ceowan; German, kawen.) To champ between the teeth; to masticate; to chew.—Johnson. Webster. This, according to all lexicographers, is the legitimate word, and should be so written and pronounced. Custom and fashion, however, have changed it to chew, which is now invariably used among educated people.

TO CHAW UP. To use up; demolish.

CHAY. A chaise. Common in New England, where these vehicles are chiefly used.

CHEBACCO BOAT. Probably the same as the xebec of the Mediterranean. A description of fishing vessel employed in the Newfoundland fisheries. They are also called Pinksterns. The word may be a corruption of chedabucto, the name of a bay in Nova Scotia, from which vessels are fitted out for fishing.—Adams on the Fisheries, p. 220.

CHECKERS or chequers. The common name for the game which is called draughts in England. Mr. Todd, in his edition of Johnson’s Dictionary, has the word checker, a chessboard, or draught-board.

CHEQUER BERRY. (Mitchella.) A handsome little creeping plant, the only species of its genus.—Bigelow’s Flora Bostoniensis.

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CHEWINK. The ground robin; so called from its peculiar note. On Long Island it is called the towhee goldfinch; and in Louisiana, from its plumpness, grasset.—Natural History of New York.

CHICKABIDDY. A young chicken. Used also as a term of endearment to children, and not peculiar to America.

CHICKADEE. The black-cap titmouse, a very common little bird so called from its peculiar note.—Audubon, Ornith.

CHICKAREE. (Lat. sciurus Hudsonii.) The popular name of the red squirrel.

CHICKEN-FIXINGS. In the Western States, a chicken fricassee.

CHICKWEED. (Stellaria media.) A very common plant, growing in every situation, even between the bricks in the side-walks.—Bigelow’s Flora.

CHIGRES (commonly called jiggers). Sand-fleas, which penetrate under the skin of the feet, but particularly the toes. As soon as they accomplish this, an itching sensation is felt when the chigre ought to be removed by means of a needle breaking the skin. No uneasiness follows; but should this precaution be neglected, the insect breeds in the toe, and produces sometimes dreadful sores. These insects are found in the West Indies, and the adjacent shores of the Gulf of Mexico.—Carmichael’s West Indies, Vol. I. p. 188.

TO CHINK. To rattle, jingle; to cause to rattle or jingle. Used especially of the noise of coin shaken in a purse or bag.

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CHINK. A term used for money; used in various parts of England, as well as in the United States.—Grose. Forby.

CHINKING AND DAUBING. The process of filling with clay the interstices between the logs of houses in the new countries. In the north of England it is called daubing and filling.—Moor.

CHINQUIPIN. (Castanea pumila.) A species of chestnut. The water chinquipin of the United States, is the ‘sacred bean’ of the Egyptians (nelumbo nucifera).

CHIP. “A chip of the old block,” a child who either in person or sentiments resembles his father.—Grose. A common expression in the United States.

CHIPMUK, or CHIPMONK. The popular name for the striped squirrel (sciurus striatus). Probably an Indian word.

CHARIVARI. (Commonly pronounced shevaree.) A custom

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which prevails in those parts of the United States which were originally colonized by the French, as Louisiana, some parts of Florida, Missouri and Michigan. It is also common in Canada. When an unequal match takes place, when an old bachelor marries, or a widow or widower soon after the death of his or her partner, their friends assemble on the night of the marriage, with tin horns, bells, pans, kettles, and everything that will make a discordant noise. This “serenade” is continued night after night until the party is invited in and handsomely entertained.—See Callithumpian.

TO CHIRK. To make a peculiar noise by placing the tongue against the roof of the mouth, to urge horses on.

CHIRK. Lively; cheerful; in good spirits; in a comfortable state; as when one enquires about a sick person, it is said, he is chirk. The word is wholly lost except in New England.—Webster. It is doubtless derived from the old verb to chirk (Ang. Sax. cercian), i. e. to chirp, which is found in old English writers.

TO CHIRRUP. To cheer up; to quicken or animate a horse by a peculiar sound or chuck, or by chirping. It is not noticed by Johnson, though it is common in England.

TO CHISEL. To cheat; the same as to gouge. A Western word.

CHITLINS. Fragments; small pieces.

TO CHOCK. To put a wedge under a thing to prevent its moving; as, to ‘chock a barrel,’ i. e. to put a piece of wood or something under it to keep it steady.

CHOCK UP. Close, tight; said of a thing which fits closely to another.

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CHOCK-FULL. Entirely full; see also Chuck-full.

CHOKE-CHERRY. The popular name of the prunus Virginiana, so called from its astringent properties.

TO CHOKE OFF. A figurative expression borrowed from the act of choking a dog to make him loosen his hold. To arrest or stop a public speaker when addressing an audience, is called choking him off. This is done by shuffling the feet, applauding where applause is uncalled for, by putting questions of order, or in any way impeding or arresting the speaker. It is sometimes resorted to when a tedious man occupies the floor, and when vacant seats do not satisfy him that no one will listen to him.

TO CHOMP. To champ; to chew loudly and greedily. Champ is an old word, but not often used now, except in connection with a horse.—Forby’s Vocab. Chomp is quite common in New England and is applied to persons who eat fast or greedily.

CHOO! interj. (Old Fr. chou.) Used to drive away pigs and set dogs upon them. Cotgrave says, “Chou is a voice wherewith we drive away pullein.” And why not pigs?—Forby’s Vocab.

CHOP. A Chinese word signifying quality; first introduced by mariners in the China trade, but which has now become common in all our sea-ports. Originally the word was only applied to silks, teas or other goods from China; now it is applied to everything, for we hear of first chop teas, first chop tobacco, and first chop potatoes.

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TO CHOP. “To drop and change,” is an old expression which we still make use of, meaning to change often, to shift about. It is also applied particularly to the wind, so that a ‘chopping wind or sea’ is one that is constantly changing its direction.

CHORE, or CHAR. The word chore, which has been thought peculiar to America, is without doubt the same as the word char, which, both as a verb and a noun, may be found in the English dictionaries. “In America,” says Mr. Webster, “this word denotes small work of a domestic kind as distinguished from the principal work of the day. It is generally used in the plural, chores, which includes the daily or occasional business of feeding cattle and other animals preparing fuel, sweeping the house, cleaning furniture,” &c.

According to the English dictionaries char means work done by the day, a single job or task; from which has arisen the words char-man and char-woman. In Jenning’s Glossary of Somersetshire, is the word choor, a job, or any dirty household work; choor-woman, a woman who goes out to do any kind of odd or dirty work. In Wiltshire, it is pronounced cheare. This as well as the Somerset word is very near the American word in pronunciation.

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The editor of the Boston Daily Star, in relinquishing his editorial charge, gives the following notice:

TO CHOUSE. The origin of this word has been referred by Etymologists to the Swed. kiusa, the old French joucher, and the Dutch kosen, to cozen. Skinner, and Gifford in his notes to Ben Jonson, think the word is of Turkish origin, from chiaous, a messenger of the Turkish emperor. A messenger, or chiaous, from the Grand Senior, in 1609, committed a gross fraud upon the Turkish and Persian merchants resident in England, by cheating them out of £4,000. Hence from the notoriety of the circumstance, to chiaous, chause, or chouse, was to do as this man did, i. e. to cheat, or defraud. This origin of the word seems quite probable; for the name of a notorious defaulter in New York has recently been used in a similar manner.

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CHOWDER. A favorite dish in New England, made of fish, pork, onions, and biscuit, stewed together. Picnic parties to the sea-shore generally have a dish of chowder, prepared by themselves in some grove near the beach, from fish caught at the same time. Grose describes the same as a sea dish.

CHRISTIANIZATION. This substantive is to be found occasionally in our religious publications. The verb to christianize, which is in the dictionaries, is in use among the English writers; but the substantive is never employed by them.—Pickering, Vocab.

CHUCK-FULL. Entirely full. Common in familiar language as well as chock-full, which see for other examples.

CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW. The common name of a bird of a bird of the whippoorwill family (capimulgus Caroniensis). Mr. Audubon says, “About the middle of March, the forests of Louisiana are heard to echo with the well-known notes of this interesting bird. No sooner has the sun disappeared, and the nocturnal insects emerge from their burrows, than the sound ‘Chuck-Will’s-widow,’ repeated with great clearness and power, six or seven times in as many seconds, strike the ear.”—Ornithology, Vol. I. p. 273.

TO CHUCK. To throw, by a quick and dexterous motion, a short distance.—Dorsetshire Glossary. Todd. This word is noticed by Dr. Webster as a vulgarism.

To chuck under the chin is a common expression here as in England.

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CHUCKLEHEAD. A fool. Not peculiar to America.

CHUFFY. Blunt; surly; clownish.—Todd’s Johnson.

In New England, says Mr. Webster, this word expresses that displeasure which causes a swelling or surly look and grumbling, rather than heat and violent expressions of anger.

The etymology of this word is uncertain. Shakspeare applied the term fat chuffs to rich and avaricious people, as a term of contempt. In old French, joffu has a similar meaning to our chuffy.

CHUK. A noise made in calling swine. Always repeated at least three times.

CHUM. A chamber-mate; a term used in colleges.—Junius Etymologicon. We sometimes use it in the more extended meaning of companion, fellow.

CHUNK. A short, thick piece of wood.—Webster. This word is provincial in the South of England.—Ray. Grose.

It is sometimes called a junk in this country, as well as in England. The English dictionaries have the word chump, which is used in the same sense as chunk. This word is also applied to other things besides wood. I have often heard the butchers in market say, ‘chunk of beef.’

CHUNKY. Short and thick. This word, formed from chunk, is only used when speaking of the stature of a person, as ‘a chunky little fellow.’

CHURCH. Mr. Pickering has the following remarks on this word: “A church, as a body of persons, is distinguished in New England, from a congregation, by the privileges which the former in general reserve to themselves of receiving exclusively in that church the sacrament and baptism, in consequence of their having publicly declared their assent to the creed which that church maintains. Marriage, burial,

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and public worship, are open to the members of the congregation at large, according to the forms and methods employed in each church; as are also catechizing for children and visits to the sick.”—Vocabulary.

CIRCUMBENDIBUS. A circuitous, roundabout way, either of getting to a spot, or of telling a story.—Holloway’s Dic. of Prov.

CISCO. The popular name of a fish of the herring kind which abounds in Lake Ontario, particularly in Chaumont Bay at the east end, where thousands of barrels are annually caught and salted. I do not find this name mentioned by Dr. DeKay, in his work on the fishes of New York, in the Natural History of the State.

TO CITIZENIZE. To make a citizen; to admit to the rank and privileges of a Citizen.—Webster. Rarely used.

CITESS. This word, Mr. Pickering says, as well as citizeness, was used during the first years of the French Revolution, as a translation of the revolutionary title, citoyenne; but it has for several years been wholly disused.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

It is unnecessary to recite the discussions on this word by the British critics, the Quarterly Review, &c. as it was never adopted into our language. Dr. Webster and the English lexicographers have the word citess in their dictionaries, but only in the sense of “a city woman.”

CIVISM. Love of country; patriotism.—Webster. This, like the preceding word, is one of the productions of the French Revolution, though frequently used several years ago, is now obsolete here as well as in France.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

CIVILIZEE. A civilized man; one advanced in civilization.

CLAM. The popular name of a very common shell-fish. “As happy as a clam at high water,” is a very common expression

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in those parts of the coast of New England where clams are found.

CLAM-BAKE. The baking of clams on those parts of the sea-coast where they abound, particularly in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, furnishes one of the most popular dishes as well as most favorite amusements of which the people partake. The method of baking is as follows: A cavity is dug in the earth about eighteen inches deep which is lined with round stones. On this a fire is made; and when the stones are sufficiently heated, a bushel or more of clams (according to the number of the persons who are to partake of the feast) is thrown upon them. On this is put a layer of rock-weed gathered from the beach, and over this a second layer of sea-weed. This prevents the escape of the steam, and preserves the sweetness of the clams. Clams baked in this manner, are preferred to those cooked in the usual way in the kitchen.

Parties of ten or twenty persons, of both sexes, are the most common. Often they extend to a hundred, when other amusements are added; and on one occasion, that of a grand political mass-meeting in favor of Gen. Harrison on the 4th of July, 1840, nearly 10,000 persons assembled in Rhode Island, for whom a clambake and chowder were prepared. This was probably the greatest feast of the kind that over took place in New England.

CLAM-SHELL. The lips, or mouth. There is a common though vulgar expression in New England, of “Shut your clam-shell,” that is, Shut your mouth, hold your tongue.

TO CLAP, or CLAP DOWN. To set down; charge to one’s account.

CLAPBOARD. A thin narrow board, used to cover the sides of houses, and placed so as to overlap the one below it. In

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England, according to Bailey’s Dictionary, a clapboard is a thin board formed ready for the cooper’s use, in order to make casks or vessels.

CLAPE. The common name of the golden-winged woodpecker in the State of New York. Dr. DeKay thinks it “a provincial word, introduced by the early English colonists.” It is elsewhere called High-hole, Yucker, Flicker, Wake-up, and Pigeon woodpecker; in Louisiana, Pique bois jaune.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

CLAP-TRAP. An artifice for attracting applause. Used chiefly in theatrical or political language.

CLEAN, adv. (Ang. Sax. clæne.) Quite; perfectly; fully; completely. This sense is now little used.—Johnson. In the United States it is common among the illiterate, but rarely seen in composition.

THE CLEAN THING. A low expression denoting propriety, or what is honorable.

CLEARING. A place or tract of land cleared of wood for cultivation; a common use of the word in America.—Webster.

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TO CLEAR OUT. To take oneself off; to depart, decamp. A vulgar expression.

CLEAVAGE. The state of being cleft.

CLEVER. Good-natured, obliging. In Great Britain, a clever man is a dextrous man, one who performs an act with skill or address. Mr. Pickering says, that “in speaking of anything but man, we use the word much as the English do. We say a clever horse, &c.; and it is common to see in the London newspapers advertisements in this form—“To be sold, a clever gray gelding,” &c.

CLEVERLY. “This is much used in some parts of New England instead of well or very well. In answer to the common salutation, How do you do? we often hear, I am cleverly. It is also applied to other things, as well as to health, and means either adroitly or exactly; according to the case.”—Pickering. It is also used in the sense of fairly, completely. Dr. Johnson’s definition is dextrously, fitly, handsomely.

CLEVERNESS. Mildness or agreeableness of disposition; obligingness; good nature. Used in New England.—Webster.

CLEVIS, or CLEVY. An iron bent to the form of an ox-bow, with the two ends perforated to receive a pin, used on the end of a cart-neap, to hold the chain of the forward horse or

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oxen; or, a draft-iron on a plow. Provincial in New England.—Webster.

CLINCHER. A smart reply.—Bailey’s Dictionary. This word is used in a figurative sense. To clinch a nail, renders it immovable and impossible to draw out. So a clincher in conversation is an argument or opinion which cannot be controverted.

CLING.}
CLING-STONE.} A variety of the peach in which the flesh adheres, or clings, firmly to the stone. When the stone readily separates from the peach, they are called free-stones. The word peach frequently designates the free-stone, while the others are called clings.

CLINKER. A vitrified substance found in grates and stoves where anthracite coal has been burnt.

CLIP. A blow or stroke with the hand; as, He hit him a clip.—Webster. Provincial in New England and the Northern States.

TO CLIP. To cut, to run. Probably from the motion of a bird’s wings, which strike or heat the air as it flies or runs.

CLIPPER. A cutter; a small schooner with raking masts, built and rigged with a view to fast sailing. Larger vessels are sometimes built after their model, when they are called clipper-built.

CLITCHY. Clammy, sticky, glutinous.—Pickering’s Vocab. Mr. Pickering says, he has “heard this word used in a few instances by old people in New England; but it is rarely heard.” In Devonshire, in England, the word clatchy, meaning the same, is provincial. In Holloway’s Dictionary of Provincialisms is clit, clayey, stiff, applied to the soil.

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CLOCKMUTCH. (Dutch, klapmuts, a night-cap.) A woman’s cap composed of three pieces,—a straight centre one, from the forehead to the neck, with two side pieces. A New York term.

CLODHOPPER. A rustic; a clown.

CLOSE-FISTED. Stingy, mean. Common in various dialects of England.—Halliwell.

CLOSURE. A shutting up; a closing.—Pickering.

Mr. Pickering observes that he has never seen this word, except in the extract quoted, in any American publication. Dr. Johnson gives the word in the same sense from the French closure, and cites several authorities for its use.

CLOTHES-HORSE. A frame-work for hanging clothes on to dry after they have been washed and ironed, in the form of an opening screen.

CLOTHIER. A man whose occupation is to full and dress cloth.—Webster. In England, a clothier is one who makes clothes, which seems to have been the meaning of the word in the time of Shakspeare. Mr. Pickering observes that “although we use clothier for fuller, yet the place where the cloth is cleansed and dressed is called a fulling-mill.”

CLOUT. A blow or strike, most properly with the fist. This word is found in several old English authors, and in the Shropshire and Dorset Glossaries of the present day. With us it is a vulgar expression frequently heard.

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CLOUT-NAILS. Short nails with large heads for the soles of strong shoes.—Hartshorne’s Shropshire.

CLUB-TAIL. (Genus alosa.) The common shad, the fatter portion of which have the tail swollen, and on the coast of Carolina where they are taken, are called club-tails.—Nat. Hist. N. Y.

COAL-HOD. A kettle for carrying coals to the fire. More frequently called, as in England, a coal-scuttle. Mr. Halliwell in his Dic. of Prov. has coal-hood, which is used in the eastern part of England.

CONCERN. In mercantile usage, an establishment or firm for the transaction of business. It is provincial in England, and denotes a small estate; from whence our use of the word is derived.

TO CONDUCT, instead of ‘to conduct oneself;’ leaving out the reflexive pronoun. This offensive barbarism is happily confined to New England, where it is common both in speech and writing. Like many other expressions in the same predicament, it has received the tacit sanction of Dr. Webster, himself a New England man.

CONGRESS. This term is applied by us especially to three differently constituted bodies of representatives of the people that have succeeded each other in the government of the country. The first is the Continental Congress, assembled in 1774, and which conducted the national affairs until near the close of the Revolution. The second is the Federal Congress, which met under the Articles of Confederation, adopted March, 1781, and ruled the country till 1789. The third is the Congress of the United States, which first met under the Constitution, on the 4th of March, 1789.

Mr. Pickering remarks, that English writers, in speaking of American affairs, generally say, “the Congress,” using the article. Such was formerly our own practice; but in the course of time it has acquired with us the force of a proper flame, so that we now speak of Congress, as the English do of Parliament. When the present Constitution was adopted, the usage was still fluctuating, as the following examples will show:

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CONGRESSIONAL. Pertaining to a congress, or to the Congress of the United States; a Congressional debates.—Webster.

CONSCIENCE. Reason, reasonableness. A common use of the word in familiar language, even in the best Society as, “What in conscience are you doing that for?” “That’s enough, in all conscience.”

CONSIDERABLE, used adverbially for very, is a common vulgarism.

CONSIDERABLE. This word is frequently used in the following manner in the Northern States, “He is considerable of a surveyor;” “Considerable of it may be found in the country.”—Pickering.

CONSOCIATION. Fellowship or union of churches by their pastors and delegates; a meeting of the pastors and delegates of a number of congregational churches, for aiding a[nd] supporting each other, and forming an advisory council in ecclesiastical affairs.—Webster. Consociation of churches, is their mutual and solemn agreement to exercise communion in such acts as aforesaid, amongst themselves, with specia[l] reference to those churches, &c.—Result of the Synod, 1662.

TO CONSOCIATE. To unite in an assembly or convention, as pastors and messengers or delegates of churches.—Webster.

CONSTABLE. Mr. Webster notices the following distinction between the application of this word in England and in the

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United States: “In England there are high constables, petty constables and constables of London. In the United States constables are town or city officers of the peace, with powers similar to those possessed by the constables in Great Britain.” Mr. Pickering says that “in many of the cities, boroughs, and other local jurisdictions in England, they have peace officers called constables, whose powers are not materially, if at all, different from those of our constables.”

CONSTANTS. Quantities or data that are constant, not subject to variation or change.

CONSTITUTED AUTHORITIES. The officers of government collectively, in a kingdom, city, town, &c. This expression has been adopted by some of our writers from the vocabulary of the French Revolution.—Pickering.

CONSTITUTIONALITY. Used chiefly in political language, to signify the state of being agreeable to the constitution of a State or of the United States.

CONTEMPLATION. The phrase, “I have it in contemplation to do so and so,” instead of “I intend,” &c., has been transferred by us, like many other Latinisms of a like kind, from the language of books to that of common conversation.

TO CONVENE. This is used in some parts of New England in a very strange sense; that is, to be convenient, fit, or suitable. Ex. This road will convene the public; i. e. will be convenient for the public. The word, however, is used only by the illiterate.—Pickering. I have never heard the phrase.

COODIES. The name of a political sect in the State of New

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York, which originated in the year 1814. At that time a series of well written articles appeared in a New York paper signed Abimeleck Coody. He professed to be a mechanic. “He was a federalist and addressed himself principally to the party to which he belonged. He endeavored to show the impropriety of opposing the war, and urged them to come forward in defence to their country. He also attacked De Witt Clinton with great severity.” The writer was ascertained to be Mr. Gulian C. Verplanck, then as now distinguished for his talents. He was replied to by a writer under the signature of “A Traveller,” said to be De Witt Clinton, who thus speaks of this party: “The political sect called the Coodies, of hybrid nature, is composed of the combined spawn of federalism and Jacobinism, and generated in the venomous passions of disappointment and revenge, without any definite character; neither fish, nor flesh, nor bird, nor beast, but a non-descript made up of ‘all monstrous, all prodigious things.’ ”—Hammond’s Political Hist. of N. Y.

COOKEY. A cake. A Dutch word used in New York.

COLD AS PRESBYTERIAN CHARITY. I know not the origin of this saying, and am not aware that there is less charity in this sect than in any other.

COOL-WORT. (Tiarella cordifolia.) The popular name of an herb, the properties of which are diuretic and tonic. It is prepared by the Shakers.

COOL. Used in familiar language, in England and in the United States, in the sense of impudent. Punch gives a dialogue between the years 1845 and 1846, which is a good illustration of this word.

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COON. A popular contraction of the word raccoon. A nickname applied to those who belong to the Whig party.

COONERY. Whiggery. See preceding article.

COPPER. A copper coin, especially a British halfpenny or American cent.

COOT. The name of a small water-fowl. It is often applied to a stupid person, as, “He is a poor coot.” Mr. Halliwell notices the old proverbial saying, “As stupid as a coot.”

CORDUROY ROAD. A road or causeway constructed with logs laid together over swamps or marshy places. When properly finished, earth is thrown between them, by which the road is made smooth; but in newly settled parts of the United States, they are left uncovered, and thereby are extremely rough and bad to pass over with a carriage. Sometimes they extend many miles. They derive their name from their resemblance to a species of ribbed velvet, called corduroy.

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CORK. The steel points fixed under the shoes of horses, in the winter, to prevent them from falling on the ice. It is the same thing that in Johnson’s and other Dictionaries is called frost-nails.—Pickering. In Ash’s Dictionary, the word corking is defined, “turning up the heels of a horse’s shoes.”

CORN. Maize, throughout the United States, is called Indian corn, or simply corn. What is called corn in England, is here called grain; or rather corn is considered in England a general term, and is applied to grain used for bread.

CORN-BLADE. The leaf of the maize. Corn-blades are collected and used as fodder in some of the Southern States.—Webster.

CORN-BROOM. Brooms made from the tops of a species of corn, called broom-corn.

CORN COCKLE. The popular name of a purple-flowering plant (genus agrostemma).—Bigelow ’s Flora Bostoniensis.

CORN-CRACKER. The nickname for a native of Kentucky.

CORN-DODGER. A kind of cake made of Indian corn, and baked very hard.

CORNED. Drunk. Used in the same sense in England.

CORN-JUICE. Whisky. A western term.

CORN-STALK. A stalk of corn, particularly the stalk of the maize.—Webster. Mr. Pickering says, “the farmers of New England use this term, and more frequently the simple term stalks, to denote the upper part of the stalks of Indian corn (above the ear), which is cut off while green, and then dried to make fodder for their cattle.”—Vocabulary.

CORN-SHUCKING. An occasion on which a farmer invites the young people of the neighborhood to his house or barn, to aid him in stripping the shucks from his corn.—See Husking.

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TO CORNER. To corner a person, is to get the advantage of him in an argument, as though he were physically placed in a corner from which he could not escape.

TO CORNER. A Wall street word, which means to take advantage of a person in a peculiar manner.

“There is a large class of brokers in Wall street, who sometimes control a good deal of money, and who make speculation their business. These generally unite in squads, for the purpose of cornering—which means, that they first get the control of some particular stock, and then, by making a great many contracts on time, compel the parties to pay whatever difference they choose, or rather what they can get; for they sometimes overrate the purse of those they contract with.”—A Week in Wall Street, p. 81.

COSEY. Snug, comfortable. Dr. Jamieson calls it a Scottish word.

COSSET. A lamb brought up without the aid of the dam.—Bailey. This word is used in New England in this sense, and also to signify a favorite or darling.

TO COTTON TO. ‘To cotton to one,’ is to take a liking to him; to fancy him; literally to stick to him, as cotton would. The term is very common at the South and West.

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COTTONOCRACY. A term applied to the Boston manufacturers, especially by the ‘Boston Whig’ newspaper.

COUNTERACTION. Mr. Pickering has noticed this word in his Vocabulary, and observes that it is sometimes, though rarely, used by American writers in the following manner: “He prevailed over his enemies by the counteraction (counteracting) of their designs.”

No English lexicographer had then noticed the word. The dictionaries of Mr. Todd and Dr. Webster now contain it. The definition of the latter is, “Action in opposition; hindrance.”

COUNTRIFIED. Rustic, rude. A word of recent formation in our language, and in no dictionary, but now much used.—Todd. It is in the last edition of Webster.

COUNTY. “In speaking of counties,” says Mr. Pickering, “the names of which are composed of the word shire, we say the county of Hampshire, the county of Berkshire, &c. In England they would say, either Hampshire or Berkshire simply, without the word county; or, the county of Hants, the county of Berks, &c. The word shire of itself, as every body knows, means county; and in one instance (in Massachusetts), this latter word is used instead of shire, as a part of

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the name—‘The county of Duke’s County.’ ”—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

COUPON. A financial term, which, together with the practice, is borrowed from France. In the United States, the certificates of State stocks drawing interest are accompanied by coupons, which are small tickets attached to the certificates. At each term when the interest falls due, one of these coupons is cut off (whence the name); and this being presented to the State treasurer, or to a bank designated by him, entitles the holder to receive the interest. The coupons attached to the bonds of some of the Western States have not been cut off for several years.

COURT. In New England this word is applied to a legislative body composed of a House of Representatives and a Senate; as, the General Court of Massachusetts.

COVERCLIP. (Genus achirus. Lacipede.) The popular name of the sole, a fish common in the waters of New York. Calico is another name for it.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

COVERLID. A bed-quilt, counterpane.

TO COW. To depress with fear.—Webster.

COWBERRY. (Vaccinium vitis idæa.) A plant resembling the common cranberry, but larger. It is found on certain mountains in Massachusetts.—Bigelow ’s Flora Bostoniensis.

COWHIDE. A particular kind of whip made of raw hide; it is also called a raw-hide.

TO COWHIDE. To flog with a cowhide.

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COW-LICK. A twist, or wreathing in the hair, which, in a calf, might be supposed to have been licked by the cow out of its natural position.—Forby’s Vocabulary. In some parts of England it is called a calf-lick.

COW PARSNIP. (Heracleuin latanum.) The popular name of a plant classed among the herbs prepared by the ‘Shakers,’ as containing properties carminative and diuretic.

CRACK. This word is used by us as in England to signify most famous, best. Thus we speak of “a crack ship,” “a crack officer,” &c.

CRACKED. Crazy.

CRACKER, or FIRE-CRACKER. A little paper cylinder filled with powder or combustible matter, imported from China. It receives its name from the noise it produces in exploding. In England it is called a squib.

CRACKER. A small hard biscuit; probably so called from the noise it emits when broken. The word seems to be peculiar to the United States.

The following anecdote was related to me by the Hon. Albert Gallatin. When travelling in England with his family in 1818, he stopped at an inn and ordered a servant to bring them some “crackers and cheese” for their lunch. But what was his surprise to see the servant return with a plate of cheese and half a dozen nut-crackers!

CRACKER. A nick-name applied to the backwoodsmen of Georgia.

CRACKLINGS. Cinders, the remains of a wood fire. A word used in the Southern States.

TO CRACK UP. To crack, i. e. to brag or boast, is a verb

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common in old authors, from Chaucer downwards, and still provincial in the north of England. We use it only in the phrase to crack up. Thus we say, “A Yankee is sure to crack up his own country;” “That is not what it is cracked up to be.”

CRADLE-SCYTHE. Called also simply cradle. It consists of a common scythe with a light frame-work attached, corresponding in form with the scythe. It is used for cutting grain instead of the sickle; and by the regular manner in which it lays the grain, it enables the farmer to perform treble the work that could be accomplished with the latter implement.

TO CRADLE. ‘To cradle grain,’ is to cut it in the same manner that grass is cut or mowed, with the implement above described.

CRAMBO. A diversion in which one gives a word, to which another finds a rhyme. If the same word is repeated, a forfeit is demanded. It was also a term in drinking, as appears from Dekker.—Halliwell’s Arch and Prov. Dictionary.

This amusement is practised in New York, where it is also called, “What is my thought like?”

CRAMP-BARK. (Viburnum oxycoccus.) The popular name of a medicinal plant; its properties anti-spasmodic. It bears a fruit intensely acid. In New England it is called the tree cranberry.

CRANES-BILL. (Geranium maculatum.) The popular name of a native geranium, which grows about fences and the edges of woods.—Bigelow.

CRASH. A coarse kind of linen cloth used for towels.

CRAWFISH. (Astacus Bartonii.) The popular name of the fresh-water lobster.

CREATURE. In the plural number this word is in very com-

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mon use among farmers as a general term for horses, oxen, &c. Ex. The creatures will be put into the pasture to-day.—Pickering.

CREEK. A small river or brook. In New York, the Western States, and in Canada, a small stream is called a creek; in New England it is called a brook. The term is incorrectly applied; as its original signification, according to the dictionaries, is a small port, a bay or cove; from which it has gradually been extended to small rivers. In New England, the old English sense of the word is retained.

CREEPMOUSE. A familiar word in the nursery. Mr. Halliwell calls it a term of endearment still in use in England. He refers to Palgrave’s Acolastus, 1540.—Archaic and Prov. Dic.

CREOLE. In the West Indies and Spanish America, a native of those countries descended from European ancestors.—Webster. But this is not its only acceptation.

“The word Creole,” says Mrs. Carmichael, “means a native of a West India colony, whether he be black, white, or of the colored population.”—West Indies, p. 17.

In the United States, we generally understand a Creole to have a portion of black blood in him; which may be explained by the following extract:

“Children born in the West Indies from Spaniards,” says an anonymous author, “are called creollos, which signifies, one born in that country; which word was made by the negroes, for so they call their own children, born in those parts, and thereby distinguish them from those born in Guinea.”—History of Peru, p. 397.

CREVASSE. (French, a disruption.) The breaking away of the embankments or levees on the lower Mississippi, by a pressure of the water. See Levee.

CRIMANY. Interj. of sudden surprise.—Forby’s Vocabulay. Used in low language in the United States.

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CRISS-CROSS. A mark in the shape of a cross; especially that of those who cannot sign their own names. Mr. Hartshorne, in his interesting work on British Antiquities, has the following account of this custom: “From the earliest period since the introduction of Christianity, it has been customary for those who were unable to sign their names, to affix the mark of a cross instead. Witred, king of Kent, decreed, anno 694, that no deed was valid unless it bore this stamp. It is constantly observable in the charters of the Anglo-Saxon and Spanish kings, and in all those documents which recite property bequeathed for ecclesiastical purposes. Numerous proofs still remain, which testify that royal and noble personages were not ashamed to confess their ignorance of letters. Witred acknowledges, in a charter printed in Spelman’s Concilia, p. 193, that on account of his ignorance of letters, he had confirmed what he had dictated by the signature of a cross.—Salopia Antiqua, p. 379.

CRISS-CROSS. A game played on slates by children, at school.

CROCK. (Ang. Sax. crocca.) An earthen vessel, a pot or pitcher, a cup.—Webster.

This old English word is still used in some parts of New England.

CROCK. The black of a pot; smut, the dust of soot or coal.

This word is provincial in various parts of England, and is there used precisely as in the United States.

TO CROCK. To black with soot or other matter collected from combustion, or to black with the coloring matter of cloth.—Webster.

Provincial in Norfolk and Suffolk, England.

CROCKY. Smutty. Used alike in England and America.

CROOKED AS A VIRGINIA FENCE. A phrase applied to anything very crooked; and figuratively to persons of a stub-

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born temper, who are difficult to manage, that is, to make straight or correct The fences of Virginia are mostly made of rails, laid up in a zig-zag manner, and of course very crooked.

CROSS-EYE. That sort of squint, by which both the eyes turn towards the nose, so that the rays, in passing to the eye, cross each other.—Forby’s Vocabulary. Since the newly discovered means of restoring and curing squint or cross eyes by a surgical operation, the scientific name of strabismus has been substituted.

CROSS-FOX. A fox whose color is between the common reddish-yellow and the silver-gray, having on its back a black cross. These animals are rare, and their skins command a high price.

CROSS-GRAINED. Perverse; troublesome; vexatious.—Johnson.

CROSS-PATCH. An ill-tempered person. A vulgar word, used alike in England and America. Patch is a very old word of contempt in Shakspeare and other writers. At the present day it is used only in connection with cross.

CROTCHETY. Whimsical; fanciful.

CROTCHICAL. Cross, perverse, peevish. A common colloquial word in New England.

CROW-BAR. A bar of iron sharpened at one end, used as a lever. In England it is called a crow; though crow-bar is “a name often provincially applied to an iron crow or lever.”—Rees’s Cyclopedia.

CROWSFEET. The wrinkles under the eyes, or from the outward corners of the eyes, which are the effect of age, and which are thought to resemble the impression of the feet of crows.—Todd.

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CRULLER. (Dutch kruller, a curler.) A cake made of a strip of sweetened dough, boiled in lard, the two ends of which are twisted or curled together. The New Yorkers have inherited the name and the thing from the Dutch.

TO CRUNCH, or CRAUNCH. To crush with the teeth; to chew with violence and noise.—Webster. Mr. Hartshorne notices this word among the provincialisms of England, and gives early examples of its use. It is sometimes pronounced cranch.—Shropshire Glossary.

CRUSTY. Sturdy; morose; snappish. A low word.—Johnson. Provincial in various parts of England. A word, says Dr. Webster, used in families, but not deemed elegant.

TO CRY. To publish the bans of marriage in church, formerly so called in the interior of New England.

CUBBY-HOLE, or CUBBY-HOUSE. A snug place for a child. Common to various English dialects.—Barnes’s Dorset Glossary. Seldom heard with us except among children.

TO CUDDLE, or CUDDLE UP. To hug or fondle. So used in some parts of England.

CULTIVABLE. Capable of being tilled or cultivated.—Webster. This word, Mr. Todd says, has lately been adopted by English writers on agriculture.

CUNNUCK. A name applied to Canadians by the people in the Northern States.

CURB-STONE. A border to a pavement, consisting of stone slabs set on edge, which form the separation between it and the carriage-way.

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CURIOUS. “This word is often heard in New England among the common farmers, in the sense of excellent, or peculiarly excellent; as in these expressions: ‘These are curious apples;’ ‘this is curious cider,’ &c. This use of the word is hardly known in our seaport town.”—Pickering.

CUPALO, for cupola, is a common error of pronunciation. It is also a very old one, as appears from the following passage:

CURMUDGEON. An avaricious, churlish fellow; a miser. In explaining this word, Dr. Ash made a ludicrous mistake, from his ignorance of the French language. He took the word from Johnson, who derives it from cœur-méchant, and who gives as his authority an “unknown correspondent.” As these words immediately followed the French, Dr. Ash supposed them to be the English of cœur-méchant, and accordingly says, “Curmudgeon, from the French cœur, unknown, and méchant, correspondent.”

TO CURRY FAVOR. To seek or gain favor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities.—Webster.

CUSTOMABLE. Subject to the payment of duties called customs. (Law of Massachusetts.)—Webster.

The word dutiable is much used among merchants in New York, but I never heard the word customable.

CUSTOMER. A cant term, meaning one that one has to deal with, that one comes across. In use, it answers nearly to the word “fellow,” and is often heard in such phrases as “He’s a queer customer,” “You’ll find him an ugly customer.”

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CUT. A quantity of yarn, twelve of which make what is called a hank or skein. Common in England and America.

TO CUT. This word is in general use in conversation in the United States, and is employed precisely in the same way as defined by Grose in the following passage:

“To renounce acquaintance with any one, is to cut him. There are several species of the CUT; such as the cut direct, the cut indirect, the cut sublime, the cut infernal, &c. The cut direct is to start across the street, at the approach of the obnoxious person, in order to avoid him. The cut indirect is to look another way, and pass without appearing to observe him. The cut sublime is to admire the top of King’s College Chapel, or the beauty of the passing clouds, till he is out of sight. The cut infernal is to analyze the arrangement of your shoe-strings, for the same purpose.—Class. Dict. Vulgar Tongue.

CUT. An infliction; a rebuke.

TO CUT. To run; to be off.

TO CUT AND RUN. To be off; to be gone.—Holloway’s Prov. Dictionary.

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Originally a nautical term. To cut the cable of a ship and make sail without waiting to weigh anchor.—Falconer’s Dictionary.

TO CUT DIRT. To run; to go fast. A vulgar expression, probably derived from the quick motion of a horse or carriage over a country road, which makes the dirt fly.

TO CUT DIDOES. Synonymous with to cut capers, i. e. to be frolicksome.

TO CUT A DASH. In modern colloquial speech, to make a great show; to make a figure.—Johnson. A fashionable or gaily dressed lady in walking the streets is often said to cut a dash. In Scotland, according to Dr. Jamieson, the phrase to cast a dash, to make a great figure or a splendid appearance, is used.

TO CUT A CAPER. (Italian, tagliar le capriole.) The act of dancing in a frolicksome manner.—Todd. We use it also in a more general sense. Thus, of a person who conducts himself in a strange or ridiculous manner, we would say, “He cuts strange capers.”

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TO CUT A FIGURE. To make an appearance, either good or bad.

TO CUT OUT. To supersede one in the affections of another. A familiar expression in common use: “Miss A was engaged to be married to Mr. B; but Mr. C cut him out.” It also means to supplant or excel in any way.

TO CUT OUT OF. To cheat, deprive of.

THE CUT OF HIS JIB. The form of his profile, the cast of his countenance; as, “I knew him by the cut of his jib.” A nautical vulgarism.

CUT AND COME AGAIN. An expression in vulgar language, implying that having cut as much as you pleased, you may come again; in other words, plenty; no lack; always a supply.—Todd.

TO CUT UP. To criticise with severity; as, he was severely cut up in the newspapers.

TO CUT UP. To wound one’s feelings, to mortify. Ex. “He was very much cut up by the neglect of his friend.”

CUT AND DRIED. Ready made.

TO CUT UP SHINES. To cut capers, play tricks.

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TO CUT A SWATHE. The same as to cut a dash.

The expression is generally applied to a person walking who is gaily dressed, and has a pompous air or swagger in his or her gait. In allusion to the sweeping motion of a scythe, when cutting a swathe.

TO CUT SHORT. To hinder from proceeding by sudden interruption,—Johnson.

TO CUT STICK, or TO CUT ONE’S STICK. To be off, to leave immediately and go with all speed. A vulgar expression, and often heard. It is also provincial in England.

TO CUT UNDER. To undersell in price.—New York.

CUT-OFF. Passages cut by the great Western rivers, particularly the Mississippi, affording new channels, and thus forming islands. These cut-offs are constantly made.

TO DRAW CUTS. A common way of deciding by lot, is to place several slips of paper or straws, of different length, in a person’s hand, which are drawn out by others. This is called drawing cuts. The practice and the term are very old, as will be seen by the following examples:

CUT-GRASS. (Leersia oryzoides.) The common name of a

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species of grass, with leaves exceedingly rough backward, so as to cut the hands if drawn across them.—Bigelow’s Flora Bostoniensis.

CUTE. (An abbreviation of acute.) Sharp; cunning; acute. It is provincial in various parts of England. In New England it is a common colloquialism, though never used by educated people.

CUTTER. A one horse sleigh.

CUTTOES. (French couteau, a knife.) A large knife used in olden times in New England.

CYPRESS-BRAKE. A basin-shaped depression of land near the margin of shallow, sluggish bayous, into which the superabundant waters find their way. In these places are vast accumulations of fallen cypress-trees, which have been accumulating for ages. These are called cypress-brakes.—Dickeson on the Cypress Timber of Louisiana.

DAB, or DABSTER. One who is expert in anything; a proficient. A vulgar colloquialism in England and America.

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DADDOCKS. The heart or body of a tree thoroughly rotten.—Ash.

This old word is not noticed by Johnson, Todd, or Webster. It is introduced by Mr. Worcester in his new dictionary.

DAD, or DADDY. Old and very common words for father.

DAMAGE. The pay or return for service rendered; the cost of any thing. “What’s the damage?” i. e. What’s the cost?

DANDER. Scurf; dandruff.

DANDER. To get one’s dander up, is to get into a passion.

This word is noticed in Barnes’s Dorset Glossary. Halliwell says it is common in various English dialects.

DARKY. A common term for a negro.

DARNED. A substitute for the profane word damned, and generally called a Yankeeism. It is used, however, in England.

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TO DAWDLE. To loiter, to lounge, especially over one’s work. A word much used by women.

A DAWDLE. In women’s language, one who loiters over his or her work.

TO DEACON A CALF, is to knock it in the head as soon as it is born.—Connecticut.

DEADENING. In newly settled parts of the West, where it is designed to make a “clearing,” some of the trees are cut down; the others are girdled, or deadened, as they say. If the majority of trees are thus girdled, the field is called a deadening, otherwise it is a clearing.—Carlton, The New Purchase, Vol I. p. 240.

DEAD. This word is vulgarly used in the sense of utter, complete. Ex. “A dead beat,” i. e. a complete beating; “a dead shave, or a dead suck,” i. e. an utter swindle; “dead ripe,” fully ripe.

DEAD-ALIVE. Dull, inactive, moping.—Barnes’s Dorset Glossary. We often hear the expression, “He is a dead-alive sort of a man.”

DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL. Utterly, completely dead. The figure is that of a nail driven into wood, and, therefore, perfectly immovable; the word door is used for the sake of the alliteration. It is sometimes changed with us into the less appropriate phrase, “As dead as a hammer.”

DEAR ME, or DEARY ME. An exclamation of surprise, used in the same sense as “Oh dear!”

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DEATH. To be death for, or go one’s death for a thing, is to be in favor of it or pursue it to the last extremity.

DECEDENT. A deceased person.—Laws of Pennsylvania.

DECENT. Tolerable; middling; fair.

DECENTLY. Tolerably; fairly.

DECLENSION. “We sometimes see this word used in the newspapers, in speaking of a person’s declining to be a candidate for office. Ex. In consequence of a declension of our candidate, we shall be obliged to vote for a new one.[”]—Pickering.

TO DEED. To convey or transfer by deed. A popular use of the word in America; as, he deeded all his estate to his eldest son.—Webster.

TO A DEGREE. To a great extent. An expression common in all parts of the country.

DEL. The common abbreviation for Delaware.

DEMIJOHN. A glass vessel or bottle, with a large body and small neck, protected and strengthened by a covering of wicker-work. Mr. Webster derives it from the French dame-jeanne, but gives no further explanation. I met the word in Niebuhr’s Travels in Arabia:

This induced the belief that the word was Arabic; but, on referring to the Arabic dictionary, no such word could be found. I made inquiry of several philologists, none of whom could give its origin. One day I asked a Frenchman who dealt in wines, why the French called them dame-jeannes? He replied at once, that they were invented in France at a time when large hoop-dresses were worn at court, and from the resemblance of those large bottles to the small waists and

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full dresses of the ladies, they were called dame-jeannes, i. e. Lady Janes.

DEMORALIZATION. The act of subverting or corrupting morals; destruction of moral principles.—Webster. A word of modern origin, but of very extensive use, which, says Mr. D’Israeli, “was the invention of horrid Gapuchin Chabot.”

TO DEMORALIZE. To corrupt and undermine the morals of; to destroy or lessen the effect of moral principles on.—Webster. Like the preceding, this word has a place in Todd’s Johnson, where it is noticed as a word of late introduction into our language. Professor Lyell, who visited Dr. Webster, says, “When the Dr. was asked how many words he had coined for his dictionary, he replied, only one, ‘to demoralize,’ and that not for his dictionary, but in a pamphlet published in the last century.”—Travels in the U. States, p. 53. Mr. Jodrell, in his “Philology of the English Language,” gives the word a place, and cites as an example, a passage from a speech by Lord Liverpool, in the House of Lords, March 11, 1817:

DEPARTMENTAL. Pertaining to a department, or division.—Webster.

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TO DEPUTIZE. To depute; to appoint a deputy; to empower to act for another, as a sheriff.—Webster.

