Trench H. Johnson

“ Americanism. A coined word or phrase in the United States which, freely repeated, tickles the popular ear and soon becomes engrafted upon the national vocabulary. Many Americanisms are now as common in England as in the land of their origin. ”

“ Not worth a Song. A song is worth nothing at all after its popularity has waned. The good old songs live on account of their intrinsic merits, but they were not pushed into public favour by adventitious methods at the time of publication. Those of our day are ground out of street pianos and sung everywhere for a brief season, then heard no more.
Nova Scotia. This name, expressive of “New Scotland,” was bestowed upon the island by Sir William Alexander, a Scotsman, to whom James I. granted a charter of colonisation in 1621. ”

“ A tavern sign corrupted from “Piggen Wassail.” Piggen expressed the Anglo-Saxon for a milking pail, of which pig was the diminutive. When a large party frequented the alehouse the liquor was set before them in a piggen, each helping himself from it with his pig, or mug. “Wassail” was, of course, the Anglo-Saxon Was hæl (“Be in health”) . See “Hail.”
Pigeon English. That employed by the Chinese in their commercial relations with Europeans. The word pigeon is a native corruption of “business,” which it seems impossible for a Chinaman to pronounce correctly. ”

“ From the twofold circumstance that money lost through lawyers would surely be spent by them at their regular resort, the celebrated “Devil Tavern,” hard by Temple Bar, and the not unusual answer tendered by a subordinate to a caller at a place of business in Fleet Street that his master had “gone to the ‘Devil.’”
Gone to the Dogs. Money that has been squandered uselessly, as the remains of a feast in Eastern countries are thrown to the dogs instead of being given to the poor. ”

“ We still speak of a “Burgess Roll,” while to belong to any society is said to be “enrolled” among its members; hence also the phrase “Roll of Honour.”
Rolls Chapel. This ancient edifice, now incorporated in the New Record Office, was built by Henry III. for a number of Jewish rabbis who, had been converted to Christianity. Into it Edward III. caused all the accumulated rolls or records to be stored, and there they remained in the custody of the Master of the Rolls, until in more modern days they were overhauled and catalogued. ”

“ A nickname for the people of Delaware. The Delaware State Journal thus accounts for its origin: “At the beginning of the Revolutionary War there lived in Sussex county of that colony a gentleman of fortune named Caldwell, who was a sportsman, and breeder of fine horses and game-cocks. His favourite axiom was that the character of the progeny depends more on the mother than on the father, and that the finest game-cocks depended on the hen rather than on the cock. His observation led him to select a blue hen, and he never failed to hatch a good game-cock from a blue hen’s egg. ”

“ The name borne by an itinerant trader, who makes a great noise in open market, quacking like a duck in his efforts to dispose of wares that are not genuine; hence anyone nowadays who follows a profession which he does not rightly understand. ”

“ Rag time is the outcome of ‘Rag Speech,’ a speech that casts tradition, balance, beauty, elegance, and refinement to the winds, and that believes that more effect can be made by punching certain syllables into the brain of the listener. ”

“ Paddle your own Canoe. Originally a Western phrase for self-reliance. A canoe is an Indian boat affording room for one person. If he cannot paddle it himself no one else is in a position to help him. The expression became extremely popular in England through a song of this title thirty years ago.
Paddy. The common name for an Irishman, being short for “Pat,” after St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
Pagan. This term had at first not the slightest connection with religion. Derived from the Latin pagus, the country, a paganus denoted a peasant or villager. ”

“ Idolater. From the Greek eidolon, a figure, and latres, worshipper. The root of this word, eidein, to see, furnishes the key to its true meaning. An idolater is one who worships that which he sees, not on account of its intrinsic worth, but because it is a visible representation, or it may be merely a symbol, of the deity that he is taught to venerate.
Idol Lane. Said to be a corruption of Idle Lane, because this was perhaps the only thoroughfare in the neighbourhood not given up to business--i.e. either as a market or a hive of industrious artisans. ”

“ When a man is successful the world bows before him. Each fresh enterprise is crowned with success, because there is an abiding public faith in the man who has made money or hit the popular taste. His intrinsic merits may be no greater than those of the poor devil who has systematically failed; yet what he lacks himself he readily finds in his subordinates, whom he can afford to pay, while the credit is all his own.
Notions. An Americanism for small wares or trifles in regard to dress.
Not much. An Americanism for “of no consequence.” ”

“ A hotel in Covent Garden built on the site of a Persian or Turkish sweating bath so called in the seventeenth century. The name is Arabic.
Hundred. A Saxon subdivision of the English shires said to have been introduced by Alfred the Great. Each hundred comprised a colony of “ten times ten” families--that is to say, ten divisions of ten freeholders and their dependents in each. In all then there were one hundred champions to defend the common cause. In legal and ecclesiastical documents relative to lands such property is still said to be situate in a particular “hundred” as well as parish. ”

“ From Suffolk House, the residence of the Earls of Suffolk in former days.
Suffragette. If this latter-day term possesses any etymological significance whatever, it expresses the diminutive of one who claims the suffrage or the right, from the Latin suffragio, to vote. A suffragette is, in brief, a woman who ought to know better. Eager to take upon herself the responsibilities of citizenship on a common footing with the male orders of creation, she cannot but shirk those which rightly belong to her own state. ”

