Dialect literature, American; German Americans -- Poetry; Humorous poetry, American; Wit and humor
O'Brady - An Irish giant.
Ochsen,(Ger.) - Oxen; stupid fellows. As a verb it also is used
familiarly to mean hard study.
Odenwald - A thickly-wooded district in South Germany.
Oder - Other. See Preface.
Oltra tramontane; ultra tramontane - Applied to the non-Italian
Catholic party.
On-belongs - Literal translation of Zugehort.
On de snap - All at once.
On-did to on-do - Literal translation of the German
anthun; to donn, to put on.
Onfang,(Ger. Anfang) - Beginning.
Oonendly - Unendlich.
Oonshpeakbarly,(Ger. unaussprechbarlich) - Inexpressibly.
Oop-gecleared,(Ger. Aufgeklaert) - Enlightened.
Ooprighty,(Ger. Aufrichtig) - Upright.
Oopright-hood,(Ger. Aufrichtigkeit) - Uprightness.
Oop-sproong - For aufsprung.
Opple-yack - Apple-jack. Spirit distilled from cider.
Orgel-ton,(Ger.) - Organ sound.
Orkester - Orchestra.
Out-ge-poke-te - Out-poked.
Out-signed,(Ger. ausgezeichnete) - Distinguished, signal.
Out-sprach - Outspoke.
Over again - Uebrigen.
Paardeken,(Flemish) - Palfrey.
Pabst, Der Pabst lebt, &c. - "The Pope he leads a happy life," &c.,
beginning of a popular German song.
Palact,(Ger. Pallast) - Palace.
Peke - Belgian rye whisky.
Peeps - People. "Hard on the American peeps" - a phrase for
anything exacting or severely pressing.
Pelznickel, Nick, Nickel - St. Nicolas, muffled in fur, is one of
the few riders in the army of the saints, but, unlike St.
George and St. Martin, he oftener rides a donkey than a horse,
more especially in that part of the German land which can boast
of having given birth to the illustrious Hans. St. Nicolas is
supposed, on the night preceding his name-day, the sixth of
December, to pass over the house-tops on his long-eared steed,
and having baskets suspended on either side filled with sweets
and playthings, and to drop down through the chimneys presents
for those children who have been good during the year, but
birch-rods for those who have been naughty, would not go to bed
early, or objected to being washed, &c. In the expectation of
his coming, the children put, on the eve of St. Nicolas' day,
either a shoe, or a stocking, or a little basket, into the
chimney-piece of their parents' bedroom. We may remark, by the
way, that St. Nicolas is the Christian successor of the heathen
Nikudr, of ancient German mythology.
Pesser, besser,(Ger.) - Better.
Pestain - Stain, with the augment.
Pfaelzer - A man from the Rhenish Palatinate.
Pfeil,(Ger.) - Arrow.
Philosopede - Velocipede.
Pickel-haube,(Ger.) - The spiked helmet worn by Prussian soldiers.
Pie the forms - Break and scatter the forms of types - the greatest
disaster conceivable to a true typo.
Pig-sticker - Bowie-knife.
Pile-out,(Amer.) - Hurry out.
Pimeby - By and by.
"Plain" - Water plain, i.e., unmixed.
Plue goats - Blue coats, soldiers.
Plug-muss - Fight for a fire-plug.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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