This word is not in any of the English dictionaries except one of the early editions of Bailey, where it appears in the preface among words in modern authors, collected after the dictionary was printed. Mr. Pickering remarks, that “the word is sometimes heard in conversation, but rarely occurs in writing, … and that it has always been considered as a mere vulgarism.” Since the publication of Mr. P.’s Vocabulary, this word has been adopted in general use, and cannot now by any means be considered a vulgarism.

TO DERANGE. To turn out of the proper place; to disorder, to put out of order.—Todd’s Johnson. Webster.

“About twenty years ago,” says Mr. Todd, “this word was condemend [sic] as a Gallicism.” The following are among the earliest instances of its use:

DESK. The pulpit in a church, and figuratively, the clerical profession. The man appears well at the desk. He intends one son for the bar, and another for the desk.—Pickering. This New England word is not generally used in other parts of the country.

DESPERATE, commonly pronounced desput, and used to denote exceedingly; as “I’m desput glad to see you.” Bad as this use and pronunciation of this word are, they are both to be found in England. Mr. Hamilton notices this word among the provincialisms of Yorkshire; as, “Thou’s desperate hopeful!”—Nugæ Literariæ, p. 353.

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DEUCE. A euphemism for devil; as, ‘The deuce is in it;’ ‘Deuce take it.’ Common both in England and America.

DEVIL. A kind of expletive, expressing wonder or vexation; a ludicrous negative, in an adverbial sense; a term for mischief.—Johnson. In these several senses the word is used in the United States.

It is also, says Johnson, a ludicrous expletive of elder times, coupled with all; implying. after an enumeration of some things, several understood. Bale was very fond of applying it, in his zeal against popery. It is yet absurdly retained in low language.

DEVILISH. Atrocious, enormous; excessively, exceedingly. Of the latter or adverbial use of the word Grose says, “It is an epithet, which, in the English vulgar language, is made to agree with every quality or thing; as, devilish bad, devilish good; devilish sick, devilish well; devilish sweet, devilish sour; devilish hot, devilish cold, &c.”—Slang Dictionary.

DEVIL’S DARNING NEEDLE. A common name for the Dragon-fly.

DEVIL-FISH. (Genus, Sophius. Cuvier.) The common name of the American Angler, so called from its hideous form. It is also known by the names of Sea-devil, Fishing-frog,

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Bellows-fish, Goose-fish, Monk-fish, and others.—Storer’s Fishes of Mass.

DEVILTRY. Mischief; devilry. Provincial in England.

DICKENS. A euphemism for devil; used in the same manner as deuce. ‘What the dickens are you about?’

TO DICKER. To barter. Used in the State of New York.

DICK’S HATBAND. This very singular expression I have often heard in Rhode Island. Mr. Hartshorne calls it “one of those phrases which set philologists and antiquarians at defiance.” It is in general use throughout Shropshire, where it is applied as a comparison for what is obstinate and perverse. Ex. “As curst as Dick’s hatband, which will come nineteen times round and wont tie at last;” “As contrary as Dick’s hatband;” “As false as Dick’s hatband;” “As cruikit as Dick’s hatband;” “As twisted as Dick’s hatband;” “All across, like Dick’s hatband;” “As queer as Dick’s hatband.”

DIFFICULTED. Perplexed. This is not a common word. Mr. Sherwood has it among the words peculiar to Georgia, and there are examples of its use to be found in some of our well-known authors. It is in common use at the Bar: ‘The gentleman, I think, will be difficulted to find a parallel case.’

Dr. Jamieson has the verb to difficult in his Scottish Dictionary.

DIGGING. Dear or costly; as, ‘a mighty digging price.’ A Southern word.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

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DIG. A poke, punch; and metaphorically, a reproof.

DIGGINGS. A word first used at the Western lead mines, to denote places where the ore was dug. Instead of saying this or that mine, it is these diggings, or those diggings. The phrase these diggings is now provincial in the Western States, and is occasionally heard in the Eastern, to denote a neighborhood, or particular section of country.

Mr. Charles F. Hoffman visited the Galena lead mines, and while there was shown about to the various estates, where the people were digging for ore. The person who accompanied him said:

TO DILL. (Probably the same as to dull.) To soothe. The word is used in the north of England.

TO DILLY-DALLY. To delay. A colloquial expression common in the United States.

DIME. (Fr. dixme or dime, tenth.) A silver coin of the United States, in value the tenth of a dollar, or ten cents.

This term, peculiar to our decimal currency, is now in common use at the South and West; but in the Eastern and

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Northern States, where the Spanish real and half-real have long formed a large portion of the circulation, and where the dime is only now beginning to be common, it is usually called a ten-cent piece, and the half-dime a five-cent piece.

TO DING. To beat, to bang. Used metaphorically to denote tedious repetition; as, ‘Why do you keep dinging that in my ears?’

DING. Excessively. A Southern word.

DINGED. Very. An expletive, peculiar to the South.

TO DISH. To ruin; to frustrate.

TO DIP SNUFF. A mode of taking tobacco, practised by women in some parts of the United States, and particularly at the South, may be thus described: A little pine stick or bit of rattan about three inches long, split up like a brush at one end, is first wetted and then dipped into snuff; with this the teeth are rubbed sometimes by the hour together. Some tie the snuff in a little bag, and chew it. These filthy practices, which originate in the use of snuff for cleansing the teeth, seem to be rapidly going out of use, at least at the North.

DIPPER. A small aquatic bird common throughout the United States; also called the Water-witch and Hell-diver. (Horned grebe. Nuttall, Ornith.)—Nat. Hist. of New York.

TO DISREMEMBER. To forget; also, to choose to forget. Used chiefly in the Southern States.

DOCITY. A low word, used in some parts of the United States to signify quick comprehension. It is only used in conversation, and generally with a negative, thus: He has no docity.—

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Pickering. This word is provincial in England, where it means docility, quick comprehension.—Ash.

DOCTOR. The cook on board a ship; so called by seamen.

DOGS. To go to the dogs. To go to destruction; to be ruined, destroyed, or devoured.—Johnson.

TO DOG. To hunt as a dog, insidiously and indefatigably.—Johnson.

DOG’S BANE. (Apocynum androsæmifolium.) The common name of a shrub, which grows along the road-side and borders of woods. The root is bitter, and has emetic properties.—Bigelow’s Medical Botany.

DOG SICK, or SICK AS A DOG. A common expression, meaning very sick at the stomach.

DOG CHEAP. Anything exceedingly cheap; or, as Dr. Johnson says, as cheap as dog’s meat.

DOGWOOD. (Rhus vernix.) The popular name of the poison sumac. It grows in swamps, and from the beauty of its leaves has the appearance of a tropical plant. It is a violent poison to many when it is handled or even approached. To others it is harmless. The Dogwood-tree (Cornus Florida) is a different plant, and is used in medicine.—Bigelow’s Flora.

DOLLAR MARK ($). The origin of this sign to represent the dollar has been the cause of much discussion of late in the newspapers. One writer says it comes from the letters U. S. (United States) which, after the adoption of the Federal Constitution, were prefixed to the Federal currency, and which

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afterwards, in the hurry of writing, were run into one another; the U being made first and the S over it. Another, that it is derived from the contraction of the Spanish word pesos, dollars, or pesos fuertes, hard dollars. A third, that it is a contraction of the Spanish fuertes, hard, to distinguish silver or hard dollars from paper money. The more probable explanation is, that it is a modification of the figure 8, and denotes a piece of eight reals, or, as a dollar was formerly called, a piece of eight. It was then designated by the figures 8/8.

DONATE. To give as a donation; to contribute. This word is not in the dictionaries, but has only reached the newspapers and reviews.

DONATION PARTY. A party, consisting of the friends and parishioners of a country clergyman, assembled together, each individual bringing some article of food or clothing as a present to him. Where the salary of a clergyman is small, the contributions at a donation party are very acceptable. It is also called a giving party.

DONE, instead of did; as, ‘They done the business.’ A common vulgarism in the State of New York.

DONE BROWN. Thoroughly, effectually cheated, bamboozled. Of recent origin.

DO DON’T, for do not or don’t, is a common expression in Georgia, and not by any means confined to the uneducated classes.

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DONE FOR. Cheated; taken advantage of.

DONE DID IT, for has done it, or performed it.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

DONE COME. Come. A vulgarism peculiar to the South.

DONE GONE. Ruined; destroyed; rendered useless; entirely gone. A Southern vulgarism.

DONE UP. Ruined by gaming and extravagance.—Grose. We use it colloquially, where a person is ruined in any way, whether by gaming or by trade.

DON’T. The proper colloquial contraction for do not; and which should therefore be used only in the first person singular and the plural. Yet we very often hear it used instead of doesn’t for does not; as, ‘He don’t tell the truth.’

I DON’T KNOW AS I SHAN’T, for I don’t know but I shall. This uncouth expression, Mr. Hurd says, is very common in the eastern towns of Massachusetts, near Cape Cod.—Grammatical Corrector.

DOREE. A fish commonly called John Dory with us as in England. This last name is a corruption of the French jaune dorée, golden yellow, which is the color of this fish.

DO TELL! A vulgar exclamation common tn New England, and synonymous with really! indeed! is it possible!

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DOMESTICS. Used only in the plural. Cotton goods of American manufacture.

TO DOOM. To tax at discretion. A New England term.

When a person neglects to make a return of his taxable property to the assessors of a town, those officers doom him; that is, judge upon, and fix his tax according to their discretion.—Pickering.

DOOMAGE. A penalty or fine for neglect. Laws of New Hampshire.—Webster.

DORMAR-WINDOW. A window made in the roof of a house.—Worcester. The word seems formerly to have been dormant, as in the following:

DOUCHE. A term lately introduced into the language from the French by the followers of Priessnitz. It technically denotes a jet of water employed as a remedy.

DOUGH-FACES. A contemptuous nickname, applied to the northern favorers and abettors of negro slavery.

DOUGH-NUT. A small roundish cake, made of flour, eggs, and sugar, moistened with milk, and boiled in lard.—Webster. Halliwell has donnut in his Provincial Dictionary, which is no doubt the same word.

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DOVE. Dived. Very common among seamen.

DOWD. A woman’s night-cap, composed of two pieces of cloth, the seam running from the forehead to the neck. It is sometimes called a “squaw-shaped cap.” New York.

DOWN IN THE MOUTH. Dispirited, dejected, disheartened.—Brockett’s Glossary.

DOWN UPON. To be down upon, is to seize with avidity, as a bird of prey would pounce down upon its victim. Alluding to the state of the poultry market, the New York Tribune says:

This phrase is also used to express disapprobation, dislike, or enmity; as “I’ll be down upon you,” i. e. I’ll come up with you or pay you off for some injury or insult, &c. A common expression at the West is, “I’ll be down upon you like a thousand of brick.”

TO DOXOLOGIZE. To give glory to God, as in doxology.—Webster.

Mr. Pickering says he “never met with the word in any other American work, nor in any English publication; but that it may possibly be a part of the professional language of divines.” Mr. P. farther observes, that he found it in the early editions of the dictionaries of Ash and Bailey, from which it was afterwards discarded. Mr. Worcester has inserted the word in his new dictionary.

TO DRABBLE. To draggle; to make dirty by drawing in dirt and water; to wet and befoul; as, to drabble a gown or cloak. A word common in New England.—Webster.

Dr. Jamieson calls drabble a Scottish word. The sense here is the same as in Scotland.

DRAGGED OUT. Fatigued; exhausted; worn out with labor.

DRAT. A good-humored sort of half oath, as Moor calls it in his Suffolk Words. It is probably an abbreviation of od rot,

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and originally God rot. The expression is only heard at the South.

DRATTED. A Southern word, derived from the former. It is an expletive, and means very, exceeding, etc.

DREADFUL. Very, exceedingly. This and the words awful, terrible, monstrous, &c., are indiscriminately used by uneducated people for the purpose of giving emphasis to an expression.

It is used in the same way in England, in the Westmoreland and Cumberland dialects:

TO DRIVE A BARGAIN. To make a bargain. A common colloquial expression, as old as the language.

DRIVER. An overseer of slaves.

DRIVER. He or that which drives; a coachman, a carman.—Worcester. The English always call a driver of a carriage a coachman.

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TO BE DRIVING AT. ‘What are you driving at?’ that is, what are you about? what object have you in view? A colloquial expression, in very common use.

TO DRIVE WELL. A Southern phrase, thus explained by Mr. Davis: This gentleman applied for a situation as teacher in a college in South Carolina, when the following dialogue took place:

DROGER. Lumber droger; cotton droger, etc. A vessel built solely for burden, and for transporting cotton, lumber, and other heavy articles.

DROUTH, or DROWTH. (Ang. Sax. drugothe.) Dry weather; want of rain; drought. This is the oldest pronunciation of the word, and is still heard in some parts of England and in Scotland, as well as amongst us.

DROWNDED, for drowned. Often used by illiterate people in England and America.—Craven Glossary.

DRUMMING, in mercantile phrase, means the soliciting of customers. It is chiefly used in reference to country merchants, or those supposed to be such. Instead of patiently waiting for these persons to come and purchase, the merchant or his

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clerk goes to them and solicits their custom. In this manner the sale of goods is often expedited; and though the practice of drumming is held by some to be neither very modest nor very dignified, still it must be owned to add very largely, in certain cases, to the amount of goods sold. Indeed, without drumming, it is suspected that sundry houses, which make a remarkable show and noise, would do very little business.

The expenses of drumming amount to no small sum. Besides employing extra clerks and paying the extra price for their board at the hotels, the merchant has to be very liberal with his money in paying for wine, oyster-suppers, theatre tickets, and such other means of conciliating the favor of the country merchant, as are usually resorted to by drummers.

Another part of the system of mercantile drumming is to “become all things to all men.” Drummers are apt to be exceedingly flexible in matters of religion, and of morals too—being orthodox with the orthodox, and heterodox with the heterodox; going to church with those who incline churchward, and to the theatre with those who prefer the theatre; taking cold water with those who are opposed to brandy, and drinking brandy with those who eschew cold water.—Perils of Pearl Street, ch. 9.

DUBERSOME. Doubtful. A vulgarism common in the interior of New England.

LAME DUCK. A Wall-street phrase for a Broker or Stock Jobber, who is unable to pay his losses or differences. He is short in his payments; he is a lame duck. It is among the rules of the Stock Exchange, that a broker ceases to be a member when he cannot or will not meet his engagements.

The same phrase is employed at Exchange Alley in London, where the delinquent is said to “waddle out of the Alley, not to appear again till his debts are paid; should he attempt it, he would be hustled out by the fraternity.”—Grose, Slang Dictionary.

DUDS. (Gaelic, dud.) Rags; old clothes. A common word,

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which is used in the same sense in various parts of England and the United States.

DUG-OUT. The name in the Western States for a canoe or boat, hewn or dug out of a large log. They are common in all the rivers and creeks of the United States and Canada. In the latter country they are called log canoes.

DULL MUSIC. A term applied to anything tedious.

DUMB-FOUNDED. Stupefied; struck dumb with fear and confusion. This word is in the English provincial glossaries and in Webster’s Dictionary.

DUMMY. A dumb, i. e. silent person; a stupid person. We use the word most frequently to denote a silent partner at cards. To play dummy, is to play with one person less than the requisite number.

TO DUMP. To unload wood, coal, &c. from a cart by tilting it up. A word very common in New York, and probably of Dutch origin.

DUMPS. Sorrow; melancholy; sadness.—Johnson. We say of a person who is dull or sad, ‘He has the dumps,’ or ‘is in the dumps.’

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DUMPISH. Sad; melancholy.—Johnson.

DUMPY. Short and thick. Provincial in various parts of England, where, as with us, it is generally applied to a person who is both short and fat.

TO DUN. (Ang. Sax. dynan, to clamor.) To urge for payment; to demand a debt in a pressing manner.—Johnson.

DUNDERHEAD. Blockhead; dolt. The same as the English provincialisms dunder-knoll and dummer-head.

DUNFISH. (From dun, a dark yellow color.) Codfish cured in a particular manner, by which they retain a dun color. They command a higher price, and are much superior to those cured in the ordinary way.

DUNNING. A peculiar operation for curing codfish.—Webster. Fish for dunning are caught early in the spring, and often in February. At the Isles of Shoals, off Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, the cod are taken in deep water, split and slack-salted; then laid in a pile for two or three months, in a dark store, covered, for the greatest part of the time, with salt hay or eel-grass, and pressed with some weight. In April or May they are opened and piled as close as possible in the same dark store, till July or August, when they are fit for use.—J. Haven.

DUST. ‘To kick up a dust,’ is to make a row, to cause a great disturbance. A phrase common in England and the United States.

DUTIABLE. Subject to the imposition of duties or customs.—Webster. This is a very convenient word, and is in common

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use, both by the officers of the customs, and by merchants having transactions with them. Instead of saying that certain articles of merchandise are subject to duty, the common terms are dutiable and free.

DYED IN THE WOOL. Ingrained; thorough.

EAGLE. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of ten dollars.

EARS. To be by the ears. A familiar and very old phrase, denoting to quarrel or fight. It alludes to the practice of dogs, which, when fighting, seize each other by the ears.

EASY. A word in common use among merchants and bankers. ‘Our bank is easy,’ meaning that its loans are not extended, or that money is plentiful. ‘The money market is easy;’ i. e. loans of money may easily be procured.

TO EAT, v. a. To supply with food. A Western sense of the word. Comp. Subsist.

TO EDGE. To move sideways; to move gradually.—Webster.

EDUCATIONAL. Pertaining to education; derived from education; as, educational habits.—Webster. The authority cited by Webster for the use of this word is “Smith”—a rather

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indefinite one. Mr. Pickering says the word was new to him until he saw it in the following extract:

EEL-GRASS. (Zostera marina.) A plant thrown ashore in large quantities by the sea. It is also called Sea-wrack.

EEL-SPEAR. A sort of trident for catching eels.

E’EN A’MOST, for almost. A vulgarism.

LEND, for end. A vulgar pronunciation of the word. It is also common in various parts of England.

ELBOW-GREASE. Persevering exercise of the arms, exciting perspiration; hard rubbing.—Glossaries of Brockett and Carr.

TO ELECT. To prefer, to choose, to determine in favor of.—Webster. This sense of the word is not noticed by Johnson or Todd. It is not common with us. President Polk used it thus:

TO ENERGIZE. To give strength or force to; to give active vigor to.—Webster. To excite action.—Todd. This word is not found in Johnson’s Dictionary, and is of modern origin. Mr. Pickering says, the use of it in the British Spy, published

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in Virginia, was censured in the Monthly Anthology, as unauthorized.

Bishop Horsley uses the word energizing; also Harris:

ENLIGHTENMENT. Act of enlightening; state of being enlightened or instructed.—Webster. Used by the Quarterly Review, Oct. 1837.

ESQUIRE. In England this title is given to the younger sons of noblemen, to officers of the king’s courts and of the household, to counsellors at law, justices of the peace while in commission, sheriffs, and other gentlemen. In the United States, the title is given to public officers of all degrees, from governors down to justices and attorneys. Indeed, the title, in addressing letters, is bestowed on any person at pleasure, and contains no definite description. It is merely an expression of respect.—Webster.

The New York Commercial Advertiser, in an article on the subject of titles, had the following remarks on esquire: “In our own dear title-bearing, democratic land, the title of esquire, officially and by courtesy, has come to include pretty much everybody. Of course everybody in office is an esquire, and all who have been in office enjoy and glory in the title. And what with a standing army of legislators, an elective and ever-changing magistracy, and almost a whole population of militia officers, present and past, all named as esquires in their commissions, the title is nearly universal.”

EULOGIUM. On this word Mr. Pickering has the following remarks: “A writer in the Monthly Anthology (Vol. I. p. 609) observes that ‘eulogium is not an English word.’ But the writer is certainly mistaken. It is in common use with all the English and Scottish reviewers; and occurs much oftener, I think, than the Anglicized term eulogy.”—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

It is singular that this word is not to be found in either edition of Johnson’s Dictionary, nor in the additions of Mr. Todd, or Mason. Walker did not insert it until his fourth

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edition in 1806. Mr. Jodrell has inserted the word in his Philology on the English Language, and gives examples of its use; it may also be found in the 9th edition (1840) of Knowles’s English Dictionary.

TO EVENTUATE. To issue; to come to an end; to close; to terminate.—Webster. This word is not in any of the English dictionaries, except Knowles’s 9th edition, London, 1840; and Mr. Pickering says, “it is rarely, if ever, used by English authors.”

EVERLASTING. Very; exceedingly.

EVERY-DAY. Common; usual.

EVERY NOW AND THEN. Repeatedly, at intervals. This phrase is common with us, and is used also in England.

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. A singular though very common expression, signifying the same as every now and then.

EVIDENTIAL. Affecting evidence; clearly proving.—Webster.

Dr. Webster cites Scott as his authority, but gives no example. Mr. Pickering has the following example from an English work:

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TO EVOKE. To call forth.—Todd. Webster. Several newspapers criticised the use of this word hy the Hon. J. Q Adams in a letter to the Hon. H. G. Otis:

The following examples will show that it has been used by English writers. Mr. Todd says, it is in Cockeram’s old Vocabulary, but that he has not found it in use till near a century later.

EXCHANGEABILITY. The quality or state of being exchangeable.—Webster.

THE EXECUTIVE. The officer, whether king, president, or other chief magistrate, who superintends the execution of the laws; the person who administers the government; executive power or authority in government.—Webster.

TO EXPECT, instead of suspect. To suppose, think, imagine. A very common corruption.

Nor is it confined to ourselves. It is not only provincial in England, but we are even startled at meeting with it in the London Athenæum. In an article on the Penny Cyclopedia, a writer says:

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FACTORY. (Contracted from manufactory.) This word is not in Johnson’s Dictionary or in any other before his time. It is now common both in England and the United States, and is applied to a place where anything is made.

FAGGED OUT. Fatigued; worn out.

FAIR SHAKE. A fair trade; a satisfactory bargain or exchange. A New England vulgarism.

FALL. The fall of the leaf; autumn; the time when the leaves drop from the trees.—Todd’s Johnson. Webster.

This beautifully picturesque expression, which corresponds so well to its opposite spring, has been said to be peculiar to the United States. Mr. Pickering notices the following remark in Rees’s Cyclopedia: “In North America the season in which the fall of the leaf takes place, derives its name from that circumstance, and instead of autumn is universally called the fall.”—Art. Deciduous Leaves. It is used, however, in England in the same sense, though autumn is as generally employed there, as fall is in the United States.

TO FALL. To fell, to cut down; as, ‘to fall a tree.’—Webster. This use of the word is now common in America, although it has been condemned as a barbarism. It is found in the English dictionaries of Ash, Sheridan, Walker, and Knowles; but many others leave it out. Besides the dictionaries, there are other authorities for the use of this word, sufficient to elevate it above the rank of a barbarism. For a fuller account of it, see Mr. Pickering’s Vocabulary.

FANCY STOCKS. A species of stocks which are bought and sold to a great extent in New York. Unlike articles of merchandise, which may be seen and examined by the dealer, and which always have an intrinsic value in every fluctuation

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of the market, these stocks are wholly wrapped in mystery; no one knows anything about them, except the officers and directors of the companies, who, from their position, are not the most likely men to tell you the truth. They serve no other purpose, therefore, than as the representative of value in stock gambling. Nearly all the fluctuations in their prices are artificial. A small fluctuation is more easily produced than a large one; and as the calculations are made on the par value, a fluctuation of one per cent. on stock worth $20 a share, is just five times as much on the amount of money invested, as it would be on a par stock. Consequently, if a “Flunkie” can be drawn in, he may be fleeced five times as quick in these, as in good stocks.—Week in Wall St. p. 83.

FARZINER. A vulgar contraction of far-as-I-know, extensively used through New England and New York, including Long Island.

FEAST. (A corruption of the Dutch vies, nice, fastidious.) ‘I am feast of it,’ is a literal translation of the Dutch Ik ben ’er vies van, i. e. I am disgusted with, I loathe it. A New York phrase, mostly confined to the descendants of the Dutch.

FEAT. Ready, skilful.—Johnson. This word is now only known as a provincialism in England and America.

The following will illustrate its use in New England:

TO FEATHER ONE’S NEST. To collect riches together; alluding to birds which collect feathers, among other materials, for making their nests.—Johnson.

FEDERAL CURRENCY. The legal currency of the United States. Its coins are the gold eagle of ten dollars, half and quarter eagles of proportionate value. The silver dollar of one hundred cents, its half, quarter, tenth, and twentieth parts. The coin of ten cents value is called a dime, that of five cents, a half-dime. The lowest coin in common use is the

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copper cent. Half-cent coins have been made, but none of late years. In the commercial cities and along the sea-board, Spanish coins of a dollar and the fractional parts of a dollar are very common, and pass currently for their original value, except at the Custom Houses and Post Offices, where, by a recent ordinance, the quarter dollar and its parts are only received at twenty-five per cent. discount.

Previous to the adoption of our Federal currency, pounds, shillings, and pence were used. But this currency became unstable, in consequence of the great depreciation which took place in the paper money issued by the colonies.

In the year 1702, exchange on England was 33 1/3 per cent. above par; and silver and gold bore the same relative value to paper money. The depreciation in the latter continued to increase until, in the year 1749, £1100 currency was only equal to £100 sterling, or eleven for one. In 1750, a stop was put to the farther depreciation of the money of the province of Massachusetts by a remittance from England of £183,000 sterling, in Spanish dollars, to reimburse the expense the province had been at in the reduction of Cape Breton in the old French war. The depreciated money was then called in, and paid off at the rate of a Spanish dollar for 45 shillings of the paper currency. At the same time a law was made fixing the par of exchange between England and Massachusetts at £133 1/3 currency for £100 sterling, and 6 shillings to the Spanish dollar.

The difference of exchange, or depreciation of the paper money, regulated in the same manner the currencies of the other colonies. Throughout New England, as has been before stated, it was 6s. to the dollar of 4s. 6d. sterling. In New York, 8s., or about 75 per cent. depreciation. Pennsylvania, 7s. 6d., or about 66 per cent. depreciation. In some of the Southern States it was 4s. 6d. to the dollar, and accordingly no depreciation. In Halifax currency, including the present British provinces, it was 5s. to the dollar, or about 11 per cent., etc. etc. The old system of reckoning by shillings and pence is continued by retail dealers generally; and will continue, as long as the Spanish coins remain in circulation.

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In consequence of the above named diversity in the colonial currencies, in New England the Spanish real of 1/8 of a dollar or 12 1/2 cents is called ninepence; in New York, one shilling; in Pennsylvania, elevenpence or a levy; and in many of the Southern States, a bit. The half real of 1/16 of a dollar is called in New York a sixpence; in New England, fourpence ha’penny, or simply fourpence; in Pennsylvania, a fip; and at the South, a picayune.

FEDERALIST. An appellation in America given to the friends of the Constitution of the United States, at its formation and adoption; and to the political party which favored the administration of President Washington.—Webster.

TO FEDERALIZE. To unite in compact, as different States; to confederate for political purposes.—Webster.

FEEZE. ‘To be in a feeze,’ is to be in a state of excitement.

FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN. This word is often used by public speakers. It is improper, as the last word expresses the meaning of both. Mr. Pickering however mentions an example of the use of the word by Southey in his Life of Nelson.

FELLOWSHIP. Companionship; consort; society.—Johnson. With us it is often used in religious writings and discourses instead of the word communion, to denote “mutual intercourse or union in religious worship, or in doctrine and discipline.”

TO FELLOWSHIP. A verb formed from the preceding noun. To fellowship with, is to hold communion with; to unite with in doctrine and discipline. This barbarism now appears with disgusting frequency in the reports of ecclesiastical conventions, &c., and in the religious newspapers generally. Mr. Pickering, in the Supplement to his Vocabulary, says he had just become acquainted with the word. The following is the first example which he gives:

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ON THE FENCE. In politics, to be on the fence, is to be neutral, or to be ready to join the strongest party, whenever it can be ascertained which is so. A man sitting on the top of a fence, can jump down on either side with equal facility. So with a politician who is on the fence; selfish motives govern him, and he is prepared at any moment to declare for either party.

FETCH. (Ang. Sax. facen, fraud, trick, deceit.) A trick, or invention to deceive.—Grose. This word is in several of the English glossaries. In the United States it is never heard except colloquially.

FETTICUS.}
VETTIKOST.} Vulg. Fáttikow. (Bot. Valerianella; Fedia olitoria. Fr. Doucette, mache.) Corn-salad, or lamb’s-lettuce. A word used in New York.

TO FETCH UP. To stop suddenly. This sense of the word is not noticed in the English dictionaries, nor by Webster. We often hear the phrase ‘He fetched up all standing,’ that is, he made a sudden halt. It is a nautical vulgarism, the figure being that of a ship which is suddenly brought to, while at full speed and with all her sails set.

FEVER BUSH. (Laurus benzoin.) An aromatic shrub with a flavor resembling Benzoin.—Bigelow’s Flora Bostoniensis.

FID OF TOBACCO. A chew, or quid of tobacco. A word only used by those who make use of the weed. It is also used in England, according to Grose.

TO HANG UP ONE’S FIDDLE, is to desist from any labor or project; a metaphor derived from a musician, who, when he ceases playing, is supposed to hang up his fiddle.

FIDDLE FADDLE. Trifling discourse; nonsense.—Grose. Johnson. Also used adjectively and as a verb.

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FIDDLER. A kind of small crab, with one large claw and a very small one. It lives on the salt meadows, where it makes its burrows. Used in New York and New Jersey.

TO PLAY SECOND FIDDLE, is to take an inferior part in any project or undertaking. A metaphor borrowed from a musical performer who plays the second or counter to the one who plays the first or the “air.”

On the question of removing the seat of government from Kingston to Montreal, the population of which is chiefly French, a paper in the former city observes that—

FIDGET. Restless agitation. ‘He has the fidgets,’ is said of one who cannot sit long in a place.—Todd. Grose.

FIDGETING, or FIDGETY. Restless; impatient. A low word.—Todd.

TO FIDGET. To be restlessly active.—Richardson.

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FIGURE. Amount of a reckoning. ‘What’s the figure?’ a flash expression for, What is to pay?—Grose.

BIG FIGURE. See Big.

FILLIPEEN or PHlLLIPINA. (Germ. Vielliebchen.) There is a custom common in the Northern States at dinner or evening parties when almonds or other nuts are eaten, to reserve such as are double or contain two kernels, which are called fillipeens. If found by a lady, she give some of the kernels to a gentleman, when both eat their respective kernels. When the parties again meet, each strives to be the first to exclaim, Fillipeen! for by so doing he or she is entitled to a present from the other. Oftentimes the most ingenious methods are resorted to by both ladies and gentlemen to surprise each other with the sudden exclamation of this mysterious word, which is to bring forth a forfeit.

In a recent book on German life and manners, entitled “A Bout with the Burschens, or, Heidelberg in 1844,” is an account of the existence of this custom in Germany, which at the same time furnishes us with the etymology of the word:

FILLS. A common pronunciation for thills, the shafts of a waggon or chaise.

FINDINGS. The tools and materials which a journeyman shoemaker is to furnish in his employment.—Webster.

TO FIND ONE’S SELF. To provide for one’s self. When a laborer engages to provide himself with victuals, he is said to find himself, or to receive day wages.—Craven Glossary.

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In the advertisements of our steamboats and ships, it is stated that passengers are taken for so much and found, that is, provided with their meals.

FINEFIED. Made fine; dandified.

FINICAL. Nice; foppish; pretending to superfluous elegance.—Johnson.

FIPPENNY BIT, or contracted, FIP. Fivepence. In the State of Pennsylvania, the vulgar name for the Spanish half-real. (See Federal Currency.) Fippence, for fivepence, is also provincial in England.

TO FIRE. To fling with the hand, as a stone or other missile.

TO HAVE ONE’S FAT IN THE FIRE, is to have one’s plans frustrated. A vulgar expression borrowed from the vocabulary of the kitchen.

TO FIRE AWAY. To begin; to go on. An expression borrowed from the language of soldiers and sailors.

A well-known auctioneer in Pearl street, when putting up an article, says: “Come gentlemen, give us a bid, fire away;” that is, go on.

TO FIRE INTO THE WRONG FLOCK, is a metaphorical

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expression used at the West, denoting that one has mistaken his object, as when a sportsman fires at a different flock from what he intended.

FIRE-NEW. New from the forge; brand-new.—Johnson. This old and nearly obsolete expression is sometimes used by us.

FIRST RATE. Of the first class or order; superior; superexcellent. An expression now in very common use, applied, as most superlatives are in the United States, with very little discrimination. It was formerly said of large and important things, as ‘a first rate ship.’ Now we hear of ‘first rate pigs,’ ‘first rate liquors,’ ‘first rate lawyers.’ It is also used adverbially; thus if we ask a person how he is, he replies, ‘I am first rate,’ i. e. in excellent health, very well.

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FIRSTLY. Mr. Pickering remarks that this adverb is frequently used by American writers. It is not noticed by Dr. Webster or any of the English lexicographers. The following is the only instance where Mr. P. found it in an English work:

FIRST-SWATHE. First quality; first chop. A New York word.

FISH. ‘To have other fish to fry,’ is a common colloquial expression denoting that a person has other occupations, or other objects which require his attention.

FISH FLAKE. A frame covered with faggots for the purpose of drying fish.—New England.

FIT. Any short return after intermission; a turn; a period or interval.—Webster.

BY FITS AND STARTS. At short and sudden intervals interruptedly.

FIX. A condition; predicament; dilemma.

TO FIX. In popular use, to put in order; to prepare; to adjust; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable.—Webster.

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Mr. Lyell, in his late book of Travels in North America, chap. iii. has the following remarks on this word: “At one of the stations where the train stopped, we heard one young woman from Ohio exclaim, ‘Well, we are in a pretty fix!’ and found their dilemma to be characteristic of the financial crisis of these times, for none of their dollar notes of the Ohio banks would pass here. The substantive ‘fix’ is an acknowledged vulgarism; but the verb is used in New England by well-educated people, in the sense of the French ‘arrange,’ or the English ‘do.’ To fix the hair, the table, the fire, means to dress the hair, lay the table, and make up the fire; and this application is, I presume, of Hibernian origin, as the Irish gentleman, King Corney, in Miss Edgeworth’s tale of Ormond, says, ‘I’ll fix him and his wounds.’ ”

In Upper Canada this word is equally common, where it was probably introduced by the American settlers:

FIX IT. A vulgarism of recent origin, but now very common. It is heard in such phrases as, ‘I will not do so and so any how you can fix it,’ or still worse, ‘no how you can fix it,’ i. e. not in any way that you can arrange it; not by any means.

TO FIX ONE’S FLINT, is a phrase taken from backwoods life, and means the same as to settle; to do for; to dish.

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FIXED FACT. A positive or well established fact.

The Boston Post, in speaking of the trial of Capt. Stetson for piratically running away with a ship and cargo, says:

FIXINGS. A word used with absurd laxity, especially in the South and West, to signify arrangements, embellishments, trimmings, garnishings of any kind.

The following advice was given to the editor of a new Western paper:

For a use of the term as applied to food, see Chicken Fixings.

TO FIZZLE OUT. To be quenched, extinguished; to prove a failure. A favorite expression in Ohio.

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FLAP-JACK. A fried cake; a pan-cake; a fritter. A word used alike in England and the United States, where it is also called slap-jack. See Chicken fixings.

TO FLARE UP. To blaze out; to get excited suddenly; to get into a passion.

TO FLASH IN THE PAN. To fail of success. A metaphor borrowed from a gun, which, after being primed and ready to be discharged, flashes in the pan.

FLAT. In cant language, a foolish fellow; a simpleton.—Worcester.

The London Times, of Sept. 5, 1847, in speaking of the letters of Mr. Tyler and Gen. Houston, showing by what means Texas was annexed to the United States, says:

FLAT. In America this word is applied to low alluvial lands. “The Mohawk flats” is a term universally applied to the valley of the Mohawk river, on either side of which are alluvial lands. See Bottom Lands. It is also applied to river shoals, where they are of much extent.

FLAT. A species of flat-bottomed boat, used on the Mississippi and other rivers.

TO FLAT OUT. To collapse; to prove a failure. A Western phrase applied to a political meeting, as, ‘The meeting flatted out.’

FLAT-FOOTED. Firm-footed, resolute; firmly, resolutely. A term belonging to the Western political slang with which the halls of Congress, as well as the newspapers, are now deluged.

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A Washington correspondent of the New York Commercial Advertiser, in speaking of the opinions to be advanced by President Polk in his Message, says:

FLEA-BANE. (Erigeron Canadense.) One of the most hardy and common weeds. It propagates itself rapidly, and since the discovery of America, has been introduced and spread through most countries in Europe.—Bigelow’s Flora Bost.

This plant is sold by the Shakers for its medicinal properties, which are astringent and diuretic.

FLINDERS. Shreds; splinters; broken pieces.—Brockett. Used also in New England.

FLING. A sneer; a contemptuous remark.—Todd’s Johnson.

FLITTER. A corruption of the word fritter, a pan-cake.

FLOOR. Used in Congress, in this expression, to get the floor; that is, to obtain an opportunity of taking part in a debate. The English say, to be in possession of the House.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

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FLOP. (Another form of the word flap.) Souse; plump; flat. Ex. ‘His foot slipped, and down he came flop.’—Forby’s Vocabulary.

TO FLOP. To flap.

TO FLOUR. To grind and bolt; to convert into flour.—Webster. A word used in those parts of the country where there are mills for grinding wheat. Ex. ‘This mill can flour two hundred barrels a day,’ i. e. it can make so many barrels of flour.

FLOURING-MILL. A grist mill.

FLUFF. Any light, feathery, downy substance; flue.

FLUFFY. Covered with fluff or flue.

FLUMMERY. (Welsh, llymru.) A kind of food made by coagulation of wheat-flour or oat-meal; and hence, flattery.—Johnson. We use it only in the latter or figurative sense.

TO FLUMMUX. To perplex; embarrass; put to a stand. A very common vulgarism.

TO FLUNK OUT. To retire through fear; to back out.

FLUNKY. A servant in livery. A term now used contemptuously.—Jamieson.

FLUNKY. A class of people, who, unacquainted with the manner in which stocks are bought and sold, and deceived by appearances, come into Wall street without any know-

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ledge of the market. The consequence is, they make bad investments, or lose their money. These the brokers call flunkies.—A Week in Wall Street, p. 81.

FLUSH. Full of, abounding in; applied especially to money.

FLUSTER. Heat; glow; agitation; confusion; disorder.—Webster.

FLUSTERED. Heated with liquor; agitated; confused.—Webster.

FLUSTERATION. Heat; hurry; confusion.—Brockett’s Glossary. A vulgar word also heard among ourselves.

TO FLY AROUND. To stir about; to be active. A very common expression.

TO FOB OFF. To delude by a trick.—Johnson.

A low word now seldom used, though we have good authority for it.

In speaking of the retirement of Mr. Buchanan from the Cabinet, the New York Tribune observes:

FOGY. A stupid fellow; as, ‘He is an old fogy.’

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FOLKS. This old word is much used in New England instead of people or persons. 1. For the persons in one’s family; as in this common phrase, ‘How do your folks do?’ that is, your family. 2. For people in general; as in expressions of this kind: ‘What do folks think of it?’ &c. Dr. Johnson observes that “it is now only used in familiar or burlesque language.”—Pickering.

FOOL-FISH. (Genus, monocanthus. Cuvier.) The popular name of the long-finned file-fish. “Our fishermen apply to it the whimsical name of Fool-fish,” says Dr. DeKay, “in allusion to what they consider its absurd mode of swimming with a wriggling motion, its body being sunk, and its mouth just on a level with the water.”—A Nat. Hist. of New York.

FORE-HANDED. To be fore-handed is to be in good circumstances; to be comfortably off. The expression is much used in the interior parts of the country.

TO FORK OVER. To hand over; to pay over, as money. A common expression in colloquial language.

FORKS. In the plural, the point where a road parts into two; and the point where a river divides, or rather where two

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rivers meet and unite in one stream. Each branch is called a fork.—Webster.

FORNENT. Opposite to. This Scottish word is now much used in Pennsylvania and the Western States.

FORTED IN. Intrenched in a fort.

FORTINER. (For-aught-I-know.) This remarkable specimen of clipping and condensing a phrase, approaches the Indian method of forming words. The word is very common through New England, Long Island, and the rest of New York. See Farziner.

TO FOURFOLD. To assess in a fourfold ratio. Mr. Pickering quotes this word from Webster’s Dictionary, and observes that it is peculiar to the State of Connecticut. Dr. Webster afterwards expunged it.

FORWARDING MERCHANT. One whose business it is to receive and forward goods for others. The internal navigation and trade of the United States, with the great extent of our country, requires forwarding merchants in all the principal towns.

TO FOX BOOTS. To foot boots, i. e. to repair boots by adding new soles, and surrounding the feet with new leather.—Worcester. Of American origin; at least it does not appear in the English glossaries.

FOXED. A common term among booksellers. A book is said to be foxed when the paper, owing to some fault in its manufacture, becomes spotted with light brown or yellow spots. Many books printed in England between the years 1802 and 1812 have become spotted in this manner.

FOXY. A term applied in Maine to timber partially rotten.

FREESTONE. Red sandstone, so called from the ease with which it is cut and wrought.

FRENCH LEAVE. ‘To take French leave,’ is to depart without taking leave; to run away.

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FRESHET. A flood or overflowing of a river, by means of heavy rains or melted snow; an inundation.—Webster.

This word is used in the Northern and Eastern States. That it is an old English word is evinced by the following extract from the Description of New England, written and published in England, in 1658:

This word appears to be now confined to America; but the word fresh is still used in the north of England and in Scotland in precisely the same sense.

FROE. An iron wedge. New England.

FROST-FISH. (Genus, morrhua.) A small fish which abounds on our coast during the winter months. It is also called tom-cod.—Storer, Fishes of Massachusetts.

FROSTWORT. (Cistus Canadensis.) A medical plant prepared by the Shakers and used for its astringent and tonic properties.

FROUGH.}
FROUGHY.} Frough is provincial in the north of England, and means anything loose, spongy, or easily broken; often applied to wood, as brittle is to mineral substances.—Brockett’s Glossary. ‘Froughy butter,’ is rancid butter.

The latter of these words is in common use in many parts of New England. It is doubtless a corruption of frough, which is sometimes used here.—Pickering.

FROWCHEY. (Dutch, vrouw, a woman.) A furbelowed old woman. Local in New York and its vicinity.

FRUMP. To mock; to insult. A very old word, occurring in the dictionaries of Cotgrave and Minshew.

This old word, though long out of use in England, still lin-

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gers among the descendants of the first settlers in New England.

FUDDLED. Tipsy; drunk. This word is common in England and the United States, but is only heard in familiar language.

FUDGE. An expression of contempt, usually bestowed on absurd or talking idlers; common in colloquial language.—Todd.

FUFFY. Light; puffy; soft. Used in Yorkshire, England, and preserved in some parts of New England.

FULL BUTT. With sudden collision. The figure is taken from the violent encounter of animals, such as rams or goats, which butt with their heads.

FULL CHISEL. At full speed. A modern New England vulgarism.

FULL DRIVE. At full speed. A very common and very old phrase.

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FULL SPLIT. With the greatest violence and impetuosity.—Craven Glossary. In common use in the United States in familiar language.

FULL SWING. Full sway; complete control.

FUNKIFY. To frighten; to alarm. New England.

TO MAKE THE FUR FLY. To claw; scratch; wound severely. Used figuratively.

FUSSY. Bustling about as if much was to be done and was doing; consequential; very nice or particular in household or other matters. Used in familiar conversation with us as ‘a fussy fellow.’ It is provincial in England.—Hunter’s Glossary.

FUZZY. Rough and shaggy.—Forby’s Vocabulary.

FYKE. (Dutch, fuyk, a weel, bow-net.) The large bow-nets in New York harbor, used for catching shad, are called shadfykes.

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Ga. The abbreviation for Georgia.

GAB. Loquacity; prate; idle talk. This is an old word, and still has a place in the provincial glossaries of England.

GABBLEMENT. Gabble. A Southern word.

GADABOUT. One who walks about without business.—Webster.

GAFF. An artificial spur put upon game-cocks.

GAL-BOY. In New England, a romping girl; called also a tom-boy.

GALLOWSES. Suspenders; braces.

GAMBREL. A hipped roof to a house, so called from its resemblance to the hind leg of a horse, which by farriers is termed the gambrel.

GAME LEG. A lame leg. A term not peculiar to America.

GAMMON. Humbug; deceit; lies. Any assertion which is not strictly true, or, professions believed to be insincere; as, ‘I believe you’re gammoning, or, ‘That’s all gammon;’ meaning, you are jesting with me, or, that’s all a farce.

GANDER-PULLING. A brutal species of amusement practised in Nova Scotia. We quote Judge Halliburton’s account of it from the Sayings and Doings of Sam Slick:

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GAP. This pure English word is used properly of any breach of continuity, as of the line of a saw’s edge, or of the line of a mountain, as projected on the horizon. Hence it is applied to such openings in a mountain as are made by a river, or even a high road. Thus the Water-Gap; and, in Virginia, Brown’s Gap, Rockfish Gap, &c.

GAT. (Dutch.) A gate or passage. A term applied to several places in the vicinity of New York, as Barnegat, Barnes’s gate; Hellegat, now called Hell Gate.

GAWKY. A tall, ungainly, stupid, or awkward person.—Worcester.

GARNISHEE. In law, one in whose hands the property of an absconding or absent debtor is attached, who is warned or notified of the demand or suit, and who may appear and

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defend in the suit, in the place of the principal. State of Connecticut.—Webster.

GEE. A term used by teamsters to their horses and oxen, when they wish them to go faster. It is also used in directing oxen to the right or off-side. In most parts of England it seems to be applied in the same manner.