“ Elsewhere the French word Hospital obtains for any establishment set apart for the temporary accommodation of the poor. Formerly, however, it implied a lazar-house or a refuge for fallen women; in its modern sense a hospital is exclusively an institution for the sick poor.
Hospice of St Bernard. See “Bernardine Hospice.”
Hospital. See “Hospice.”
Hostelry. From the old French hostellerie, an inn, through the Latin hospes, a stranger, a guest. The modern French form is “Hotel,” which implies not only an establishment for the entertainment of travellers, but also a superior house or palace. ”

“ A corruption of “Mad as an atter.” Atter expressed the Saxon for a viper or adder. The word “Mad” was anciently used in the sense of venomous; hence this expression really meant “venomous as a viper.”
Mad as a March Hare. Being their rutting season, hares are very wild in March.
Made a bad Break. An Americanism for having made a silly slip of the tongue, a sad mistake, or a great blunder. The expression is, of course, derived from a game of billiards.
Made his Pile. Although a Californian phrase for having amassed a fortune, this originated at the gaming-tables throughout the States generally. ”

“ Elephant and Castle. The famous landmark in South London derived its sign from the arms of the Cutlers’ Company. A tavern in St Pancras parish took its sign from the skeleton of an elephant, beside which was a flint-headed spear, dug up in the neighbourhood. The connection between these and the battle fought by the followers of Queen Boadicea against the Roman invaders was unmistakable.
Elephant stepped on his Purse. An Americanism implying that a creditor or some unlucky speculation has squeezed all the money out of a man. ”

“ The expression comes from the burdens laid upon the Israelites in Egypt as related in Exodus v.: “Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”
Make Money out of a Shoe-string. An Americanism for a capacity to make money out of nothing--that is, without working capital.
Make the Raise. An Americanism for to “raise the loan.”
Make the Sneak. An Americanism for to sneak or run away.
Make Tracks. Originally a Far West expression when a squatter deserted his claim and set out to explore an unknown region. ”

“ In America persons who enjoy the right of travelling on a railway system at the public expense; in this country actors and pseudo “professionals,” who pass into places of amusement without paying. The origin of the term is as follows:--More than sixty years ago all the principal avenues of the city of Delaware converged to a toll gate at the entrance to the Elmwood Cemetery Road. The cemetery having been laid out long prior to the construction of the plank road beyond the toll gate, funerals were allowed to pass through the latter toll free. ”

“ The word errant, like its modern equivalent errand, was derived from the Latin errare, to wander. It was in ridicule of this system of knight-errantry that Cervantes wrote his immortal romance “Don Quixote.”
Knight of the Yard Stick. An Americanism for a draper’s assistant or a retail dry-goods salesman; what in England people often style a “Counter Jumper.”
Knightrider Street. The place of assembling of the 185knights of old on their way in procession to the Smithfield tournaments. ”

“ An Americanism for a photograph taken instantaneously with a portable camera. “Snap” is, however, a good old English word. We speak of a person being “snapped off” by disease--i.e. carried off suddenly.
Sneesh-box. Scottish for a snuff-box.
Snob. This term arose out of the expressions on the part of the vulgar whenever a conceited person who aped gentility was encountered: “He’s a nob,” “He’s not a nob,” or “He wants to make people believe he’s a nob,” until they resulted in the simple exclamation “Snob.” ”

“ An Americanism for dying, giving up the ghost; meaning properly to make your will and settle your earthly affairs. All over the United States it is the custom at German restaurants to give a certain amount of credit to known regular patrons, who now and again are asked to hand in their checks or vouchers for settlement.
Handkerchief. Anciently a kerchief, which term was a corruption of “Coverchef,” from the French couvrir, to cover, and chef, the head, reserved for hand use in wiping the face, and carried in the left sleeve of the garment. ”

“ In American the word is used to denote a pretty woman or anything soft and beautiful.
Peacock. An inn sign dating from the Crusades, when, the flesh of the peacock being deemed incorruptible, this bird was adopted by many a knight as a crest, typical of the Resurrection. “By the peacock” was a common oath in those days.
Pearl Bible. So called from the name of the printing type employed in its composition.
Peckham. A corruption of Beckham, a home or settlement among the becks or brooks.
Peckham Rye. In its application to common, the word “Rye” comes from the Anglo-Saxon ree, a watercourse. ”

“ A historic tavern in Soho named after Charles James Fox, the great Whig Minister. At the time of the famous election of 1784 the redoubtable Sammy House, the landlord, served all customers free, and also entertained several notable Whigs.
Invention of the Cross. The name of this Church festival, 3rd May, commemorative of the finding of the True Cross by those sent in quest of it by St Helena, sounds peculiar, but the word “invent” is really from the Latin invenire, to find, discover, come upon. ”

“ The country ruled from the ancient town of Sibir, the capital of the Tartars, and which contained the palace of the renowned Kutsheen Khan, the ruins of which are still visible.
Sicily. From the Siculi, a tribe who became masters of the island, expelling the Sicanii, its ancient inhabitants.
Sick. A word uniformly used throughout the United States in the place of “ill,” as in our own country. This is not an Americanism, but good honest English, having been introduced to the New World by the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed in the Mayflower. ”

“ Like the mercenaries of the Carthaginians and Romans, these were the first paid soldiers.
Free List. A list kept by theatrical managers of Men about Town, barristers, medical men, and others, who can be relied upon to “dress the house” at short notice when business is bad, and so give it an air of prosperity. These are not “Deadheads” in the ordinary sense, because they render the management a service; but being well able to pay for seats at all times they are apt to be obnoxious in their demands when the entertainment really draws good houses. ”