H. L. Mencken

“ The natural gender is evidently masculine and the Icelandic equivalent, lögreglumathur, is masculine; yet constable is usually employed as a neuter, though occasionally as a masculine.” Words in -er fall under the influence of the Icelandic masculine nouns in -ari, denoting agency, and so usually become masculine, e. g., director, ginger, mower, parlor, peddler, reaper, separator. Republican and socialist are masculine, but democrat is neuter. Why cashbook, chique, contract, election and grape should be feminine it is hard to understand. ”

“ Banjo may be either feminine or neuter, bicycle may be either masculine or neuter, and broncho may be either masculine or feminine. The gender of such loan-words tends to be logical, but it is not always so. Farmer is always masculine and so is engineer, and nurse is always feminine, but dressmaker is given the masculine post-positive article, becoming dressmakerinn. ”

“ Stefánsson, “can be used in Icelandic without being assigned a gender-form distinguished by the post-positive article.” This law produces some curious effects when English nouns are taken in. The very American baseball, buggy, candy, cyclone and corn-starch are all neuter, but beer, boss, cowboy, cowcatcher, nickel and populist are masculine, and tie (railroad) , prohibition and siding are feminine. ”