TO GEE. To agree; to go on well together.—Barnes’s Dorset Glossary. Also noticed in the Craven, Norfolk, and Cheshire glossaries.

GENERAL TREAT. A general treat is a treat of a glass of liquor given by a person in a tavern to the whole company present.

GENITON APPLE. An early apple, probably June eating. Provincial in Suffolk, England.—Moor’s Glossary. In the old dictionary of Cocker, 1700, is Geunettings or Junetings, small apples ripe in June.

GERRYMANDERING. To arrange the political divisions of a State, so that in an election, one party may obtain an advantage over its opponent, even though the latter may possess a majority of the votes in the State. This term came into use in the year 1811 in Massachusetts, where, for several years previous, the Federal and Democratic parties stood nearly equal. In that year the Democratic party, having a majority in the Legislature, determined so to district the State anew, that those sections which gave a large number of Federal votes might be brought into one district. The result was that the Democratic party carried everything before them at the following election, and filled every office in the State, although it appeared by the votes returned that nearly two-thirds of the voters were Federalists. Elbridge Gerry, a distinguished politician of that period, was the instigator of this plan, which was called gerrymandering after him.

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TO GET THE WRONG PIG BY THE TAIL, is to make a mistake in selecting a person for any object. If a charge is made against a man, who on inquiry proves to be the wrong one, it is said they have the wrong pig by the tail. This is also called getting the wrong sow by the ear.

At the late election in Massachusetts, a Mr. C. C. Bell was elected by the Whigs, but was afterwards induced by the opposite party to give them his vote. Soon after, for fear of being forgotten, he wrote to a high official, presenting his claims for reward, closing as follows:

TO GIRDLE A TREE. In America, to make a circular incision, like a belt, through the bark and alburnum of a tree to kill it.—Webster. Settlers in new countries often adopt this method to clear their land; for when the trees are dead they set them on fire, and thus save themselves the trouble of chopping them down with the axe.

GIST. The main point of a question or action; that on which it lies or turns.—Jamieson. A word introduced from the language of law into very common use.

TO GIVE HIM JESSY, is to give him a flogging. A vulgarism of recent origin.

TO GIVE HIM THE MITTEN. This phrase is used of a girl who discards her sweetheart. She gave him the mitten means that she gave her lover his dismissal or discarded him. In England the phrase to give him the sack or give him the bag, denotes the same thing.

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TO GIVE IT TO ONE is to rate, scold, or beat him severely.—Holloway, Prov. Dict. Used in the same sense in America.

GIVEN NAME. The Christian name, or name that is given to a person, to distinguish it from the surname, which is not given but inherited.

TO GLIMPSE. To get a glimpse of; as, ‘I barely glimpsed him.’

GLUT. A wooden wedge.—New England. Mr. Pickering says this word is used in England, and refers to Rees’s Cyclopedia.

THE GO. The mode; the fashion. ‘This is all the go.’

GO AHEAD. To proceed; to go forward. A seaman’s phrase which has got into very common use.

TO GO BY. To call; to stop at. Used in the Southern States.—Sherwood’s Georgia. Mr. Pickering says this singular expression is often used at the South. “Will you go by and dine with me?” i. e. in passing my house will you stop and dine? “Its origin,” observes Mr. Pickering, “is very natural. When a gentleman is about riding a great distance through that country, where there are few great roads, and the houses or plantations are often two or three miles from them, a friend living near his route asks him to go by his plantation, and dine or lodge with him.”—Vocab.

THE GO BY. To give one the go by is to deceive him; to leave him in the lurch.—Craven Glossary.

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TO GO FOR. To be in favor of. Thus, ‘I go for peace with Mexico,’ means I am in favor of peace with Mexico, or, as an Englishman would say, I am for peace with Mexico. This vulgar idiom is a recent one, and is greatly affected by political and other public speakers, who ought to be the guardians of the purity of the language instead of its most indefatigable corruptors. In the following extract from a religious paper, the reader of correct taste and feeling will hardly know which to admire most, the sentiment or the language:

To decide in favor of, is another acceptation in which this phrase is often used, especially in stating for which man or measure any particular section of the country has decided, as, ‘Ohio has gone for Clay,’ ‘Louisiana has gone for the annexation of Mexico.’ Or still worse, ‘Ohio has gone Whig,’ ‘Louisiana has gone Loco-foco.’ Other variations of the expression follow.

TO GO IT BLIND. To accede to any object with out due consideration. Mr. Greeley, in speaking of General Taylor’s claims for the presidency, says

Meaning that the Whigs could not vote or go for General Taylor without a knowledge of his principles.

TO GO IT STRONG. To perform an act with vigor or without scruple.

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TO GO THE WHOLE FIGURE. To go to the fullest extent in the attainment of any object.

TO GO THE BIG FIGURE. To do things on a large scale.

TO GO THE WHOLE HOG. A Western vulgarism, meaning to be out and out in favor of anything. A softened form of the phrase is to go the entire animal.

The phrase has been caught up by some English writers.

TO GO THROUGH THE MILL. A metaphor alluding to grain which has been through the mill. A Western editor observed that the mail papers looked as if they had been through the mill, so much worn were they by being shaken over the rough roads. It is often said of a person who has experienced anything, and especially difficulties, losses, &c.

GODSEND. An unexpected acquisition.

GOING. The state of the roads; the travelling. Ex. ‘The going is bad, owing to the deep snow or mud in the roads;’ ‘The going is good since the road was repaired.’

GOINGS ON. Behavior; actions; conduct. Used by us as in England mostly in a bad sense. See Carryings on.

GOLD-THREAD. (Coptis trifolia.) A plant well known in medicine, valued for its stomachic and tonic properties.

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GOMBO. The Southern name for what is called at the North Okra, the pod of the hibiscus esculentis.

GOMBO. In the Southern States, a soup in which this plant enters largely as an ingredient.

GONDOLA. A flat-bottomed boat or scow used in New England.—Pickering.

GONE GOOSE. ‘It’s a gone goose with him,’ means that he is past recovery. The phrase is a vulgarism in New England. In New York it is said ‘He’s a gone gander,’ i. e. a lost man; and in the West ‘He’s a gone coon.’

GONE WITH, for become of. ‘What is gone with it’ ‘or with him,’ for What has become of it or him?—Sherwood’s Georgia.

GONEY. A stupid fellow.—New England.

GOODNESS. This inoffensive word is much used in a variety of ways by people of all classes. Sometimes we hear from old ladies the exclamation, ‘Oh, my goodness!’ denoting surprise. ‘Goodness me,’ ‘goodness gracious,’ and ‘goodness sake,’ are also common. It is not peculiar to the Americans; for we find a distinguished personage using it:

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GOOSE. A tailor’s smoothing-iron. It is a jocular saying that ‘A tailor, be he ever so poor, is always sure to have his goose at the fire.’—Grose, Dictionary.

HAVE GOT. There are several corrupt or vulgar forms of speaking which have arisen from a desire to distinguish between different uses of the same word. Thus the verb to have is used in the sense of to hold, to possess (Sp. tener), and also as an auxiliary (Sp. haber). In order to distinguish the former use from the latter, many persons, both in England and America, are accustomed to use the expressions ‘I’ve got,’ ‘he’s got,’ &c., instead of simply I have, he has, &c.

GOUGE. Imposition; cheat; fraud.

TO GOUGE. To chouse; to cheat.

TO GOUGE. “Gouging is performed by twisting the forefinger in a lock of hair, near the temple, and turning the eye out of the socket with the thumb-nail, which is suffered to grow long for that purpose.”—Lambert’s Travels, Vol. II. p. 300.

This practice is known only by hearsay at the North and East, and appears to have existed at no time except among the lower class of people in the interior of some of the Southern States. An instance has not been heard of for years. Grose has the word in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, and defines it as “a cruel custom practised by the Bostonians in America!”

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GOVERNMENTAL. Pertaining to government; made by government.—Webster.

TO GRAB. To seize; to gripe suddenly.—Grose. Webster.

GRADE. (French.) 1. A degree or rank in order or dignity, civil, military, or ecclesiastical. 2. A step or degree in any ascending series; as, ‘crimes of every grade.’—Webster.

This word is of comparatively modern use. It is not in the English dictionaries previous to Todd’s edition of Johnson in 1818. Mr. Todd calls it “a word brought forward in some modern pamphlets,” and says “it will hardly be adopted.” Mr. Richardson says the word “has crept into frequent use.” Mr. Knowles in the ninth edition of his dictionary introduces the word as once belonging to the language, without comment. The British Critic and other reviews have criticised the word as an unauthorized Americanism; but, as we have seen, it has been adopted at last by the English themselves.

TO GRADE. To reduce to a certain degree of ascent or descent, as a road or way.—Webster.

This use of the verb is not noticed by any English lexicographer.

TO GRADUATE. To take a degree at a university. “This verb,” says Mr. Pickering, “was till lately used by us as a verb neuter or intransitive. Ex. ‘He graduated at the University of Cambridge;’ but many persons now say, ‘he was graduated.’ This is merely a return to former practice, the verb being originally active transitive. Examples of both uses are found in English writers.

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GRAHAM BREAD. Bread made of unbolted wheat. It is easier to digest than common wheaten bread, and is in consequence much used by invalids.

GRAHAMITES. People who rigidly follow the system of Graham in their regimen.

GRAHAM SYSTEM. A system of dietetics recommended by Sylvester Graham, a lecturer of some celebrity on temperance and dietetics, which excludes the use of all animal food and stimulating drinks, including tea, coffee, etc.

GRAIL. (Fr. grêle, hail.) Small particles of any kind.—Johnson.

GRAIN. A particle; a bit. Ex. ‘I don’t care a grain;’ ‘Push the candle a grain further from you.’

GRAIN. The universal name in the United States for what is called corn in England; that is, wheat, rye, oats, barley, &c.

GRAND. Very good; excellent; pleasant. This is one of the words so much abused among us by its too frequent use and application in senses differing from its proper one. Ex. ‘This is a grand day;’ ‘the sleighing is grand;’ ‘what a grand time we had at the ball;’ ‘grand weather,’ &c. Mr. Hamilton in his remarks on the Yorkshire dialect, in England (Nugæ Literariæ, p. 318), notices this word as common there in the same sense.

GRASS. A vulgar contraction of sparrow-grass, i. e. asparagus. Further than this the force of corruption can hardly go.

GRAVY. Used in New England instead of juice, as the gravy of a pie.

GREAT. This word is used variously. A great Christian, for a pious man; great horse is applied to a small pony, meaning a horse of good qualities and bottom; great plantation, a fertile one.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

GREAT. Distinguished, excellent, admirable. As, ‘he is great at running;’ ‘she is great on the piano.’

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GREAT BIG. Very large. Often used by children.

GREATLE. A great while. Used on Long Island.

GREAT WITH. Intimate with; high in favor with.—Craven Glossary. Dr. Webster notices this word in the same sense as a vulgarism.

GREEK. A soubriquet often applied to Irishmen, in jocular allusion to their Milesian (!) origin.

GREEN. Uncouth, raw, inexperienced, applied to persons, a metaphor derived from green or unripe fruit; vegetables or fruit that are growing. It answers to the English use of the word verdant.

GREENHORN. A raw youth, easily imposed upon, unacquainted with the world.—Todd.

GREENS. Leaves and green vegetables used for food.

GRIT. Sand; rough, hard particles.—Johnson. With us it is often vulgarly used to mean courage, spirit.

GRITTY. Courageous; spirited.

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GROCERY. A grocer’s shop. This word is not in the English dictionaries except in the sense of grocer’s ware, such as tea, sugar, spice, etc.; in which sense we also use it in the plural.

GROG. In the language of seamen, gin and water, or any spirit and water, usually without sugar.—Todd.

Grog, says Grose, was first introduced into the British navy about the year 1740, by Admiral Vernon, to prevent the sailors intoxicating themselves with their allowance of rum or spirit.

GROGGERY. A place where grog and other liquors are drunk.—Webster.

GRUB. Food; victuals.—Grose.

GRUNTER. (Genus, pogonias. Cuvier.) One of the popular names of the fish called by naturalists the Banded Drum. It is common to the Atlantic coast south of New York. Grunts and Young Sheepskin are other names of the same fish.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

GRUNTER. A hog.—Craven Dialect.

GUBERNATORIAL. Pertaining to government or to a governor.—Webster.

TO GUESS. 1. To conjecture; to judge without any certain principles of judgment. 2. To conjecture rightly, or upon some just reason.—Johnson.

We thus see that the legitimate, English sense of this word is to conjecture; but with us, and especially in New England, it is constantly used in common conversation instead of to

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believe, to suppose, to think, to imagine, to fancy. From such examples as the words to fix and to guess, it will be seen that while on the one hand we have a passion for coining new and unnecessary words and often in a manner opposed to the analogies of the language, there is on the other hand a tendency to banish from common use a number of the most useful and classical English expressions, by forcing one word to do duty for a host of others of somewhat similar meaning. This latter practice is by far the more dangerous of the two; because, if not checked and guarded against in time, it will corrode the very texture and substance of the language, and rob posterity of the power of appreciating and enjoying those masterpieces of literature bequeathed to us by our forefathers, which form the richest inheritance of all that speak the English tongue.

GUFFAW. A hearty, boisterous laugh; a horse laugh.

GUINEA CORN. (Holcus sorghum.) Egyptian millet, durrah of the Arabs, a plant with a stalk of the size and appearance of maize. The grain grows in a single pendant bunch at the top.

GUINEA GRASS. A species of grass cultivated in the West Indies, used as fodder for horses.—Carmichael’s W. Indies.

TO GULCH. To swallow voraciously.—Todd. Webster. In low language this word is still heard in New England.

GULL. 1. A cheat; a fraud; a trick. 2. A stupid animal; one easily cheated.—Johnson.

The author of the “Perils of Pearl Street,” in describing one of the swindling auction stores in New York, says:

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TO GULL. To trick; to cheat; to deceive.—Johnson. Seldom employed except in familiar conversation.

GULLIBILITY. Credulity. A low expression.—Todd.

GULLY. A channel or hollow worn in the earth by a current of water.—Webster. This word is much used in the United States. It is from the French goulet, and in old English authors is written gullet.

TO GULLY. To wear a hollow channel in the earth.—Webster. This conversion of the noun into a verb is an Americanism. ‘The roads are much gullied,’ is a common expression.

GUMMY! An exclamation, used in New England.

GUMP. A foolish person; a dolt.—Webster. It is provincial in England, and may be found in most of the glossaries.

GUMPTION. Understanding; skill.—Todd. This vulgar word is provincial in most parts of England, and is noticed in the glossaries of Pegge, Brockett, Forby, Jennings, and Halliwell. With us it is frequently heard.

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GUNNING. A colloquial word from gun. The act of going out with a gun in order to shoot game.—Ash’s Dictionary. This word is commonly used by sportsmen in the Northern States in the sense given by Ash. At the South they use the word hunting.

SON OF A GUN. This phrase is heard in low language with us as in England.

HABITAN. (French.) The lower class of Canadians of French origin.

HACK. A hackney coach. The term hack is also frequently applied by women to any article of dress, as a bonnet, shawl, &c., which is kept for every day use.

TO HAIL FROM. A phrase probably originating with seamen or boatmen, and meaning to come from, to belong to; as, ‘He hails from Kentucky,’ i. e. he is a native of Kentucky.

HAINT, for have not. A contraction much used in common conversation in New England.

HALF COCK. ‘To go off at half cock,’ is a metaphorical expression borrowed from the language of sportsmen, and is applied to a person who attempts a thing in a hurry without due preparation, and consequently fails.

HALF SEAS OVER. Intoxicated; drunk. A sailor’s expression.

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HALVES. An exclamation entitling the person making it to the half of anything found by his companion. In the Craven Dialect, says Mr. Carr, on such occasions, if the finder be quick he exclaims, ‘No halves—finder keeper, loser seeker,’ to destroy the right of the claim.

HAMMER AND TONGS. In a noisy, furious manner. Thus, ‘They went at it hammer and tongs,’ is said of persons quarrelling. ‘To live hammer and tongs,’ is said of married people who seldom agree.—Holloway.

HAMMOCK. (Carib amáca.) A swinging-bed. This word, now in such general use, especially among seamen, and the etymology of which has been so much disputed, is undoubtedly of West Indian origin.

HAND AND GLOVE. Intimate, familiar; i. e. as closely united as a hand and its glove. ‘They are hand and glove together,’ meaning very intimate, is a common idiom here as in England.

TO HANDLE. To manage, to overcome an opponent; particularly in wrestling. Ex. ‘You can’t handle him.’

HANDS OFF. A vulgar phrase for keep off; forbear.—Johnson.

HANDSOME. In familiar language this word is used among us with great latitude, and, like some other words mentioned in this Glossary, is difficult to define. “In general,” says Dr. Webster, “when applied to things, it imports that the form is agreeable to the eye, or to the taste; and when

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applied to manner, it conveys the idea of suitableness or propriety with grace.”

HAND TO MOUTH. ‘To live from hand to mouth,’ is said of a person who spends his money as fast as he gets it, who earns just enough to live on from day to day.

HANG. ‘To get the hang of a thing,’ is to get the knack, or habitual facility of doing it well. A low expression frequently heard among us. In the Craven Dialect of England is the word hank, a habit; from which this word hang may perhaps be derived.

TO HANG AROUND. To loiter about. To ‘hang around’ a person, is to hang about him, to seek to be intimate with him.

HANGER-ON. A dependant; one who eats and drinks without payment.—Johnson.

HANG-NAILS. Slivers, which hang from the roots of the nails, and reach to the tips of the fingers.—Forby’s Vocab.

TO HANG UP ONE’S FIDDLE. To desist; to give up.

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TO HANKER. To have an incessant wish.—Johnson. Dr. Johnson says this word is scarcely used except in familiar language. The same observation applies to it among our selves.

HANKERING. Strong desire; longing.—Todd.

TO HAPPEN IN. To happen to call in; to come in accidentally.

HAPPIFYING. Making happy. This mongrel barbarism, according to Mr. Pickering, is sometimes heard in our pulpits.

HARD CASH. Silver or gold coin.

HARD DRINKER. One who drinks to excess; a drunkard.

HARDFISTED. Covetous; close-handed.—Todd.

HARDHACK. (Spirea tomentosa.) The popular name of a well known and common plant in pastures and low grounds. It is celebrated for its astringent properties.

HARDHEAD. A fish of the herring species; the menhaden; so called in the State of Maine.

HARD MONEY. A common term for silver and gold, in contradistinction from paper money.

HARD PUSHED. To be bard pressed; to be in a difficulty; and especially, as a mercantile phrase, to be hard pressed for money; to be short of cash.

A HARD ROW TO HOE. A metaphor derived from hoeing corn, meaning a difficult matter or job to accomplish.

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HARD RUN. To be hard pressed; and especially to be in want of money. The same as hard pushed.

HARDWOOD. A term applied to woods of solid texture that soon decay, including generally, beech, birch, maple, ash, &c. Used by shipwrights and farmers in Maine, in opposition to oak and pine.

HARUM-SCARUM. A low but frequent expression applied to flighty persons; persons always in a hurry, as if they were hared or frightened themselves, or haring others by their precipitancy; as, he is a harum-scarum fellow.—Johnson.

HASTY-PUDDING. Indian meal stirred in boiling water into a thick batter or pudding, and eaten with milk, butter, and sugar or molasses. Joel Barlow wrote a poem on the subject, in which he thus accounts for its name:

Hasty-pudding is a favorite dish in every part of the United States. In Pennsylvania and some other States it is called mush; in New York, suppawn. Hasty-pudding in England is made of milk and flour.

HATCHET. ‘To bury the hatchet,’ is to make peace. A phrase alluding to the Indian ceremony of burying the war-hatchet, or tomahawk, when making a peace.

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TO HAVE A SAY. To express an opinion. A phrase in vulgar use.

HAW-HAW. To laugh heartily.

HAY BARRACK. (Dutch, Hooi-berg, a hay-rick.) A straw-thatched roof, supported by four posts, capable of being raised or lowered at pleasure, under which hay is kept. A term peculiar to New York State.

TO HAZE. To haze round, is to go rioting about.

OVER HEAD AND EARS. Completely overwhelmed. ‘He sank over head and ears in the river;’ ‘He was over head and ears in debt.’

HEAD-CHEESE. The ears and feet of swine cut up fine, and, after being boiled, pressed into the form of a cheese.

TO HEAD OFF. To get before; to intercept. Ex. ‘The thief ran fast, but the officer managed to head him off.’

HEAP. A crowd; a throng; a rabble.—Johnson. This very old sense of the word is now provincial both in England and in this country. The expressions, ‘a heap of men,’ ‘a heap of horses,’ are given by Holloway in his Dictionary of Provincialisms. In the Western States it is in very common use; as, ‘A heap of people were present at the election,’ etc.

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HEAP. A great deal; much. So used at the South and West.

A correspondent in the Commercial Advertiser thus notices the various uses of this word at the South:

Heap is a most prolific word in the Carolinas and Georgia among the common people, and with children at least, in the best regulated families. “How do you like Mr. Smith?” I asked. “Oh! I liked him a heap,” will be the answer, if affirmative, in five cases out of six. It is synonymous with a majority, or a great many as, “We should have plenty of peaches, but a heap of them were killed by the frost.” It is synonymous even with very, as, “I heard him preach a heap often;” “Oh! I’m lazy a heap.”

HEARN, for heard.

TO HEAR TELL. To hear a report of; to hear of. The expression is frequently heard among illiterate people in familiar conversation. Examples of its use may be found in the earliest English writers.

HEARTY AS A BUCK. A hunter’s phrase, now in very common use.

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TO HEAVE IN SIGHT. To come in sight; to appear. This nautical phrase appears to have originated in the fact that an approaching vessel appears to raise or heave itself above the horizon.

HEFT. Weight; ponderousness. A colloquial term common to England and America.

Mr. Pickering says: “This noun is also used colloquially in America to signify the greater part or bulk of anything, in expressions of this kind: ‘A part of the crop was good, but the heft of it was bad.’ ”

TO HEFT. In the United States this verb means to lift anything in order to feel or judge of its weight.

HELLABALOO. Riotous noise; confusion. Provincial in England.

HELP. The common name in New England for servants, and for the operatives in a cotton or woollen factory.

HELTER-SKELTER. In a hurry; without order; tumultuously.—Todd. Johnson.

HEN-HAWK. (Falco lineatus.) The popular name of the red-shouldered hawk of naturalists.

HERN, for hers. A vulgarism often heard among the uneducated. It is included by Pegge in his list of cockneyisms. See Hisn.

HET. Pret. and part. of to heat.—Pickering. Often heard in the mouths of illiterate people.

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TO HIDE. To beat.—Carr’s Craven Dialect.

TO HIFER. To loiter. Used in North Pennsylvania.

TO HIGGLE. To chaffer; to be penurious in a bargain.—Johnson.

HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY. In confusion. A low word.—Webster.

HIGHBINDER. A riotous fellow. New York slang.

HIGH ROPES. To be on the high ropes; to be in a passion.—Grose.

HIP. To have on the hip, is to have an advantage over another. It seems to be taken from hunting, the hip or haunch of a deer being the part commonly seized by dogs.—Johnson.

HISN, for his, or his own. A vulgarism used in the United States, and embraced by Mr. Pegge in his list of London vulgar words.

HIT OR MISS. To do a thing hit or miss, is to do it at all hazards; that is, with a chance of hitting or gaining, or of missing it; at all events.

HITCH. A difficulty; an impediment.

TO HITCH. To agree; to get along amicably.

HITHER AND YON. This expression is often used in the country towns of New England for here and there. It is

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never heard in our seaport towns.—Pickering. Grose has the expression in his Prov. Glossary in the same sense. He calls it a Northern phrase, though it does not appear in Brockett’s Glossary.

HO. A word used by teamsters to stop their teams. It has been used as a noun, for stop; moderation; bounds.—Webster. See Whoa.

Mr. Malone says it is yet common in Ireland; as, ‘there’s no ho in him,’ that is, he knows no bounds. This expression is common in the United States.

HOBBLE. A scrape; a state of perplexity.—Carr’s Craven Glossary.

HOBSON’S CHOICE. An expression often used, denoting that kind of choice in which there is no alternative. The caprice of Hobson, the Cambridge carrier, who died in 1630, is said to have given rise to it.—Todd. The common phrase is, ‘It’s Hobson’s choice—that or none.’

HOE-CAKE. A cake of Indian meal, baked before the fire. In the interior parts of the country, where kitchen utensils do not abound, they are baked on a hoe; hence the name.

HOG-WALLOW. On some of the Western prairies, the ground has every appearance of having been rooted or torn up by hogs, when it is very rough; hence the name.—Kendall’s Santa Fé Expedition, Vol. I. p. 58.

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HOITY-TOITY. An exclamation denoting surprise or disapprobation, with some degree of contempt.—Webster.

TO HOLD FORTH. To harangue; to speak in public.—Todd’s Johnson.

TO HOLD ON. To wait; stop. ‘Hold on a minute;’ originally a sea phrase.

TO HOLD UP. In allusion to the weather, to clear up, after a storm; to stop raining.

TO HALLOO.}
TO HOLLOW.} To shout; to hoot; to cry out loudly.—Todd’s Johnson. This word is generally written and pronounced hollow, which Dr. Johnson says is incorrect. In England as well as in the United States it is vulgarly pronounced holler or hollar.

HOLLOW. All hollow is a common expression with us, and is also given by Carr in his Craven Glossary. ‘He carried it all hollow;’ ‘He beat him all hollow;’ that is, wholly, completely.

HOLPE, or HOLP. The old preterite and past part. of Help. “This antiquated inflection of the verb to help is still used in Virginia, where it is corrupted into holped.”—Pickering. Johnson and Webster notice the word; and Bishop Lowth observes in his Grammar, that it was used in conversation in his day.

HOLT, for hold. Ex. ‘Death has got holt of him.’

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HOMINY. Food made of maize or Indian corn boiled, the maize being either coarsely ground, or broken, or the kernels merely hulled.—Flint, Mississippi Valley. Also written hommony. Roger Williams, in his Key to the Indian Language, has the word aupúminea, parched corn—which, with the accent on the second syllable, has much the sound of hominy.

HONEY-FOGLE. To swindle; to cheat; to lay plans to deceive. This singular word, I am told, is used in Louisiana. Coney-fogle, to lay plots, a Lancashire word, noticed by Mr. Halliwell in his Dictionary of Archaic and Prov. Words, may be the origin of it.

HONOR BRIGHT! A protestation of honor among the vulgar; originating with, and still retained in commemoration of, a late well-known Newcastle worthy.—Brockett, North Country Words.

HOOK. (Dutch, hock, a corner.) This name is given in New York to several angular points in the North and East rivers; as, Corlear’s Hook, Sandy Hook, Powles’s Hook.

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK. One way or other; by any expedient.—Johnson.

TO HOOK. To steal. A common vulgarism.

ON ONE’S OWN HOOK. A phrase much used in familiar language, denoting on one’s own account; as, ‘He is doing business on his own hook,’ i. e. for himself.

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HOOKEY. To play hookey, is to play truant. A term used among schoolboys.

HOOPLE. (Dutch, hoepel.) The boys in the city of New York still retain the Dutch name hoople for a hoop.

HOOSIER. A nickname given at the West to a native of Indiana.

A correspondent of the Providence Journal, writing from Indiana, gives the following account of the origin of this term: “Throughout all the early Western settlements were men who rejoiced in their physical strength, and on numerous occasions, at log-rollings and house-raisings, demonstrated this to their entire satisfaction. They were styled by their fellow citizens, ‘hushers,’ from their primary capacity to still their opponents. It was a common term for a bully throughout the West. The boatmen of Indiana were formerly as rude and as primitive a set as could well belong to a civilized country, and they were often in the habit of displaying their pugilistic accomplishments upon the Levee at New Orleans. Upon a certain occasion there, one of these rustic professors of the ‘noble art’ very adroitly and successfully practised the ‘fancy’ upon several individuals at one time. Being himself not a native of this Western world, in the exuberance of his exultation he sprang up, exclaiming, in foreign accent, ‘I’m a hoosier, I’m a hoosier.’ Some of the New Orleans papers reported the case, and afterwards transferred the corruption of the epithet ‘husher’ (hoosier) to all the boatmen from Indiana, and from thence to all her citizens.

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HOP. A dance.—Johnson. This word has always been used here as in England as a familiar term for dance; but of late years it has been employed among us in a technical sense, to denote a dance where there is less display and ceremony than at regular balls. At Saratoga Springs, where a large majority of the people are strangers to each other, it is customary to have a dance or hop at the fashionable hotel three times a week, during the season when the waters are most resorted to.

HOPED. Used among the illiterate in North Carolina as the past part. of to help. Ex. ‘It can’t be hoped.’—See Holp.

HOPSCOTCH. A game well known to our boys. A figure is drawn upon the ground in the form of a parallelogram, which is subdivided in several parts. A small stone is thrown successively into each, and is knocked out by a boy hopping on one leg, without resting, until he has thrown and knocked it from every division of the figure. Mr. Hartshorn notices the word in his Shropshire Glossary.

HOREHOUND. (Marrubium vulgare.) One of the most common medicinal plants, celebrated for its virtues in the cure of colds.

HORN. A horn; a glass of liquor.

HORNS. The feelers of a snail. Hence the proverb, To pull in the horns, To repress one’s ardor.—Johnson. In the United States the phrase is, To haul in one’s horns.

HORSE-COLT. “We frequently see in advertisements these terms, horse-colt, mare-colt, &c. A horse-colt is simply a colt; a mare-colt, merely a filly.”—Portfolio, 2d ser. Vol. II. 309.

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HORSE-FOOT. (Genus, polyphemus. Lamarck.) The common name of a crustacea, found in our waters from Massachusetts to Virginia. In form it much resembles a horse’s hoof. Also called Horse-shoe.

HOSS. (A corruption of the word horse.) A man remarkable for his strength, courage, etc. A vulgarism peculiar to the West.

HOUSEN, as the plural of house. This old form is still used by the illiterate in the interior of New England, as also in the State of New York. It is provincial in various parts of England.

HOUSEN-STUFF. Household furniture.

HOUSE-WARMlNG. A feast, or merry-making, upon going into a new house.—Johnson.

HOVE. (Ang. Sax. hof, pret. of heafan, to heave.) This old preterite is much used by illiterate persons in the United States.

HOW? for what? Used chiefly in New England, like the French comment? in asking for the repetition of something not understood.

HOW-COME? Rapidly pronounced huc-cum, in Virginia. Doubtless an English phrase, brought over by the original

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settlers, and propagated even among the negro slaves. The meaning is, How did what you tell me happen? How came it?

HOWSOMEVER, for Howsoever. Not peculiar to America.

HUB. The nave of a wheel; a solid piece of timber in which the spokes are inserted.—Webster. The word is also provincial in England.

HUBBY. Applied to rough roads, particularly when frozen; as, the road is hubby. In the Craven Dialect of England the word hobbly is applied to rough or stony roads.

HUBBUB. A shout; a tumult; a riot.—Grose. Todd’s Johnson.

HUCKABUCK. Coarse table linen. Scottish, hagabag.

HUCKLEBERRY. The common whortleberry.

HUCKLEBERRY ABOVE THE PERSIMMON. A Southern phrase.

HUFFED. Offended.

HUGE PAWS. A nickname given to the working-men of the Loco Foco party in New York.

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HULL. A vulgar pronunciation of the word whole very common in New England.

HUMBLE PIE. To make one eat humble pie, is to make him lower his tone, and be submissive. Forby notices this among the proverbs of Norfolk, England.

HUMBUG. An imposition; a hoax. And as a verb, to impose upon; to deceive. A low word.—Worcester.

“There is a word very much in vogue with the people of taste and fashion, which, though it has not even the ‘penumbra’ of a meaning, yet makes up the sum total of the wit, sense, and judgment of the aforesaid people of taste and fashion! ‘This piece will prove a confounded humbug upon the nation; These theatrical managers humbug the town damnably!’ Humbug is neither an English word, nor a derivative from any other language. It is indeed a blackguard sound, made use of by most people of distinction! It is a fine make-weight in conversation, and some great men deceive themselves so egregiously as to think they mean something by it!”—Student, Vol. II. (1751.)

HUMDRUM. Dull; dronish; stupid; heavy.— Todd’s Johnson.

HUMLY or HUMBLY, for homely.

HUMPTY-DUMPTY. Short and broad; as, He’s a humpty-dumpty fellow.—Craven Glossary.

HUMS AND HAHS. A familiar expression applied to one who hesitates in speaking. ‘None of your hums and hahs!’ that is, be decisive, do not hesitate. The expression is common in England.

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HUNK. A large piece or slice; a big lump. Ex. ‘A great hunk of bread and cheese.’ It is a variation of the word hunch, which is used in England in precisely the same manner. See Grose and Moor’s glossaries.

HUNK. (Dutch, honk.) A goal, or place of refuge. A word much used by New York boys in their play.

OLD HUNKER. See Barnburners.

HURLY-BURLY. A noise, or tumult; bustle; confusion.—Nares’s Glossary.

HURRA’S NEST. A state of confusion.

HURRICANE. (W. Ind. urican.) This word does not appear in any English dictionary before 1720, when Phillips notices it, as a word denoting “a violent storm of wind, which often happens in Jamaica, and other parts of the W. Indies, making very great havoc and overthrow of trees, houses, etc.” Other dictionaries of a later period describe it as a violent wind in the W. Indies. It is the Carib name for a high wind, such as is described by Phillips, and was, doubtless, carried by seamen to Europe, whence it became introduced into various languages.

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HURRYMENT. Hurry. Used in the Southern States.

HURRY UP THE CAKES, i.e. Be quick; look alive. This phrase, which has lately got into vogue, originated in the common New York eating-houses, where it is the custom for the waiters to bawl out the name of each dish as fast as ordered, that the person who serves up may get it ready without delay, and where the order, ‘Hurry up them cakes,’ &c., is frequently heard.

HUSKING. The act of stripping off husks from Indian corn. In New England it is the custom for farmers to invite their friends to assist them in this task. The ceremonies on these occasions are well described by Joel Barlow, in his poem on Hasty Pudding:

HYST. (Corruption of hoist.) A violent fall. Ex. ‘His foot slipped, and he got a hyst.’ Mr. J. C. Neal thus discourses on this word: A fall, for instance, is indeterminate. It may be an easy slip down—a gentle visitation of mother earth; but a hyst is a rapid, forcible performance, which may be done either backward or forward, but of necessity

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with such violence as to knock the breath out of the body, or it is unworthy of the noble appellation of hyst. It is an apt, but figurative mode of expression, and it is often carried still further; for people sometimes say, “Lower him up, and hyst him down.”—Charcoal Sketches.

I DAD! An exclamation used in the Western States.

IF SO BE AS HOW. A vulgar expression used by uneducated people in the interior parts of this country and in England.

Ill. The common abbreviation for Illinois.

ILLY. A word occasionally used by writers of an inferior class, who do not seem to perceive that ill is itself an adverb, without the termination ly.

TO IMPROVE. To occupy; to make use of, employ.—Pickering’s Vocab. “This word,” says Mr. Pickering, “in the first sense, is in constant use in all parts of New England; but in the second sense (when applied to persons, as in the following example,) it is not so common.”

Dr. Franklin, in a letter to Dr. Webster, dated Dec. 26th, 1789, has the following remarks: “When I left New England in the year 1723, this word had never been used among us, as far as I know, but in the sense of ameliorated or made better, except once, in a very old book of Dr. Mather’s, entitled Remarkable Providences.”

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IMPROVEMENT. The part of a discourse intended to enforce and apply the doctrines, is called the improvement.—Webster.

IMPROVEMENTS. Valuable additions or meliorations; as buildings, clearings, drains, fences on a farm.—Webster.

IMMEDIATELY, for as soon as. Ex. ‘The deer fell dead immediately they shot him.’

IMMIGRANT. A person that removes into a country for the purpose of a permanent residence.— Webster.

IMMIGRATION. (Lat. immigratio.) The passing or removing into a country for the purpose of a permanent residence.—Webster. An entering or passing into a place.—Todd. Knowles. Richardson.

Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, observes that this word, as well as immigrant, and the verb to immigrate, were first used in this country by Dr. Belknap, in his History of New Hampshire, who gives his reasons for their use. Immigrant is original with Dr. B.; but the others have long been used by good English authors, though of course less frequently than by American writers, who have more need of them.

Ind. The common abbreviation for Indiana.

INDIAN BED. An Indian bed of clams is made by setting a number of clams together on the ground with the hinge uppermost, and then kindling over them a fire of brushwood, which is kept burning till they are thoroughly roasted. This is the best way of roasting clams, and is often practised by picnic parties.

INDIAN FILE. Single file; the usual way in which the Indians traverse the woods or march to battle, one following after and treading in the footsteps of the other.

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INDIAN GIVER. When an Indian gives anything, he expects an equivalent in return, or that the same thing may be given back to him. This term is applied by children in New York and the vicinity to a child who, after having given away a thing, wishes to have it back again.

INDIAN MEAL. Meal made from Indian corn.

INFLUENTIAL. Having influence.—Pickering, Vocabulary.

This word has been called an Americanism; but such is not the case. “I once,” said Canning to Mr. Rush, “had a skirmish about language with him, (Mr. Pinckney, of Maryland, our ambassador,) but he worsted me. I said there was no such word as influential, except in America; but he convinced me that it was originally carried over from England.” Lord Stafford has remarked, that it was so good a word, they ought to bring it back. “Yes,” said Mr. Canning, “it is a very good word, and I know no reason why it should have remained in America, but that we lost the thing.”—Rush, Mem. of a Res. at London, p. 260.

I take the following examples from Richardson:

IN FOR IT. Engaged in a thing from which there is no retreating.

TO INHEAVEN. A word invented by the Boston transcendentalists.

TO JAB. To strike or thrust with a knife; as, ‘he jabbed a knife into me.’

JACKASSABLE. At a call for a meeting of citizens to repair a corduroy road in Michigan, the Niles Advertiser winds up with the following stanza:

Compare Boatable.

JAG. A small load.—Forby. Webster.

JAIL BIRD. A prisoner; one who has been confined in prison.—Webster.

JAW. In low language, gross abuse.—Johnson.

TO JAW. To scold; to clamor; to abuse grossly.—Todd.

TO JEOPARDIZE. To expose to loss or injury.—Webster. This verb is often seen in the debates of Congress, as they are reported in the newspapers. It is, doubtless, a corruption of the ancient verb to jeopard, as deputize is of depute.—Pickering. This word is much used in the United States, and less frequently in England.

JERKED MEAT. Beef and other kinds of fresh meat dried in the open air without salt. In Lower Canada and Newfoundland, fish are dried in the same manner.

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THE JIG IS UP, i. e. the game is up; it is all over with me.

JIMINY. By Jiminy! An exclamation. Originally, gemini, or the Castor and Pollux of ancient mythology; names by which the old Romans used to swear.

JIMSON. (Strammonium datura.) The popular name of a poisonous weed which grows at the West and South. It bears beautiful flowers, but has a nauseous smell. In the villages on the margins of the Western rivers it is a great annoyance. Its name Jimson is supposed to be a corruption of Jamestown, the place whence it is said to have been brought. It is used in medicine in spasmodic asthma.—Flint’s Mississippi Valley.

JOBBER. In the United States this word is applied to wholesale merchants, who operate between the importer and retailer. Importers usually sell only by the package. The jobber buys by the package and sells by the piece. The retailer buys of the jobber, and sells in smaller quantities. In England the word is used in an analogous sense, as of one who buys and sells stocks.

JOLLIFICATION. A scene of festivity or merriment. Used only in familiar language.

JOSEPH. A very old-fashioned riding coat for women, scarcely now to be seen or heard of.—Forby’s Vocabulary.

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A garment made of Scotch plaid, for an outside coat or habit, was worn in New England about the year 1830, called a Joseph, by some a Josey.

NOT BY A JUGFULL, i. e. on no consideration; on no account.

TO JUMP AT. To embrace with eagerness; as, ‘I made him an offer, and he jumped at it.’

JUMPER. A couple of hickory poles so bent that the runners and shafts are of the same piece, with a crate placed on four props, complete this primitive species of sledge; and when the crate is filled with hay, and the driver well wrapped in a buffalo robe, the “turn out” is about as comfortable a one as a man could wish.—Hoffman, Winter in the West, p. 200.

JUNK-BOTTLE. The ordinary black glass porter-bottle.

JUST NOW. Lately; now; presently; immediately. This very common phrase is, perhaps, most generally used in the western counties.—Halliwell. The word is used in the same senses among ourselves. Thus, many persons say, ‘I was there just now,’ i. e. a short time ago; and also, ‘I will be there just now,’ i. e. presently. This last use, however, is not regarded as correct.

KATYDID. (Platyphyllum concavum.) The popular name of a species of grasshopper so called from its peculiar note.

KEDGE. Brisk; in good health and spirits. Ex. ‘How do you do to-day?’ I am pretty kedge. It is used only in a few of the country towns of New England.—Pickering. Provincial in England.

TO KEEL OVER. A nautical term; to capsize or upset, and metaphorically applied to a sudden prostration.

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KEEP. Food; subsistence; keeping. In a letter to his brother, Bishop Heber, speaking of Bishops’ College costing so much, says:

TO KEEP. The phrase to keep shop is often shortened into to keep; as, ‘Where do you keep now?’ i. e. where is your place of business. Also, in the sense of dwelling, which use of the word is provincial in the eastern counties of England.

TO KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP, is to continue firm, unmoved.

TO KEEP COMPANY. To court. A common term in the interior parts of New England, applied to a man whose visits to a lady are frequent, with the intention of gaining her hand. ‘He keeps company with her,’ i. e. he is courting her, or ‘They are keeping company,’ i. e. are courting.

TO KEEP IT UP. To prolong a debauch. ‘He kept it up finely last night;’ a metaphor drawn from a game of shuttlecock.—Grose, Slang Dictionary.

KEEPING-ROOM. A common sitting-room; the parlor in New England. The term is chiefly used in the interior, although it may sometimes be heard in the sea-port towns. The same

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expression is used in Norfolk, England, for the “general sitting room of the family, or common parlor.”—Forby’s Norf. Glos.

KEEP THE POT A BOILING, i. e. Don’t let the game flag. A common expression among young people, when they are anxious to carry on their gambols with spirit.—Brockett’s North County Words.

KETTLE OF FISH. When a person has been perplexed in his affairs in general, or in any particular business, he is said to have made a pretty kettle of fish of it.—Grose, Slang Dict. The same phrase is used in America in colloquial language.

KIBLINGS. Parts of small fish used by fishermen for bait on the banks of Newfoundland.

KICK. To kick up a row. To create a disturbance; the same as to kick up a dust.

TO KICK. To jilt. Ex. ‘Miss A has kicked the Hon. Mr. B, and sent him off with a flea in his ear.’ Confined to the South.

KID. A large box in fishing vessels into which fish are thrown as they are caught. In New England.

TO KILL. To do anything to kill, is a common vulgarism, and means to do it to the uttermost; to carry it to the fullest extent; as, ‘He drives to kill;’ ‘She dances to kill.’

KILLDEER. (Charadrius vociferus.) A small bird of the plover kind; so called from its peculiar note.

KILLHAG. (Indian.) A wooden trap, used by the hunters in Maine.

KILLING. Dangerous; heart-breaking.

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KILTER. (Danish kilter, to gird.) ‘To be not in kilter,’ or, ‘to be out of kilter,’ is to be out of order; not ready; not in good condition.

KIND OF, KIND O’, KINDER. In a manner, as it were. A sort of qualifying expression; as, ‘She made game on it kind o’.’—Forby.

KINDLERS. Small pieces of wood for kindling a fire; kindling-wood.

KINK. An accidental knot or sudden twist in a rope, thread, &c.; and, figuratively, an idea, a notion.

KINNIKINNICK. An Indian word for a composition of dried leaves and bark prepared for smoking, used in the Western States in place of tobacco. A little tobacco is sometimes mixed with it to give it a flavor.

KITE FLYING. An expression well known to mercantile men of limited means, or who are short of cash. It is a combination between two persons, neither of whom has any funds in bank, to exchange each other’s checks, which may be deposited in lieu of money, taking good care to make their bank accounts good before their checks are presented for payment. Kite flying is also practised by mercantile houses or persons in different cities. A house in Boston draws on a house in New York at 60 days or more, and gets its bill

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discounted. The New York house, in return, meets its acceptance by re-drawing on the Boston house. Immense sums of money are often raised in this manner—in fact, furnishing a capital for both houses to transact their business with.

KNOB. In Kentucky, round hills or knolls are called knobs.

KNOCKED INTO A COCKED HAT. Knocked out of shape; spoiled; ruined. The allusion or metaphor seems to be that of the hat of some unlucky wight, which, by a violent blow, has been knocked into a sort of flattened, three-cornered shape, resembling an old-fashioned cocked hat.

In consequence of a severe storm of rain and a freshet that followed, some time during the winter of 1842, the mails were behind several days and no news was received. In speaking of the storm, the New York Commercial Advertiser states that they were unable to give any news, for, owing to the storm and freshet, the mails were all knocked into a cocked hat. A London paper, in quoting news from America, observed that a singular occurrence had taken place, which had kept back the usual supply of news from New York, as it appeared that the mails were knocked into a cocked hat—a most extraordinary circumstance, the meaning of which it was wholly out of their power to define.

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TO KNOCK DOWN. A word used at auctions. ‘This article is knocked down to you, sir;’ meaning, that you are the purchaser. The phrase, ‘A knock—down argument,’ is an argument that completely overthrows one’s adversary.

