1 Erie Canal Colloquial Expressions, by Jason Almus Russell, American Speech, Dec., 1930, pp. 97–100; Some Quotations Supplementing the DAE, by Elliott V. K. Dobbie, the same, Dec., 1946, pp. 305–07; Snubbin’ Thro’ Jersey, by F. Hopkinson Smith and J. B. Millet, Century Magazine, Aug., 1887, pp. 483–96.
2 Its more seemly vocabulary is listed in A Port Dictionary of Technical Terms, published by the American Association of Port Authorities; New Orleans, 1940. See also Port Terminal Operation, by Eugene H. Lederer; New York, 1943. The less austere terms following come from Longshoreman’s Lingo, by John Alfred Knoetgen, Encore, Sept.-Oct., 1944, pp. 336–38, and the Lexicon of Trade Jargon.
3 Probably suggested by the fact that it is used to bring injured workers ashore.
1 I take these mainly from Shipyard Terms of the Northwest, 1944 Style, by Hal Babbitt, American Speech, Oct., 1944, pp. 230–32; Navy Yard Talk, by Jack G. Arbolino, the same, Dec., 1942, pp. 279–80, and Lexicon of Trade Jargon.
2 How long they will last remains to be seen. The bicycle gave us scorcher, century-run, to back-pedal and pedal-pusher and for years they were known to every school-boy, but now they are all obsolete, though the bicycle survives. The automobile vocabulary, in fact, has changed considerably since 1900. See The Horseless Carriage, by M. R. Eiselen, Yale Review, Autumn, 1936, pp. 134–47, and The Automobile and American English, by Theodore Hornberger, American Speech, April, 1930, pp. 271–78. Some of the differences between American and English automobile terms are listed in Supplement I, pp. 457–87. In the Motorists’ Companion, by John Prioleau; London, 1936, pp. 457–67, such terms are given in six languages, of which two are English and American. I am indebted here to Mr. Edgar Gahan.
1 I take these from Slang on Wheels, by Elliott Curtiss, Jr., Automobile Trade Journal, Jan. and May, 1937; Kick-Ups and Jack Pads, by G. A. Kahmann, News & Views (General Motors), March, 1938, pp. 41 and 45; Lexicon of Trade Jargon; Super-Service Slang, by Nedra Karen Israel, American Speech, Dec., 1938, pp. 314–16; Detroit Automobile Slang, by Thelma James, the same, Oct., 1941, p. 240, and How to Buy a Used Car, by Martin H. Bury, revised edition, Philadelphia, 1940.
1 Current English Forum, College English, April, 1943, p. 439.
2 Jalopiana, Newark Sunday Call, Oct. 23.
3 Neal O’Hara in the New York Evening Post. Reprinted in New Words For Old, Baltimore Evening Sun (editorial page), May 17, 1938.
4 Margaret Ernst, in The Conning Tower, New York Evening Post, April 6, 1939.
5 Eddie Blass in the same. The French word is actually chaloupe. It means a form of water craft and has cognates in the Spanish chalupa, Italian scialuppa, German schaluppe and Dutch sloep. The NED traces it in English use to c. 1578.
6 Mexetao Sherover in the same.
7 Dilapidato, by Elmer G. Smith, Time, July 26, 1937, p. 6.
1 Recurring Word, Edinburgh Scotsmen, March 1, 1941.
2 From an unpublished paper by Sergeant David M. Cleary, of the Field Artillery, 1942.
3 Jalopiana, before cited.
4 Jalopiana, before cited.
5 New York, 1921, p. 271.
6 Jitney and Jitneur, by W. L. Werner, American Speech, Feb., 1934, p. 74. See also Jitney, by H. L. Mencken, the same, Jan., 1927, p. 214.
7 Feb., p. 73.
8 Comments, American Speech. Oct., 1933, p. 78.
9 Jitney and Jitneur, lately cited.
10 Survival of Jitney, American Speech, Dec., 1934, pp. 315–16. See also AL4, pp. 86, 93, 189 and 263.
1 College Words and Phrases, Dialect Notes, Vol. IV, Part III, p. 233.
2 Terms or Disparagement in the Dialect of High-School Pupils in California and New Mexico, by Elsie Warnock, Dialect Notes, Vol. V, Part II, 1919, pp. 60–73.
3 Vogue Affixes in Present-Day Word-Coinage, by Louise Pound, Dialect Notes, Vol. V, Part I, 1918, p. 8.
4 Riding in a Lizard, by Mamie Meredith, American Speech, Aug., 1931, p. 465.
5 Cowboy Lingo, by Ramon F. Adams; Boston, 1936, pp. 44 and 102.
6 Air Words; Seattle, 1946.
1 Hamann says that this implement gets its name from its inventor, one Joyce, but Joyce is not identified and the etymology sounds improbable.
2 There are many lexicons of air argot, but Hamann’s, before cited, is the best. The earlier literature is listed by Burke, p. 109. An Encyclopedic Aviation Dictionary, by Charles A. Zweng; Los Angeles, 1944, defines mainly technical terms.
3 The Fifth Estate Vocabulary, by Julian T. Bentley, American Speech, April, 1937, pp. 100–02.
4 AL4, p. 559.
1 Radio Bandmen Speak a Strange Language, by Louis Reid, New York American, June 22, 1935; Swing Lingo in Radio Adds Color to Broadcasts, by Martin Codel, Worcester (Mass.) Telegram, July 9, 1938.
