Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 106, Vol. III, January 9, 1886Various
History
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 106, Vol. III, January 9, 1886
Various
Periodicals
The _Globe_, in an article by an ‘American Journalist,’ says: ‘The
opportunity may here be taken to gently suggest that the word Yankee
is very often misapplied on this side of the Atlantic. It is a genuine
American word, but it only applies to the inhabitants of a certain
part of the big Republic. A stranger in the States describing an
inhabitant of Cincinnati, or St Louis, or Richmond, Virginia, as a
Yankee, would stand a good chance of a broken head, or even worse.
As a matter of fact, the Yankees are the people who inhabit the New
England States, and the title is considered a term of reproach, not
to say insult, by all others. This, however, is all by the way. There
are three terms very often quoted as American “slang,” which possess
certain peculiarities of locality. These are “guess,” “calculate,” and
“reckon.” One may travel through what are known as the Southern States
for five years and never once hear either of the first two words,
unless spoken by a Northerner or a man from the West. The Southerners
“reckon” everything, except, perhaps, consequences, and they are left
to take care of themselves. “Guess” is more or less universal in the
States, and “calculate” is common only to the North and extreme East.
“Straanger” is frequently erroneously used by English writers and
speakers as an ordinary colloquialism of all Americans. It is the
property of the South and South-west only, and even there is rapidly
becoming obsolete. But to these expressions it is hardly fair to append
the stigma of “slang.” Now there are plenty of slang words and phrases
in vogue in America which probably are meaningless to English minds.
A lady has purchased an article for considerably more than its value;
she shows it to her husband, proclaiming its beauty and cheapness.
He, seeing that she has been overcharged, endeavours to persuade her
that such is the case, vainly, for she is quite satisfied with her
bargain. “All right,” says he; “it’s not my funeral.” This is slang,
pure and simple, but it has a derivation. It is an unintentional
protest against the elaborate obsequial ceremonies indulged in by all
classes in the United States, and it is a grim reference to one of
those not unfrequent “shindies” that take place in Western bar-rooms,
from which the men who escape with whole skins have reason to thank
their stars that “it is not their funeral.” Many are the political
and party expressions which may well come under the head of slang
terms, such as “log-rolling,” “the bloody shirt”—a reference to the
late civil war—“mugwumps”—a name given in ridicule to independent
voters—“the ticket,” meaning the list of candidates recommended for
election by either party, and so on. The speculative nature of nearly
all Americans has originated the expression “you bet,” which is the
basis of many phrases, as, “you bet your life,” “bet your sweet life,”
“bet your bottom dollar,” “bet your boots,” “stake your pile,” “go the
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