TO KNOCK ROUND. To go about.

TO KNOCK UNDER. A common expression to denote that one yields or submits.—Johnson.

TO KNOCK UP. To wear out with fatigue.—Halliwell.

KNOW-NOTHING. Utterly ignorant. Ex. ‘A poor know-

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nothing creature,’ i. e. one exceedingly ignorant.—Norfolk Glossary. This word is common in New England.

KONCKS or CONKS. Wreckers are so called, familiarly, at Key West, and the place they inhabit, Koncktown.

KOOL SLAA. (Dutch.) Cabbage salad. Many persons who affect accuracy, but do not know the origin of the term, pronounce the first syllable as if it were the English word cold.

Ky. The abbreviation used for Kentucky.

La. The abbreviation for Louisiana.

LADIES’ TRACES. (Neottia tortillis.) The popular name in the Southern States for an herb.—Williams’s Florida.

LAKE LAWYER. (Genus, amia. Linnæus.) The Western Mud-fish. It is found in Lakes Erie and Ontario, where it is known by the name of Dog-fish. Dr. Kirtland says, it is also called the lake lawyer, from its “ferocious looks and voracious habits.”

TO LAM. (Belg. lamen.) To beat soundly; to drub. Colloquial in some of the Northern States. It is provincial in Yorkshire, England.—Willan’s Glossary.

LAMB’S QUARTER. (Chenopodium authelminticum.) The popular name of an herb at the South.—Williams’s Florida.

LAMPER-EEL. The lamprey. A common name for lampreys in New England. It is provincial in England and Scotland.—Forby.

LAND-LOPER.}
LAND-LUBBER.} (Dutch, landlooper.) A vagrant; one who strolls about the country.—Bailey’s Dict. Applied by sailors to landsmen by way of ridicule.

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LANDSLIDE.}
LANDSLIP.} A portion of a hill or mountain, which slips or slides down; or the sliding down of a considerable tract of land from a mountain. They are common in Switzerland.—Webster. Johnson does not give either of these words; which with us convey the same meaning. A remarkable landslip took place in the city of Troy a few years since, which swept away many houses and caused the death of some ten or fifteen persons.

LASSO. (Spanish.) A long rope or cord, with a noose, for the purpose of catching wild horses or buffaloes on the Western prairies.

TO LATHER. To beat.—Wilbraham’s Glossary.

LAVE. (French, lève.) A term in common use among the hunters and mountaineers of the Western prairies and Rocky Mountains.

LATHY. Thin; slender like a lath.

LATISH. Rather late.

LAWYER. (Himantonus. Black-necked Stilt. Audubon, Ornith.) A small bird which lives on our shores; known also by the names of Tilt, and Longshanks. The origin of the first-mentioned name is not known.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

LAY. Terms or conditions of a bargain; price. Ex. ‘I bought the articles at a good lay;’ ‘He bought his goods on the same lay that I did mine.’ A low word, used in New England.—Pickering. Probably a contraction for outlay, i. e. expenditure.

LAY. A word used colloquially in New York and New England in relation to labor or contracts performed upon shares; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay, i. e. a share of the proceeds of the voyage.

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TO LAY. To make a bet, or wager. Mr. Davis notices this word as of frequent occurrence.

TO LAY, for to lie. A vulgar error equally common in England and in the United States.

LAY-OVERS FOR MEDDLERS. A reply to a troublesome question on the part of a child, in answer to ‘What’s that?’ A turn-over is a little pie made of one round cake of dough, doubled and joined at the edges, in which stewed apples are inclosed. Similar cakes were sold in England; and Grose suggests that they may also have been filled with medlars, a fruit resembling the apple; and that hence may have arisen the reply. The expression is noticed in Moor’s Suffolk Glossary. I have never heard it except in New York.

TO LAZE.}
TO LAZY.} To live idly; to be idle.—Todd.

Dr. Webster calls this a vulgar word. It is common in the familiar language of New England.

LEAN-TO. A pent-house. An addition made to a house behind, or at the end of it, chiefly for domestic offices, of one story or more, lower than the main building, and the roof of it leaning against the wall of the house.—Forby’s Norfolk Glossary. The word is used in New England, where it is commonly pronounced linter.—Pickering.

COW-LEASE. A right of pasturage for a cow, in a common pasture. Used in some towns of New England.—Pickering’s Vocabulary. Provincial in the West of England.—Grose’s Glossary.

TO LEGISLATE. To make laws for a community.—Todd. This now common and very useful word is of recent adoption by English lexicographers. It is not in the dictionaries of Johnson or Sheridan, or in Mason’s supplement to Johnson.

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Entick’s Dictionary, of 1795, is the earliest one in which it is to be found.

LEG BAIL. To give leg bail, is to run away.—Grose.

LEGGINGS. (Commonly written and pronounced leggins.) Indian gaiters; also worn by the white hunters and trappers of the West.

LENGTHY. Having length; long; not brief; tiresomely long. Applied often to dissertations or discourses; as, ‘a lengthy oration,’ ‘a lengthy speech.’—Worcester.

This word was once very common among us, both in writing and in the language of conversation; but it has been so much ridiculed by Americans as well as Englishmen, that in writing it is now generally avoided. Mr. Webster has admitted it into his dictionary; but (as need hardly be remarked) it is not in any of the English ones. It is applied by us, as Mr. Webster justly observes, chiefly to writings or discourses. Thus we say, a lengthy pamphlet, a lengthy sermon, &c. The English would say, a long or (in the more familiar style) a longish sermon. It may be here remarked, by the way, that they make much more use of the termination ish than we do; but this is only in the language of conversation.—Pickering.

Mr. Pickering has many other interesting remarks on this word, for which I refer the reader to his work. The word has been gradually forcing its way into general use since the time in which he wrote; and that too in England is well as in America. Thus Mr. Rush, in relating a conversation which he had in London, observes: “Lord Harrowby spoke of words that had obtained a sanction in the United States, in the condemnation of which he could not join; as, for example, lengthy, which imported, he said, what was tedious as well as long—an idea that no other English word

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seemed to convey as well.[”]—Residence in London, p. 294. The Penny Cyclopedia remarks on it to the same effect, and even disputes its American origin.

A writer in the Boston Daily Advertiser, under the signature of W. X., says, that he has met with the word lengthy in the London Times, and the Liverpool Chronicle, in Blackwood’s Magazine, and the Saturday Magazine, in the British Critic, Quarterly Review, Monthly Review, Eclectic Review, Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Reviews; in the writings of Dr. Dibdin, Bishop Jebb, Lord Byron, Coleridge, &c. &c. If the English are indebted to American genius for the invention of this precious word, they have made some improvements upon it, which they may boast of, for ought that is known to the contrary, as their own. Granby, an English author, uses the word lengthiness, which is a regularly formed noun from lengthy. Campbell uses the word lengthily. In his “Letters from the South,” he says:

and again:

Here follow a few examples from English and American writers, out of the many that present themselves:

TO LET ON. To mention; to disclose; to betray a knowledge or consciousness of anything. ‘He never let on,’ i. e. he never told me. This expression is often heard among the illiterate, and is not confined to any particular section of the United States. It is also used in the North of England and in Scotland.

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TO LET DRIVE; to let fly; to let slip. To discharge; let loose a blow with the fist, a stone, a bullet from a gun, &c. Also in a metaphorical sense; as, ‘He let fly at him a volley of abuse.’

TO LET OUT. To begin a story or narrative. A Western expression.

LET UP. A let up is a release; a relief. An expression borrowed from pugilists.

DEAD LETTER. A writing or precept without any authority or force; a letter left in a post office and not called for.—Worcester.

LEVEE. (French.) The time of rising; the concourse of persons who visit a prince or great personage in the morning.—Johnson.

This word has been curiously perverted by us from its original signification, so as to mean an evening (!) party or assembly at the house of a great or wealthy person; as, ‘the President’s levee.’

LEVEE. (French.) An embankment on the side of a river, to confine it within its natural channel. The lower part of Louisiana, which has been formed by encroachments from the sea, is subject to be inundated by the Mississippi and its various branches, for a distance of more than 300 miles. In order to protect the rich lands on these rivers, mounds are thrown up, of clay, cypress logs, and green turf, sometimes to the

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height of 15 feet, with a breadth of 30 feet at the base. These, in the language of that part of the country, are called levees. They extend for hundreds of miles; and when the rivers are full, cultivated fields covered with rich crops, and studded with villages, are seen lying far below the river courses.—Encyclopedia Americana.

LEVY. Elevenpence. In the State of Pennsylvania, the eighth part of a dollar, or twelve and a half cents. Sometimes called an elevenpenny bit.—See Federal Currency.

LICIT. Lawful.—Todd, Webster. This word was criticised in the Monthly Anthology, (1804, p. 54,) in a review of the “Miscellaneous Works of David Humphreys, Esq.” The reviewers say, “There is no such word as licit, and we cannot allow the author, respectable as he is, to coin language.”—Pickering. It is now found in all the later English dictionaries.

LICK. A blow. Common in vulgar language both in England and the United States.

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LICK, or SALT LICK. In America, a place where the beasts of the forest lick for salt at salt springs. Webster. “A salt spring is called a lick, from the earth about them being furrowed out in a most curious manner, by the buffalo and deer, which lick the earth on account of the saline particles with which it is impregnated.”—Imlay’s Topog. Description of the Western Territory of N. America.

TO LICK. To beat. Common, as a colloquial expression, in many parts of England.—Todd. To lick, a lick, a licking, are common words in speech, though not in writing.—Richardson. These remarks apply with perfect accuracy to this country.

LICKING. A flogging; a beating.

TO PUT THE LICKS IN, is to run very fast. A Northern phrase. Also in speaking of a ship sailing, we bear the phrase, ‘She is going a pretty good lick,’ that is, sailing at a rapid rate.

LICKSPITTLE. A mean parasite; one who will stoop to any dirty work.—Grose.

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LIE. A lie out of whole cloth, is an utter falsehood.

LIEF, or LIEVE. (Sax. leof, past part. of lufian, to love.) Willingly; gladly.—Johnson. This word was formerly in good repute, and was used by well-known writers. It is now a common word, but only used in familiar speech, either in England or America.

LIFE PRESERVER. An air-tight apparatus made of India rubber cloth for preserving the lives of persons in case of shipwreck.

LIFT. Used by the farmers in some parts of New England to signify a sort of gate without hinges.—Pickering’s Vocabulary. This word is also used in Norfolk, England. Mr. Forby calls it “a sort of coarse rough gate of sawn wood, not hung, but driven into the ground by pointed stakes, like a hurdle, used for the same purposes of sub-dividing lands, stopping gaps in fences, &c. and deriving its name from the necessity of lifting it up for the purpose of passing through. In Suffolk, a lift differs from a gate, in having the projecting ends of the back and lower bar let into mortice holes in the posts, into and out of which it must be lifted.”—Norfolk Glossary.

LIG. A fish hook with lead cast around its upper part in order to sink it. Maine.

LIGHT, adj. To make light of; to treat as of little consequence; to disregard.— Webster.

LIGHT, n. To stand in one’s own light. To be the means of preventing one’s own good, or frustrating one’s own purposes.—Webster.

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TO LIGHT ON. To fall on; to come to by chance; to happen to find.—Webster.

LIKE, for as. As in the phrase, ‘like I do,’ for as I do. Not peculiar to America.

LIKELY. That may be liked; that may please; handsome. In the United States, as a colloquial term, respectable; worthy of esteem; sensible.— Worcester.

Mr. Webster has the following remarks on this word “The use of likely (for such as may be liked; pleasing; as, a likely man,) is not obsolete, nor is it vulgar. But the English and their descendants differ in the application. The English apply the word to external appearance, and with them likely is equivalent to handsome, well-formed; as, a likely man, a likely horse. In America, the word is usually applied to the endowments of the mind, or to pleasing accomplishments. With us, a likely man, is a man of good character and talents, or of good disposition or accomplishments, that render him pleasing or respectable.”

LIMITS. The extent of the liberties of a prison.—Webster. Called, also, jail liberties.

LIMSY. Weak; flexible. New England.—Webster.

LINER. The ships belonging to the regular lines of London, Liverpool, or Havre packets, are called liners, to distinguish them from transient ships sailing to the same ports.

TO LINE BEES, is to track wild bees to their homes in the woods. One who follows this occupation is called a bee hunter.

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LINGO. (Portuguese.) Language; tongue; speech. A low cant word.—Johnson.

LINKS. Sausages. Used in the interior of New England. It is now common in the sea-port towns to say, “links of sausages,” meaning the links into which they are tied up. In some parts of England, sausages are called links, and a number of them a “latch of links.”—Forby’s Norf. Glossary.

LINSEY WOOLSEY. (A corruption of linen and wool.) Stuff made of linen and wool mixed; light or coarse stuff.—Todd’s Johnson. This article is now extensively manufactured in New England; and, among merchants, it is called linseys. The word appears to be a very old one.

LIQUOR. Many and very singular names have been given to the various compounds or mixtures of spirituous liquors and wines, served up in fashionable bar-rooms in the United States. The following list is taken from one advertisement:

IN LIQUOR. Intoxicated; drunk.

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TO LIQUOR, or TO LIQUOR UP. To take a dram; or, as We more frequently say, to take a drink.

LISTER. One who makes a list or roll.—Webster. This word is used in Connecticut, and is applied to those who make out lists or returns of cattle or other property. I have never heard the word used elsewhere.

LIT, past tense and part. of to light. Often used by the illiterate.

LOAFER. A vagabond; an idle lounger. This peculiarly American word has been gradually growing into extensive use during the last twenty years. It was applied in the first place to the vagrants of our large towns, in which sense it is equivalent to the lazzarone of Naples or the lepero of Mexico. It is now, however, frequently applied in conversation and in the newspapers to idlers in general; and seems to have lost somewhat of its original vulgarity. The Philadelphia Vade Mecum has the following remarks upon it:

“This is a new word, and, as yet, being but a colt, or a chrysalis, is regarded as a slang epithet. It is, however, a good word, one much needed in the language, and will, in time, establish itself in the most refined dictionaries. It will mount into good society, and be uttered by aristocratic lips; for it is the only word designating the most important species of the genus idler—the most important, because the most annoying branch of that family.

“The loafer is not exclusively, as some suppose him, a ragged step-and-corner lounger, who sleeps in the sun, and ‘hooks’ sugar on the wharf. On the contrary, the propensity to loaf is confined to no rank in life; all conditions are, more or less, troubled with it. Like squinting, the king and the beggar may be equally afflicted with the imperfec-

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tion. There be your well-dressed monied loafer, as well as your loafer who is nightly taken by the watch.

“He is that kind of a man, who, having nothing to do, or being unwilling to do anything, cannot keep his tediousness to himself, and therefore bestows it all upon others, not when they are at leisure for conversational recreation, but when business presses, and they would look black upon the intrusion of a sweetheart or a three-day wife. He is the drag-chain upon industry, and yet so far different from the drag-chain, that he hitches to the wheel when the pull is up hill. Loving the excitement of busy scenes, yet too lazy to be an actor in them, where men are busiest, there, too, is to be found the pure, unadulterated loafer, sprawling about as the hound sprawls before the fire in every body’s way, and tripping up every body’s heels. In the store, he sits upon the counter, swinging his useless legs, and gaping vacantly at the movements around him. In the office, he effectually checks necessary conversation among those who do not wish their business bruited to the world, turns over papers which he has no right to touch, and squints at contents which he bas no right to know. In the counting-house, he perches on a stool, interrupts difficult calculations with chat as idle as himself, follows the bustling clerk to the storehouse, pouches the genuine Havana, quaffs nectar from proof-glasses, and makes himself free of the good things which belong to others.”

TO LOAF. To lounge; to idle away one’s time. The verb is of still more recent origin than the noun.

TO LOAN. To lend. This verb is inserted by Todd on the authority of Huloet (1552) and Langley (1664), and noted “not now in use.” It is, however, much used in this country, though rarely in England.—Worcester.

LOAN OFFICE. A public office in which loans of money are negotiated for the public, or in which the accounts of loans are kept and the interest paid to the lenders.—Webster.

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TO LOBBY. To attempt to exert an influence on the members of a legislative body, by persons not members of such body. These are confined to the lobbies of the house, where they meet, the members, and by various means attempt to influence them or secure their votes for some favorite bill. So necessary has this business of lobbying now become, that when a petition is sent to a legislature, particularly for an act of incorporation, it is very common for one or more individuals to take it in charge for the purpose of lobbying it through.

LOBBY-MEMBER. A person who frequents the lobby of a house of legislation.—Worcester.

TO LOCATE. To place; to set in a particular spot or position.—Pickering. Webster. This word is comparatively modern in England, and is not found in any of the dictionaries previous to Todd’s. It is used among us much more frequently and in a greater variety of senses than in England.

So too a town, a village, and even a piece of ground, is said to be located, i. e. placed, situated, in a particular position.

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And hence arises the following American use of the word:

TO LOCATE. To select, survey, and settle the bounds of a particular tract of land, or to designate a portion of land by limits; as, to locate a tract of a hundred acres in a particular township.—Webster.

It is also coming into use in the old country, as will be seen by the following example:

TO LOCATE. Applied to persons, it means:

1. To place in a particular position.

2. To place in a permanent residence; to settle.

3. As a technical term used by the Methodists, to settle permanently as a preacher. The word is needed by them, because they have many itinerant preachers who are not located.

LOCATION, n. That which is located; a tract of land designated in place.—Webster. This application of the word is peculiar to the United States.

LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL. The whole. A figurative expression borrowed from sportsmen, and having reference to a gun.

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LOCO-FOCO. The name by which the Democratic party is extensively distinguished throughout the United States. This name originated in the year 1835, when a division arose in the party, in consequence of the nomination of Gideon Lee as the Democratic candidate for Congress, by the committee chosen for that purpose. This nomination, as was customary, had to be confirmed at a general meeting of Democrats held at Tammany Hall. His friends anticipated opposition, and assembled in large numbers to support him. “The first question which arose,” says Mr. Hammond, “and which would test the strength of the parties, was the selection of Chairman. The friends of Mr. Lee, whom we will call Tammany men, supported Mr. Varian; and the anti-monopolists, Mr. Curtis. The Tammanies entered the hall as soon as the doors were opened, by means of back stairs; while at the same time the Equal Rights party rushed into the long room up the front stairs. Both parties were loud and boisterous; the one declaring that Mr. Varian was chosen Chairman, and the other that Mr. Curtis was duly elected the presiding officer. A very tumultuous and confused scene ensued, during which the gas-lights, with which the hall was illuminated, were extinguished. The Equal Rights party, either having witnessed similar occurrences, or having received some intimations that such would be the course of their opponents, had provided themselves with loco-foco matches and candles, and the room was re-lighted in a moment. The ‘Courier and Enquirer’ newspaper dubbed the anti-monopolists, who used the matches, with the name of Loco-focos; which was soon after given to the Democratic party, and which they have since retained.”—Hammond’s Political History of New York, Vol. II. p. 491.

LOG. A bulky piece or stick of timber unhewed. Pine logs are floated down rivers in America, and stopped at saw-mills. A piece of timber when hewed and squared, is not called a log, unless perhaps in constructing log huts.—Webster.

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TO LOG. To cut down and get out pine logs for sawing into boards, etc.

LOGGING SWAMP. In Maine, the place where pine timber is cut.

LOG-ROLLING. In the lumber regions of Maine it is customary for men of different logging camps to appoint days for helping each other in rolling the logs to the river, after they are felled and trimmed—this rolling being about the hardest work incident to the business. Thus the men of three or four camps will unite, say on Monday, to roll for camp No. 1—on Tuesday for camp No. 2—on Wednesday for camp No. 3—and so on, through the whole number of camps within convenient distance of each other.

The term has been adopted in legislation to signify a like system of mutual co-operation. For instance, a member from St. Lawrence has a pet bill for a plank road which he wants pushed through; he accordingly makes a bargain with a member from Onondaga who is coaxing along a charter for a bank, by which St. Lawrence agrees to vote for Onondaga’s bank, provided Onondaga will vote in turn for St. Lawrence’s plank road.

This is legislative log-rolling; and there is abundance of it carried on at Albany every winter.

Generally speaking, the subject of the log-rolling is some merely local project, interesting only to the people of a certain district; but sometimes there is party log-rolling, where the Whigs, for instance, will come to an understanding with the Democrats, that the former shall not oppose a certain Democratic measure merely on party grounds, provided the Democrats will be equally tender to some Whig measure in return. [J. Inman.]

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LOGY. (Dutch, log, heavy, slow, unwieldy.) We have received this word from the Dutch, and apply it generally to men. He’s a logy man, i. e. a slow-moving, heavy man. ‘He is a logy preacher,’ i. e. dull. The Dutch say, Een log verstand, a dull wit.

LONG AND SHORT. The end; the result; the upshot.

BY A LONG SHOT. By a long way; by a great deal.

LONG KNIVES, or BIG KNIVES. A term applied to Europeans and their descendants, by the North American Indians. It signifies wearers of swords.

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LOON. (Eolymbus glacialis. Wilson.) The common name for the Northern Diver. As straight as a loon’s leg, is a common simile.

LOOSENESS. Freedom. A Western vulgarism, now becoming common at the East; as, ‘He spoke with a perfect looseness.’

LOPE. A leap; a long step.—Webster.

TO LOPE. To leap; to move or run with a long step, as a dog.—Webster.

LOT. In the United States, a piece or division of land; perhaps originally assigned by drawing lots, but now any portion, piece, or division.—Webster. This application of the word is peculiar to this country, and is universally used of a parcel of land, whether in town or country. Thus, we have city lots, town lots, house lots, meadow lots, &c. ‘I have a fine lot of cleared land, with a wood lot adjoining;’ meaning a portion of the forest on which the trees are left for fuel as required. ‘In going to town, I left the road, and went across lots, to shorten the distance,’ i. e. across the open fields or meadows. “In the first settlement of this country,” says Mr. Pickering, “a certain portion or share of land was allotted to each inhabitant of the town; and this was called his lot. Both lot and allotment occur in our early laws.”

LOT or LOTS. A quantity; a large number. A familiar expression common to England and America, but not in the dictionaries. Thus we hear it said, ‘There was a lot of people at the mass-meeting to-day;’ ‘We shall have lots of folks at our house to-night,” etc.

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LOVIER. (A. Sax. lufian, to love.) A lover. A vulgarism, but no corruption, and nearer the Anglo-Saxon than the common word.—Forby’s Vocabulary.

LUBBER. A sturdy drone; an idle, fat, bulky fellow.—Johnson. A name given by sailors to landsmen.—Grose, Dic.

LUCKS. Small portions of wool twisted on the finger of a spinner at the wheel or distaff. The same word as lock when applied to the hair, &c.—Forby’s Norfolk Glossary. In New England this word is still in use.

LUDDY MUSSY! Lord have mercy! an exclamation of surprise, common in the interior parts of New England.

LUMBER. Timber sawed or split for use; as beams, joists, boards, planks, staves, hoops, and the like.—Webster. The word in this sense, and the following ones derived from it, are peculiar to America.

LUMBERER.}
LUMBERMAN.} A person employed in cutting timber and in getting out lumber from the forest.

LUMBERING. The business or occupation of getting out various kinds of lumber, such as timber, boards, staves, &c. ‘To go a lumbering,’ is the phrase used by those who embark in it.

LUMBERING. Strolling, lounging, walking leisurely. A vulgarism used in New York.

LUMBER-WAGGON. A waggon with a plain box upon it, used by farmers for carrying their produce to market. It is sometimes so arranged that a spring seat may be put in it, when it is very comfortable for riding in.

TO LUMP. Used in the vulgar expression, ‘If you don’t

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like it, you may lump it,’ i. e. you may help yourself if you can.

LYCEUM. A house or apartment appropriated to instruction by lectures or disquisitions. An association of men for literary purposes.—Webster.

TO LYNCH. To condemn and execute in obedience to the decree of a multitude or mob, without a legal trial; sometimes practised in the new settlements in the south-west of the United States.—Worcester.

LYNCH LAW. An irregular and revengeful species of justice, administered by the populace or a mob, without any legal authority or trial.—Worcester.

MAD. Inflamed with anger; very angry; vexed. ‘I was quite mad at him;’ ‘he made me mad.’ In these instances mad is only a metaphor for angry. This is perhaps an English vulgarism, but it is not found in any accurate writer, nor used by any good speaker, unless when poets or orators use it as a strong figure, and to heighten the expression, say, ‘he was mad with rage.’—Witherspoon, Druid. No.5.

Mad, in the sense of angry, is considered as a low word in this country, and at the present day is never used except in very familiar conversation.—Pickering.

This use of the word is provincial in various parts of England. See Halliwell, Grose, etc.

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LIKE MAD. A common simile, in England and America.

MAD AS A MARCH HARE. A common simile, used alike in England and America.

MADAM. In Plymouth, Massachusetts, and in some neighboring places, it has been and still is the practice, to prefix to the name of a deceased female of some consideration, as the parson’s, the deacon’s or the doctor’s wife, the title of Madam.—Kendall’s Travels, Vol. II. p. 44. “This practice,” says Mr. Pickering, “like that of giving magistrates the title of ’squire, prevails in most of the country towns of New England; but is scarcely known in the sea-port towns.”—Vocabulary.

TO MAHOGANYIZE. To paint wood in imitation of mahogany.

MAILABLE. That may be mailed or carried in the mail.—Worcester. In a recent suit brought by the government against Adams & Co.’s Express, for carrying letters and papers, to the injury of the post office, Judge Betts stated in his charge to the jury that “any written communication between one individual and another comes within the term mailable matter, and no matter in what shape it is put, it is liable to postage as if carried by mail.”

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MAIZE. (W. Ind., maiz.) Indian corn. The name of the great staple of native American agriculture, adopted from the Carib language by the Spaniards, and thus imported into the languages of Europe. The earliest dictionary in which I find the word, is Florio’s Worlde of Wordes (1598); the article there is “Maiz, a kind of grain or wheat whereof they make bread in India.” Its native country is not fully determined, although it is believed to be America. Bernal Diaz speaks of it in Mexico in 1517; and Acosta in 1570, when treating of the plants “peculiar to the Indies,” says that “the most common grain found in the new world is mays, which is found in all the kingdoms of he West Indies, Peru, New Spain, Guatemala, and Chili.” He adds, that in Castile they call it Indian wheat; and in Italy, Turkey grain; which seems to imply that the plant was also known in those countries.

TO MAKE FISH. To cure and prepare fish for commerce. A New England phrase.

MAKING MEAT, on the great Western prairies, consists in cutting into thin slices the boneless parts of the buffalo, or other meat, and drying them in the wind or sun. Meat thus prepared may be preserved for years without salt.—Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 53.

TO MAKE A RAISE. A vulgar expression, meaning to raise; procure; obtain.

TO MAKE TRACKS. To leave; to walk away. A figurative expression of Western origin.

MARM. A corruption of the word madam or ma’am, often used in the interior of New England for mother.

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TO MARBLE. To move off; as, ‘If you do that again, you must marble,’ i. e. be off immediately. Used in Pennsylvania.—Hurd’s Gram. Corrector.

MAROONING. To go marooning. An expression used in the Southern States. It means to make up a party and have a picnic. Such is called a marooning party. The difference between a marooning party and a picnic is, that the former is a party made up to pass several days on the shore or in the country; the latter is a party for a day.

MARVEL. A common corrupt pronunciation of marble.

MASKINONGE. (Genus, esox. Cuvier.) An immense fish of the Pike species, caught in the St. Lawrence and the great lakes. I have seen a specimen taken at Kingston upwards of four feet in length. Dr. Richardson, in his “Fauna Borealis Am.,” says that he found none in the rivers which empty into Hudson’s Bay or the Polar Sea.

The masquinoijé is to all appearance a large species of pike, and possesses the ravenous propensities of that fish.—Backwoods of Canada, p. 161.

Mass. The common abbreviation for Massachusetts.

MASS-MEETING. A large or general meeting called for some specific purpose. The word mass is prefixed with a sort of ad captandum intent, as O’Connell called his large meetings of Irishmen, “monster meetings.” Mass-meetings were first talked of in the political campaign of 1840, when Harrison was elected President. The term is now applied to any large meeting without distinction of party.

MAY-APPLE. (Genus, podophyllum.) A plant, the root of which is medicinal, answering as a substitute for jalup.—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

Md. The common abbreviation for Maryland.

MEADOW. In New England this word means exclusively grass land, which is moist or subject to being overflowed; and land which is not so, is called upland. In England, also, the term meadow is used among agriculturists in the limited sense above mentioned.—Pickering.

A tract of low land. In America, the word is applied

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particularly to the low ground on the banks of rivers, consisting of a rich mould or alluvial soil, whether grass-land, pasture, tillage, or wood land; as, the meadows on the banks of the Connecticut. The word with us does not imply necessarily wet land. This species of land is called in the Western States, bottoms or bottom-land. The word is also used for other low or flat lands, particularly lands appropriated to the culture of grass.—Webster.

MEAN, for means. Many American writers, following the Scottish models, make use of mean instead of means. But the established practice among English writers, from the time of Addison to the present day, has been to use the plural means.

MEECHIN. A person with a downcast look is said to look meechin. Used on Long Island.

MEETING. A congregation. Among Methodists and others in the United States, it is a universal practice to say, ‘we are going to meeting,’ when going to their church or place of worship.

Me. The common abbreviation for Maine.

MENHADEN. (Alosa menhaden. Storer, Massachusetts Report.) A fish of the herring kind abounding in the waters of New England, and as far south as Chesapeake Bay. It is also known by the names of Bony-fish, White-fish, Hardhead, Mossbonker, and Panhagen. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, they are called Menhaden; in New York, Mossbonkers and Skippaugs. They are caught in immense quantities and used as manure, chiefly for Indian corn. Dr. DeKay, in his report on the fishes of New York, states that he has known of an instance when “84 waggon-loads, or in other words, 168,000 of these fish were taken at a single haul” of the seine.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

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MET UP WITH, for overtook.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

Mich. The common abbreviation for Michigan.

MIDDLINGS. The coarser part of flour.—Webster.

MIDGET. The sand-fly; so called in Canada.

MIGHTILY. In a great degree; very much. A sense scarcely to be admitted but in low language.—Todd’s Johnson.

MIGHTY. 1. Great; excellent; fine.

2. In a great degree; very; as, ‘mighty wise;’ ‘mighty thoughtful.’—Webster.

MILE. Often in the singular with a numeral, instead of the plural miles. Mr. Hartshorne, in his Glossary, says its use is universal in England, where the vulgar never give it a plural.

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“The custom,” he adds, “seems to receive countenance from some of our early English poets.—Salopia Antiqata.

MILEAGE is a very large and even extravagant allowance made to members of Congress, and some others of the favored, for travelling expenses—eight dollars for every twenty miles. [J. Inman.]

CONSTRUCTIVE MILEAGE is the same allowance for journeys supposed to be made, but not actually made, from and to the seat of Government. The allowance enures to members of the United States Senate once in every four years. When a new President comes into office, Congress adjourns, of course, on the 3d of March, the new President being inaugurated on the 4th. But the Senate is immediately called again into session, to act on the nominations of the new President; and though not a man of them leaves Washington, each is supposed to go home and come back again, in the course of the ten or twelve hours intervening between the adjournment and the re-assembling. For this supposed journey the Senators are allowed their mileage, just as though the journey was actually made; the sum being, in the case of Senators from distant States, from $1000 to $1500.

Many of the Senators, in 1845, when Mr. Polk was inaugurated, refused to pocket their constructive mileage, holding it to be an imposition on the public.

Constructive mileage is allowed when an extra session of Congress is called, whether the Senators and Members have actually gone to their homes or not, after the regular session. [J. Inman.]

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MILK-SICKNESS. A fatal spasmodic disease, peculiar to the Western States. It first attacks the cattle, and then those who eat beef or drink milk.

MILLERITES. The name of a religious sect from its founder, William Miller.

The distinguishing doctrines of this sect are, a belief in the re-appearance of Jesus Christ on earth, “with all his saints and angels; that he will raise the dead bodies of all his saints, and change the bodies of all that are alive on the earth that are his; and that both these living and raised saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. There the saints will be judged. While this is being done in the air, the earth will be cleansed by fire; the bodies of the wicked will be burned; the devil and evil spirits will be banished from the earth, shut up in a pit, and will not be permitted to visit the earth again until a thousand years. This is the first resurrection and first judgment. Then Christ and his people will come down from the heavens, and live with his saints on the new earth.” After a thousand years, a second death, resurrection, and judgment take place; when the righteous will possess the earth forever. “The judgment-day will be a thousand years in duration. The righteous will be raised and judged in the commencement, the wicked at the end of that day. The millennium is between the two resurrections and the two judgments.”—Evans’s Hist. Religions, American Ed.

Believing in the literal fulfilment of the prophecies, the Millerites first asserted that, according to their calculations, the first judgment would take place about the year 1843. Subsequently other periods were named; and so firm was the faith of many that the Saviour would descend from the heavens and take his followers up into the air, that they disposed of all their worldly treasures, provided themselves with ‘ascension robes,’ and waited with great anxiety for the sounding of the last trumpet, the signal for their aerial voyage. Many persons became insane In consequence of the

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excitement and fear attending this delusion. Others have come to their senses, owing to their repeated disappointments in not being elevated according to Father Miller’s promise; and at the present time the sect has happily dwindled down to an insignificant number.

MILLION. A vulgar corruption of the word melon; as, ‘water-millions,’ water-melons; ‘mush-millions,’ musk-melons.

TO MINCE. To diminish in speaking; to retrench, to cut off, or omit a part for the purpose of suppressing the truth; to extenuate in representation.—Webster.

TO MIND. To recollect; remember.

TO MIND. To take care of.

MISERY. Pain; as, misery in my head.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

Miss. The common abbreviation for Mississippi.

TO MISSIONATE. To act as a missionary. Not well authorized.—Webster.

Mr. Pickering notices this absurd word, which he found in the Missionary Herald.

TO MISSTATE. To state wrong; to make an erroneous representation of facts; as, ‘to misstate a question in debate.’—Webster.

MISSTATEMENT. A wrong statement; an erroneous representation, verbal or written; as, a misstatement of facts in testimony, or of accounts in a report.—Webster.

Not noticed by Johnson, Todd, or Richardson. Used by the London Quarterly Review, Oct. 1837.

MITTEN. When a gentleman is jilted by a lady, or is discarded by one to whom he has been paying his addresses he is said to have got the mitten.

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MITTS. A cover for the hand in which the fingers are unprotected.

TO MIZZLE. To run away; to abscond. A low word.

Mo. The common abbreviation for Missouri.

MOBEE. A fermented liquor made by the negroes in the West Indies, prepared with sugar, ginger, and snake-root. It is sold by them in the markets.—Carmichael’s West Indies.

MOCCASON,}
MOCCASIN,} Also often written and pronounced moggason. (Algonkin, makisin.) An Indian shoe, made of soft leather without a stiff sole, and commonly ornamented round the ancle.—Worcester.

MONETARY. Pertaining to money, or consisting in money.—Webster. A word of recent origin, not in Johnson or Todd, but inserted by Richardson in his dictionary.

MONSTROUS is much used by the vulgar for very, exceedingly.

MOONSHINE. A trifle; nothing.—Grose.

MOOSE. An Indian name (Knistenaux, mooswah) of an animal of the genus Cervus, and the largest of the deer kind,

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growing sometimes to the height of seventeen hands, and weighing 1200 pounds. This animal inhabits cold northern climates, being found in the forests of Canada and New England.—Encyclopedia.

MORMONS. The Mormonites, or Latter-day Saints, are a religious sect which derive their name from the ‘Book of Mormon.’

This book was first published in the year 1830. Since that period its believers and advocates have zealously propagated its doctrines through every State in the Union, and in Canada. In England they have made some thousands of converts.

The Book of Mormon purports to be the record or history of a certain people, who inhabited America previous to its discovery by Columbus. This history, containing prophecies and revelations, was engraven (according to it), by the command of God, on small brass plates, and deposited in the hill Comora, in Western New York. These plates were discovered (the Mormons say) by Joseph Smith, in the year 1825; they contain certain hieroglyphics, in the Egyptian character, which Smith, guided by inspiration translated. It purported to give the history of America from its first settlement by a colony from the tower of Babel to the 5th century of our era. It stated that the Saviour made his appearance upon this continent after his resurrection; that he planted the gospel here—had his apostles, prophets, teachers, etc.; that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions; and that the last of their prophets wrote the Book of Mormon on the brass plates above named, “which he hid in the earth, until it should come forth and be united with the Bible, for the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last days.”

Smith readily found many to believe his statements, and in 1830 organized his first church of Mormons in Manchester, Ontario county, New York. Other preachers sprang up, who “saw visions and prophesied, cast out devils and healed the sick, by the laying on of hands,” and performed other miracles. New churches or societies were formed in other States,

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until in a few years their number amounted to many thousands. They removed in a body to Missouri, where a most cruel and relentless persecution sprang up against them, which forced them to quit their homes and the State. They then sought a refuge in Illinois, where they founded a city called Nauvoo, in which they erected an immense edifice or Temple, which is thus described in an Illinois paper:

“This temple stands in a prominent position, and is visible from a distance of twenty-five or thirty miles. Viewed from the bank, it is grand and imposing. It is built of white limestone, which has been worked and faced down to a perfect surface. Its length is 128 feet, width 88 feet, height to the roof 77 feet. The walls are two feet thick; and on every side are rows of pilasters, crowned with elaborately carved capitals, showing a man’s face and two hands grasping trumpets. The structure is lighted with four rows of windows, two of which are quadrilateral, and two circular. All the entrances are from the West, and the immense doorways we gained by flights of steps. The interior contains a basement, in the centre of which stands the celebrated baptismal font,” an immense stone reservoir, resting upon the backs of twelve oxen, also cut out of stone, and as “large as life.”

Persecution followed these poor people in Illinois. They were attacked by armed bodies of men by order of the State authorities, driven out by force, and compelled to abandon or sacrifice their property. Such as survived the persecution, after traversing the boundless prairies, the deserts of the far West, and the Rocky Mountains, finally found a resting place near the Great Salt Lake in Oregon, [sic] where some 20,000 of them are now forming a settlement.

MORTAL. Used in vulgar parlance adverbially for mortally; i. e. excessively.

TO MOSEY. To be off; to leave; to sneak away. A low expression.

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MOSQUITO BAR.}
MOSQUITO NET.} A net or curtain, which, in the Southern States and in the West Indies, is placed over the bed to protect a person from mosquitoes.

MOSSBUNKER. (Alosa menhaden, Storer.) See Menhaden.

TO MOTION. To move; to make a motion; as, ‘I motion that the resolution pass.’ An old English word rarely used, because unnecessary.

MOUGHT, for might. This old preterite is still heard among the illiterate, especially in country places.

TO MOUSE. ‘To go mousing about,’ is to go poking about into holes and corners.

TO MOVE, for remove. To change one’s residence.

MUD-HEN. The common name of the Virginia Rail ornithologists. It inhabits small streams and marshes.

MUD-TURTLE. The popular name of a reptile common in all parts of the United States. Marsh Tortoise and Mud Terrapin are other names for the same. It is the sternothærus odorata of naturalists.—Holbrook, Am. Herpetology.

TO MULL. To soften and dispirit.—Johnson. The only authority cited by Johnson is from Shakspeare:

Used in New England.

MULLEY COW. A name used for a cow chiefly among children, or by parents when speaking to children; as, ‘the old mulley cow.’ Provincial in England.

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MUMMACHOG. (Genus, fundulus. Lacépède.) The popular name of the Barred Killifish of naturalists. It is a small fish from two to four inches in length, and frequents the salt water creeks and the vicinity of the wharves. This Indian name is retained in Rhode Island.

MUSH. Indian meal boiled with water, and eaten with milk or molasses. It is often called hasty pudding, and is a favorite dish throughout the United States. In Hallamshire, England, to mush, means to crush, or pound very small. From this our word may have originated.

MUSQUASH. The musk-rat among the traders in the Northern States is called the musquash.

TO MUSS. A corruption of to mess. To disarrange; disorder; put in confusion. Ex. ‘I hate to ride in an omnibus, because it musses my clothes;’ ‘I’m all mussed up.’ The word is much used in New York.

MUSS. A corruption of mess, a state of confusion; a squabble; a row. This vulgarism is also common in New York.

There is also an old English word muss, meaning a scramble; but it has evidently no connection with the above.

MUSTANG. The wild horse of the prairies, and the invariable companion of their inhabitants. Sparing in diet, a stranger to grain, easily satisfied whether on growing or dead grass, inured to all weather, capable of great labor, the mustang poney seems as peculiarly adapted to the prairies as the camel is to the desert.—Thorpe’s Backwoods, p. 12.

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TO MUZZLE. To loiter. In Yorkshire, England, they use the word muzlin, loitering, which seems to be the same; also, to muddle, to walk in a careless manner with the head down.—Craven Glossary.

TO NAIL. To fasten; to bind a person to a bargain. Ex. ‘He offered the a dollar for this book, and I nailed him;’ i.e. I accepted the offer.—Grose.

MISS NANCY. A name given to an effeminate man.—Craven Glossary.

NANKEEN. (A Chinese word.) A species of light yellow or fawn-colored cloth, made from cotton of the same color (gossypium religiosum), which color is permanent. The article was formerly imported in large quantities from China; but since the cultivation of the raw material in the United States, nankeens have been manufactured here, in every respect equal to, and at a less cost than those from China.

NARY-ONE, for neither. A common vulgarism.

NATION. Very; extremely; as, nation good, very good. ‘A nation long way.’ This word is provincial in this sense in various parts of England.—Junius. Brocket.

NATIVE AMERICANS. The name assumed by a political party which sprang up a few years ago, to advocate the rights and privileges of persons born in the United States, in opposition to those of foreigners. The principal measure advocated by them, was the extension of the time of residence required by law previous to naturalization, from seven to twenty-one years. The extreme lengths to which this party went, and the excesses produced in consequence of its

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inflammatory appeals to vulgar prejudice, ensured its speedy defeat; and it may now be considered as, to all intents and purposes, extinct.

NEAR, for to or at; in these expressions—‘The minister plenipotentiary near the Court of St. James’s—near the United States,’ &c. This Gallicisin was first used here in translations of the diplomatic correspondence between the French and American governments; and from the language of translations it has been adopted in many of our original compositions.—Pickering.

NETOP. “This Indian word,” says Mr. Pickering, “is still used, colloquially, in some towns in the interior of Massachusetts, to signify a friend, or (to use a cant word) a crony.” Roger Williams, in his Key to the Indian Language, says, “What cheer, netop? is the general salutation of all English towards the Indians.”

NIGH UNTO. Nearly; almost. A vulgarism.

NIGHTCAP. A glass of hot toddy or gin-sling taken before going to bed at night. When a second glass is taken, it is called ‘a string to tie it with.’

NIMSHI. A foolish fellow, or one who habitually acts in a foolish manner. Local in Connecticut.

NINE-KILLER. The popular name of the Northern Butcher-bird (lanius) of ornithologists. In Canada and the Eastern States, it is sometimes called Mocking-bird. “The name of nine-killer,” says Dr. DeKay, “is derived from the popular belief that it catches and impales nine grasshoppers in a day.”—Nat. Hist. of New York.

TO NIP. To pinch close in domestic management.—Forby’s Norfolk Glossary.

NIPPENT. Impudent; impertinent.—Hurd’s Gram. Corrector.

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TO NOMINATE. To name for an election, choice, or appointment; to propose by name, or offer the name of a person as a candidate for an office or place. This is the principal use of the word in the United States; as in a public assembly, where men are to be selected and chosen to office, any member of the assembly or meeting nominates, that is, proposes to the chairman the name of a person whom he desires to have elected.—Webster.

NOCAKE. An Indian word still used in some parts of New England.

NON-COMMITTAL. That does not commit or pledge himself to any particular measure. A political term in frequent use.

NON-COMMITTALISM. The practice or doctrine of not committing oneself.

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NON-ELECTION. Failure of election.—Webster.

NON-MANUFACTURING. Not carrying on manufactures; as, ‘non-manufacturing States.’—Webster.

NON-PAYMENT. Neglect of payment. Webster.

NO ODDS. No difference; no consequence; no matter. A common expression in low language.

NOODLEJEES. (Dutch.) Wheat dough rolled thin and cut into strings like maccaroni. It is used for the same purpose.

NOODLE-SOUP. Soup made of the above.

NOTCH. An opening or narrow passage through a mountain or hill.—Webster.

NOTICEABLE. That may be observed; worthy of observation.—Webster. Not in any English dictionary. Mr. Pickering gives the following example of its use:

TO NOTIFY. 1. To make known; to declare; to publish. ‘The laws of God notify to man his will and our duty.’

2. To give information of. ‘The allied sovereigns have notified the Spanish court of their purpose of maintaining legitimate government.’

3. To give notice to. ‘The constable has notified the

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citizens to meet at the City Hall.’ ‘The bell notifies us of the time of meeting.’

The first of these senses, as Dr. Witherspoon long ago observed (Druid, No.5), is the only one in which this word is employed by English writers. They use it simply in the sense of the Latin notificare, i. e. ‘to make known,’ as in the following examples from Richardson:

The two significations, Nos. 2 and 3, in which the direct object of the verb is the person instead of the thing, is in accordance with the French use of the verb notifier. It is not improbable that they will yet be adopted in England; for the same transfer of the idea from the thing to the person took place in the Latin language itself, in which the word notus, known, was also used in the sense of informed of, knowing.

NOTHING TO NOBODY. Nobody’s business. This singular expression is common in the language of the illiterate in some parts of the South.

NOTION. Inclination; in vulgar use; as, ‘I have a notion to do that.’—Webster.

NOTIONS. Small wares or trifles.—Worcester. A word much used by the ingenious New Englanders.

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NUBBINS. Imperfectly formed ears of corn.

NURLY. A corrupt pronunciation of gnarly, i. e. gnarled.

TO NULLIFY. (Lat. nullus.) To annul; to make void.—Todd’s Johnson.

NULLIFICATION. The act of nullifying; a rendering void and of no effect, or of no legal effect.—Webster. The political meaning of nullification is limited and special—at least in American politics. Some years ago, when the system of high protective duties on foreign imports was predominant in the national councils, the politicians of South Carolina—whose main article of export is cotton—were strongly desirous of free trade with England and France, the principal consumers of that article, believing that the consumption of it in those countries would be augmented by an augmentation of the import of their fabrics. Those politicians thought themselves aggrieved therefore by the protection given in the United States to the manufacture of fabrics coming into competition with those of England and France. But finding Congress resolute in adhering to the protective tariff, the South Carolina politicians became so exasperated that at last they proclaimed their intention to nullify the tariff—that is, to admit British and French goods into their ports free of duty, and not to permit the exercise of Custom House functions in their State. In other words, nullification, in the case of South Carolina, was simply an act, or at least a threat, of open rebellion.—[John Inman.]

NULLIFIER. One who believes in or maintains the right of a State to refuse compliance with a law enacted by the legislature of the whole Union. [John Inman.]

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OATS. To feel one’s oats, is to feel one’s importance.

OBLIGEMENT. This antiquated word ia still used by old people in New England.—Pickering.

OCELOT. The French popular name of a digitigrade carnivorous mammal of the cat kind.—Webster.

ODD FISH. A person who is eccentric or odd in his manners. The Knickerbocker Magazine, in a sketch of a learned professor of Tinnecum, says:

ODD STICK. An eccentric person; as, ‘John Randolph was an odd stick.’

OF. An action of the organs of sense may be either involuntary or voluntary. Accordingly we say to hear, to see, to denote an involuntary act; and to look at, to hearken or to listen to, to denote a voluntary one. With regard to the other senses we are not so well provided with words; but some people, prompted apparently by a feeling of this deficiency, endeavor to supply it by construing the verbs to feel, to taste, to smell, with the preposition of, to signify a voluntary act. Hence, to feel, taste, smell of a thing, is to do so intentionally. This corruption is rarely met with in writing.

OFF AND ON. Vacillating, changeable, undecided; in which sense it is much used with us. In England it is also used.—Carr’s Craven Dialect.

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OFFISH. A word applied to a person who is distant or unapproachable in his manners.

OFFSET. In accounts, a sum, account, or value set off against another sum or account, as an equivalent.—Webster.

This word is generally used in place of the English term set-off. Mr. Pickering says, “it is also very common in popular language, in the sense of an equivalent.” None of the English dictionaries have the word in any sense except that of “shoot from a plant.”

TO OFFSET. To set one account against another; to make the account of one party pay the demand of another.—Webster.

OLD. Crafty; cunning. Used in vulgar language. When a person attempts to get the advantage of another, and is frustrated in the attempt by the sagacity or shrewdness of the other, the latter will say, ‘I’m a little too old for you,’ meaning that he is too cunning to be deceived by him.

OLD, for stale; in this expression, ‘old bread.’ New England.—Pickering’s Vocab.

Mr. P. infers from the following extract, that this is also a Scotticism:

OLD COUNTRY. A term applied to Great Britain, originally by natives from that country, but now understood and used generally in the United States.

OLD COUNTRYMAN. A native of England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales. The term is never applied to persons from the Continent of Europe.

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OLD-WIFE, or OLD-SQUAW. The popular name of a brown duck, one of the most common throughout North America, the long-tailed Duck of Pennant.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

OLD-MAN. (Artemisia abrotanum.) A popular name for the Southern-wood plant.

OLDERMOST. Oldest. Used at the West.

OLYCOKE. (Dutch, olikoek, oil-cake.) A cake fried in lard. A favorite delicacy with the Dutch, and also with their descendants, in New York. There are various kinds, as dough-nuts, crullers, etc.

ONCE IN A WHILE. Occasionally; sometimes.

ON HAND. At hand; present. A colloquial expression in frequent use.

ONPLUSH, for nonplus. The expression is used in the Southern States.

ONTO. A preposition used in some of the Northern States, but not peculiar to America.

Mr. Pickering quotes the following as the only example he has seen in an American book:

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OPINUATED. Conceited.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

OSWEGO TEA. (Lat. monarda didyma.) A medicinal plant prepared by the Shakers for its aromatic and stomachic properties.

OUGHT. As this verb is defective, and has no inflection to distinguish past from present time, illiterate persons often attempt to supply the deficiency by the use of auxiliaries. Hence the expressions, don’t ought, had ought, hadn’t ought. Mr. Pegge notices the two last among the vulgarisms of London.

OURN, for ours. A vulgarism frequently heard, which is also common in the local dialect of London.

OUT AND OUT. Wholly; completely; without reservation. A common colloquial expression here as in England.

OUT OF FIX. Disarranged; in a state of disorder.

OUT OF SORTS. Out of order; disordered. Dr. Millingen, in his remarks on persons of phlegmatic temperament, says:

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OUTFIT. Money advanced to a public minister, going to a foreign country, beyond his salary.—Webster.

TO OUTSTORM. To overbear by storming.—Webster.

OVER, for under. In these expressions, ‘He wrote over the signature of Junius;’ ‘He published some papers over his own signature.’ A few of our writers still countenance this unwarrantable innovation; but the principle, on which it is defended, would unsettle the whole language. The use of the word under, in phrases like those above mentioned, is as well established as any English idiom.—Pickering. Mr. Hoffman, in reply to a correspondent, says:

OVER-CAREFUL. Careful to excess.—Webster.

TO OVERHAUL. To gain upon in a chase; to overtake.—Webster. A seaman’s phrase, sometimes used in common parlance.

OVERSLAUGH. (Dutch, overslag.) A bar, in the marine language of the Dutch. The overslaugh in the Hudson river near Albany, is, I believe, the only locality to which this term is now applied among us.

TO OVERSLAUGH. (Dutch, overslaan.) To skip over; pass over; omit. A word used by New York politicians.

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OWDACIOUS, for audacious. Southern and Western.

PAAS. (Dutch, Paasch.) This Dutch name is still commonly applied to the festival of Easter, in the State of New York.

PACKAGE. A general term, comprehending bales, boxes, &c. of merchandise.—Pickering. Dr. Johnson and the early lexicographers do not notice the word. Recent authors, however, Knowles and Reid, give it a place in their dictionaries.

PAINT. In some of the Southern States, a horse or other animal which is spotted, is called a paint.

PAINTER. In the country the popular name of the cougar or panther (felis concolor). Vanderdonck, in his “History of the New Netherlands,” called it a lion; and Mr. Emmons, in his “Massachusetts Report,” speaks of it as the Puma or American Lion.

PAIR OF STAIRS. An expression often used for a flight of stairs.

PALMETTO. (Genus, chamærops.) A species of American dwarf palm; cabbage tree.—Worcester.

PALMETTO STATE or CAPITAL. The State or capital of South Carolina; so called from the arms of the State, which contain a palmetto.

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PAPPOOS. (Algonkin.) Among the native Indians of New England, a babe or young child.—Webster. It is also applied to Indian infants by the whites.

PARK. A public square or enclosure is so termed in New York. The Park, formerly called the Commons, and in which stands the City Hall, contains nearly eleven acres of ground; St. John’s Park, called the Hudson Square, has above four acres.

PARTLY. Mr. Pickering notices the use of this word in the sense of nearly, almost, in some towns of the Middle States. Ex. ‘His house is partly opposite,’ i. e. nearly opposite to mine. ‘It is partly all gone;’ i. e. nearly all gone.

PASSAGE. Enactment; the act of carrying through all the regular forms necessary to give validity; as the passage of a law, or of a bill into a law, by a legislative body.—Webster. Mr. Pickering says this word “is criticised by the English reviewers as an American innovation.” It is not in the English dictionaries in this sense.

PATROON. (Dutch, patroon, a patron.) A grantee of land to be settled under the old Dutch governments of New York and New Jersey.

The following articles from the “Freedoms and Exemptions” granted to the Dutch West India Company, will show what were some of the privileges of the Patroons:

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For a further account of the privileges of the Patroons, See O’Callaghan’s History of New Netherland, Vol. I. p. 112.

PAWPAW. (Lat. annona triloba, ficus Indicus.) A wild fruit-bearing shrub, remarkable for its beauty. The fruit is nutritious, and a great resource to the Indians. “So many whimsical and compounded tastes are contained in it,” says Mr. Flint, “that a person of the most hypochondriac temperament relaxes to a smile when he tastes the pawpaw for the first time.”—Geog. of the Mississippi Valley.

PAYEE. The person to whom money is to be paid; the person named in a bill or note to whom the amount is promised or directed to be paid.—Webster. This useful word is not in the English dictionaries.

TO PEAK.}
TO PEKE.} To peep; to pry into. It is quite common in the popular language of New England to hear this word, which Dr. Webster supposes to be the same as peep. If it is a corruption, which is doubtful, the examples will show that its use is not modern.

PEAKED. Sickly looking.—Todd. Applied to a person who is sickly, and whose face presents sharp angles. Holloway says, that in England they say of a sickly person, “he looks pale and peaked.[”] The same expression is often heard in the Northern States.

PEA-NUT. The common name for the fruit of the arachis hypogea. It is also called the ground nut and earth nut. (French, pistache de terre.)

PEARIFORM. Pear-shaped. A hybrid expression.

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PECCAN NUT. The nut of the peccan tree, the carys oliviformia of the Southern States.

PECK OF TROUBLES. Great trouble.

PECKISH. Hungry.—Grose.

PEEKY. A term applied to timber and trees, in which the first symptoms of decay are shown.

PEEL. A broad thin board with a long handle, used by bakers to put their bread in and out of the oven.—Johnson. The term is by many applied to a common shovel.

PEERT. This word has the same signification as perk, but is much more frequently employed. It is either an altered form of the word perk, or a corrupt pronunciation of pert. The phrase, ‘as peert as a lizard,’ is sometimes heard. It is used in a good as well as a bad sense, and especially of one who is recovering, or ‘looking up,’ after a fit of sickness.

Speaking of the recovery of his wife from sickness, Major Jones says:

PEE-WEE. The name given by boys to a little marble.

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PEET-WEET. (Genus, totanus.) The spotted Sandpiper or Sand-lark of ornithologists, but better known among the people by the name of peet-weet, in allusion to its notes; or of teeter and tilt-up from its often repeated grotesque jerking motions.—Dr. DeKay in Nat. Hist. of New York.

PEMICAN. A far-famed provender of man, in the wilds of North America, formed by pounding the choice parts of the meat very small, dried over a slow fire or in the frost, and put into bags made of the skin of the slain animal, into which a portion of melted fat is then poured. The whole being then strongly pressed and sewed up, constitutes the best and most portable food for the “voyageurs,” and one which, with proper care, will keep a long time. Fifty pounds of meat and forty pounds of grease make a bag of pemican. Sweet pemican is another kind, made chiefly of bones.—Dunn’s Oregon, p. 59.

Penn. The common abbreviation for Pennsylvania.

PERFECTIONIST. One pretending to perfection; an enthusiast in religion.—Webster.

PERIAUGER. (Spanish, piragua.) A small schooner without a bowsprit, and with a lee board, used in the waters of New York and New Jersey.

PERIODICAL. A magazine or other publication, that is published at stated or regular periods.—Webster.

PERK. Lively; brisk; holding up the head.—Webster. This old word, still provincial in England, is used in the interior

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of New England, and is commonly pronounced peark (the ea as in pear).—Pickering.

PERSIMMON. (Diospyros Virginiana.) This tree is unknown in the North-eastern parts of our country; but south of latitude 42° it is found throughout the United States. It varies exceedingly in size, being sometimes sixty feet in height, with a trunk twenty inches in diameter, but more frequently does not attain half these dimensions. The fruit is about an inch in diameter, and is powerfully astringent. The wood is very hard, and is used for large screws, mallets, shoe lasts, wedges, &c. In clearing the forests, the persimmon is usually preserved; and it is probable that the quality of the fruit might be improved by cultivation.—Encyc. Amer.

PERTEND UP. Better; more cheerful.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

PESKILY. Very; extremely; confoundedly. I know not the origin of this New England word.

PESKY. Great; very; exceedingly.

PETER FUNK. At the petty auctions a person is employed to bid on articles put up for sale, in order to raise their price. Such a person is called a Peter Funk; probably from such a name having frequently been given when articles were bought in. At the mock auctions, as they are called in New York, this practice of having by-bidders is carried to a great extent; and strangers, unacquainted with their tricks, are often cheated

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by them. Grose describes a person similarly employed in England, under the name of puffer.

PHEESE. A fit of fretfulness. A colloquial, vulgar word in the United States.—Worcester. The adjective pheesy, fretful, querulous, irritable, sore, is provincial in England.—Forby. Also written feeze, which see.

PICAYUNE. The name for the Spanish half real in Florida, Louisiana, etc. See Federal Currency.

PICAYUNE. Sixpenny. Sometimes used metaphorically for small.

PICKANINNY. A negro or mulatto infant. Used in the Southern States. Mr. Boucher, in his Glossary, suggests that this word is from the Spanish picade niño, pequeno niño. It is more probably of African origin.

PICK-BACK. On the back.—Johnson. We often use the word with children. To ride pick-back, is for a child to ride across one’s back, with its arms around the neck.

TO PICK. To eat like a bird; that is, slowly and by small morsels. Ex. ‘I have little appetite, but think I can pick a bit;’ ‘You will find some good picking on that fowl.’

PICKLE. To have a rod in pickle, or in soak, is to have a flogging prepared for one. The phrase is often used in jest, here as in England.

PICK-UP. A pick-up, or a pick-up dinner, is a dinner made up of such fragments of cold meats as remain from former meals. The word is common in the Northern States.

PIECE. A little while. ‘Stay a piece.’ Provincial in the north of England.—Johnson. The common expression is, ‘Wait a bit.’

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PIG-NUT. (Lat. juglans porcina.) A small species of walnut.—Michaux, Sylva.

PIG-YOKE. Among seamen, the name for a quadrant, from its resemblance to a pig-yoke.

PILE. (Dutch, pyl.) An arrow. This word is still retained by the boys of New York.

PIMPING. Little; petty; as, ‘a pimping thing.’—Skinner. Used in the interior of New England.

ON A PINCH. On an emergency.

PINE BARRENS. A term applied to level, sandy tracts, covered with pine-trees, in the Southern States.—Worcester.

PINK. Used here as in England, like the word flower, to denote the finest part, the essence; as, ‘She is the pink of perfection.’

PINK-STERN. (French, pinque.) A vessel with a narrow stern; hence all vessels so formed are called pink-sterned.—

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Chambers. This species of craft is very common in the waters of New England.

PINION. A species of pine tree, growing on the head waters of the Arkansas; common to that region as well as to New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, etc. Wild turkeys frequent groves of these trees for the sake of their nuts.

PINXTER. (Dutch, pingster.) Whitsunday. On Pinxter Monday, the Dutch negroes of New York and New Jersey consider themselves especially privileged to get as drunk as they can.

PINXTER BLUMACHY. (Dutch.) A familiar name in the State of New York for the azalea nudiflora. May-apple is another name for the same plant.

PIPE-LAYING. This term, in political parlance, means any arrangement by which a party makes sure of a certain addition to its legitimate strength in the hour of trial—that is, the election. In other words, to lay pipe means to bring up voters not legally qualified.

It were too long a story to tell the origin of the term at length. In brief, it arose from an accusation brought against the Whig party of this city (New York) some years ago, of a gigantic scheme to bring on voters from Philadelphia. The accusation was made by a notorious Democrat, of not very pure political character, who professed to have derived his information from the agent employed by the Whigs for the service. This agent had actually been employed by certain leaders of the Whig party, but on a service deemed legitimate and proper in the art of electioneering. He, however, turned traitor, and, as was alleged by the Whigs, concocted a plot with the notorious Democrat to throw odium upon the Whigs. A mass of correspondence was brought forward in proof, consisting mainly of letters written by the agent to various parties in New York, apparently describing the progress and success of his operations. In these letters, as if for the purpose of concealment, the form of a mere business

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correspondence was adopted—the number of men hired to visit New York and vote, being spoken of as so many yards of pipe—the work of laying down pipe for the Croton water being at that time in full activity.

The Whig leaders were indicted, on the strength of these pseudo revelations, and the letters were read in court; bu[t] the jury believed neither in them nor in the writer of them, and the accused were acquitted.

The term “pipe-laying,” however, was at once adopted as a synonym for negotiations to procure fraudulent votes.—[J. Inman.]

PIRATE. A sea-robber; any robber; particularly a book-seller who seizes the copies of other men.—Johnson.

Some of our large publishing houses may not be aware that there is such good authority for applying the term pirate to them, as is found in the following quotation:

PISTAREEN. The Spanish peseta Sevillana, or one-fifth of a dollar. A silver coin, formerly common in the United States, of the value of twenty cents. They have now become so much worn that they pass but for seventeen cents.

TO PIT. A pit is the area in which cocks fight; hence, ‘to pit one against another,’ to place them in the same pit, one against the other, for a contest; to put or place as a match.—Richardson.

PIT. (Dutch, pit, a kernel.) The kernel or nut of fruit; as, a cherry-pit. Peculiar to New York.

PITPAN. In the West Indies, a very long, narrow, flat-bottomed, trough-like canoe, with thin and flat projecting ends.

PLAGUILY. Vexatiously; horribly. A low word.—Johnson.

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PLAGUY. In the United States used adverbially, in the same sense as plaguily.

PLAGUY SIGHT. This is a very common expression in the colloquial language of New England, and means, a great deal.

TO PLANK. To lay; to put; generally applied to money; as, ‘He planked down the cash.’

PLANTER. In Newfoundland, a person engaged in the fishery.

PLANTER. A term applied to a piece of timber or the naked trunk of a tree, one end of which is firmly planted in the bed of a river, while the other rises near the surface of the water. This is the most dangerous among the “snag and sawyer” family, to which vessels, navigating the Western rivers, are exposed. See Snag and Sawyer.

PLATFORM. In some of the New England States an ecclesiastical constitution, or a plan for the government of churches; as, the Cambridge or Saybrook platform.—Webster. The same use of this word is made by English divines.

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PLAY-ACTOR. A pleonastic expression for the English term player or actor. It is used only in the United States.

PLEAD or PLED, for pleaded. It has been correctly remarked, that there is no such word as pled in the English language. It is true that the preterite and past part. of the verb to read is pronounced red; but there is no analogy between the two verbs, except their accidental similarity of sound. The former is the Anglo-Saxon verb rædan, and is conjugated accordingly; whereas the latter is the old French plaider, and therefore cannot admit what philologists call the “strong inflexion.” This vulgar mistake is often met with in our reports of legal proceedings and elsewhere. But it is not of recent origin, nor is it exclusively American; as is shown by the following example from Spenser, furnished by Richardson:

PLENTY. Plentiful; in abundance.—Webster. Opinions differ as to this use of the word. Johnson regards it as “barbarous;” while Webster thinks it “too well authorized to be rejected.” Dr. Johnson seems clearly in the right, notwithstanding; the word being the old French abstract noun plenté, which we are not entitled to turn into an adjective because it happens to end in y.

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PLUMPER. At an election, a full vote, to one candidate, not shared with another.—Richardson. We use the word in the nine sense; for example, ‘Let the Whig voters turn out in a body, and give Harry Clay a plumper.’

PLUNDER. Personal luggage, baggage of travellers, goods, effects. A very common word throughout the Southern and Western States. It is never heard in this sense in New England.

POHAGEN. A fish of the herring species. The Menhaden of Rhode Island. Maine.

POKE. A bag. I have heard this old word used by some persons here in the compound term cream-poke; that is, a small bag through which cream is strained.—Pickering.

POKE. A lazy person; a dawdle. ‘What a slow poke you be!’ A woman’s word.

POKE, or POKE-WEED. (Lat. phytolacca.) A common plant, known also by the names of Garget, Cocum, Jalap, &c. It is a violent emetic.—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

POKE. In New England, a machine to prevent unruly beasts from leaping fences, consisting of a yoke with a pole inserted, pointing forward.—Webster.

TO POKE. To put a poke on; as, to poke an ox.—Webster.

TO POKE FUN. To joke; to make fun. To poke fun at, is to ridicule, make a butt of one.

POKE-BONNET. A long, straight bonnet, much worn by Quakers and Methodists.

POKE-LOKEN. An Indian word, used by hunters and lum-

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bermen in Maine, to denote a marshy place or stagnant pool, extending into the land from a stream or lake.

POKER. A favorite game of cards among Southern gamblers.

POKER. (Dan. pokker, Welsh pwca, a hobgoblin.) Any frightful object, especially in the dark; a bugbear; a word in common use in America.—Webster.

POKERISH. Frightful; causing fear, especially to children. A childish or colloquial word.—Worcester.

POLLYWOG, or POLLYWIG. A tadpole. Mr. Forby has the word puriwiggy, a tadpole, of which pollywig is a corruption. He derives it from periwig, from the resemblance the tadpole bears to that antiquated article of finery, the wig with a long queue, as well as to a pot-ladle, by which name it is also called.—Norfolk Glossary.

POMME BLANCHE. (Fr.) White apple. A native of the prairies and mountains, oval-shaped and about three and a half inches in circumference. It is encased in a thin fibrous tegument, which, when removed, exposes a white pulpy substance, and in taste resembles a turnip.—Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 107.

POND. We give this name to collections of water in the interior country, which are fed by springs, and from which issues a small stream. These ponds are often a mile or two or even more in length, and the current issuing from them is used to drive the wheels of mills and furnaces.—Webster.

TO PONY UP. A vulgar phrase, meaning to pay over money. Ex. ‘Come, Mr. B——, pony up that account;’ that is, pay over the money. Grose gives a phrase similar to it: ‘Post the pony,’ i. e. lay down the money.

POOR AS JOB’S TURKEY. A common simile.

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POP. Papa. A term used in the country.

POPPED CORN. Parched Indian corn, so called from the noise it makes on bursting open. The variety usually prepared in this way is of a dark color, with a small grain.

PORGY, or PAUGIE. Pron. with the g hard. (Indian, scuppaug.) A fish of the sparus family, common in the waters of New England and New York. Roger Williams mentions it in his Key to the Indian Language (1643). It is singular that one half the aboriginal name, scup, should be retained in Rhode Island for this fish, and the other half; paug, changed into paugie, or porgy, in New York. The entire Indian name, however, is still common in many parts of New England.

PORTAGE. A carrying place over land between navigable waters, or along the banks of rivers, round water-falls or rapids, &c.—Pickering. This word has been adopted by geographers, and is universal throughout North America.

POSITION. ‘Defining one’s position’ is a political practice of modern days, generally resorted to either by gentlemen who have no other good chance or prospect of bringing themselves to the special notice of the public, as a sort of advertisement that they are in the market, or by other gentlemen who contemplate making a dodge from one side in politics to the other. It is done either orally or in writing; by a speech in Congress or at some public meeting; or by a long letter, published in some newspaper, the editor of which is always glad of something to fill his columns. The highest art in ‘defining one’s position’ is to leave it more indefinite than it was before, so that any future contingency may be taken advantage of. [J. Inman.]

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PORTAAL. (Dutch.) A portal, lobby. Used by people of Dutch descent, in New Jersey and New York, for a, small passage or entry of a house, and pronounced pit-áll. The principal entrance they call the gang; also Dutch.

PORTMANTLE. Portmanteau; a valise.

POST-NOTE. In commerce, a bank-note intended to be transmitted to a distant place by mail, and made payable to order. In this it differs from a common bank-note, which is payable to bearer.—Webster.

Post-notes differ in other respects from bank-notes. The latter are payable on demand; the former are often drawn on time, with or without interest, sometimes six or twelve months after date. This species of currency was resorted to by many banks during the great commercial revulsions in 1836-7, and thereby contributed greatly to the expansion of credits which proved so disastrous to the country.

TO GO TO POT. To be destroyed, wasted, or ruined.—Johnson. Webster. Though much used, it is considered a low phrase both in England and America.

POTTY-BAKER. (Dutch, potte-bakker.) A potter. This Dutch word is still common in New York. Potter’s clay is here called potty-baker’s clay.

POWER. A large quantity; a great number. In low language; as, ‘a power of good things.’—Johnson.

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POWERFUL. Great; very; exceedingly. A vulgar use of the word in some parts of the country.

POW-WOW. (Indian.) This is the name given by the early chroniclers to the feasts, dances, and other public doings of the red men, preliminary to a grand hunt, a council, a war expedition, or the like. It has been adopted, in political talk, to signify any uproarious meeting for a political purpose, at which there is more noise than deliberation, more clamor than counsel. [J. Inman.]

PRAIRIE. (French.) An extensive tract of land, mostly level, destitute of trees, and covered with tall, coarse grass. These prairies are numerous in the United States west of the Alleghany Mountains, especially between the Ohio, Mississippi, and the great lakes.—Webster.

PRAIRILLON. A small prairie.

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PRAIRIE-BITTERS. A beverage common among the hunters and mountaineers. It is made with a pint of water and a quarter of a gill of buffalo-gall, and is considered an excellent medicine.—Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 133.

PRAIRIE-DOG. (Aretomys ludovicianus.) Called by the Indians Wistonwish. A variety of the marmot. It has received the name of Prairie-dog from a supposed similarity between its warning cry and the barking of a small dog. They live in large communities; their villages, as they are termed by the hunters, sometimes being many miles in extent. The entrance to each burrow is at the summit of the mound of earth thrown up during the progress of the excavation below. This marmot, like the rest of the species, becomes torpid during the winter, and, to protect itself against the rigor of the season, stops the mouth of its hole, and constructs a cell at the bottom of it, where it remains without injury.—Encyclopedia Americana. Also called Gopher.

PRAIRIE-HEN. The pinnated grouse of ornithologists. It is also called Heath-hen and Grouse in some parts of the country.—Audubon’s Ornithology.

PRAYERFUL. Using prayer; praying; devout.—Worcester.

PRAYERFULLY. Devoutly. Ex. ‘We may be prayerfully disposed.’ Used by some of the clergy.—Webster. Pickering.

PRAYERLESS. Not praying or using prayer; indevout. This word, as also prayerful and prayerfully, though modern, are now much used.—Worcester.

Mr. Pickering says this word is used by Whitfield.

PRAYERFULNESS. The use of much prayer.—Webster.

PRAYERLESSNESS. Total or habitual neglect of prayer.—Webster.

PREDICATE. To predicate on or upon, is to found a proposi-

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tion, argument, etc. on some basis or data. This sense of the word, said to be purely American, is not noticed by Dr. Webster or the English lexicographers. “Its use,” as Mr. Pickering observes, “is very common with American writers, and in the debates of our legislative assemblies.”

PREHAPS, for perhaps, is much used at the West in familiar language when additional force is to be given to the word. It originated in a jocose mispronunciation, which appears to be becoming a fixed corruption.

PRESENT. Put on the back of letters to persons residing in the place where the letter is written. Peculiar to the United States. The Spanish equivalent presente is also used in Central America.

PRESIDENCY. 1. The office of president. ‘Washington was elected to the presidency of the United States by a unanimous vote of the electors.’

2. The term during which a president holds his office. ‘President John Adams died during the presidency of his son.’—Webster.

PRESIDENTIAL. Pertaining to a president.—Webster. In this sense the word is an Americanism. It is of course very common and indispensable with us, and is sometimes used by English writers in treating of American affairs.

PRETTY CONSIDERABLE. Tolerable, pretty well; tolerably, pretty. A New England vulgarism.

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PREVENTATIVE. A corruption sometimes met with for preventive both in England and America.

PRIME. Primely; in a first rate manner. This is one of the many English adjectives which, in our vulgar language, are transformed into adverbs.

PRIMINARY. Predicament; difficulty. Used in the Southern States.—Sherwood’s Georgia. I am told that this word is also used by old people living on Long Island. It is provincial in the North of England.

PRINTERY. Bakery, bindery, have long been in use amongst us, and in New York even paintery and printery. In process of time a church may be called a preachery.

PROFANITY. This word is in common use here, more particularly with our clergy. It is not in the dictionaries, and I do not recollect ever meeting with it in English authors. The Scottish writers employ it; but English writers use the word profaneness.—Pickering. It appears, however, that English authors are beginning to use it; see Worcester on the word.

PROFESSOR. One visibly or professedly religious.—Worcester. A very odd use of the word to those not accustomed to it.

PROG. Victuals; provisions of any kind. A low word.—Johnson. This word is often heard in New York and New England in familiar language.

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TO PROGRESS. To move forward; to pass.—Johnson. This is not a pure Americanism, as some suppose, but an old English word which had been suffered to become obsolete. It was revived here after the Revolution (see Pickering), and has lately been taken into favor again in England.

The Penny Cyclopedia (art. Americanism) says, “The old verb prógrese, which the Americans use very often and pronounce progréss, is now beginning to be again adopted in its native country, though we think we could do very well without it.”

PROPER. Very. Colloquial in England and the United States.

PROPERLY. Very much. Common in New England.

PRO-SLAVERY. In favor of slavery. An expression much used by political speakers and writers, although not yet inserted in the dictionaries.

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PROTRACTED MEETING. A name given in New England to a religious meeting, protracted or continued for several days, chiefly among the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists, and Baptists. Notice is sometimes given that a protracted meeting will be held at a certain time and place, where large numbers of people assemble.

PROUD. Glad; as, ‘I should be proud to see you.’

PROX, or PROXY. The use of these words is confined to the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Prox, in Rhode Island, means the ticket or list of candidates at elections presented to the people for their votes. By a law of the colony of Providence Plantations passed in the year 1647, the General Assembly was appointed to be holden annually, “if wind and weather hinder not, at which the general officers of the colony were to be chosen.” This clause made it convenient for many to remain at home, particularly as they had the right to send their votes for the officers by some other persons; hence the origin of these terms prox and proxy votes, as applied to the present mode of voting for State officers in Rhode Island.—Staples’s Annals of Providence, p. 64.

Mr. Pickering observes that this word is also used in Connecticut, as equivalent to election, or election-day. He quotes the following instances from a Connecticut newspaper:

Dr. Webster, with whom New England, or rather Con-

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necticut, seems to have been a synonym for “all creation,” says, the word means, “in popular use, an election or day of voting for officers of government.”

PRY. A large lever employed to raise or move heavy substances. Used also in some parts of England.—Worcester.

TO PRY. To move or raise by means of a large lever.—Worcester.

PUBLICIST. A writer on the laws of nature and nations; one who treats of the rights of nations.—Webster. It is seldom used by English writers. In this country Kent, Duponceau, Gallatin, and others have employed it.

PUBLISHMENT. A publishing of the banns of marriage, which is required by law in New England. In popular usage this is a publishment, as, ‘Mr. Doe and Miss Roe’s publishment took place to-day.’

PUCKER. A fright; a state of perplexity or trouble; agitation. Provincial in England.

TO PULL FOOT. To walk fast; to run.

TO PULL UP STAKES. To pack up one’s furniture or baggage preparatory to a removal; to remove.

PUMA. (Felis concolor et discolor.) This animal is also known

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under the names of Cougar, Panther, &c., and is the largest animal of the cat kind found in America.—Encyc. Americana.

PUMPKIN. The common name for the pompion throughout the United States.

PUNCHEONS. A term which, in Georgia, means split logs, with their faces a little smoothed with an axe or hatchet.

PUNG. A rude sort of sleigh, or oblong box made of boards and placed on runners, used for drawing loads on snow by horses.—Worcester.

PUNK. Rotten wood; touchwood; spunk. A word in common use in New England, as well as in the other Northern States and Canada. Ash defines it “a kind of fungus, often used for tinder.”—Pickering.

PUPELO. A name for cider-brandy, formerly manufactured in New England to a great extent.

TO STAY PUT. To remain in order; not to be disturbed. A vulgar expression.

PUT OFF. An excuse, an illusory pretext for delay.—Carr’s Craven Dialect.

TO PUT ON AIRS. To assume airs of importance.

TO PUT OUT. To start; to set out.

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TO PUT OUT. To offend.

QUAHAUG. (Montauk Indian, quauhaug.) In New England, the popular name of a species of clams, having a round and very hard shell.

TO QUALIFY. To swear to discharge the duties of an office; and hence to make oath of any fact; as, ‘I am ready to qualify to what I have asserted!’

QUEER FISH. An odd or eccentric person is often called a queer fish, an odd stick.

QUID, a corruption of cud; as, in vulgar language, a quid of tobacco. In Kent (England), a cow is said to chew her quid; so that cud and quid are the same.—Pegge’s Anonymia.

QUILLING. A piece of reed, on which weavers wind the thread which forms the woof of cloth, is called a quill; an old English word. In New England a certain process of winding thread is called quilling.

RACE. A strong or rapid current of water, or the channel or passage for such current; as a mill-race.—Webster.

RADDLE. In New England, an instrument consisting of a wooden bar, with a row of upright pegs set in it, which is employed by domestic weavers to keep the warp of a proper width, and prevent it from becoming entangled, when it is wound upon the beam of a loom.—Webster.

RAFT. A frame or float, made by laying pieces of timber

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across each other.—Johnson. In North America rafts are constructed of immense size, and comprise timber, boards, staves, &c. They are floated down from the interior to the tide waters, being propelled by the force of the current, assisted by large oars and sails, to their place of destination. The men employed on these rafts construct rude huts upon them, in which they often dwell for several weeks before arriving at the places where they are taken to pieces for shipping to foreign parts.

RAFT. This term is also given to a large collection of timber and fallen trees, which, floating down the great rivers of the West, are arrested in their downward course by flats or shallow places. Here they accumulate, and sometimes block up the river for miles. The great raft on Red river extended twenty miles, and required an immense outlay of money to remove it in order to make the river navigable.

RAFT. A large quantity. Used only in low language.

TO RAFT. To transport on a raft.—Webster.

RAFTING. The business of [constructing and] floating rafts.—Webster.

RAFTSMAN. A man who follows the business of rafting.

RAIL. A piece of timber, cleft, hewed, or sawed, inserted in upright posts for fencing. The common rails among farmers are rough, being used as they are split from the chestnut or other trees.—Webster.

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TO RAIL IT. To travel by rail-road.

RAIL-CAR. A car for transporting passengers on rail-roads.

RAISE. To make a raise. A vulgar American phrase, meaning to make a haul, to raise the wind.

RAISING. In New England and the Northern States, the operation or work of setting up the frame of a building.—Webster.

On such occasions the neighboring farmers are accustomed to assemble and lend their assistance. In this why the framework of the largest house or barn is set up in a few hours.

TO RAISE. To cause to grow; to procure to he produced, bred, or propagated; as to raise wheat, barley, hops, &c.; to raise horses, oxen, or sheep.—Webster.

In England they use grow when speaking of the crops. Raise is applied in the Southern States to the breeding of negroes. It is sometimes heard at the North among the illiterate; as, ‘I was raised in Connecticut,’ meaning brought up there. See more in Pickering’s Vocabulary.

TO RAISE A BEAD. This expression is used at the West, and means to bring to a head, to make succeed. The figure is taken from brandy, rum, or other liquors, which will not ‘raise a bead,’ unless of the proper strength.

TO RAISE ONE’S BRISTLES. To excite one’s anger.

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TO RAKE AND SCRAPE. To collect.

RANCHO. (Span.) A rude hut of posts, covered with branches or thatch, where herdsmen or farm-laborers live or only lodge at night.

RANCHERO. (Span.) A person who lives in a rancho, and by extension to any peasant or countryman. This word and the preceding, like the word chaporral, have lately become familiar to us, in consequence of the present unhappy war with Mexico.

RANCHERIA. The place, site, or house in the country where a number of rancheros collect together. The collection of few or many huts or ranchos into a small village.

These three words must necessarily have a place in our vocabularies, since the acquisition of so many ranchos in our territory, and rancheros in our population.

RANTANKEROUS. Contentious; a variation of cantankerous.

RAPIDS. (Used in the plural.) The part of a river where the current moves with more celerity than the common current. Rapids imply a considerable descent of the earth, but not sufficient to occasion a fall of the water, or what is called a cascade or cataract.—Webster.

RAPPEE. An inferior quality of snuff.

RAT. A contemptuous term used by printers, to denote a man who works under price.

TO RAT. Among printers, to work under price. Among politicians, to desert one’s party and go over to the opposite one. The term is used both in England and America. The London Athenæum, in a review of Campbell’s Lives of the Lord Chancellors, in speaking of Wedderburn, afterwards Lord Loughborough, says:

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RAVE. The upper side piece of the body of a cart.—Webster.

RAVING DISTRACTED. Stark mad.

RAW. Not worked up, manufactured, or prepared for use; as, ‘raw materials.’—Worcester.

REAL. Really; truly; very; as, ‘real nice.’

TO REALIZE. To bring home to one’s own case or experience; to consider as one’s own; to feel in all its force.—Webster.

This sense of the word is not in the English dictionaries, though Mr. Pickering says it is used in Scotland.

TO RE-CHARTER. To charter again; to grant a second or another charter to.—Webster.

TO RECKON. To think; to imagine; to believe; to conjecture; to conclude; to guess. Used in some parts of the United States, as guess is in the Northern. It is provincial in England in the same sense, and is noticed in the glossaries of Pegge and Brockett. Mr. Hamilton, in his remarks on the Yorkshire dialect, says: “ ‘I reckon’ comes out on every occasion, as perhaps aliens would expect from this country of ‘ready reckoners.’ ”—Nugæ Literariæ, p. 317.

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RED DOG MONEY. A term applied, in the State of New York, to certain bank notes which have on their back a large red stamp.

The late General Banking law of the State of New York, which was applied to all new banks, as well as to those the charters of which were renewed, obliged the parties or individuals associated to deposit securities with the Comptroller, and receive from him blank notes of various denominations, signed or hearing the certificate of the Comptroller or officer authorized by him. These notes bore a red stamp on their backs.

So free a system of banking induced many persons, both individually and collectively, to organize banks of issue; and, as a natural consequence, a considerable portion of the circulating medium soon consisted of the notes of the free banks, bearing the red stamp. The community, generally, did not consider these notes as safe as those issued by the old banks, and stigmatized them as red dogs, and the currency as red dog money. Since the passage of the act, however, the charters of most of the banks in the State having expired, they have been renewed under the “General Banking Law;” and, of course, the odium which existed against the first banks no longer exists. In Michigan, they apply the term blue pup money to bank notes having a blue stamp on their backs.

REDEMPTIONER. One who redeems himself or purchases his release from debt or obligation to the master of a ship by his services; or one whose services are sold to pay the expenses of his passage to America.—Webster.

RED LANE. A vulgar name for the throat, chiefly used by tipplers.

RED-ROOT. A shrub found upon the prairies near the Rocky Mountains, highly esteemed as a substitute for tea. It resembles the tea of commerce, and affords an excellent beverage.—Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 26.

REGENT. In the State of New York, the member of a cor-

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porate body which is invested with the superintendence of all the colleges, academies, and schools in the State. This board consists of twenty-one members, who are called “the regents of the University of the State of New York.” They are appointed and removable by the legislature. They have power to grant acts of incorporation for colleges; to visit and inspect all colleges, academies, and schools; and to make regulations for governing the same.—Statutes of New York.

TO RE-INSURE. To insure the same property a second time by other underwriters.—Webster.

It is common with underwriters or insurance companies, when they find they have too large a sum insured on one ship, or in a particular district, to re-insure a part elsewhere.

TO RE-LOAN. To loan again; to lend what has been lent and repaid.—Webster.

TO RE-INVESTIGATE. To investigate again.—Webster.

TO RE-LAND. To go on shore after having embarked.—Webster.

REMOVABILITY. The capacity of being removed from an office or station; capacity of being displaced.—Webster.

RENCH. A vulgar pronunciation of the word rinse.

RENEWEDLY. Again; once more.—Webster.

This adverb is often heard from our pulpits.—Pickering.

TO RE-OPEN. To open again.—Webster. This word is much used. The theatre re-opens for the season. The schools re-open after their vacations.

REORGANIZATION. The act of organizing anew; as, repeated organization of the troops.—Webster.

REPETITIOUS. Repeating; containing repetition.—Webster. Mr. Pickering notices this word, which he thinks is peculiar to the writer from whom the following extract is taken:

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TO RE-SHIP. To ship again; to ship what has been conveyed by water or imported.—Webster.

Much used in all our commercial cities.

RESOLVE. Legal or official determination; legislative act concerning a private person or corporation, or concerning some private business. Public acts of a legislature respect the State; and to give them validity, the bills for such acts must pass through all the legislative forms. Resolves are usually private acts, and are often passed with less formality.—Webster.

TO RESULT. To decide or decree, as an ecclesiastical council.—Pickering.

RESULT. The decision or determination of a council or deliberative assembly; as, ‘the result of an ecclesiastical council.’ Peculiar to New England.—Webster.

RETIRACY. Sufficiency; competency. It is said, in New England, of a person who has retired from business with a fortune, that he has a retiracy; i. e. a sufficient fortune to retire with.

TO RETIRE. To withdraw; to take away; to make to retire.—Johnson. This transitive use of the verb, which had become obsolete, is now reviving in this country. Of the many examples from good old writers given by Johnson, we will quote only one from Shakspeare:

With us it is used by military men of withdrawing troops.

And by merchants of paying their notes.

RETORTIVE. Containing retort.—Webster.

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TO RETROSPECT. To look back; to affect what is passed.—Webster.

Mr. Pickering has the following illustration:

This word cannot be said to be much used. The writings of Gen. Hamilton abound in peculiar expressions.

REVERENT. Strong; as, reverent whisky, i. e. not diluted.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

RICH. Luscious, i. e. entertaining; amusing in the highest degree.

The New York Tribune, in speaking of General Cass’s book, “France; its King, Court, and Government,” says

TO RIDE. The use of the word ride, both as a verb and a noun, in the sense of being conveyed in a carriage, has been regarded as an Americanism. Nevertheless, it was formerly so used in England, as appears from the following example:

English writers of the present day, however, consider it as correct to use it only of conveyance on horseback, or some other motive power; but of conveyance in a carriage, they use the verb to drive, as in the following extract from Cowper:

TO RIDE. To carry. In the city of New York this word is

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used by carmen as well as merchants, when speaking of carting or carrying merchandise on a cart. Thus, ‘to ride a box or bale of goods,’ is to carry it. I heard a witness in a court-room testify that he had “rode some hogs from the wharf to the store,” by which he meant that he carried a load of dead hogs on his cart.

RIFLE. A whetstone for sharpening scythes.—Todd. Worcester. This old English word is retained by the farmers of New England.

TO RIGHTS. Directly; soon. Peculiar to America.—Webster.

RIGHT AWAY, or RIGHT OFF. Directly; immediately.

RILE. See Roil.

RISING, or RISING OF. More than; upwards of; as, ‘There were rising of a thousand men killed at the battle of Buena Vista.’

RISKY. Dangerous; hazardous.

RIVER. Mr. Pickering observes that the Americans, in speaking of rivers, commonly put the name before the word river, thus, Connecticut river, Charles river, Merrimack river, Hudson river, Susquehanna river; whereas the English would place the name after it, and say, the river Hudson, the river Merrimack, &c. There are some exceptions, however, when speaking of the largest rivers; for we usually say, the river Mississippi, the river St. Lawrence.

RIVER DRIVER. A term used by lumbermen in Maine, for a man whose business it is to conduct logs down running streams, to prevent them from lodging upon shoals or remaining in eddies.

ROARER. One who roars; a noisy man.—Worcester.

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ROBE. A dressed skin; only applied to that of the buffalo. A pack of robes, is ten skins, tied in a pack, which is the manner in which they are brought from the far West to market. For the skins of other wild animals, we always use the term skin, as deer-skin, beaver-skin, muskrat-skin, etc., but never buffalo-skin.

ROCK. A piece of money. A slang term peculiar to the South.

ROCK. A stone. In the Southern and Western States, stones of any size are absurdly called rocks.

TO ROCK. To throw stones at; to stone. This supremely ridiculous expression is derived from the preceding.

TO ROIL. 1. To render turbid by stirring up the sediment; 2. To make angry. Provincial in England and colloquial in the United States.—Worcester. In both countries it is now commonly pronounced and written rile.

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ROILY, or RILY. 1. Turbid; 2. Excited to resentment; vexed.

ROKEAGE, or YOKEAGE. Indian corn parched, pulverized, and mixed with sugar.

ROLLICKING. A peculiar gait of a horse.

ROLLING. Undulating; varied by small hills and valleys, as land; so used in the Western States.—Worcester.

TO ROOM. To occupy a room; to lodge.—Worcester.

ROOSTER. The male of the domestic fowl; the cock.

TO ROPE IN. To take or sweep in collectively; an expression much used in colloquial language at the West. It originated in a common practice of drawing in hay with a rope. The hay is at first heaped in wind-rows. A rope, with a horse attached to each end, is swept like a net around the end of the row, which is thus brought together and dragged to any part of the field.

HIGH ROPES. ‘Upon the high ropes;’ i. e. elated; in high spirits.—Grose, Prov. Dict.

ROPING IN. Cheating. A very common expression in the South-western States.

ROSS. The rough scaly matter on the surface of the bark of certain trees. A term much used in New England.—Webster.

ROUND. ‘To come or get round one,’ in popular language, is to gain advantage over one by flattery or deception.—Webster.

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ROUSING. Very great; commonly applied to a fire.—Craven Glossary.

ROUND-RIMMERS. Hats with a round rim; hence, those who wear them. In the city of New York, a name applied to a large class of dissipated young men, by others called Bowery boys and Soap-locks.

ROWDY. A riotous, turbulent fellow.

TO ROW UP. To punish with words; to rebuke. It is an essential Westernism, and derived from the practice of making refractory slaves or servants row up the heavy keelboats of early navigation on the Western rivers, against the current, without being frequently relieved. It was thus regarded as a punishment.

TO ROW UP SALT RIVER, is a common phrase, used generally to signify political defeat. The distance to which a party is rowed up Salt river depends entirely upon the magnitude of the majority against its candidates. If the defeat is particularly overwhelming, the unsuccessful party is rowed up to the very head waters of Salt river.

It is occasionally used as nearly synonymous with to row up, as in the following example, but this application is rare:

To row up Salt river has its origin in the fact that there is a small stream of that name in Kentucky, the passage of which is made difficult and laborious as well by its tortuous course as by the abundance of shallows and bars. The real

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application of the phrase is to the unhappy wight who has the task of propelling the boat up the stream; but in political or slang usage it is to those who are rowed up—the passengers, not the oarsman. [J. Inman.]

ROWEN. In New England, the second growth of grass in a season. We never apply the word to a field, as in England, nor to the growth of corn after harvest.—Webster.

RUGGED. Hardy; robust; healthy. Colloquial in the United States.—Worcester.

RUINATIOUS. A vulgar substitute for ruinous.

RULLICHIES. (Dutch.) Chopped meat stuffed into small bags of tripe, which are then cut into slices and fried. An old and favorite dish among the descendants of the Dutch in New York.

RUM-BUD. A grog blossom; the popular name of a redness occasioned by the detestable practice of excessive drinking. Rum-buds usually appear first on the nose, and gradually extend over the face. This term seems to have reference to the disease technically defined to be unsuppurative papule, stationary, confluent, red, mottled with purple, chiefly affecting the face, sometimes produced and always aggravated by the use of alcoholic liquors, by exposure to heat, &c.—Rush.

RUN. A small stream or rivulet; a word common in the Southern and Western States, though sometimes heard at the North.

TO RUN. To press with jokes, sarcasm, or ridicule.—Webster.

RUN. Joke; ridicule. ‘To get the run upon one,’ is to make a butt of him; turn him into ridicule.

TO RUN ONE’S FACE. To make use of one’s credit. ‘To run one’s face for a thing,’ is to get it on tick.

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RUN OF STONES. A pair of mill-stones is called a run of stones when in operation or placed in a mill. The Rochester flouring mills have ten or twenty run of stones.

RUNGS. A very common name in New England for the rounds or steps of a ladder. The braces or rounds of common chairs are also vulgarly called rungs. This has generally been considered as a mere corruption of rounds; and people of education use only this latter word.—Pickering’s Vocabulary. It is provincial in the north of England. In New York it is applied to four upright staves fixed in a cart for supporting the load.

RUSTY DAB. (Gent’s, platessa. Cuvier.) The popular name of the Rusty Flat-fish, a fish found on the coast of Massachusetts and New York in deep water.—Storer, Fishes of Mass.

SAFE. An iron box, frequently built into the wall, and used by merchants as a place of deposit for their books and papers. They are now generally made fire proof; and some of these are called ‘salamander safes.’

TO SAG. To sink in the middle when supported at both ends; as a long pole.—Worcester. Provincial in England, but in common use with us.

SAGAMORE. The title of a chief or ruler among some of the American tribes of Indians; a sachem.—Worcester.

SADYING. A simple and unaffected mode of dancing, practised by novices in the art.

S. C. The common abbreviation for South Carolina.

SALMAGUNDI. A Dutch dish common in New York. It is made of pickled or smoked shad cut into thin slices or shreds,

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and sliced onions. The whole is then acidulated with vinegar. This dish is generally used at tea.

SALT-LICK. A saline spring, where animals resort for drink. See Lick.

SALT-WATER VEGETABLES. In New York, a cant term for oysters and clams.

SAMP. (Indian, nasaump.) Roger Williams describes nasaump as “a kind of meale pottage unparched; from this the English call their samp, which is Indian corn, beaten and boiled, and eaten hot or cold with milke or butter, which are mercies beyond the natives’ plaine water, and which is a dish exceedingly wholesome for the English bodies.”—Key to the Indian Language, p. 33. For other dishes made of corn, see Hominy, Mush, Suppawn, Suckatash.

SANG. An abbreviation of ginseng. It is or was also used in Virginia as a verb; to go a sanging, is to be engaged in gathering ginseng.

SANGAREE. (Span. sangre, blood.) A drink made of red wine, water, and sugar, with nutmeg grated over it. This word, now very common throughout the United States, was introduced from the West Indies.

SAND-FLEA, or BEACH-FLEA. (Genus, orchestra. Leach.) A small crustacea common along the shores of Long Island, and other sandy places, digging holes wherein they conceal themselves, and living upon dead animal substances.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

SANCTIMONIOUSLYFIED. This queer word explains itself.

SAPHEAD. A blockhead; a stupid fellow.—Craven Dialect.

SAPPY. Young; not firm; weak.—Johnson. Weak in intellect.—Webster. Used only in familiar language.

SAPSUCKER. A small wood-pecker (the dentrocopus of orni-

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thologists), so called from a common belief that it sucks the sap of trees.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

SARTIN, for certain. A vulgar pronunciation heard in many parts of England and the United States.

SASS-TEA. A decoction of sassafras.

SATINET. A twilled cloth made of cotton and wool.

SAUCE. (Vulgarly pronounced sass.) Culinary vegetables and roots eaten with flesh.—Webster. This word is provincial in various parts of England in the same sense. Forby defines it as “any sort of vegetable eaten with flesh-meat.”—Norfolk Glossary. Garden-stuff, and garden-ware, are the usual terms in England.

SAVAGE AS A MEAT AXE. Exceedingly hungry. This vulgar simile is often used in the Northern and Western States.

SAVAGEROUS. Furious. A low word.

SAVANNA. (W. Ind. savana.) An open plain, or meadow without wood.

SAVEY, or SABBY. (Corrupted from the Spanish saber, to know.) To know; to comprehend. A word of very exten-

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sive use wherever a Lingua Franca has been formed of the Spanish or Portuguese language in Asia, Africa, and America. It is used by the negroes in some of the Southern States.

TO SAW. To hoax; to play a joke upon one. A western term. In the State of Maine, to saw means to scold.

SAWYER. This may truly be called an American word; for no country without a Mississippi and Missouri could produce a sawyer.

Sawyers are formed by trees, which, growing on the banks of the river, become undermined by the current, and fall into the stream. They are then swept away by the current, with the branches partly above water, rising and falling with the waves; whence the name of sawyer. They are extremely dangerous to steamboats, which sometimes run foul of them, and are either disabled or sunk to the bottom.

SAW-WHET. The popular name, in some of the Northern States, for the Little Owl, or Acadian Owl of Audubon. “It has a sharp note like the filing of a saw, and another like the tinkling of a bell.”—Nat. Hist. of New York.

SAY. A speech; what one has to say.—Johnson.

SCACE, for scarce. A vulgarism in the interior of the country.

SCALY. Mean; stingy.—Halliwell.

SCALAWAG. A favorite epithet in western New York for a mean fellow; a scape-grace.

SCAMP. A worthless fellow.

SCAPE-GALLOWS. One who has escaped, though deserving of the gallows. It seems to be synonymous with Cotgrave’s pendard, which he defines, “a rake-hell, crack-rope, gallow-

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clapper; one for whom the gallows longeth.[”]—Carr’s Craven Dialect.

SCAPE-GRACE. A term of reproach; a graceless fellow.—Brockett.

SCARLETINA. A common name for scarlet fever.—Brande.

SCHNAPS. Schedam gin, a kind of Hollands. A Dutch term still preserved in New York.

SCHOOL OF FISH. (Ang. Sax. sceol. Dutch, school.) An other pronunciation of the word shoal, and applied to a large number of fish swimming together. The expression is also provincial in England.

SCHOOL-DISTRICT. A division of a city or State for establishing schools. The State of New York is divided into more than ten thousand such partitions or school-districts.

SCHOOL-MA’AM. A school-mistress. This word is peculiar to New England.

SCHOONER. Both Webster and Todd derive this word from the German schoner, which means the same; but on examining the German dictionaries we find the word written schooner, schoner, and schuner, and characterized as English. The following story has a circumstantiality about it that gives it an air of truth:

“The first vessel of the kind is said to have been built at Gloucester, Mass., by Capt. Andrew Robinson, about the year 1714. The name was given to it from the following circumstance: Capt. R. had constructed a vessel, which he masted and rigged in the manner that schooners now are, and on her going off the stocks into the water, a bystander cried out, ‘Oh how she schoons!’ R. instantly replied, ‘A schooner let her be;’ and from that time, this class of vessels has gone by that name. Previously, vessels of this description were unknown either in this country or Europe.”—Essex, Mass. Memorial, 1836, p. 100.

What is meant by to schoon, I cannot say.

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SCONCE. The head; pate. An old English vulgarism.

SCOW. (Dutch, schouw.) A large flat-bottomed boat, generally used as a ferry boat, or as a lighter for loading and unloading vessels when they cannot approach the wharf. On Lake Ontario they are sometimes rigged like a schooner or sloop, with a lee-board or sliding keel, when they make tolerably fast sailers. The word is used in Scotland. A mud-scow (Dutch, modder-schouw) is a vessel of this description, used in New York for cleaning out the docks.

SCRANCH. (Dutch, schransen.) To crunch, crack, or break any hard thing between the teeth.—Phillips’s World of Words. This word is in vulgar use in the United States.

SCRAP-BOOK. A blank book for the preservation of short pieces of poetry or other extracts from books and papers.—Webster.

SCRAPS. The dry, husky, and skinny residuum of melted fat.—Forby’s Vocabulary. The common word in New England for the same.

SCRATCH. No great scratch. A vulgar, though common phrase, implying not worth much—no great shakes.

SCRATCH. To come to the scratch. To come to the encounter, begin a fight.

SCRAWL. In New England, a ragged, broken branch of a tree, or other brushwood; brush.—Webster.

SCREAMER. A bouncing fellow or girl. This, like the word roarer, is one of the many terms transferred from animals to men by the hunters of the West.

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SCREW. One who squeezes all he can out of those with whom he has any dealings; an extortioner; miser. Colloquial here as in England.

TO SCREW. To exact upon one in a bargain or reckoning.—Grose. Ex. ‘He screwed me down to a very low price.’

SCRIMP. Short; scanty.—Webster.

SCRIMP. A pinching miser; a niggard; a close-fisted person.—Webster.

TO SCRIMP. To contract; to shorten; to make too small or short; to limit or straiten; as, ‘to scrimp the pattern of a coat.’ This, as well as the previous words, are in common use in New England.—Webster. Used in the north of England.—Brockett.

TO SCROUGE. To crowd; to squeeze. A word provincial in England and in this country. It is used in the Southern States, and among children at the North.

SCROUGER. A bouncing fellow or girl. A Western vulgarism.

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SCRUMPTIOUS. Nice, particular, fastidious; also, nice, excellent. Probably a corruption of scrupulous. A vulgarism.

SCULLCAP. (Lat. scutellaria.) A medicinal plant; its properties tonic and sudorific.

SCUP. (Indian, shcup-pauog. Roger Williams.) A fish abounding in the waters of New York and New England. In Rhode Island they are called scup; in New York, paugies, or porgies. In speaking of this fish, which Roger William calls the breame, he says, “there is a great abundance which the natives drie in the sunne and smoake; and some English begin to salt. Both wayes they keepe all the yeere; and it is hoped it may be as well accepted as cod at a market, and better if once knowne.”—Key to the Indian Lang., p. 103. See Porgy.

SCUP. (Dutch, schop.) A swing. A New York word.

TO SCUP. (Dutch, schoppen.) To swing. Common in New York.

SCUSS, for scarce. So pronounced by the backwoodsmen of the West.

SEDGE. In New England, a species of coarse grass. In England it is a small kind of flag. In New England ‘a tussock of sedge,’ is a bunch or tuft of coarse grass, common in swampy meadows.

SEALER. In New England, an officer appointed by the town or other proper authority, to examine and try weights and measures, and set a stamp on such as are according to the standards established by the State; also an officer who inspects leather, and stamps stick as good. These are called sealers of weights and measures, and sealers of leather.—Webster.

SEARCHING. Piercing; keen; as, ‘A searching wind.’—Carr’s Craven Dialect.

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SEAWAN. An Indian word meaning the same as wampum, formerly in use among the early colonists of New York.

SECTION. A distinct part of a city, town, country or people; a part of a territory separated by geographical lines, or of a people considered as distinct. Thus we say, the Northern and Eastern section of the United States, the Middle section, the Southern or Western section.—Webster.

The newly surveyed government lands at the West are laid out or divided into squares of 320 acres, which are called sections. These are again divided into four parts of eighty acres each, called quarter sections.

SECTIONAL. Pertaining to a section or distinct part of a larger body or territory.

SEE, for saw (preterite of to see.) I see him yesterday, for I saw him. This corruption is common among the illiterate in New England. I have heard old people use the word seed; as, ‘I seed him.’ Pegge says this is a common vulgarism in London, “and passes currently with the common people, both for our perfect tense saw, and our participle seen.”—Anecdotes of the Eng. Lang.

TO SEE.}
TO SEE ABOUT.} To attend to; to consider.

TO SEE HOW THE CAT JUMPS. A metaphorical expression meaning, to discover the secrets or designs of others.

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We also say, in the same sense, to see which way the wind blows. Both phrases are used in England.

TO SEE THE ELEPHANT, is a South-western phrase, and means, generally, to undergo any disappointment of high-raised expectations. It is in fact nearly or quite synonymous with the ancient “go out for wool and come back shorn.” For instance, men who have volunteered for the Mexican war, expecting to reap lots of glory and enjoyment, but instead have found only sickness, fatigue, privations, and suffering, are currently said to have ‘seen the elephant.’ I do not remember having ever fallen in with a good origin for the term in this employment of it. [Inman.]

A man, being brought before the Recorder in New Orleans, charged with being found drunk the previous night, after appealing to the court, closed with the following remarks:

SEEN. For saw. Ex. ‘I seen him before;’ ‘I seen her yesterday.’ This corruption is common in various parts of the country.

SELECTMAN. A magistrate annually elected by the freemen of a town or township in New England, to superintend and manage the affairs and government of the town. The number is commonly from three to five.—Worcester.

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SENATE. In the United States, senate denotes the higher branch or house of a legislature. Such is the Senate of the United States, or upper house of the Congress; and in most of the States, the higher and least numerous branch of the legislature is called the Senate. In the United States, the Senate is an elective body.—Webster.

SERIOUS. Particularly attentive to religious concerns or one’s own religious state.—Webster.

TO SERVE UP. To expose to ridicule; to expose.

SERVICE-BERRY. A wild fruit common to the British provinces in America, described by Sir Geo. Simpson as “a sort of cross between the cranberry and the black currant.” It is a good article of food, and is sometimes mixed with pemican. The Indian name is mis-as-quitomine.

SESSIONS, in some of the States, is particularly used for a court of justice, held for granting licenses to innkeepers or taverners, for laying out new highways, or altering old ones, and the like.—Webster.

SET. Fixed in opinion; firm.—Webster. ‘He is very set in his ways.’

A DEAD SET. A concerted scheme to defraud a person by gaming.—Grose, Slang Dict. This phrase seems to be taken from the lifeless attitude of a pointer in marking his game. We sometimes hear the phrase applied as in the expression, ‘He made a dead set at the young lady,’ i. e. a determined effort to win her favor.

TO SET BY.}
TO SET MUCH BY.} To regard; to esteem.—Johnson. Norfolk and Craven Glossaries. These are very old expressions, and were once in good use in England; they are now classed among provincialisms, and are only heard in familiar language.

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TO SET STORE BY. To set value upon; to appreciate. Ex. ‘These things we set great store by.’ Used only in familiar language. It is provincial in Yorkshire and in Norfolk.—Forby’s Glossary.

SET-TO. A scientific pugilistic combat; and figuratively, an argument, debate, contest in words. Both senses are English.

SETTING-POLE. A pole pointed with iron, used for propelling vessels or boats up rivers, in shoal water.

TO SETTLE. To be ordained or installed over a parish, church, or congregation. A. B. was invited to settle in the first society at New Haven. N. D. settled in the ministry very young.—Webster.

TO SETTLE. To liquidate an account; to pay a debt. A sense of the word not given in the English dictionaries, but very common among our merchants and traders. On board our steamboats it is customary, soon after leaving the wharf, for one of the waiters to go about ringing a bell and crying out, ‘Passengers what hain’t paid their fare, will please step up to the Captain’s office and settle.’

TO SETTLE ONE’S HASH. To properly punish one. We also say, ‘to settle his business;’ ‘to fix his flint.’

SHACK. A vagabond; a low fellow. Ex. ‘He’s a poor shack of a fellow.’ It is provincial in England, and applied in the same way as here.—Craven and Shropshire Glossaries.

SHACKLY. Loose; rickety; as, ‘What a shackly old carriage!’

SHAFT. A handle; as, a whip-shaft, the handle of a whip.—Jamieson, Scottish Dictionary.

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SHAGBARKS. A common name in New England for a sort of Walnuts.

SHAKER. One of a religious denomination, styled the ‘United Society,’ which first rose in Lancashire, England, in the year 1747. In the account which the Shakers give of themselves, they mention the Quakers in the time of Oliver Cromwell, and the French prophets of a later date, as being the first who had a peculiar testimony from the Lord to deliver to the Christian world. But they complain that the former degenerated, losing that desire of love and power with which they first set out; and the latter being of short continuance, their extraordinary communications have long ago ceased. This testimony was revived in the persons of James Wardley, a tailor by trade, and Jane his wife, who wrought at the same occupation! They had belonged to the society of Shakers, but receiving the spirit of the French prophets, and a further degree of light and power, by which they were separated from that community, they continued for several years disconnected from every denomination. During this time their testimony, according to what they saw by vision and revelation from God, was, “That the second appearing of Christ was at hand, and that the church was rising in her full and transcendant glory, which would effect the final downfall of Anti-Christ.”

From the shaking of their bodies in religious exercises, they were called Shakers, and some gave them the name of Shaking Quarkers. [sic]

In 1757, Ann Lee joined the Society by confessing her sins to Jane Wardley. In 1772 she professed to have received a revelation from God to repair to America. Accordingly, as many as firmly believed in her testimony, and could settle their temporal concerns, and could furnish necessaries for the voyage, concluded to follow her. They arrived in New York in 1774, and in 1776 removed to Watervliet, eight miles from Albany, where a society was established, which still exists, and where they now possess 2000 acres of good land. From this society have grown several communities; one at New Lebanon, N. Y., which consists of 600 members. Others

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have been founded in Wayne county, N. Y., at Enfield, Connecticut, two in Ohio (one of the latter of which contains 600 members), two in Kentucky having about 500 members each, and one in Indiana. In 1828, the number of societies was sixteen; the number of preachers about forty-five; members gathered into their societies, about 4500; those not received, 900; making in all about 5400.—Evans’s Hist. of Religions, Am. Ed. Rapp’s Religious Denominations in the United States.

THE SHAKES. The fever and ague.

SHAKING QUAKER. A member of the religious sect called Shakers, which see.

SHAKES. No great shakes. Of no great value; little worth. Common in England and the United States.

TO SHAKE A STICK AT. A ridiculous phrase very often heard in low language. When a man is puzzled to give one an idea of a very great number, he calls it ‘more than you can shake a stick at.’

SHAKY. A term applied by lumbermen, dealers in timber,

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and carpenters, to boards which are inclined to split from defects in the log from which they have been sawed.

SHANTY. A hut, or mean dwelling.

SHARP SET. Hungry. A colloquial expression much itself in the United States as well as in England.

SHARP STICK. ‘He’s after him with a sharp stick;’ i. e. he’s determined to have satisfaction, or revenge. Western.

SHAVER. One that is close in bargains, or a sharp dealer.—Webster.

To shave, is to cut off a portion of the outside; hence to strip, deprive, take away unjustly, as a robber or hard dealer one who does this is a shaver. This word, in the United States, is applied to money brokers, who purchase notes at more than legal interest. Banks, when they resort to any means to obtain a large discount, are also called shavers, or shaving banks. Many such are known, but they evade the penalty of the usury laws by discounting at legal interest, and giving the proceeds of the note so discounted, in a draft on some distant place, or in uncurrent money; which are again purchased by the bank or its agents at a discount.

SHAVER. A shaver is a boy, a lad, one just beginning to shave; or else, on the lucus a non lucendo principle, one who does not shave, but would if he could! Comp. Skin-flint. The term is often humorously applied here, as in England, to boys who ape the behavior of men.

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SHECOONERY. A whimsical corruption of the word chicanery, used at the South.

TO SHELL OUT, means to hand over money.

SHERRYVALLIES. (Fr. chevalier.) Pantaloons made of thick velvet or leather, buttoned on the outside of each leg, and generally worn over other pantaloons. They are now chiefly worn by teamsters. Many years ago, when the facilities for traveling were not as great as now, and when journeys were made on horseback, sherryvallies were indispensable to the traveller.

SHET. A vulgar pronunciation of shut; also used in England.

SHEEPSKIN. The parchment diploma received by students for taking their degree at college. In the back settlements are many clergymen who have not had the advantages of a liberal education, and who consequently have no diploma. Some of these look upon their more favored brethren with a little envy. A clergyman is said to have a sheepskin, or to be a sheepskin, when educated at college.

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SHEER. Applied in the United States to fabrics of cotton or silk; as, sheer muslin; meaning very thin, clear, or transparent.

SHEW, (pron. like shoe,) for showed. Ex. ‘I shew him the difference between black and white.’ This corruption is so common among all classes in the “American Athens,” as to form a sort of shibboleth for distinguishing a Bostonian.

Several years ago this corrupt preterite was very common in New England; but it is now much less used than formerly. Mr. Pegge, in his ironical defence of know’d for knew, mentions the following singular instances of irregular preterite verbs ending in ew or ow: “The modern past tense, I knew, seems to have been imported from the north of England, where the expressions are, ‘I sew (instead of I sow’d), my corn;’ ‘I mew (that is, I mow’d) my hay;’ and, ‘it snew,’ for it snowed.”—Pickering.

TO SHIN. To borrow money. A word well understood in New York in times when money is scarce. The author of the amusing work, entitled “Perils of Pearl Street,” page 123, thus describes it:

“By shinning, in mercantile phrase, is meant running about to one’s acquaintance, to borrow money to meet the emergency of a note at bank. It is doubtless so called, because in the great hurry of picking up cash to meet the hour of three, which perchance is just at hand, the borrower, not having the fear of wheelbarrows, boxes, barrels, piles of brick, &c. before his eyes, is very apt to run furiously against them with his shins, the bark whereof is apt to he grievously battered off by the contact ….. So fares it with the poor merchant, while he is looking out for an acquaintance of whom he may ask, Anything over? This is an expression used by shinners, on applying to their acquaintances for the needful; and means, Have you any money over and above the sum requisite for discharging your own notes? If so, it is of course expected, that, in the way of mercantile courtesy or of a friendly reciprocity, you will

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oblige the shinner so far as to hand it over to him. It is a common way, amongst those who have business in banks, of obliging one another. If they have anything over, they do not withhold it from their neighbor, lest in turn he should do the same towards them.

“Shinners may be divided into two classes: those who shin from necessity, and those who shin from profit. The latter may be called professional shinners; and they consist of merchants of some standing, who make it their business to find out, and get into the good graces of those who are just starting in trade. Correctly judging that these last will have no notes to pay under six months, and that they will take in considerable money in that time, they borrow their surplus cash, promising in their turn to lend whenever the other shall stand in need. But when the time comes, these cunning old shinners take especial care to have nothing over; then coldly turn their back upon the young merchant, and commence a new shinning account with some fresh dupe, who, in like manner, is to be abandoned whenever he requires an interchange of the favor.”

SHINDY. A row; a spree.

TO SHINE. In the Southern States the deer is often hunted by torch-light. The custom is thus described in the ‘cracker’ dialect of Georgia: “You see the way we does to shine the deer’s eyes is this—we holds the pan of fire so, on the left shoulder, and carries the gun at a trail in the right hand. Well, when I wants to look for eyes, I turns round slow, and looks right at the edge of my shadder, what’s made by the light behind me in the pan, and if there’s a deer in gun-shot of me, his eyes’ll shine ’zactly like two balls of fire.”—Chronicles of Pineville, p. 169.

SHINE. To take the shine off, is to surpass in beauty or excellence.

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SHINE. To take a shine to a person, is to take a fancy to him or her.

SHINE. To cut or make a shine, is to make a great display.

SHINER. (Genus, Leuciscus.) The popular name of the fish known to naturalists as the Dace. In different parts of the country, however, other small fish are called shiners, from their glittering or shining appearance. In New York a small fish of the genus stilbe, is known to naturalists as the New York Shiner. It is also found in the adjoining States.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

SHINGLE. A jocose term for a sign-board, placed over a shop-door or office.

SHINPLASTER. A cant term for a bank-note, or any paper money. It probably came into use in 1837, when the banks suspended specie payment, and when paper money became depreciated in value.

TO SHIRK. To procure by mean tricks; to steal.—Todd. To live by one’s wits; also to shirk off, to sneak away.

SHIRTING. A fabric of cotton or linen of a suitable width for making shirts. Goods which are a yard or more wide are called sheeting; when less than a yard, skirting.

TO SHOAL. To lounge about lazily.

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SHOEMAKE. A common name for the sumach-tree.

SHOO! A word commonly used to drive away fowls.—Brockett.

SHOOT, or SHUTE. A passage-way on the side of a steep hill or mountain down which wood and timber are thrown or slid. There are many such on the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. In the West the term is applied to places where a river is artificially contracted in order to increase the depth of water. In Lower Canada a shoot is a place where the stream, being confined by rocks which appear above water, is shot through the aperture with great force.—Cartwright’s Labrador, p. 14. In the West, ‘to take a shoot after,’ is to take a fancy to.

TO SHOOT ONE’S GRANDMOTHER, is a common though vulgar phrase in New England, and means to be mistaken, or to be disappointed; to imagine oneself the discoverer of something in which he is deceived. The common phrase is, ‘You’ve shot your granny.’ It is, in fact, synonymous with ‘You’ve found a mare’s nest.’

SHOOTING IRON. A common Western term for a rifle, or fowling piece.

SHOPPING. The act of frequenting shops.—Jodrell’s Philology. This very useful word is not noticed by Dr. Johnson; and Mr. Todd calls it a cant word of modern origin.

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SHOPPER. One who frequents shops.

SHORT-COMINGS. Defective performance; deficiency as to duty.—Worcester.

SHORTS. The bran and coarse part of meal, in mixture.

SHORTS. Small-clothes; breeches.—Webster.

SHOT. Another pronunciation of the word scot, a reckoning.

SHOT IN THE NECK. Drunk. A Southern phrase.

SHOTE. A young hog; a pig partially grown. This old English word is written in different forms in several of the counties of England. Cotgrave (1611) spells it shote, shoat, and shoot, and defines it, “a hog that is a year or under a year old.” Bailey, Martin, and Johnson, spell it shoot; Ainsworth, shote; Lemon, shot; Moor and Forby, shot and shoat; Holloway, shoot and sheet; Ray, sheat, shote, and shoot; and Ray remarks, that “In Essex they call it a shote.” In this country the common form is shote, used for a young hog.—Worcester.

SHOTE. An idle, worthless man. ‘A poor shote.’ It is also provincial in England in this sense.

SHRINKAGE. A shrinking or contraction into a less compass. ‘Make an allowance for the shrinkage of grain in drying.’—Webster.

SHUCK. The outer husk or shell of the walnut, chestnut, &c.; or the husk of Indian corn. In England, the word is

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applied to pods as well as husks; as, pea-shucks. Not worth shucks, is a Southern expression meaning good for nothing.

SHUT. Quit; rid. To be shut of, or to get shut of, signifies to be or to get rid of. We also say, to be or get shot of. The expression is common in England.

TO SHUT UP. To hold one’s tongue. A vulgar expression.

SHY. A fling.

TO SHY. To throw a light substance, as a flat stone, or a shell, with a careless jerk.

TO SHY. To turn aside, or start, as a horse; to sheer.—Forby.

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TO SHY. To hang about.

SICK AS A HORSE. ‘I’m as sick as a horse,’ is a vulgar phrase which is used when a person is exceedingly sick. As a horse is larger than a man, it is customary to use it by way of comparison to denote largeness or excess either in a serious or ludicrous way, as horse-chestnut, horse-leech, horse-laugh, &c. We also say, as sick as a dog.

SIDE-SADDLE FLOWER. (Lat. Sarracenia.) A plant, as well as its whole genus, of very singular structure. It grows in swamps and meadows.—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

SIGHT. A great many.—Brockett, Glossary. A sight of people, is a great multitude. A sight of things, a great many. The same expressions are used in Yorkshire, England, where they also say, a ‘vast of folks,’ which is hardly more elegant than our Western phrase, ‘a heap of folks.’ Sight is used in most of the Northern and Eastern, and heap in the Southern and Western States.

SIGHT. In North Carolina the distance that can be seen on a road is called a sight.

TO SIGNALIZE. To communicate information by means of signals or telegraph. A new and absurd use of the word.

SILVER FOX. A black fox, with white king-hairs interspersed on the back of it.—Cartwright’s Labrador. Like the cross-fox, this variety is rare. They are found in the United States and Canada. Their skins are used for ladies’ muffs, and bring a high price.

SIMON PURE. ‘The real Simon Pure,’ is a phrase meaning the genuine article; the real thing; as, ‘This whisky is the real Simon Pure.’

SIRS. This plural is adopted by many persons in commercial correspondence in beginning their letters. Instead of the word gentlemen, addressed to a firm, they write, Dear Sirs.

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SCARY, or SKEARY. Frightened.

SIXES AND SEVENS. ‘To be at sixes and sevens,’ is to be in a state of disorder and confusion. A ludicrous expression that has been long in use.—Johnson.

TO SIZZLE. To hiss from the action of fire.—Forby.

SKEERSOME. Frightful.

SKETCHILY. In a sketchy manner.

TO SKEW. To walk obliquely.—Todd.

SKID. A piece of light timber from ten to twenty feet in length, upon which heavier timber is rolled or slid from place to place.

SKILTS. A sort of brown tow trowsers formerly worn in New England, very large, and reaching just below the knees.

SKIN-FLINT. A niggardly, close-fisted person—one so parsimoniously mean, that he would perform that operation were it possible.—Brockett’s North County Words.

TO SKINK. (Ang. Sax. scencan.) To serve drink. Dr. Johnson says this word is wholly obsolete in England.

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SKIPPER. The cheese maggot.—Webster.

SKRIMMAGE. A corruption of skirmish, used in the Western States; probably of Irish origin.

SKUNK. (Mephitis putorius.) A small, carnivorous American quadruped, allied to the weasel and badger, and very fetid. An aboriginal or Indian term.—Worcester.

SKUNK CABBAGE. (Lat. Ictodes foetidus.) A strong-scented, repulsive plant, exceedingly meritorious of the name it bears. The odor depends on a volatile principle not separable by distillation. This plant has been found useful in asthma and some other diseases.—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

SKUNKHEAD. The popular name, on the sea-coast, of the Pied Duck of ornithologists.—Nat. Hist. of New York.

TO SKY A COPPER. To toss up a cent.

SKY-RACKET. The vulgar pronunciation of sky-rocket.

SLANG-WHANGER. This curious word is defined by Mr. Pickering, as signifying “a writer or noisy talker, who makes use of that sort of political or other cant, which amuses the rabble, and is called by the vulgar name of slang.” The word frequently occurs in Paulding’s Salmagundi; but it is now seldom or never heard.

SLANG-WHANGING. Political cant.

TO SLAB OFF. I do not know the exact meaning of this expression.

SLAB. The outside of a piece of timber or log sawn off at a mill. As the bark is on one side, it is useless as merchandise.

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The same term is employed in England, and is noticed by Ray and Grose.

SLANTENDICULAR. Aslant; oblique. Used in low language.

SLAP-JACKS. Pancakes made of the whole size of the frying-pan or spider. A country girl formerly was not considered eligible for marriage until she could make a shirt, and toss a slap-jack fairly right into the middle of the pan. In Norfolk, England, they are called flap-jacks.

SLAT. A narrow piece of board or timber, used to fasten together large pieces; as, the slats of a cart or chair.—Webster. Mr. Worcester calls it “an American corruption of the word sloat.”

TO SLAT. A word of uncertain derivation, signifying to throw down with violence.—Toone’s Glossary.

SLAZY. A corrupt pronunciation of sleazy or sleezy; i. e. weak, wanting substance; thin; flimsy. It is also pronounced so in some parts of England.

SLED. A carriage or vehicle moved on runners; much used in America for conveying heavy weights in winter, as timber, wood, stone, and the like.—Webster.

SLEDDING. The means of conveying on sleds; snow sufficient for the running of sleds.—Webster.

TO SLEEP. Sometimes used as an active verb; as, ‘This steamboat can sleep three hundred passengers,’ i. e. can furnish sleeping accommodations for them. We have heard of a landlady who said ‘she could eat fifty people in her house, but could not sleep half the number.’

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SLEIGH. A vehicle moved on runners, and greatly used in America for transporting persons or goods on snow or ice.—Webster. In England it is called a sledge. During the winter of 1844, after a fall of snow in London, an English newspaper observed that “the Queen was making preparations for sledge-driving,” which in America few would understand to mean, that Her Majesty was about taking a sleigh-ride.

SLEIGHING. The state of the snow which admits of running sleighs.— Webster. As, ‘good sleighing,’ ‘bad sleighing;’ and in the winter when there is no snow, we say there is ‘no sleighing.’

2. The act of riding in a sleigh.—Webster.

SLEIGH-BELL. A small hollow ball, made of bell-metal, having a hole in it that passes half round its circumference, and containing a small solid ball, of a size not to escape. These bells are fastened to leathern straps, which commonly pass round the necks of horses. They were formerly, by the Dutch, attached to small plates, which were buckled to various parts of the harness; but this caused a motion annoying to horses.—Cooper, Satanstoe, Vol. I. p. 216.

SLEIGH-RIDE. Used both as a noun and as a verb.

TO SLEW, or SLUE. In seaman’s language, to turn anything, as a barrel, &c., about its perpendicular axis; to turn around.

SLEWED. Moderately drunk. A common expression in the United States, and also used in Yorkshire, England.

SLICE. A common name in parts of New York and Canada for a large fire-shovel formed of a bar of iron flattened at one end.

SLICK. The popular pronunciation of sleek, and so written by some authors.—Webster. It is also used adverbially in vulgar language, like many other adjectives.

“This word,” says Todd, “was formerly written slick; and slick or slicken is still our northern word.” It is also provincial in Kent, while, in other parts of England, the verb

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to slick, to comb or make sleek the hair, is provincial.—Holloway’s Prov. Dict.

Dr. Jamieson also notices it as used in Scotland, slik, smooth, slippery, for sleek.

TO SLICK UP. To dress up; to make fine.

SLICK AS A WHISTLE. A proverbial simile, in common use throughout the United States. To do anything as slick as a whistle, is to do it very smoothly, perfectly, adroitly.

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SLICK AS GREASE. Another classical expression, conveying the same idea as the foregoing.

TO LET SLIDE. To let go; as, ‘that fish you have hooked is not fit to eat; let him slide.’

SLIM. Weak; slight; slender; feeble; worthless.—Worcester.

SLIMSEY. Flimsey; frail. Most frequently applied to cotton or other cloth.

SLING. A drink composed of equal parts of rum and water sweetened.—Rush.

SLINK. A sneaking fellow.

SLINKY. Thin; lank.

SLIP. 1. The opening between wharves or in a dock.—Webster.

This word is peculiar to New York, where we have Peck Slip, Burling Slip, Old Slip, Coenties Slip, etc.

2. In New England, a long seat or narrow pew in a church.—Webster. When there is a door, they are called pews; when without doors and free to all, slips. This, I believe, is the difference between them.

SLIP. An escape; a desertion.—Johnson. ‘To give one the slip,’ means to escape, or run away.

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SLIPE. A distance.

SLIPPER-DOWN. A vulgar name in some parts of Connecticut for hasty pudding. The etymology is obvious.

SLIPPERY. Uncertain; changeable.—Johnson. That man’s a slippery fellow; i. e. no dependence can be placed in him. One who is disposed to cheat or obtain undue advantage, is called a slippery fellow. It is used alike in England and America.—See Grose, Prov. Dict.

SLIVER. A piece of any substance; as wood torn or split off. This word is, in this country, commonly pronounced sliver [Transcriber’s note: it’s spelled “sl i-breve ver”]; but the English orthoëpists all pronounce it sliver [Transcriber’s note: spelled “sl i-macron ver”].—Worcester.

In New England this word is used as a verb as well as a noun.

TO LET SLIVER. To let slip, let fly, i. e. to fire.

SLOMMACK. A slattern.

TO SLOPE. To run away. A new but very common vulgarism.

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SLOPS. Large and loose trowsers, from which loose clothing is called slops. The word, says Todd, was formerly used in the singular; as in Chaucer:

Slop-clothing is the term now universally applied to ready made clothing for seamen. It was so used in 1691.

SLOP-SHOP. A place where slop-clothing is sold.

SLUMP. A favorite dish in New England, called an apple slump, is made by placing raised bread or dough around the sides of an iron pot, which is then filled with apples and sweetened with molasses. Called in other parts of the country an apple pot-pie.

TO SLUMP. To slip or fall into a wet or dirty place.—Brockett’s North County Words. Provincial in various parts of England, and also used in New England. Mr. O. Wendell Holmes, in describing the school-boy, in a short poem read at the late festival in Berkshire, Massachusetts, says:

SLUMPY. Marshy; easily broken through.—Jamieson. Worcester.

SLUNG (the pret. of sling), is often heard instead of swung.

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SLUNG-SHOT. An offensive weapon formed of two leaden or iron bullets fastened together by a piece of rope five or sit inches long. One bullet is held in the hand, while the other hangs outside by the rope which passes between the second and third fingers. A blow from it on the head will fell the strongest man.

SLUSH. Grease or fat from salt meat.—Worcester. The refuse grease from cooking on board ship, which is one of the perquisites of the cook.

SLUSH, or SLOSH. This term is often used by the people of New England, in speaking of the state of the roads, when they are covered with snow, and a thaw takes place. It is very common to hear people say, ‘the roads are sloshy; it is very sloshy going,’ &c. None of the English dictionaries have this word; but all of them, I believe, except Bailey’s, have the term sludge and define it as Dr. Johnson does—‘Mire, dirt mixed with water.’ Grose has sludge in the same sense, as a provincial term, peculiar to the North of England. Marshall also has sludge among his provincialisms of the Midland counties, sluss among those of Norfolk, and slush among those of Yorkshire; and he defines them all nearly in the same words.—Pickering.

SLUSHY. Consisting of soft mud, or of snow and water.—Webster.

SMALL FRY. Young children; persons of little importance.

SMALL POTATOES. An epithet applied to persons, and signifying mean, contemptible; as, ‘He is very small potatoes.’ Small potatoes are not fit for eating, and except for the feeding of hogs and cattle,, are worthless; hence the expression as applied to men. It is sometimes put into the more emphatic form of small potatoes and few in a hill; see Sam Slick in England for an explanation of the latter, ch. 6.

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SMART. Quick; active; intelligent. ‘He is a smart business man.’ The word appears to be not now used in this sense in England, although Johnson gives several meanings very nearly allied to it. The corresponding English term is clever.

SMART CHANCE. A good opportunity; a fair chance. A vulgar expression.

SMART CHANCE. A good deal; a large quantity; large company; a great number. A singular expression used in the Southern and Western States, but never heard in the Eastern.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

SMART SPRINKLE. A good deal; a good many. Used in the interior of the Western States.

SMASHER. A low word denoting anything very large, or larger than another of the same kind. It is used in the same sense in the North of England.—Brocket’s Glossary.

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SMEAR-CASE. (Dutch, Smeer-kaas.) A preparation of milk made to be spread on bread, whence its name; otherwise called Cottage-cheese.

TO SMOKE. To find any one out; to discover anything meant to be kept secret.—Halliwell.

SMOOTH. A meadow, or grass field.

TO SMOUTCH. To gouge; to take unfair advantage. Colloquial in New York.

TO SMOUZE. To demolish, as with a blow. Used in Ohio.

SMUDGE. A heap of damp combustibles placed on the wind ward side of the house and partially ignited, that the inky steam may smother or drive away mosquitoes.—Mrs. Clavers.

TO SMUTCH. To blacken with smoke, soot, or coal.—Webster. ‘I have smutched my fingers.’ The word is provincial in England, and is found in the old writers. In the United States, as in Scotland, it is pronounced smootch, and is never heard except colloquially.

SNAG. A tree having its roots fastened in the bottom of a river; or a branch of a tree thus fastened. These are common in the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and frequently destroy steamboats which come in contact with them by piercing their bows, or sides. This word is not a new one, and is defined by Johnson as “a jag or sharp protuberance.”

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SNAGGED. Run against a snag, or projecting branch of a sunken tree.

SNAKE-HEAD. An object of dread to travellers on railways. The end of an iron rail, which sometimes is thrown up in front of the car wheels, and passes through the cars. Serious accidents have been caused by them. They occur, however, only with flat rails.

TO SNAKE. To crawl like a snake. A common expression at the West. A fine example of the use of this term is given in the N. Y. Tribune, from one of the Western newspapers:

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TO SNAKE OUT. To drag out; to haul out, as a snake from its hole. A farmer in clearing land, attaches a chain to a stump or log, whereby to draw it out; this he calls, snaking it out. Maj. Downing says, in speaking of a person who fell into the river:

SNAP. Applied to the weather; as, ‘a cold snap,’ i. e. a period of sudden cold weather. A common expression.

SNAPS. Young kidney-beans in the pod.

SNAPPED. Drunk. Used at the South.

SNAPPING-TURTLE. (Genus, chelonura.) A reptile common to all parts of the United States, so named from its propensity to snap at everything within its reach.

SNARL. An entanglement, as a twisted thread; a quarrel; an angry contest. Provincial in England, and colloquial in the United States.—Worcester.

SNATCH. A hasty repast; a snack. Scottish.—Jamieson.

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SNATHE.}
SNEAD.} The crooked handle of a mowing scythe. An agricultural term common with the farmers both of England and of this country.

SNEAKING NOTION. To have a sneaking notion for a lady, is to have a timid or concealed affection for her.

TO SNICKER, or SNIGGER. To laugh slily, wantonly, or contemptuously; to laugh in one’s sleeve.—Johnson.

TO SNIGGLE. A method of fishing for eels in small streams and ponds.

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SNIPPER-SNAPPER. An effeminate young man; a trifler.

SNIPPY. Finical; and substantively, a finical person. A woman’s word. In the South they use the word sniptious.

SNIPSNAP. Tart dialogue; with quick replies.—Todd’s Johnson.

TO SNOOP. (Dutch, snoepen.) Applied to children, servants, and others, who clandestinely eat dainties or other victuals which have been put aside, not for their use. A servant who goes slyly into a dairy-room and drinks milk from a pan, would be said to be snooping. The term is peculiar to New York.

SNOOZE. Sleep; as ‘he lay in a drunken snooze.’

SNOOZER. A thief who follows the business of robbing the boarders at hotels. He takes hoard and lodgings, and endeavors to share a room and become familiar with some country merchant; after which, by various tricks, he succeeds in robbing him. The police reports of New York exhibit frequent cases of this system of depredation.

SNORE. I snore! An exclamation used in New England.

SNORE. (Dutch, Snoer.) A string with a button on one end to spin a top with. This term is retained by the boys of New York.

TO SNORT. To laugh outright.—Brockett’s Glossary. Used in low language in New England.

SNORTER. A dashing, riotous fellow. A vulgar Western term.

SNOWBALL. A jeering appellation for a negro.

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TO SNUGGLE. To lie close for convenience or warmth.—Johnson. Seldom used except in familiar language.

SO is often improperly used for such, as in the phrase:

TO SOAK. To bake thoroughly. It is particularly applied to bread, which, to be good, must be macerated, as it were, in the caloric of the oven. If it be dough-baked, the complaint is, that it has not been sufficiently soaked.—Holloway, Forby’s Vocabulary. This word is used in the same sense in New England.

TO SOAK. To drink intemperately.—Johnson.

SOAKER. A great drinker. In low language.—Johnson. ‘An old soaker,’ is a common name for a drunkard. Groses’s definition is, “one that moistens his clay to make it stick together.”

SOAP-LOCK. A lock of hair made to lie smooth by soaping it. Hence also a name given to a low set of fellows who lounge about the markets, engine-houses, and wharves of New York, and are always ready to engage in midnight rows or broils. It is, in fact, but another name for a Rowdy or Loafer. The name comes from their wearing long side locks, which they are said to smear with soap, in order to give them a sleek appearance; whence the name.

SOCIETY. In Connecticut, a number of families united and incorporated for the purpose of supporting public worship, is called an ecclesiastical society. This is a parish, except that it has not territorial limits. In Massachusetts such an incorporated society is usually called a parish, though consisting of persons only, without regard to society.—Webster.

SOCDOLAGER. A patent fish-hook, having two hooks which

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close upon each other by means of a spring as soon as the fish bites.

TO SOCK. To press by a hard blow a man’s hat over his bead and face. Used in Rhode Island. I have never heard it elsewhere. The New York term is, to crown.

SOFT SOAP. Flattery; blarney. A vulgar phrase, though much used.

TO SOFT SOAP. To flatter; to blarney.

SOFT SAWDER. Flattery; blarney.

TO SOFT SAWDER. To flatter.

SOME. Somewhat; something. Ex. ‘He is some better than he was;’ ‘it rains some,’ &c. Used chiefly by the illiterate.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

SOPHOMORE. This word has generally been considered an American barbarism, but was probably introduced into our country at a very early period from the University of Cambridge, England. Among the cant terms at that University, as given in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, we find Soph-Mor as the next distinctive appellation to Freshman. It is added, that a writer in the Gentleman’s Magazine thinks Mor an abbreviation of the Greek μωρι[acute]α introduced at a time when the Encomium Moreæ, the Praise of Folly by Erasmus, was so generally used. The ordinary derivation of the word, from σοφο[grave]ς and μωρο[grave]ς would seem, therefore, to be incorrect. The young Sops at Cambridge appear, formerly, to have received the adjunct mor, μωρο[grave]ς to their names, either as one they courted for the reason mentioned above, or as one given them

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in sport for the supposed exhibition of inflated feeling in entering upon their new honors. The term thus applied, seems to have passed at a very early period from Cambridge in England to Cambridge in America, as the next distinctive appellation to Freshmen, and thus to have been attached to the second of the four classes in our American Colleges, while it has now almost ceased to be known, even as a cant word, at the parent institution in England, from whence it came. This derivation of the word is rendered more probable by the fact that the early spelling was, to a great extent at least, Sophimore, as appears from the manuscripts of President Stiles of Yale College, and the records of the Harvard College, down to the period of the American Revolution. This word would be perfectly natural if Soph or Sophistu was considered as the basis of the word, but can hardly be explained if the ordinary derivation had then been regarded as the true one.—Prof. Goodrich, new ed. Webster’s Dic.

SOSSLE, or SOZZLE. A lazy or sluttish woman. Provincial in Connecticut.

Mr. Todd gives this word, which he defines as a lazy fellow, on the authority of Cotgrave and Sherwood. In the south of England, a soss-brangle is a slatternly, lazy wench. This is precisely the sense in which sossle is used with us.

TO SOZZLE. To loll; to lounge; to go lazily or sluttishly about the house. A term used by housekeepers in certain parts of Connecticut. ‘This woman sozzles up her work.’ To sozzle is provincial in England, and means the same as to soss; i. e. to lounge, to loll.

SPACK AND APPLEJEES. (Dutch.) Pork and apples, cooked together. An ancient Dutch dish made in New York.

SPAKE. (Preterite of speak.) This antiquated word is still heard occasionally from the pulpit, as well as in conversation.—Pickering’s Vocab.

SPAN. A span of horses consists of two of nearly the same color, and otherwise nearly alike, which are usually harnessed

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side by side. The word signifies properly the same as yoke, when applied to horned cattle, for buckling or fastening together. But in America, span always implies resemblance in color at least; it being an object of ambition with gentlemen, and with teamsters, to unite two horses abreast that are alike.—Webster. This use of the word is not mentioned in any of the English dictionaries or glossaries.

TO SPAN. To agree in color, or in color and size; as, ‘The horses span well.’ New England.—Webster.

SPAN-CLEAN.}
SPANDY-CLEAN.} Very clean; perfectly clean.

TO SPARK IT. To court. Used chiefly in New England.

SPARKING. ‘To go a sparking,’ is to go a courting; a common expression in the Northern States.

SPARROW GRASS. A vulgar pronunciation of asparagus both in England and America. Hence the celebrated charade by a certain alderman:

SPAT. A petty combat; a little quarrel or dissension. A vulgar use of the word in New England.—Webster.

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TO SPAT. To dispute; to quarrel. A low word. New England.

TO SPAT THE HANDS. To slap the hands.

SPEC. A bit; in the least.

SPEC, for speculation; as, ‘He made a good spec in flour.’

TO SPEECHIFY. To make a speech; to harangue.—Webster. A rather low word, and seldom heard except among bar-room politicians. It is not peculiar to America, though not in any English dictionary.

SPELL. (From Ang. Sax. spelian, to supply another’s room; to act or be proxy for.—Bosworth.) A turn of work; a vicissitude of labor.—Todd’s Johnson. It is often used in a secondary sense, to denote a short turn; a little time; about; a fit; and is applied particularly to work, to sickness, or to the weather. Provincial in England and colloquial in the United States.

SPIDER. A cast iron frying-pan with three legs.

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SPIKE TEAM. A waggon drawn by three horses, or by two oxen and a horse, the latter leading the oxen or span of horses.

SPILL. A strip of paper rolled up to light a lamp or [a cigar]. Provincial in England.

SPITTOON. A spitbox; a box or vessel to spit in.—Worcester.

SPLENDIFEROUS. Splendid; fine. A make-believe word used only in jest.

An itinerant gospeller was holding forth to a Kentuckian audience, on the kingdom of Heaven:

SPLIT. A division.

SPLIT. A rapid pace or rate of going. ‘He went full split,’ i. e. as hard as he could drive. ‘To go like split,’ is a common expression in New England.

TO SPLIT. To go at a rapid pace; to drive along. Used in the phrase, ‘As hard as he could split.’

TO SPLURGE. To make a blustering demonstration in order to produce an effect. A term in common use at the South and West.

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SPLURGE. A great effort; a demonstration.

SPOOK. (Dutch.) A ghost; hobgoblin.

SPOONEY. A man who has been drinking till be becomes disgusting. A stupid or silly fellow.—Grose. We use the word only in the latter sense. The Hon. Mr. Preston, in his remarks on the Mexican war, thus quotes from Tom Crib’s remonstrance against the meanness of a transaction, similar to our cries for more vigorous blows on Mexico when she is prostrate:

TO SPORT. To exhibit; to make a show of; as, ‘Mr. A sported a new carriage yesterday;’ ‘I shall sport a new coat to-day.’ “The word sport in this sense,” says Grose, “was in great vogue in the years 1873 and 1784.”

SPORTSMAN. A term often applied to a gambler.

SPOSH. A mixture of mud and water. See Slush. The New York Tribune, in speaking of the falling of rain and snow, at the same time, adds:

SPOTTED TREES. Equivalent to blazed trees, which see. Maine.

TO SPOUT. To make a speech, especially in debating-clubs, etc.

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SPREE. A merry frolic.—Halliwell.

SPRINKLING. A small quantity scattered.—Todd.

TO SPRUCE UP. To dress oneself sprucely. In Sussex (England) they say, to sprug up, in the same sense.

SPRY. Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active; vigorous.—Webster.

This word is much used in familiar language in New England. It is not in the English dictionaries, but Jennings notices it among the provincialisms of Somersetshire.

In a Fable by R. W. Emerson, “The Mountain and the Squirrel,” Squirrel says:

SPUNK. Mettle; spirit; vivacity.—Brockett’s Glossary. A colloquial word, considered in England extremely vulgar.

SPUNKY. Sparkling; fresh; spirited.—Brockett’s Glossary. Forby also mentions the word as provincial in Norfolk.

SPUR. A mountain that shoots from any other mountain or range of mountains, and extends to some distance in a lateral direction, or at right angles.—Webster.

SQUADDY. Short and fat. A vulgar word formed from squat.

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SQUALLY. Windy; gusty. A sailor’s word.—Johnson. It is often used by us in a figurative sense; so that to look squally, means to bode a quarrel; and especially as applied to political meetings and debates.

TO SQUALE. To throw a stick or other thing with violence, and in such a manner that it skims along near the ground. New England.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

According to Grose, it is provincial in the west of England, and means, “to throw a stick, as at a cock.”

TO SQUARE UP. To put oneself in an attitude fit for boxing. Provincial in various parts of England.—Halliwell.

TO SQUAT. To squeeze; to press. Ex. The boy has squat his finger. Used by the vulgar in New England.—Pickering’s Vocabulary.

Mr. Todd has this word in his dictionary from Barret (1580): “To bruise or make flat by letting fall.” Provincial in the south of England.

TO SQUAT. In the United States, to settle on another’s lands, or on public lands, without having a title.—Worcester.

SQUATTER. In the United States, one that settles on new land without a title.—Webster.

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The London Spectator has the following remarks on this word, occasioned by the removal of a number of the occupants of Glenculvie, in Scotland, who had squatted there as under-tenants:

SQUAW. (Narragansett Indian.) An Indian woman. Mr. Duponceau, after giving a list of the languages and forms in which this word occurs, observes: “On voit que la famille de ce mot s’étend depuis les Knisténaux en Canada, et les Skoffies et Montagnards d’Acadie, jusqu’aux Nanticokes sur les confins de la Virginie.”—Mém. sur les Langues d’Amérique du Nord, p. 333.

SQUAW-ROOT. (Lat. macrotys racemosa.) A medicinal plant put up by the Shakers. It is recommended for correcting the secretions, and possesses narcotic properties.

SQUAW-WEED. (Lat. senecio obovatus.) A medicinal plant used for diseases of the skin.

SQUETEAGUE, or SQUETEE. (Labrus Squeteague.) A very common fish in the waters of Long Island Sound and adjacent bays. It never visits rivers, and is similar in habits to the tautog. In New York it is called Weak-fish, owing to the feeble resistance it makes when caught with a hook.

TO SQUIB. To throw squibs; to titter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, ‘two members of a society squib a little in debate.’ Colloquial.—Webster. This word is not in the English dictionaries.

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TO SQUIGGLE. To move about like all eel. New England. Often figuratively used in speaking of a man who evades a bargain as an eel eludes the grasp.—Pickering.

Forby’s Glossary of Norfolk contains the word in the sense of “to shake a fluid about the mouth.”

TO SQUIRM. To wriggle or twist about, as an eel. Provincial in England, and colloquial in the United States.—Bailey. Worcester.

TO SQUIRM. To climb by embracing and clinging with the hands and feet, as to a tree without branches. Johnson writes this word swarm; and this is probably the original word. Bailey writes it squirm.—Webster.

SQUIRT. A foppish young fellow; a whipper-snapper. A vulgar word.

SQUIRTISH. Dandified.

SQUSH. To crush. A vulgarism.

STADDLE. A young tree; a tree left to grow when others are cut; standard.—Worcester.

STAFF. ‘To have the staff in one’s own hand,’ is to keep possession of one’s own property, and, consequently, to retain authority and obedience. A very common expression used in good language. Mr. Carr has it in his Craven Glossary.

STAG. In the New York courts, a stag is the technical name

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for a man who is always ready to aid in proving an alibi, of course “for a consideration.”

STAG-DANCE. A dance performed by males only, in barrooms, &c. Also called a bull-dance.

STAGE. A carriage for conveying passengers; a stage-coach.—Worcester. We sometimes use mail-stage for mail-coach, which is hardly allowable.

STAGE DRIVER. A stage-coachman.

STAGING. Scaffolding. Used in New England, and I believe in other parts of the United States.—Pickering.

STAMPEDE, or STAMPADO. (Span. estampado, foot-steps, noise of stamping feet.) A general scamper of animals on the Western prairies, generally caused by a fright. Mr. Kendall gives the following interesting account of them:

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TO STAMPEDE. To cause to scamper off in a fright.

STANCHEOUS. Strong; durable. Western.

TO STAND IN. To cost. ‘This horse stands me in two hundred dollars.’

TO STAND IN HAND. To concern; to behoove.—Holloway, Prov. Dict. This phrase is a colloquial one in New England. Ex. ‘It stands you in hand to attend to your business.’

STAND-POINT. (Germ. stand-punkt.) Place of standing; point of view. An expression lately introduced from the German.

TO STAND UP TO THE RACK. A metaphorical expression of the same meaning as the like choice phrases, ‘to come to the scratch;’ ‘to toe the mark.’

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STARS. A Southern pronunciation of the word stairs, like bar for bear; also heard in New England.

STATE-ROOM. A small room in a ship or steam-vessel for one or two passengers.—Worcester.

TO STAVE. To break a hole in; to break; to burst; as, ‘to stave a cask.’—Webster. This is the legitimate use of the verb; but sometimes we make it govern the instrument directly, as in the following example:

TO STAVE. To hurry; to press forward.

TO STAVE OFF. To push away as with a staff; to delay; as, ‘to stave off the execution of the project.[’]—Webster.

STEAL (pronounced stail). The handle of various implements; as a rake-steal, a fork-steal. Used by the farmers in some parts of New England. Provincial in various parts of England.—Pickering.

STEBOY.}
SEBOY.} A word used to set dogs upon pigs or other animals.

STEVEDORE. A man employed in loading and unloading vessels.—Worcester.

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STEW. To be in a stew, is to be in a heat, a confusion of mind. According to Grose, however, who is followed by Todd and Webster, a stew is “confusion, as when the air is full of dust, smoke, or steam.”

TO STICH. To form land into ridges. Common in New England.—Webster. The word is not new, though it does not seem to be used now in England.

TO STICK. To take in; to impose upon; to cheat in trade. ‘I’m stuck with a counterfeit note;’ ‘He went to a horse sale, and got stuck with a spavined horse.’

STICK-CHIMNEY. In newly settled parts of the country, where log-houses form the first habitations of the settlers, the chimneys are made with sticks from one to two inches square, and about two feet in length, which are laid crosswise and cemented with clay or mud. The fire-places are built of rough stone, and the stick-chimneys are merely the conductors of the smoke.

STICKER. An article of merchandise which sticks by the dealer and does not meet with a ready sale, is technically called a sticker.

STICKLING. Hesitating; delaying.—Dr. Humphreys.

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STILL-HOUSE. A common term in the United States for a distillery.

STIMULUS. This very common word is not mentioned by any English lexicographer, though it is used by good English writers. Our American lexicographers, Pickering, Webster, and Worcester, have noticed it.

1. Literally, a goad; hence something that rouses the mind or spirits; as, ‘the hope of gain is a powerful stimulus to labor and action.’

2. In medicine that which produces a quickly diffused or transient increase of vital energy and strength of action in the circulating system.—Webster.

3. In vulgar use, intoxicating drink.

TO STIVE UP. To stuff up close.—Johnson.

TO STIVER. To run; to move off. A low word used in the Northern States.

STIVER. A Dutch coin about the value of a cent. A common expression in New York is, ‘He’s not worth a stiver,’ i. e. he’s very poor.

STOCK. Cattle in general; the cattle belonging to a farm. Provincial in the North of England.—Pegge’s Glossary.

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STOCKHOLDER. One who is proprietor of stock in the public funds, or in the funds of a bank or other company.—Webster. This is not in the English dictionaries. In England when speaking of the same, they say shareholders, members, or proprietors, generally the former. Mr. Pickering, however, cites the Edinburgh Review for the use of the word:

STOOL-PIGEONING. One of the old standing and oft-repeated charges urged with great pertinacity against the police of this city in olden times, was that of “stool-pigeoning.” As this term may not be familiar to our readers, we will briefly explain it. “Stool-pigeoning” is for an officer to arrest a party of doubtful or perhaps decidedly bad reputation on suspicion, and making him or her give up money or valuables to obtain liberty, when the officer would set the party free, and nothing would be heard by the public or any one else of the arrest, or anything else connected with it.—N. Y. Courier and Enquirer.

STONE-ROOT. (Lat. Collinconia Canadensis.) A plant used in medicine. Its properties are diuretic and stomachic.

STOOP. (Dutch, stoep.) The steps at the entrance of a house; door-steps. It is also applied to a porch with seats, a piazza, or balustrade. This, unlike most of the words received from the Dutch, has extended, in consequence of the uniform style of building that prevails throughout the country, beyond the bounds of New York State, as far as the backwoods of Canada.

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TO STOP. To visit; to stay; as, ‘When you come to New York, stop with me instead of going to a hotel.’

STORE. In the United States and Canada, shops of every kind for the sale of goods whether at wholesale or retail, are commonly called stores. Thus we have dry goods stores, shoe stores, book stores, hardware stores, etc. etc. This use of the word, whose proper meaning is a magazine or storehouse, where merchandise or movable property is kept, seems to arise from that tendency to the magniloquent with which Americans have been charged.

TO SET STORE BY. To value; esteem; regard. This sense of the word store is not noticed by the English or American lexicographers, though it comes to us from a good source. It is much used in New England in familiar conversation, and is also provincial in England, according to Halliwell.

STOREKEEPER. In America, a man who has the care of a store or warehouse; a shopkeeper. The officer who has charge of the government warehouse, where property to the value of millions is deposited for inspection, or for safe keeping, is a storekeeper; so too is the man who stands behind the counter of a shop, and sells his yard of tape, or paper of pins.

STORM. A violent wind; a tempest. Thus, ‘a storm of wind’ is correct language as the proper sense of the word is rushing, violence. It has primarily no reference to a fall of rain or snow; but, as a violent wind is often attended with rain or snow, the word storm has come to be used, most improperly, for a fall of rain or snow without wind.—Webster.

TO STORM. To blow with violence; impersonally, as, it storms.—Webster. We use it improperly in the sense of to rain or to snow.

STORY. A floor; a flight of rooms.—Johnson. In the United

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States, the floor next the ground is the first story. In France and England, the first floor or story is the second from the ground.—Webster.

STRAIGHT AS A LOON’S LEG, is a common simile in New England.

STRANGER. It is the common practice in the Western States to accost a person whose name is not known by this title. In England, for example, a person would say, ‘Can you tell me, sir, if this is the road to B?’ At the West he would say, ‘Stranger, is this the road?’ &c.

STRAPPER. A woman of a bulky form. A large, tall person.—Carr’s Craven Dialect. Jodrell’s Philology. This vulgar word is used in the same sense with us.

STRAPPING. Huge, lusty, bouncing; as, ‘a strapping lass.’—Philips, New World of Words.

STREAKED, or STREAKY. ‘To feel streaked,’ is to feel confused, alarmed.

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TO STREAK, or TO STREAK IT, is to run as fast as possible.

STRETCHER. A notorious lie.—Carr’s Craven. Brockett.

STRICKEN. “This ancient participle,” says Mr. Pickering, “is much used in Congress and our other legislative assemblies. A member moves that certain parts of a bill should be stricken out,” &c.—Vocabulary.

The use of the word referred to by Mr. Pickering is peculiar to us, though there are examples of its occasional use in England applied in other ways.

TO STRIKE, among workmen in manufactories, in England and America, is to quit work in a body or by combination, in, order to compel their employers to give them higher wages.—Webster.

STRIKE. A combination among workmen to obtain an advance in wages. This, as well as the verb to strike, is new, and has not yet found its way into the English dictionaries. Its use is now common both in England and America.

STRING. A common name among teamsters for a whip.

STRING-BEANS. The common name for French beans; so

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called from the string-like substance stripped from the side of the pod in preparing it for the table.

STRIPPINGS. The last and consequently the richest milk drawn from a cow in milking. It is provincial in England.

GOOD STROKE. Used in the sense of considerable; as, ‘a good stroke of business.’—Brockett’s North County Words.

STRONG. To go it strong, means to do a thing with energy or perseverance.

TO STUB, or STUMP. ‘To stub one’s toe,’ is to strike it against anything in walking or running; an expression often used by boys and others who go barefoot.

STUBBY.}
STUBBED.} Short and thick; truncated.—Todd. Webster. This word is now provincial in England. In the United States it is colloquial and not much used. It is found in well known authors.

It is also used to signify hardy; not delicate.—Todd’s Johnson. In this sense it is heard with us. Ex. That is a ‘stubbed child;’ meaning hardy, plump, or strong.

STUD. A collection of breeding horses and mares.—Johnson.

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In the United States we use the term stud-horse, or simply stud, to signify a breeding horse; a stallion.

STUFFY. In Scotland, stout, mettlesome, resolute.—Jamieson. In the United States, angry or sulky; obstinate. Colloquial.—Worcester.

STUFFENING. Stuffing; seasoning for meat or poultry. usually made of bread and herbs to give it a higher relish. Western.

TO STUMP. To challenge; to defy.—Webster. Worcester. The more usual meaning, however, is to puzzle; to confound.

TO STUMP. ‘To stump it,’ or ‘take the stump.’ A cant phrase signifying to make electioneering speeches.—Worcester. This is a term borrowed from the backwoods, where the stump of a tree often supplies the place of the English hustings.

STUMPER. A puzzler.

STUMP ORATOR. A man who harangues the people from the stump of a tree, or other elevation.

STUMP ORATORY. The sort of popular speaking used by stump orators.

STUMP SPEECH. A speech made from a stump or other

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elevation; i. e. an electioneering speech in favor of one’s self, or some other political candidate.

STUMP SPEAKER. A popular political speaker.

The New York Commercial Advertiser, in giving the requisites of a good stump speaker, says

STUMPAGE. The sum paid to owners of land for the privilege of cutting the timber growing thereon. State of Maine.

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STUN, for stone, so pronounced in the back parts of New England.

STURTION. A common pronunciation for nasturtion.

TO STUTTER. To saunter lazily, with a slip-shod movement. This is not a common word. I have never met with it except in the example quoted.

SUABILITY. Liability to be sued; the state of being subject by law to a civil process.—Webster.

SUABLE. That may be sued; subject by law to be called to answer in court.—Webster.

SUANT. Even; uniform; spread equally over the surface. Provincial in England.—Holloway’s Prov. Dict. Used by farmers in some parts of New England, and applied thus: ‘The grain is sowed suant,’ i. e. evenly; regularly.—Pickering.

TO SUBSIST. To feed; to maintain.—Todd. This and the following verb are sometimes, though rarely, used transitively.

TO SUCCEED. To prosper; to make successful.

SUCKATASH, or SUCCOTASH. (Narragansett Ind., msickquatash, corn boiled whole.) Green Indian corn and beans boiled together. It is a favorite disk wherever these plants are cultivated.

Joel Barlow, in his admirable poem on Hasty-pudding, thus compares succotash with it:

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SUCKER. A nickname applied throughout the West to a native of Illinois. The origin of this term is as follows:

The Western prairies are, in many places, full of the holes made by the “crawfish,” (a fresh water shell-fish similar in form to the lobster,) which descends to the water beneath. In early times, when travellers wended their way over these immense plains, they very prudently provided themselves with a long hollow weed, and when thirsty, thrust it into these natural artesians, and thus easily supplied their longings. The crawfish-well generally contains pure water, and the manner in which the traveller drew forth the refreshing element gave him the name of “Sucker.”—Let. from Illinois, in Providence Journal. A correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from Illinois, says:

SUCKER. A greenhorn; an awkward country fellow. Western.

SUCKER. A hard drinker; a drunkard.

SUCKER. A tube used for sucking sherry-cobblers. They are made of silver, glass, straw, or sticks of maccaroni.

SUCKER. A very common fish of the genus labeo, and of which there are many varieties, including the Chub, Mullet, Barbel, Horned Dace, etc. They are found in most of the lakes and rivers of North America.

TO SUCK IN. To take in; to cheat; to deceive. A figurative expression, probably drawn from a sponge, which sucks up water. To be sucked in, is to be ‘sponged’ out of one’s money, or to be cheated in a bargain. It is a low expression, though often heard, and is understood by all.

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SUGAR MAPLE. (Acer saccharintem.) A handsome forest tree from 50 to 80 feet high, from the sap of which is made the well known maple sugar. The wood is valuable for fuel; and accidental varieties of it are the birds-eye maple and curled maple of cabinet makers.—Dr. Torrey, in Nat. Hist. of New York.

SUGAR ORCHARD. A collection of maple trees selected and preserved in the forest for the purpose of making sugar therefrom.

SULKY. A carriage for a single person; generally in the form of a chaise.

SU MARKEE. (French, sou marqué.) Used in the sea-port towns of New England and in New York. Ex. ‘I would not give a soo markée for it,’ i. e. a single cent.

SUNDOWN. Sunset. Peculiar to the United States.

SUPAWN. An Indian name, in universal use in New England, New York, and other Northern States, for boiled Indian meal.

SUPPLE JACK. (Lat. rhamnus volubilis.) The popular name of a vine common to some of the Southern States. Twisted walking canes made of it are much admired.—Williams’s Florida.

SUSPENDERS. Braces; straps worn over the shoulders for

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holding up pantaloons; also called gallowses in many parts of the country.

SURE AS A GUN. Absolutely certain. A common colloquial expression.—Brockett.

SUZZ! A common pronunciation of sirs! An exclamation much used in New England, as sirs is in Scotland.

SWACKING. Huge; robust.—Forby’s Vocabulary.

SWAD. In New England, a lump, mass, or hunch; also, a crowd.—Webster. This is a vulgar word. In the North of England it is the common name for the pod or shell of peas. May not our word be derived from this? A pod is a quantity, a bunch of peas. A quantity or large pile of potatoes, would be called ‘a swad of potatoes’—so, ‘a swad of people.’ (See Dreadful.)

SWAG. A term used in speaking of booty lately obtained. I have never seen the word used except by Mr. Greeley, who has good authority for its use in Grose’s Slang Dictionary.

SWALE. A local word in New England, signifying an interval or vale; a tract of low land.—Webster. This word is provincial in Norfolk, England, and means a low place; and shade, in opposition to sunshine.—Forby’s Vocabulary.

TO SWALE.}
TO SWEALE.} To melt and run down, as the tallow of a candle; to waste away without feeding the flame; to blaze away.—Pickering. Webster. This word is provincial in England, and is mentioned by Ray, Grose, and other writers.—Craven Glossary.

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TO SWAMP. To plunge into inextricable difficulties.—Webster. To whelm or sink as in a swamp.—Todd. The former use of the word is not in Todd’s Johnson, or other English dictionaries. Dr. Webster quotes the Quarterly Review as authority. It is common in the United States, though not elegant. Ex. ‘He invested a large sum of money in land speculations, which swamped him;’ i. e. ruined him.

I SWAMP IT! An interjection of the same meaning as I swan! which see.

SWAMP-PINK. (Lat. Azalea Viscosa.) A popular name for the Wild Honeysuckle.—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

SWAN! A euphemistic pronunciation of the word swear; as, I swan! Used chiefly in New England.

SWANGA. A word used among the negroes in some parts of the South in connection with buckra, as swanga buckra; meaning a dandy white man, or literally, a dandy devil. Swanga is an African word, and belongs to the language spoken near the Gaboon river, where anything gay or elegant is swanga. The Rev. J. L. Wilson, long a resident in Africa, and acquainted with the language, recognises this word among the Southern negroes.

TO SWAP. To exchange; to barter.—Johnson.

This word has often been noticed by English travellers in this country, and may, perhaps, be more common here than in England; but it is also used by the vulgar in that country.—Pickering.

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SWEEP. The pole or piece of timber moved on a fulcrum or post, used to lower and raise a bucket in a well for drawing water.—Webster.

The same is used in England. In Yorkshire it is called a swape; in Norfolk a swipe. It is written swipe in Bailey’s Dictionary.

SWEET TOOTH. A person who is fond of sweet things is said to have a sweet tooth in his head. And so in England.—Carr’s Craven Glossary.

SWEET OIL. The common name for olive oil.

TO SWINGE. 1. To whip; to bastinade; to punish.—Johnson.

2.To singe. Provincial in various parts of England.—Halliwell.

SWINGLE-TAIL. (Genus, carcharias. Cuvier.) The popular name for the Thresher Shark, from the use it makes of its long flexible tail, “with which,” says Dr. De Kay, “it literally threshes its enemies.”—Nat. Hist. of New York.

SWITCHEL. Molasses and water; a common beverage in New England.

TO SWATE, pron. swot. (Dutch, perf. of suizen, to make the ears tingle.) To give a violent slap or blow in the face with the open hand. A low word.

SWOT. A violent slap or blow with the open hand.

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I SWOW! An exclamation.

TO SYSTEMIZE. To systematize. A word rarely used by good writers.—Worcester. Dr. Webster, however, gives it the preference over systematize, which he denounces as “ill formed.” What would he have thought of dogmize and stigmize, by way of ‘improving’ the language?

TO SUIT TO A T. To suit or fit exactly. This old English phrase is often used by ourselves in colloquial language.

TO TACKLE. To attack. Provincial in England.—Halliwell.

TACKLE. A horse’s harness. Provincial in various parts of England.

TO TACKLE. To tackle a horse, is to harness him.

TAFFY. A kind of candy made of molasses, flour, and butter, baked in a pan. New York.

TO TAG AFTER. To follow closely after.—Forby.

TAIL-RACE. The water course leading from a mill after it has passed the water-wheel.

’TAINT. A corrupt abbreviation for it is not.

TAKING. Distress of mind.—Johnson.

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TO TAKE ON. To grieve; to fret at a misfortune or disappointment.

TO TAKE TO DO. To take to task; to reprove.

TO TAKE THE SHINE OFF. To surpass; excel.

TALENTED. Furnished with talents; possessing skill or talents.—Webster. This word is not noticed by any English lexicographer except Knowles.

The London Monthly Magazine (Sept. 1831) blames Mr. Stanley for using this word. “Sir Robert Peel referred it to his American associations, and prayed him never to employ it again, with all the strenuousness of Oxonian adjuration.” The Philadelphia Nat. Gaz., in speaking of the above, adds, “Sir Robert was right in protesting against the word, but wrong in his reference. It is of London cockney derivation, and still more employed in Great Britain than in America.”

TALKING-IRON. A comical name for a gun or rifle; called also a shooting-iron.

TALL. Sturdy; lusty; hold; spirited; courageous.—Johnson.

In the United States, and especially at the South, the word is often used in the analogous sense of great; excellent; fine.

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TALL, as an adv. Finely; exceedingly highly; very much. Western.

TANTRUM. Affected airs; insolences; whims.——Halliwell.

TO TAP. To add a new sole or heel to a shoe. Hertfordshire, England.—Worcester.

TAPIOCA. A substance much used in the United States for puddings and other culinary purposes. It is extracted from the manioc (gatropha manihot), a shrub indigenous to tropical America, and now cultivated from Florida to Magellan. It is said that an acre of manioc will nourish more persons than six acres of wheat. Its roots attain the size of the thigh. Every part of the plant is filled with a milky juice, which is a very violent and dangerous poison, producing death in a few minutes, when swallowed; yet human ingenuity has converted its roots into an article of food. This is done by grinding them in wooden mills, after which the paste is put into sacks, and exposed to the action of a powerful press. The poisonous juice is thereby extracted, and the residue is the substance known as cassava, or mandioca, a nutritious flour, preferred by the natives to that from wheat. When kept from moisture, this flour will keep good for fifteen or twenty years. The tapioca is made by separating from the fibrous part of the roots a small quantity of the pulp, after the juice is extracted, and working it by hand till a thick white cream appears on the surface. This, being scraped off and washed in water, gradually subsides to the bottom. After the water is poured off, the remaining moisture is dissipated by a slow fire, and the substance being constantly stirred,

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gradually forms into grains about as large as those of sago. This is the purest and most wholesome part of the manioc.—Encyc. Americana.

TO BE ON ONE’S TAPS, is to be always ready on one’s feet, literally on one’s shoes; a metaphor borrowed from the shoemaker, taps being a cant word for shoes among the fraternity.

TARBOGGIN. In Canada, a light sleigh.

TARNATION. A common oath.—Halliwell. In vulgar use; in New England.

TARRING AND FEATHERING. A punishment sometimes inflicted by indignantly virtuous mobs in Southern and Western States, on persons who have committed an offence of which they fear the law will not take cognizance, by daubing them all over with tar, and afterwards covering them with feathers. “A practice,” says Grose, “lately inflicted by the good people of Boston, in America, on any person convicted or suspected of loyalty.”

TAUTAUG. The name of the Blackfish caught in the waters of Rhode Island. It is an Indian word, and may be found in Roger Williams’s Key to the Indian Language, where, however, he calls it the Sheepshead, an entirely different fish. In New York it is called Black Fish. Dr. Mitchell gave the generic name of Tautoga to it, which name it retains among naturalists; see Storer, Cuvier, and De Kay.

TO TAX. To charge; as, ‘What will you tax me a yard for this cloth?’ i. e. what will you charge for it, or what is the price of it?

TEETER. To see-saw on a balanced plank, as children for amusement.— Worcester. The English pronunciation is titter.

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TEETER-TAWTER. The act of see sawing. In England pronounced titter-totter.—Halliwell.

TEE-TOTAL. Entire; total. A modern cant word, formed by reduplication, the syllable tee being used for the letter t.—Worcester.

The Preston (Eng.) chronicle gives an account of the funeral of Richard Turner, who, it says, was the originator of the term tee-totaller, as applied to those who abstain from intoxicating drinks.

The deceased had been upwards of fourteen years a member of the Temperance Society, having signed the pledge in October, 1832, while in a state of intoxication. It may not be generally known (says the Chronicle) how the term “tee-totallers” became first adopted by the members of the Total Abstinence Society, but we may inform our readers that Dickey, (that being the name by which Mr. Turner was familiarly called,) in one of his speeches, which were generally characterized by an equal mixture of wit and blunders, being at a loss for a word which would convey to the audience that he was an out-and-out total abstinence man, said, “I have signed the tee, tee-total pledge.”

This speech was delivered in the Cockpit, at the latter end of the year 1833. The word, being short and expressive, was immediately adopted by the abstainers of Lancashire, and ultimately throughout England—nay, we may say throughout the world, for both in America and India the term is adopted by those who are pledged to abstain from all intoxicating liquors.

TEE-TOTALLER. A thorough temperance man, who avoids every kind of ardent spirits, wine, and beer.

A stump orator in Michigan, in his appeal to the electors, uses the following language:

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TEE-TOTALLY. Entirely; totally.

TELL. A saying; generally, however, a good one, or a complimentary one. A young lady will say to another, “I’ve a tell for you,” i. e. I’ve a compliment for you, or I have heard some one speak highly of you. Not elegant.

TO TELL ON. To tell of; to tell about.

TO TELL. To have effect.—Worcester.

TELL APART. To distinguish; as, ‘Their resemblance was so striking, that I could not tell them apart.’ We also use the phrase, ‘To know apart,’ in the same sense.—Hurd’s Corrector.

TELL’D, for told. Provincial in England.—Halliwell.

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DO TELL. See page 119.

TENDSOME. Requiring much attendance; as, ‘a tendsome child.’—Webster. This word is used in Connecticut.

Tenn. The abbreviation for Tennessee.

TEND, for attend.

TERRAPIN. A name given to a species of tide-water tortoise.—Webster.

TERAWCHY. This word is evidently of Dutch origin, though I cannot discover its derivation. It is a very common word in the nursery, and is always accompanied by a peculiar motion of the fingers, with the palm of the hand presented to the child. It is as well known among the old English families of New York as among those of Dutch descent.

THICK. Intimate; familiar. ‘They are very thick just now.’ Provincial in the North of England, and in Yorkshire.—Craven Glossary and Brockett.

THICK. The midst, i. e. of a crowd.

THIMBLE BERRY. The Black Raspberry, so called by many.

THIMBLE WEED. (Lat. Rudbeckia.) A tall plant six or eight feet high, resembling the sunflower. It is one of the herbs prepared by the Shakers, and is used in medicine for its diuretic and tonic properties.

THIS HERE, and THAT THERE. These vulgar pleonasms are often heard in this country as well as in England.

THOROUGHWORT. (Lat. eupatorium perfoliatum.) A plant used in medicine for its tonic properties.—Bigelow, Medical Botany.

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LIKE A THOUSAND OF BRICK. A queer simile very often heard. It means, of course, very heavily; and then, vigorously; vehemently.

THUNDERING. Very; exceedingly. A vulgar word used with pretty much the same latitude as the English devilish.

TICK. A ticket; score; debt; trust; credit.—Worcester. This word, says Dr. Johnson, seems contracted from ticket, a tally on which debts are scored. Mr. Halliwell says it signifies a tradesman’s bill, formerly written on a card or ticket.

To buy on tick, to go on tick, are the common phrases wherein this now vulgar word is heard. Like many other words once used in good society and by learned men, ‘tick’ has almost had its day, and is fast sinking into obscurity.

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TICKLER. A common name among merchants and bankers for a book in which a register of notes or debts is kept, for reference.

TIE. The state produced by an equal number of votes on two opposite sides.—Worcester. I have not found this very common use of the word in any other dictionary or glossary, English or American.

TIGHT. Close; parsimonious; saving; as, ‘a man tight in his dealings.’ Close; hard; as, ‘a tight bargain.’—Webster. To these American uses of the word is to be added another similar to the last. When money is difficult to be procured by discounting, &c., business men say, ‘the money-market is tight,’ or ‘money is tight.’ In this sense it is the opposite of easy, which see.

TIGHT MATCH. A close or even match, as of two persons wrestling or running together; and hence a difficulty. ‘The Loco-focos may succeed in electing Cass, but they will have a tight match to do it.’

TIGHT SCROUGING, i. e. hard squeezing. Said of anything difficult to accomplish.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

TILT-UP, or TIP-UP. The popular name of the Sand-piper. See Peet-weet.

TIME, for hour, in the phrase, ‘What time are you?’ meaning, What o’clock is it?

TIMOTHY GRASS. (Phleum pratense.) The common name for the Herd’s Grass; said to be derived from Timothy Hanson, one of its early propagators.—Bigelow’s Flora Bostoniensis.

TIN. A slang word for money. ‘Kelter,’ ‘dimes,’ ‘dough,’ rocks,’ and many other words are used in the same manner.

TINKER. Small mackerel. New England.

TO TIP OVER. To turn over; to capsize.—Worcester.

TO TIP UP. To raise up one end, as of a cart, so that the

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contents may pass out.—Worcester. Both this and the preceding expressions are used in England, although not in the dictionaries.

TIP-TOP. An expression often used in common conversation, denoting the utmost degree, excellence or perfection.—Todd’s Johnson.

At the Democratic meeting, held in New York, June 12th, 1848, to ratify the nomination of Gen. Cass for the Presidency, Gen. Houston, who addressed the meeting closed as follows:

TO TITIVATE. To dress up. ‘To titivate oneself,’ is to make one’s toilet. Provincial in various parts of England.

TIT FOR TAT. The phrase “tit for tat, if you kill my dog I’ll kill your cat,” is among the provincialisms of Hants, and means, that I shall treat you as you treat me.—Holloway. In the United States this phrase is very common.

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TITHING-MAN. In New England, a parish officer appointed to preserve order at public worship, and enforce the proper observance of the Sabbath.—Worcester.

TITTER. An eruption on the skin. This is merely another pronunciation of tetter, used in New England, and, according to Forby, provincial in England.

TO, for at or in, is an exceedingly common vulgarism in the Northern States. We often hear such vile expressions as, ‘He was not to home,’ ‘He lives to York;’ and the opposite mistake of in for into (see Appendix) is hardly less frequent.

TOBACCO. (Span. tabaco.) An American plant; the dried leaves of the plant used for smoking, chewing, and for making snuff. The name is supposed to be derived from Tabaco, a province of Yucatan, where it was first found by the Spaniards.—Worcester. According to Gilii, it is the name of an instrument which the Indians used for smoking.—Storia Americana.

Among the host of names given to the weed according to the various modes in which it is prepared for chewing are, Pig-tail, Ladies’ twist, Cavendish, Honey-dew, Negro-head (pron. Nigger-head), Long cut, Short cut, Bull’s eye, Plug, Oronoko leaf, Nail-rod or 32’s, Roll, Fine spun, Pound, &c. &c. There is besides smoking tobacco put up in papers of various kinds, as Canaster, Kite-foot, Cut-stems, &c. In the form of snuff, there are also many terms for it, as Maccoboy, Rappee (American and foreign, named after the places it is manufactured in), American gentleman, Demigros, Pure Virginia, Copenhagen, Nachitoches, Bourbon, St. Domingo, Scotch of various qualities in bladders, High toast, Irish blackguard, Irish High toast, &c. &c.

TODDY. Originally a tree in the East Indies; afterwards, a

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liquor extracted from it; and latterly a kind of punch made of rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg.—Todd.

TO TOLL. To entice; to lead on. Western.

TOMAHAWK. Common to several Indian languages of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Micmac, tomehagen; Abenakis, temahigen; Mohegan, tumnahegan; Delaware, tamoihecan. An Indian hatchet, or axe.—Gallatin’s Synopsis.

It was and is the custom of the Indians to go through the ceremony of burying the tomahawk when they made peace when they went to war, they dug it up again. Hence the phrases ‘to bury the tomahawk,’ and ‘to dig up the tomahawk,’ are sometimes used by political speakers and writers with reference to the healing up of past disputes or the breaking out of new ones. See Hatchet.

TOMCOD. (Gentis, Morrhua. Cuvier.) A small fish common to our coast, but which become very abundant after the first frost; hence the name of Frost Fish by which it is also known.—Storer, Fishes of Massachusetts.

Dr. J. V. C. Smith believes the tomcod to be the same as a fish known in Europe as the tacaud of Cuvier, and that tom-cod is a corruption of the Indian name, tacaud, i. e. plenty fish, as this little fish was well known to our aborigines.

TONGS. A name for pantaloons and roundabouts formerly in use in New England.

TOO BIG FOR HIS BREECHES, is said of a man who is above his business; arrogant; haughty.

TOOTHACHE GRASS. (Lat. monocera aromatica.) A singular kind of grass which grows in Florida, with a naked stalk four feet high. It affects the breath and milk of cows, which eat it when young and tender. The root affects the salivary glands.—Williams’s Florida.

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TOOTIES. A common term in nursery language for the feet. A corruption of footies, i. e. feet. Used in England as well as with us.

TOPPER. Anything superior; a clever or extraordinary person; but generally in an ironical sense.—Brockett’s North County Words.

TOPPING. Fine; gallant; proud; assuming superiority.—Johnson. Webster. In New England much used among the common people.

TORE. The dead kind of grass that remains on the ground in winter. This word is used in New England.—Ash.

TORE. The place where one stands to shoot marbles from. Used by the boys of New York.

TORY. The name of a political party. It originated in Ireland, and is derived from toraigham—to pursue for plunder. (Lingard, Hist. England, XI. 135.) It imported a leaning towards popery and despotism and was first applied to the natives of Ireland, who having been deprived of their estates, supported themselves by depredations on the English settlers.—Wade’s British History, p. 237.

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TO TOTE. To carry. A queer word of unknown origin, much used in the Southern States. It has been—absurdly enough—derived from the Latin tollit.

STONE TOTER. The most singular fish in this part of the world [the Southern States] is called the stone-toter, whose brow is surmounted with several little sharp horns, by the aid of which he totes small flat stones from one part of the brook to another more quiet, in order to make a snug little inclosure, for his lady to lie in in safety.—Paulding, Lett. from the South.

TOUCH. No touch to it, i. e. not to compare with it. A common expression in vulgar language.

TOUCH-ME-NOT. (Lat. impatiens noli tangere.) A plant found about brooks, and in moist places.—Michaux, Sylva. A popular name for the common balsam, so named from the bursting of the capsules when touched with the fingers.

TOUSE. A noise, or disturbance.—Halliwell.

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TRACK-SPRINKLER. A contrivance recently invented in Providence, R. I. and now in use on the railroads in that State, for sprinkling railroad tracks. A tank of 2000 gallons has been found sufficient to sprinkle a track or railway of 47 miles, the train going at the rate of 20 miles an hour.

TRAIL. Scent left by a track; track followed by the hunter; an Indian footpath.—Worcester.

TO TRAIL. ‘Not worth shucks to trail,’ is a Southern phrase, meaning that anything is of little value, not fit to draw home shucks; and probably equivalent to the classical expression, ‘not fit to carry guts to a bear.’

TRAIN. (Fr. traineau.) A peculiar kind of sleigh used for the transportation of merchandise, wood, &c., in Canada.

TRAINERS. The militia when assembled for exercise.

TRAINING-DAY. The day when the militia are called out to be reviewed.

TO TRAIPSE. To walk in a careless or sluttish manner.—Johnson. It is almost exclusively a woman’s word.

TO TRAMPOUS. To walk; to lounge or wander about; to tramp. The origin of this word is doubtful; there is nothing analogous to it in the English provincial glossaries.

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TRANSCENDENTALISM. The state or quality of being transcendental; a transcendental notion or system; transcendental philosophy.—Worcester. This word and most of the following are used by English writers, but having been but lately introduced into the language, they have not yet found a place in the dictionaries.

TRANSCENDENTALIST. One who adheres to transcendentalism.—Worcester.

TRANSCENDENTALITY. The quality of being transcendental.—Worcester.

TRANSCENDENTALLY. In a transcendent manner.—Webster.

TO TRANSMOGRIFY. To change; to alter; to metamorphose. A low word. It is provincial in the North of England, and in Craven Districts.—Glossaries of Carr and Brockett.

TRAPS. Goods; household stuff, baggage. English and American.

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TRASH. The leaves of the sugar cane, in the West Indies, stript from the cane to permit it to ripen. These leaves are laid upon the ground, to prevent the sun’s influence on the earth, that every moisture possible may be retained for the nourishment of the plant. Trash is also used for foddering cattle and thatching houses.—Carmichael’s West Indies.

TO TRASH. To trash the cane, is to strip off the dry leaves.

TRAVELLER’S JOY. (Lat. clematis.) The popular name of a hardy climbing vine, common in low grounds. When in fruit, the long feathery tails of the seeds appear like tufts of wool.—Bigelow’s Plants of Boston.

TO TREE. To take refuge in a tree, said of a wild animal; to force to take refuge in a tree, drive to a tree, said of the hunter. To tree oneself, is to conceal oneself behind a tree, as in hunting or fighting. This hunter’s word is purely American.

TRICKLY. Trickish; practising tricks.—Forby. Halliwell. Provincial in England and colloquial in the United States.

TO TRIG A WHEEL. To stop a wheel so as to prevent its going backwards or forwards.—Bailey. Still used in New England in the same sense.

TRIMMINGS. Bread and butter and other necessary eatables for the tea-table.

TO TROLL. A method of fishing, by a long line attached to the stern of a boat, which is set in motion by sails or muffled oars. A piece of tin, or a strip of red and white cloth, is attached to the hook, which, passing rapidly along the sur-

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face of the water, is seized by the fish. Bass are generally caught in this way.

TO TROUNCE. To beat.—Halliwell. Colloquial in England and the United States.

TRUCK. Medicine.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

TRUCK. Produce; cloth, or almost anything.—Ibid.

TRUCK. A two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a horse, and used for carrying merchandise; a cart.

TRUCKMAN. The driver of a truck.

TRUCKAGE. The charges for carrying on a truck; the cartage. These words are commonly used in New England instead of cart, carman, and cartage, elsewhere employed.

TO TRY. To purify; to refine.—Johnson. Webster. A common use of this word in the United States, and the only one connected with purifying, is in connection with tallow: ‘To try out tallow or lard,’ is to melt it down, for the purpose of purifying. It is provincial in England in the same sense.—Forby. Halliwell.

TUK, for took. A vulgar pronunciation, common to the North and South.

TO TUCK. To gather into a narrow compass; to crush together; to hinder from spreading.—Johnson.

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In the United States we use the phrase, to tuck on, in two different senses or applications. It means in the first place to lay on; as, ‘having caught the thief, he tucked it on to him without mercy.’ ‘How you tuck the price on these goods,’ i. e. how dear they are. It also means, to force a bad article on a person in buying or exchanging; as, ‘We swapped horses, and I got this miserable old animal tucked on to me.’

TUCKAHOE. (Lucoperdon solidu. Clayton, Flora Virginica.) The Virginia truffle. A curious vegetable, sometimes called by the name of Indian Bread, or Indian Loaf, found in the Southern States, bordering on the Atlantic. It is a natural production, the origin of which has greatly perplexed naturalists, as it is commonly found several feet under the surface, and, like the truffle of Europe, has apparently no stem or leafy appendage connecting it with the external atmosphere. They are generally found through the instrumentality of hogs, whose acute sense of smelling enables them to fix upon the spot where they lie buried. They are usually of a globular or flattened oval shape, and rather regular surface, the large ones resembling somewhat a brown loaf of coarse bread. The size varies from an acorn to the bigness of a man’s head. Its name tuckahoe is Indian, and is said to designate bread. When examined with a microscope, it exhibits no fibres or pores, or any other indications of organization, so easily detected in roots and other vegetable productions of ordinary growth. The Southern botanists regard the tuckahoe as a fungus.—Farmer’s Encyclopedia.

The term tuckahoe is often applied to an inhabitant of Lower Virginia, and to the poor land in that section of the State.

TUCKERED OUT. Tired out; fatigued. Used in New York and New England.

TO TUMP. Probably an Indian word. It means to draw a deer or other animal home through the woods, after he has

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been killed. Ex. ‘We tumped the deer to our cabin.’ Used in Maine.

TUMPLINE. A strap placed across the forehead to assist a man in carrying a pack on his back. Used in Maine, where the custom was borrowed from the Indians.

TUM-TUM. A favorite dish in the West Indies, made by beating the boiled plantain quite soft in a wooden mortar. It is eaten like a potato pudding, or made into round cakes and fried.—Carmichael’s West Indies, Vol. I. p. 183.

TO TURN IN. To go to bed. Originally a seaman’s phrase, but now common on land.

TUSSLE. The verb to touse is given by both Johnson and Webster, to pull; to tear; to haul. Both have also the word tussle, a struggle; a conflict, which they call a vulgar word.

’TWA’N’T, for it was not. New England.

TO TWIG. To observe. A flash word common to England and the United States.

TWISTICAL. Tortuous; unfair; not quite moral. Used in New England.

TO TWITCH. To draw timber along the ground by a chain. Used by lumbermen in Maine.

TYKE. In Scotland and the North of England, a dog; and hence a contemptible person.

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UGLY. Ill-tempered; bad. New England. Ex. ‘He is an ugly fellow,’ i. e. of a bad disposition; wicked. The compound ugly-tempered is also used. They are both heard only among the illiterate.—Pickering.

UGLY CUSTOMER. A disagreeable or troublesome companion.

UMBRELLA TREE. (Lat. magnolia tripetala.) The popular name of this tree in the Southern States.

UNBEKNOWN. Unknown. Various dialects of England.—Halliwell. This is a very common word in familiar language in New England. It is regularly formed from the Ang. Sax. be-knowen, to know; to recognise; to acknowledge; pret. bi-knewe; past part. bi-known; all of which are used by Piers Ploughman.

UNCLE SAM. The cant or vulgar name of the United States Government; sometimes called Brother Jonathan. It is used as John Bull is in England. Mr. Frost, in his Naval History of the United States, gives the following account of the origin of the name:

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“Immediately after the last declaration of war with England, Elbert Anderson of New York, then a contractor, visited Troy, on the Hudson; where was concentrated, and where he purchased, a large quantity of provisions, beef, pork, &c. The inspectors of these articles at that place were Messrs. Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson. The latter gentleman (invariably known as ‘Uncle Sam’) generally superintended in person a large number of workmen, who, on this occasion, were employed in overhauling the provisions purchased by the contractor for the army. The casks were marked ‘E. A.—U. S.’ This work fell to the lot of a facetious fellow in the employ of the Messrs. Wilson, who, on being asked by some of his fellow-workmen the meaning of the mark (for the letters U. S. for United States, were then almost entirely new to them), said, ‘he did not know, unless it meant Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam’—alluding exclusively, then, to the said ‘Uncle Sam’ Wilson. The joke took among the workmen, and passed currently; and ‘Uncle Sam’ himself being present, was occasionally rallied by them on the increasing extent of his possessions.” P. 297.

“Many of these workmen, being of a character denominated ‘food for powder,’ were found, shortly after, following the recruiting drum, and pushing toward the frontier lines, for the double purpose of meeting the enemy, and of eating the provisions they had lately labored to put in good order. Their old jokes accompanied them, and before the first campaign ended, this identical one first appeared in print; it gained favor rapidly, till it penetrated and was recognised in every part of the country, and will, no doubt, continue so while the United States remain a nation.” Ibid.

UNCOMMON. Exceedingly; very.

UNCONSCIONABLE. Enormous; vast. A low word.—Johnson. Used adverbially at the West, as in the following example:

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UNDERDONE. Cooked rare. A very common word with us. Used in the London Quarterly Review, but not noticed by Johnson or Todd.

TO UNDERPIN. To place something for support or foundation; to prop; to support.—Worcester.

UNDERPINNING. Act of supporting something placed under; stone-work or masonry on which a building rests.—Worcester.

TO UNIFY. To form into one; to reduce to unity.

UP-A-DAY. A fondling expression of a nurse to a child, when she takes it up in her arms, or lifts it over some obstacle. The author is informed by a friend, that he heard it used on the same occasions, by nurse-maids in Normandy. It may come from the Anglo-Saxon up-adon, to lift up; but is more probably a mere contraction for the equally common phrase up-a-daisy.

UPPISH. Proud; insolent.—Halliwell. Colloquial in England and the United States.

UPPER CRUST. The aristocracy; the higher circles.

THE UPPER TEN THOUSAND, and contracted, THE UPPER TEN. The aristocracy; the upper circles of our large cities. A phrase invented by N. P. Willis.

UPPER STORY. The brain; as, ‘He’s not right in his

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upper story.’—Carr’s Craven Dialect. This same expression is sometimes heard in the United States, to denote a person who is deranged. I have never heard it applied in any other way.

UP TO. ‘To be up to a thing,’ is to understand it. A common English and American vulgarism.

UP TO THE HUB. To the extreme point. The figure is that of a vehicle sunk in the mud up to the hub of the wheels, which is as far as it can go.

UP TO SNUFF. To be flash; to be shrewd. Up to snuff and a pinch above it, is a common cant phrase.—Grose. Both these expressions are familiar in the United States.

UP TO TRAP. Knowing; shrewd. English and American.

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TO UPSET. To overturn; to overthrow; to overset.—Todd. Webster. This word is now so universal both in England and America, that it may appear unnecessary to give it a place. Its use, however, is quite modern, as it is not in any of the English dictionaries before Todd, who calls it a low word.

UPSET PRICE. At public auctions an article is sometimes ‘set up,’ or ‘started,’ by the auctioneer at the lowest price at which it can be sold. This is called the upset price.

TO USE. To frequent a place. This word is employed in the following sense among the hunters of the West: ‘I can see where the deer used,’ i. e. where the deer have been, or where they have fed. The sense intended to be conveyed, is that the deer has left tracks and other marks on the ground used by him. This term is also noticed by Mr. Sherwood as provincial in Georgia; as, ‘The sheep used in that field.’

TO USE UP. To discomfit; destroy. Grose has this word, which he calls a military one, meaning killed.

USED TO COULD. A vulgarism used in the Southern States for could formerly; as, ‘I cannot do it now, but I used to could.’—Sherwood’s Georgia. We had set this down as a native vulgarism, until we discovered it in the poem called John Noakes and Mary Styles, illustrating the Essex dialect of England.

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VACHER. (French.) The stock or cattle keeper on the prairies of the South-west. His duty is also to break wild horses, to run cattle, and to brand calves.

TO VAMOS. A Spanish word signifying let us go. Fr. allons! This and other Spanish expressions have lately become familiar to us through the letters of soldiers and officers from Mexico in the public prints.

VARMINT. A corrupt pronunciation of the word vermin. Applied to noxious wild beasts of any kind.

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VENDUE. (French vendre, to sell, vendu, sold.) Auction; a public sale of anything by outcry to the highest bidder.—Webster. This word is in use in the United States and the West Indies; but it is not common in England, though it is found in the recent English dictionaries of Knowles, Oswald, and Smart.

VEST. A waistcoat, or garment worn under a coat. We almost always use this word instead of waistcoat, which we rarely apply to anything but an under garment, as ‘a flannel waistcoat.’

VETO. A prohibition; negative. A word frequently transferred from political to ordinary life.

VINE-FRETTER. (Lat. aphis puceron.) An insect very destructive to vines, rose bushes, cabbages, &c. in the Southern States. There are said to be 150 species. On every plant they vary in form and color. They have many enemies, among them the caterpillar which will destroy about a hundred in an hour.—Williams’s Florida.

VOYAGEUR. (French.) A Canadian boatman.—Worcester.

Vt. The common abbreviation for Vermont.

I VUM! An exclamation often heard in New England.

TO WABBLE. In the Western States, to make free use of one’s tongue; to be a ready speaker.

TO WABBLE. To move from side to side; to vacillate. A low and barbarous word, says Dr. Johnson. It is provincial in England.—Forby’s Glossary.

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WABBLING. Moving from side to side; vacillation; oscillation.

WAFFLE. (Dutch wafel.) A wafer; a soft indented cake baked in an iron utensil on coals.

WAFFLE-IRON. (Dutch wafelyzen.) A wafer-iron; a utensil for baking waffles.

TO WALK THE CHALK. To walk straight.

TO WALK INTO. To get the upper hand of; to take advantage of; to punish. A common vulgarism.

WALKING TICKET.}
WALKING PAPERS.} Orders to leave; a dismissal. When a person is appointed to a public office, or receives a commission, he receives papers or documents investing him with authority; so when he is discharged it is said in familiar language that ‘he has received his walking papers, or his walking ticket.’

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TO WALK THE PLANK. This is an expression borrowed from the horrible practice of pirates, who, when they determine to destroy those on board a captured vessel, place a plank projecting over the side, and force the unfortunate wretches to walk out on it till they slip off into the water.

WALL, for well, is a common vulgarism in the Northern States.

TO WALLOP. To beat. Provincial in England and colloquial in the United States.

WALT. Crank. A ship is said to be walt, when she has not her due ballast, that is, not enough to enable her to bear her sails, and keep her stiff. Hubbard in his History of New England, speaking of Lamberton’s ill-fated ship, says, that “she was ill-built, very walt-sided.”—Rev. Alex Young, note, Chron. of Massachusetts.

In the North of England walt means to totter; to overthrow.—Halliwell.

WAMBLE-CROPPED. Sick at the stomach; and figuratively, wretched; humiliated. New England.

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WAMPUM. (A term in the Massachusetts Indian language signifying white, the color of the shells most frequent in wampum belts.) Shells, or strings of shells, used by the American Indians as money. These when united form a broad belt, which is worn as an ornament or girdle. It is sometimes called wampumpeage, or wampeage, of which wampum seems to be a contraction.—Encyc. Americana.

WANGAN. (Indian.) In Maine, a boat for carrying provisions.

WASHY. Weak, not firm or hardy.—Webster. Used in New England in various senses. A washy horse is one that sweats easily and profusely with labor. An insipid discourse, &c. is often termed by us, as in England, wishy-washy.

TO WAP. To throw quickly; to flap.—Jamieson. See Whap.

WAY-BILL. A list of the passengers in a stage-coach, railroad car, steamboat, or other public conveyance.

WAYS AND MEANS. The committee of ‘ways and means,’ in legislation, is a committee to whom is intrusted the consideration of the affairs relating to the revenue or finances of a country. Worcester.

WAYS, for way, distance, space. A very common vulgarism.

THERE’S NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT, i. e. the fact is just so, and not otherwise. A vulgarism of recent origin, equivalent to the common phrase, ‘there’s no mistake about it,’ or ‘the fact is so and so, and no mistake.’

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WEATHER-BREEDER. A cloudless sky, after a succession of rainy weather, denotes rain, and is said to be a weather-breeder.—Carr’s Craven Dialect. This expression is frequently applied by seafaring men to certain appearances in the heavens which denote an approaching storm.

WEED. A common term for tobacco; as, ‘Do you use the weed?’ meaning, ‘Do you chew tobacco?’

WEEDY-WEEDY. A plant resembling spinach, much used in the West Indies.—Carmichael’s West Indies.

WELL-TO-DO. In a state of ease as to pecuniary circumstances; well off.—Holloway.

In speaking of the emigration from Stockholm to the United States, the Liverpool Times (June 19, 1846) says:

WELL TO LIVE. To be in easy circumstances; to live comfortably.

WENCH. In the United States, this word is only applied to black females.

WHANG. Sinews of the buffalo or other animal, or small strips of thin deer-skin, used by the dwellers and hunters of the prairies for sewing.

WHALING. A lashing; a beating.

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WHALER. A big, strapping fellow.

WHAP. A quick and smart stroke.—Jamieson.

WHAP! An interjection expressive of a sudden blow, like whack! slap! bang! &c.

TO WHAP OVER. To turn over. (New England.)

WHAPPER.}
WHOPPER.} Anything uncommonly large; as, ‘That’s a whopper,’ meaning a monstrous lie. ‘In angling to-day, I caught a whopper,’ i. e. a very large fish. This word is provincial in various parts of England, and is a common one here. In his paper on the ancient words in Yorkshire, Dr. Willan observes that, “in many other instances, our forefathers seem to have estimated weights and magnitudes by the force of their blows. To us, they employed in gradation, the terms slapper, smacker, banger, thumper, twacker, swinger, and rattler. The word bumper, concerning which much has been said and surmised, is not of a more exalted origin than that which is here stated.”—Archæologia, Vol. XVII. p. 162.

WHAPPING. Very large.

WHARVES, plur. of wharf. Mr. Pickering notices this form of the plural of wharf, as peculiar to Americans. The

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English say wharfs. In the Colony and Province Laws of Massachusetts, Mr. Pickering says he has observed the plural wharfs (or wharfes) as late as the year 1735; but after that period the form wharves is used.

WHAT NOT. In New York a piece of furniture usually placed in a parlor, consisting of several shelves, upon which are placed articles of vertu, porcelain, small bronzes, etc.

WHAT’S WHAT. ‘To know what’s what,’ is to know the nature of things, or as we classically express it, ‘to be up to a thing or two.’

TO WHEAL. To swell.

WHEEL-HORSE. An intimate friend; one’s right hand man. Western.

WHELK. An old name for a pustule, a pimple. The word is not much used in America.

We have authority for this word from Shakspeare, Henry V.:

WHELKY. Protuberant; rounded.—Todd. Still heard sometimes in New England.

WHIG AND TORY. Names of political parties. The history

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of the origin of these names is thus given by Cooke: “According to Roger North, the country party were the first to brand their opponents with the name by which they were afterwards to be designated. The Duke of York naturally affected the society of those whose religion was the same as his own, and the Catholic Irish were, therefore, in great favor with him. This circumstance occasioned the popular party to call all the opponents of the Exclusion Bill, Irishmen. The hatred the majority of the English bore to popery, rendered this an opprobrious term; but it required to be strengthened before it could express the animosity of a hostile party. The epithet became successively “Wild Irish,” and “Bog-trotter;” but it was yet imperfect until some zealous member of the opposition found invective and euphony united in the word Tory, a name applied to a set of ruffians in the disturbed districts of Ireland—according to North, to the most despicable savages among the wild Irish. The word Whig is of Scotch origin. It was, say some writers, used in that country for the curd into which milk was reduced previous to being converted into cheese; it was thence deemed applicable to the sour and curdled tempers of the persecuted Covenanters. The rebellion of that ill-used sect, of course, rendered them an object of the greatest abhorrence to the high church and high monarchical Tories, and they bestowed this name upon their opponents in England as the most reproachful they could discover.

“Bishop Burnet, however, gives another derivation of this word. He dates it from the year 1648, when the Scotch people, excited by their ministers, rose and marched to Edinburgh to oppose the prosecution of Duke Hamilton’s attempt in favor of the captive king. The south-west counties of Scotland, producing little corn, were obliged to send to Leith for stores of that article, which were supplied by the superior facilities of the northern counties. The carriers who repaired to Leith for this purpose were then called Whiggamors, from the word wiggam, which they used in driving their cattle. The inhabitants of Leith and Edinburgh very naturally extended this epithet to the whole of the inhabi-

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tants of the counties whence these men came; and as the insurgents who occupied Edinburgh sprang chiefly from the West, that circumstance was called the Whiggamors’ inroad. The name was afterwards applied to the whole body of Covenanters, gradually shortened into Whig, and thence, as already mentioned, the word was introduced into England.”—Cooke’s Hist. of Parties, Vol. I. p. 138.

During the war of the American Revolution, the terms Whig and Tory were applied—the former to those who supported the revolutionary movement; the latter to the royalists, or those who adhered to the British government. Tory was then a stigma of the most reproachful kind.

WHIGS AND DEMOCRATS. It is very difficult to give a precise, accurate, and satisfactory definition of the principles distinctively held by the two great political parties into which the population of the American Union is divided—one popularly styling itself the Democratic, the other the Whig party. In point of fact, the satirical definition of the outs and the ins would not be very far out of the way; for the doctrines of government and legislation theoretically advanced by the Democratic party, when out of power, are not so radically diverse from those of the Whigs, in the same condition, as are the practices of either when in power, from their professions. As times change and circumstances, the demands or wishes of these parties change also; so that what was Whig doctrine in 1830, may be Democratic doctrine in 1850, and vice versa.

The nominal distinctions, some years ago, were, on the Whig side, a Protective Tariff, a National Bank, Division of the Proceeds of the Public Lands among all the States, and the duty of the General Government to carry on works of Public Improvement, such as Canals, Roads, &c. &c.

The Democrats were for Free Trade, no connection of the Government with Banking, Distribution of the Proceeds of

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the Public Lands among the States in which the lands lie, and Non-interference by the Government with Internal Improvements.

But all these questions have rarely been brought to the practical test. Absolute free trade has ever been impracticable, because it would deprive the Government of the revenue derived from imposts. The Government has always been obliged to carry on some kind of financial operations, differing more in name than in reality from a system of banking considered as a means of supplying a currency. The public lands have rarely yielded any proceeds beyond the wants of the Government. And the only real question, fairly at issue, has been that of improvement in public works.

The Democrats popularly charge upon the Whigs a desire to strengthen and centralize the National Government—declaring themselves to be in favor rather of strengthening the local Governments of the several States, and of limiting, as far as constitutionally possible, the agency of the National Government, or Government of the Union; but in practice the Democratic party is ready enough to assume power for the General Government, when anything is to be gained by so doing; and in this, as in most other instances, the difference between the two parties lies rather in words than in deeds.

The Whigs, on the other hand, popularly charge upon the Democrats an undue degree of subserviency to the Executive, especially since the elevation of General Jackson to the Presidency, in 1829; and this charge seems to have more foundation in truth. It is certain, at all events, that the three Democratic Presidents, Jackson, Van Buren, and Polk, have found a more zealous and unscrupulous support in questionable measures than was ever given to a Whig President, or indeed to any of their predecessors.

Perhaps, on the whole, it may be truly said, that the main practical difference between the Whigs and Democrats lies in the fact that the latter give a more unhesitating and thorough-going support to all measures which involve the question of party-measures, which become, by any means,

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party tests, whether emanating from the Executive or adopted by him under impulse from his adherents. [J. Inman.]

WHIGGISM.}
WHIGGERY.} Whig principles; the doctrines of the Whig party. These words have, in the United States, lost their original opprobious meaning, and are now frequently used by the Whigs themselves in speaking of their doctrines.

WHILE, for till. ‘Stay while I come,’ instead of stay till I come. Used in the Southern States.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

WHIM-WHAM. A toy; a freak; a strange fancy.—Jodrell’s Philology.

WHIFFLE-TREE.}
WHIPPLE-TREE.} The bar to which the traces of a carriage are fastened for draught.—Webster. Whipple-tree is the form used in England.—Halliwell.

WHISTLE. The throat. It is never used in this sense except in the phrase to ‘wet one’s whistle,’ to take a draught of liquor. It is a corruption of weesle; an old term for the weasand, or windpipe.—Craven Dialect.

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TO WHISTLE. To whistle before you are out of the woods, i. e. to exult before you are out of danger.

WHOLE. Made out of whole cloth, i. e. altogether an invention.

WHOLE HEAP. Many; several; much; a large congregation. An expression peculiar to certain parts of the South and West.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

WICKET. A place of shelter, or camp made of the boughs of trees, used by lumbermen in Maine.

WIDE AWAKE. On the alert; ready; prepared.

WIGWAM. An Indian cabin or hut, usually made of skins. The word is Algonkin, and occurs in variously modified forms in the languages of that family. See Gallatin’s Synopsis, p. 322.

WILD CAT BANK. One of the various terms applied at the West to some of the irresponsible banks of the country. A bank in Michigan had a large vignette on its notes representing a panther, which animal is familiarly called there a Wild cat. This bank failed, having a large amount of its notes in circulation, which notes were afterwards denominated Wild cat money, and the banks issuing them, Wild cat Banks. Other banks were compelled to stop payment soon after, in consequence of the want of confidence in them; and the term became general in Michigan, to denote banking institutions of an unsound character. The term Blue-pup money had a similar origin, as distinguished from Red Dog, which see.

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TO WILT. To droop; to wither, as plants or flowers cut or plucked off.—Holloway. A word common in the United States, and provincial in England, where welk and welt are used in the same sense.—Worcester.

TO WIND UP. To close up; to give the quietus to an antagonist in a debate; to effectually demolish.

WINKLE-HAWK. (Dutch winkel-haak.) A rent in the shape of the letter L, frequently made in cloth. It is also called a winkel-hole. A New York term.

WINSOME. (Ang. Sax. winsum.) Lively; cheerful; gay. Provincial in the North of England.—Brockett.

WIRE-PULLERS. A term denoting those who, by their secret plots and intrigues, control the movements of the puppets on the political stage.

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WITCH-HAZEL. The popular name of the Hamamelis, so called from its reputed power of bending towards water, when a forked branch is held in the hands.

WITNESS-TREES. In newly settled countries at the West, every mile square is marked by “blazed” trees, and the corners especially distinguished by stakes whose place is pointed out by trees called witness-trees.—Mrs. Clavers’s Western Clearings, p. 3.

WOLFISH. Savage; savagely hungry. A Western word.

WONDERMENT. Astonishment; amazement. Wonderful appearance. Not in use except in low or sarcastic language.—Johnson. Examples of the use of this word may be found in many of the old authors.

WONT. A common contraction for will not. In New England, generally pronounced wunt.

TO WOOD. To supply or get supplies of wood.—Webster. The boats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, in their long voyages, are obliged to make frequent stops for supplies of wood. The common phrase is to wood up.

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WOODING-PLACE. A station on the banks of a river where the steamboats stop to take in supplies of wood.

WOODCHUCK. In New England, the popular name of a rodent mammal, a species of the marmot tribe of animals, the Arctomys monax. The ground hog. It burrows and is dormant in winter.—Webster.

WORM-FENCE. A rail fence laid up in a zig-zag manner.

WORRY. Perplexity; trouble. In familiar language, this word is often used with us; and, although it does not appear in any of the English glossaries, it is also employed colloquially in England. We say, ‘the worry of business;’ ‘the worry of politics,’ &c.

WORSER, instead of worse, is often heard among the vulgar. It is common in the dialect of London, and like other words enlarged from the comparative degree, is supported by eminent writers.—Pegge, Anecdotes of the English Lang.

WRATH. Like all wrath, i. e. violently; vehemently; angrily. A Southern simile.

WRATHY. Very angry. A colloquial word.—Webster.

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WRINKLE. An idea; notion; fancy. Colloquial in England and America.

WRAPPER. A loose dress or gown.

TO YANK. To twitch or jerk powerfully; a term used in New England.

YARN. A story. A word chiefly used by seamen. To spin a long yarn, is to tell a long or tedious story.

YEATH, for earth. A vulgar pronunciation among the illiterate at the South.

YEATHQUAKE, for earthquake. A Southern vulgarism like the previous word.

YELLOW-HAMMER. (Picus auratus. Wilson, Ornith.) The popular name of the Golden-winged Woodpecker, the most beautiful of the genus. It is known by other names in different parts of the country, as High-hole, Yacker, Clape, &c.

YELLOWS, often pronounced yallers. A disease of horses and cattle, which is indicated by a yellow appearance of the eyes, inside of the lips, &c.—Farrier’s Dict. This word is old and is used by Shakspeare:

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YOU DON’T! for you don’t say so; really! indeed! as, ‘Mr. A threw a back somerset out of a three-story window. Ans. Now, you don’t!’

YOUNG DEMOCRACY. See Barnburners.

YOURN. This is a contraction of your own, or a change in the termination of the pronoun yours, in conformity with mine, and which is much used by the illiterate and vulgar. It is also used in London, and in the West of England. “The cockney,” says Mr. Pegge, “considers such words as our own and your own as pronouns possessive, a little too much expanded; and, therefore, thinks it proper to curtail them, and to compress them into the words ourn and yourn, for common daily use.”—Anecdotes of the English Lang., p. 193.

He might have added hisn, as in the famous distich:

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AMBIA. Used in Virginia and the Carolinas for tobacco juice. It is a euphemism for the spittle produced by this voluntary ptyalism.

AVAILABILITY. Quality of being available.—Worcester. That qualification in a candidate which implies or supposes a strong probability of his success, apart from substantial merit—a probability resulting from mere personal or accidental popularity. The thing has long existed in the Papal Government, where the advanced age of a candidate for the triple crown has often been the motive of his election; the idea being that he would soon die out of the way and leave the chair vacant for a new trial of strength under more favorable auspices, perhaps, for some of the electing cardinals.

Inoffensiveness—exemption from strong hostility in any quarter—is a frequent element of availability. [J. Inman.]

As this word is not noticed by any lexicographer except Dr. Worcester, and is now much used, it is thought advisable to give several examples of its use.

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At a Democratic meeting held in New York to ratify the nomination of Gen. Cass, Mr. McAllister, of Georgia, said that

At the same meeting the Hon. James Bowlin, of Missouri, thus expressed himself, in relation to General Taylor:

BAY STATE. The State of Massachusetts. The original name of the Colony was Massachusetts Bay. Hence, among the New England people it was usually called the Bay State.

BEAR STATE. A name by which the State of Arkansas is known at the West. I once asked a Western man if Arkansas abounded in bears, that it should be designated as the ‘Bear State?’ “Yes,” said he, “it does; for I never knew a man from that State but he was a bar, and in fact the people are all barish to a degree.”

BELIKED. Liked; beloved. A Western term.

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BOLIVAR HAT. A Leghorn bonnet, with a broad brim, worn a few years since.

BUCK. A frame or stand of peculiar construction on which wood is sawn for fuel. In New England it is called a saw-horse.

BULLION STATE. The State of Missouri; so called in consequence of the exertions made by its Senator, Mr. Benton, in favor of a gold and silver currency, in opposition to banks and a paper currency. The honorable Senator was often nicknamed old Bullion, and the State he represented, the Bullion State.

At the Democratic meeting in New York, June 12, 1848, to ratify the nomination of Gen. Cass, the Hon. James Bowlin, of Missouri, in denouncing the Whig party, said:

BUNGO. A kind of boat used at the South.

BURGALL. (Ctenolabrus ceruleus.) A small fish very common in New York; also found on the coast of New England, and as far South as Delaware Bay. The usual length is about six inches, though they are sometimes found twelve inches. Other names for the same fish are Nibbler, from its nibbling off the bait when thrown for other fishes, Chogset, the Indian name, and in New England, those of Blue Perch and Conner.

CABOODLE. The whole caboodle is a common expression, meaning the whole. I know not the origin of the word. It

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is used in all the Northern States and New England. The word boodle is used in the same manner.

CARLACUE. A caper; a boyish trick. ‘To cut up carlacues,’ is a common expression, equivalent to ‘cutting up didoes.’ Used in New York.

CASTOR. (Latin.) A beaver; hence, a hat.

CATCH. A term used among fishermen to denote a quantity of fish taken at one time.

CHAISE. A light two-wheeled pleasure carriage drawn by one horse. In New England it is called a chaise, in New York, a gig.

CHOGSET. The Indian name of a small fish known in New York as the Burgall, which see.

CHUNK or CHUNKEE YARD. A name given by the white traders to the oblong four-square yards adjoining the high mounts and rotundas of the modern Indians of Florida. In the centre of these stands the obelisk, and at each corner of the farther end stands a slave post, or strong stake, where the captives that are burnt alive are bound.—Bartram.

This is doubtless an Indian term, and the enclosure a place

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where the natives played a game called chunkee, as will appear by the following extract from Du Pratz:

“The warriors practise a diversion which they call the game of the pole, at which only two play at a time. Each pole is about eight feet long, resembling a Roman f, and the game consists in rolling a flat round stone, about three inches in diameter and one inch thick, and throwing the pole in such a manner, that when the stone rests the pole may be at or near it. Both the antagonists throw their poles at the same time, and he whose pole is nearest the stone counts one, and has the right of rolling the stone.”—Hist. of Louisiana, 1720.

Adair speaks of the same game, which is by the Indians called chungke.—History American Indians, p. 402. Catlin notices the same among the Mandans and Creeks, called by them Tchungkee.—Catlin’s Indians, Vol. I. p. 132.

TO CIRCULATE. To travel. Used in this sense many times in a pamphlet on the “Frauds, Extortions, and Oppressions of the Railroad Monopoly in New Jersey.” In comparing the rates of travel in various States, by which it is shown that the rates in New Jersey are the highest in the world, the author says:

COME-OUTERS. This name has been applied to a considerable number of persons in various parts of the Northern States, principally in New England, who have recently come out of the various religious denominations with which they have been connected; hence the name. They have not themselves assumed any distinctive organization. They have no creed, believing that every one should be left free to hold such opinions on religious subjects as he pleases, without being held accountable for the same to any human authority.

They hold a diversity of opinions on many points—some believing in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, and others that they are but human compositions. They believe Jesus Christ to have been a divinely inspired teacher, and his religion, a revelation of eternal truth; that according to his teachings, true religion consists in purity of heart, holiness

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of life, and not in opinions; that Christianity, as it existed in Christ, is a life rather than a belief.—Evans’s History of Religions, with Additions by an American Editor.

CONIACKER. A counterfeiter of coin.

CONNIPTION FIT. This term is exclusively used by the fair sex, who can best explain its meaning. As near as I can judge, conniption fits are tantrums.

TO COUNT. To reckon; suppose; think.

DARN. An expletive in very general use among the vulgar, instead of damn.

DASSENT, for dares not. It is vulgarly used in all persons and numbers.

DEAD HEADS. Persons who drink at a bar, ride in an omnibus, or railroad car, travel in steamboats, or visit the theatre without charge, are called dead heads. These consist of the engineers, conductors, and laborers on railroads; the keepers of hotels; the editors of newspapers, &c.

DEAD HORSE. Work for which one has been paid before it is performed. When a workman, on Saturday night, includes in his bill work not yet finished, he is said the following week to ‘work off a dead horse.’

DIPSY. A term applied in some parts of Pennsylvania to the float of a fishing-line.

DOBBER. A float to a fishing-line. So called in New York.

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DOUGH-FACES. This term may be regarded as nearly or quite synonymous with another not very much unlike it in form—the English “nose of wax.” Generally it means a pliable politician—one who is accessible to personal influences and considerations. It was first applied, however, by John Randolph, of Roanoke, to such Northern members of Congress as manifested especial willingness to fall in with the views and demands of the South on questions involving the “peculiar institution,” alias slavery. “These Northern dough-faces,” he said, with an intensity of contempt, which may be imagined only by those who have seen and heard him in his sarcastic mood. [J. Inman.]

This term has very recently been taken up by the Southerners themselves, to denote men who are false to the principles of slavery, as Northern dough-faces are to the principles of freedom.

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EAST. About east, is about right; in the proper manner. A common slang expression in New England. See walk into, for an example.

EMPIRE STATE. The State of New York; so called from the enterprise of its people, its wealth, population, extent of canals, railroads, etc. In fact everything done by New York is on a grand scale. Hence the name.

FARZINO. As far as I know. See Farziner.

FENCE-RIDING. Sitting on the fence, i. e. keeping neutral in politics.

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FRESH. Forward; as, ‘don’t make yourself too fresh here;’ that is to say, not quite so much at home.

GAL. A Vulgar pronunciation of girl, common alike in England and America.

GALLS. A kind of low lands in Florida. They consist of a matted soil of vegetable fibres, spongy and treacherous to the foot, unpleasant as well as dangerous to cross.—Vignoles, Florida, p. 91.

TO GOOSE BOOTS. To repair them by putting on a new front half way up, and a new bottom.

GOPHER. In Georgia a species of land turtle, burrowing in the ground in the low country. It is able to walk with a heavy man on its back.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

GOPHER. A little animal found in the valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. See Prairie Dog.

GRANITE STATE. The State of New Hampshire, so called from the abundance of this material found in it.

GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE. The State of Vermont.

HAMMOCK. In Florida, a term given to a particular kind of land. The low hammocks are the richest in the country, and are capable of producing, for many successive years, rich crops of sugar, corn, hemp, or other equally exhausting productions. In their primitive state they are clothed with so heavy a growth of timber and underwood, that the task of clearing them is appalling. The low hammocks are, if possible, more dense in their growth than the others, but the coat of vegetable matter is thin, and the white sand lies within

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a foot or eighteen inches of the surface. They are also very productive.—Vignoles, Florida, p. 87.

HAT. Our American women have almost discarded the word bonnet, except in “sun-bonnet,” and use the term hat instead. A like fate has befallen the word gown, for which they commonly use frock or dress.

HAW-BUCK. A term used by the farmers in driving their oxen; and hence often applied to a rough and unpolished man from the country.

HELP. The common term in New England for a domestic servant—also for the operatives in a cotton or woolen factory.

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HOUSE-HUNTING. In the city of New York all houses are let from the 1st day of May, and the landlords have assumed to themselves the right of requiring from their tenants a decision, as to whether they will keep their houses or not, three months before the period for which they hired them expires. On those houses which are not hired for another term (usually a year) “bills” are put up by the landlords, signifying that they are to let. Persons who intend to “move,” traverse that section of the city in which they desire to establish themselves, in search of a suitable house, in which search they are guided by the landlord’s “bills.” This is called house-hunting, and is practised by thousands every year in the city of New York.

HOW FARE YOU? This is a common expression in those parts of New England for ‘How do you do?.’ It is pronounced short, as, How fa’ ye?

HUM, for home, common in New England.

HURRYMENT. Hurry; confusion.

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IN, for into. Mr. Colman, in remarking upon the prevalence of this inaccuracy in New York, says: “We get in the stage, and have the rheumatism into our knees.”—N. Y. Evening Post, Jan. 6, 1814. An observing English friend at Philadelphia also speaks of its frequent use there in the following terms: “The preposition into is almost unknown here. They say, ‘When did you come in town?’ ‘I met him riding in town.’ ”—Pickering.

INDIAN SUMMER. A period of warm weather late in autumn, when it is said, the Indians go hunting to supply themselves with the flesh of wild animals for provisions in the winter.—Webster.

JOHNNY-CAKE. A cake made of Indian meal mixed with milk or water. A New England Johnny-cake is invariably spread upon the stave of a barrel-top, and baked before the fire. Sometimes stewed pumpkin is mixed with it.

KEYSTONE STATE. The State of Pennsylvania. So called from its being the central State of the Union at the time of the formation of the Constitution.

KILL. (Dutch kil.) A channel, or arm of the sea; a stream; river. This Dutch appellation is still preserved in several instances; thus the channel that separates Staten Island from

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Bergen Neck, is called the Kills; to which we may add the names Schuylkill and Catskill, applied to streams.

KILLIFISH. (Genus fundulus.) A small fish found in the salt water creeks and hays, from one to five inches in length. It is only used for bait for larger fish. The name is Dutch from kill, a channel or creek (which see), where the fish is only found. They are often called killies.

KISS-ME-QUICK. A homemade quilted bonnet which does not extend beyond the face. They are chiefly used to cover the head by ladies when going to parties or the theatre.

KIT. The whole kit. An expression common in various parts of the country.

TO LINE. To fish with a line. So, to seine, i. e. to fish with a seine. I have never seen these words used except by Dr. J. V. C. Smith, in his history of the Fishes of Massachusetts; and for so interesting a book the Doctor is well entitled to the privilege of coining a phrase or two.

LINES. The reins, or that part of the bridle which extends from the horse’s head to the hands of the driver or coachman.

LITTLE END OF THE HORN. ‘To come out at the little end of the horn,’ is said when a ridiculously small effect has been produced after great effort and much boasting.

LOAFER. The origin of this word is altogether uncertain. Two etymologies have been suggested for it, viz. the German

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laufer, a runner; and the Spanish gallofo (whence the Ital. gagloffo,) a wandering mendicant; a vagabond.

TO LOGICIZE. To reason.

TO MAKE ONESELF SCARCE, is to leave; to go away.

ME, for I. The objective case of pronouns is often used for the nominative by the illiterate. In New York it is very common to hear such choice expressions as ‘Me and him went to the play last night.’

METAPHENOMENA. The primordial facts of our being, which, although known by necessity of reason to exist, are not the immediate objects of consciousness.—Tappan.

METAPHENOMENAL. Relating to metaphenomena.

MOOSE-YARD. In the State of Maine, an area in which moose tread down the deep snow in winter.

NIGH UPON. Nearly; almost.

NOMOLOGY. That branch of philosophy which treats of law in general.

NOMOLOGICAL. Relating to nomology.

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OLD DOMINION. The State of Virginia.

OUTSIDER. A term of recent origin among politicians, applied to persons belonging to parties unconnected with the two great leading political divisions of the country, Loco-focos and Whigs. The term was first used in the Baltimore Convention in May, 1848, when a leading politician stigmatized that portion of the Democratic party known as the Barnburners, as outsiders, classing them among the Abolitionists, Agrarians, Native Americans, etc.

OUT AND OUT. Thorough.

TO PARMATEER. To electioneer; evidently a corruption of parliamenteer, to electioneer for a seat in parliament. This term is very common in the State of Rhode Island, beyond which I think it does not extend.

TO PETTIFOG. To play the pettifogger.—Johnson. This old verb has just been revived by political writers.

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PICK. In mercantile usage, and among manufacturers, a pick is a thread. The relative quality of cotton cloth is denoted by the number of picks it has to the inch.

PINKY. (Dutch, pink.) The little finger. A very common term in New York, especially among small children, who, when making a bargain with each other, are accustomed to confirm it by interlocking the little finger of each other’s right hands and repeating the following doggerel:

TO PLAY POSSUM. ‘He’s playing possum with you,’ is a common expression at the South and West, and means that he is deceiving you. The opossum, it is said, when attacked by a dog, will pretend to be dead, and often deceives his pursuers; hence the expression.—Sherwood’s Georgia.

POLT. A blow. ‘He gave him a polt on the head.’ Used in New England and New York.

PLAY-ACTOR. A theatrical performer. The expression is objectionable, because the term actor is itself a technical word, which expresses the full meaning conveyed by the compound. In England they always say simply actor or player.

POT-PIE. A pie made by spreading the crust over the bottom and sides of a pot, and filling up the inside with meat, i. e. beef, veal, mutton, or fowls.

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PROSPECTING. Hunting or searching for lead. The process is thus described in a sketch of Life on the Upper Mississippi:

“The chief mart of the lead trade is in the town of Galena, built upon a small, sluggish stream. In travelling through the upland prairie of this neighborhood, you will see many hillocks of earth, as far as the eye can reach, as if some huge animal had been burrowing beneath, and had thrown up the dirt in that manner; but you may, by chance, meet two or three men with a bucket, a rope, a pick-axe, and a portable windlass, and the difficulty is explained. This, in the language of the country, is a prospecting party; which, being interpreted, means that they are on the look-out for ore, if it is to be found within ten or fifteen feet of the ground; having come to the end of the rope at about that depth, and found nothing, they remove elsewhere, the prospect not being good. When ore is found, they either sell out their discovery, or mine the vein on a small scale themselves.”—N. Y. Literary World, June 3, 1848.

TO PUT OUT. To remove; to be off. A Western expression. To put is used in the same sense.

ROLLING PRAIRIE. The following excellent definition of this term is from the pen of Judge Hall:

“The vast plains or prairies of the West, although preserving a general level in respect to the whole country, are yet in themselves not flat, but exhibit a gracefully waving surface, swelling and sinking with an easy slope, and a full rounded outline, equally avoiding the unmeaning horizontal surface, and the interruption of abrupt or angular elevations. It is that surface which, in the expressive language of the country, is called rolling, and which has been said to resemble the long, heavy swell of the ocean, when its waves are sub-

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siding to rest after the agitation of a storm. Such are rolling prairies.”—Judge Hall, Notes on the Western States.

SABBADAY. Sabbath day, Sunday; so called in the interior of New England.

SARVES, for preserves. So pronounced in some parts of the West.

SALAD. In the Northern States often used specifically for lettuce, of which salad is frequently made.

SAULT. (French.) The rapids of the St. Lawrence, and those connecting the Upper Lakes, retain the French name as, Sault St. Mary, etc. Pronounced soo.

TO SEE HOME. ‘To see a lady home,’ is to wait upon or attend her home from a party or elsewhere.

SHANTY. A mean cabin or shed.—Worcester.

SHINGLES. The name of an eruptive disease which takes the form of a belt (cinguluni) around the body.

SHORT GOWN. A short gown with hardly any skirt, worn by women when doing household work, as washing, &c.

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TO SIMILATE. To put on the appearance of that which does not really belong to the subject.

SIMON PURE. Genuine; real.

SISTERN, for sisters. A vulgar pronunciation sometimes heard from uneducated preachers at the West.

TO SKUNK. To utterly defeat. In games of chance, if one of the players fails to make a point, he is said to be skunked. A presidential candidate who fails to secure one electoral vote is also skunked.

SMACK SMOOTH. At the West, a term applied to land which is thoroughly cleared; i. e. smoothly cleared; level. It is also used in England in the sense of level.—Craven Glossary.

SOCIALISM. A social state in which there is a community of property among all the citizens—a new term for Agrarianism.—Webster.

SOCIALIST. An advocate of socialism.—Worcester.

SOCIALISTIC. Appertaining to the principles of socialism.

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SOME PUMPKINS. A term in use at the South and West in opposition to “small potatoes.” The former is applied to anything large or noble; the latter to anything small or mean.

SOUTHRON. A term borrowed from Scotland, and often applied to natives of the South; a Southerner.

SPLIT TICKET. When two or more important offices are to be filled at the same time, the wire-pullers of each party select the men they wish their party to support, and print their names on a ticket to be deposited in the ballot-box. It sometimes happens, however, that individuals choose to think for themselves, and consequently erase one or more of the names and substitute others more to their liking. This is called a split ticket.

SPOILS, i. e., the spoils of office. The pay and emoluments of official station—specifically referred to as the leading induce-

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ments to partisan activity, and as distinct from political zeal generally. [J. Inman.]

SQUASH. A culinary vegetable. (Genus, cucurbita.) It is not necessary to resort to the Greek σιχυος, as certain lexicographers do, for the etymology of this word. It is Indian, and is often mentioned by the early writers.

STORE PAY. Payment made for produce or other articles purchased, by goods from a store, instead of cash. This is a common way of buying produce in the country. Sometimes a merchant agrees to pay half in cash and half out of his store, i e. store pay.

SWASH. To shake water about from side to side, as in a tub or barrel.

TAG. A slight touch. A boy touched by one who is in the first instance fixed upon to commence the game, is in his turn obliged to overtake and touch another of the party, when he

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cries tag, and so the game proceeds. According to Mr. Halliwell the same game is played in Warwickshire, where it is called tick.

WHAT, for that or who. A vulgarism often heard amongst us, but probably still more common in England.