2 American Notes & Queries, March, 1945, p. 192.
1 The Fifth Estate Vocabulary, before cited.
2 Fortune, March, 1947, p. 175
3 In the Interest of Radio, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (editorial), April 10, 1945.
4 Advertisement of Columbia Broadcasting System, Feb. 26, 1944: “Call it ség-we or ség-way, not ség-you.”
5 Most of these come from Radio Alphabet: A Glossary of Radio Terms, edited by Gilbert Seldes, Paul Hollister and a dozen others and published by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1946. The early authorities are listed in Burke, p. 122. Other works worth consulting are Wireline Webster, issued by the Mutual Broadcasting System, June, 1945; Glossary of Commercial Terms, by J. J. Weed, in Variety Radio Directory, 1937–38; New York, 1937, pp. 353–58; Some Radio Terms, by John S. Carlile, Fortune, May, 1938, p. 54; Radio Vocabulary, by S. Stephenson Smith, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Feb., 1942, pp. 1–7; Radio Jargon, by William White, Words, Dec., 1941, pp. 97–101; A Study of the Vocabulary of Radio, by Donald E. Hargis, Speech Monographs, XII, 1945, pp. 77–87; Dictionary of Radio Terms; Chicago, 1940; Radio Slanguage, by K. W. Strong, Better English, March, 1940, pp. 118–19 and Radio Has a Word For It, by Doris McFerran, American Mercury, Nov., 1941, pp. 578–81. I am also indebted here to Messrs. Will A. Whitney, J. V. Koehler, Eldridge Peterson, Julian Street, Jr., Joseph Katz and A. K. Dawson. The gestures used in radio studios (speaking, of course, is forbidden) are illustrated in Radio Alphabet, above cited, and described in Lexicon of Trade Jargons, Vol. III.
1 Radio Alphabet, before cited: “[So called] because the early sponsors of these programmes were soap manufacturers.”
2 Video Make-Up, Variety, June 19, 1946, p. 27.
3 Gobos and Gismos, New York Times Magazine, March 3, 1946.
4 These come from Television Talk, issued by the National Broadcasting Company in 1946. See also The Words, New Yorker, Dec. 3, 1938, p. 20. The vocabulary of radar is in Radar Nomenclature, American Speech, Dec., 1945, pp. 309–10; Radar Language, Newsweek, Sept. 10, 1945, p. 92, and Radar, issued by the British Information Services, New York, 1945. That of amateur radio operators, or hams, is in Ham Slang, by R. D. Bass, Words, Dec., 1938, pp. 138–39, and Jan., 1939, pp. 10–12; and Ham Lingo, by Marion Fry, American Speech, Oct., 1929, pp. 45–49.
5 See Supplement I, p. 389.
1 Coined by Herb Stoeckel, of Book-binding & Book Production, New York.
2 Coined in 1940 by George E. Frazer, a New York accountant, and now used in the title of National Transitads, of which he is president. I am indebted here to Mr. Myron T. Harshaw.
3 The commonplace quality of these selections from the advertising man’s trade argot is compensated for by the lush fancy shown in the terms he invents for his clients, especially those who appeal to female patronage. Many of his names for colors, perfumes and articles of female adornment are borrowed from non-English languages, e.g., brassière, dirndl, babushka. See Ici on Parle—, by Marjorie H. Nicholson and Edith Phillips, American Speech, Feb., 1926, pp. 257–63; All the Perfumes of America, by Arthur Minton, the same, Oct., 1946, pp. 161–74, and The Language of Fashion, by Mary Brooks Picken; New York, 1939. He is also the progenitor of many euphemisms, e.g
., halitosis, B. O., D. O. (dog odor), tissue (toilet-paper). His latest novelties are frequently noted in American Speech.
4 I take these from Aquarium English, by Ida Mellen, American Speech, Aug., 1928, pp. 460–63. Miss Mellen says that the aquarian folk call themselves aquarists. In England they used to be aquarians and in the United States some of them preferred aquariist, with two i’s, but aquarist now prevails in both countries.
5 From Lexicon of Trade Jargon, before cited.
1 See also Fruit-Drying Phraseology, by Ivy Grant Morton, Writer’s Monthly, Aug., 1928, pp. 104–05, and Apple-Picking Terms From Wisconsin, by F. G. Cassidy, American Speech, Feb., 1943, pp. 74–76.
2 From Lexicon of Trade Jargon.
3 French calque, a tracing or imitation.
4 These all come from Dictionary of Occupational Titles, Part I: Definitions of Titles, prepared for the use of “public employment offices and related vocational services” by the Job Analysis and Information Section, Division of Standards and Research, United States Employment Service, Department of Labor; Washington, 1939. This volume of 1287 double-column pages, printed on Bible paper, is one of the masterpieces of New Deal scholarship.
1 Jist a shave.
2 All these come from Lexicon of Trade Jargon.
3 The most elegant bartenders’ organization is the International Barmen’s Association. But the A. F. of L. union is the Bartenders’ International League of America, organized in Jan., 1892.
4 The origin of this term has been much debated. See Gem of the Prairie, by Herbert Asbury; New York, 1940, p. 172.
5 Going behind the stick or behind the plank is going on duty.
6 I am indebted here to Lexicon of Trade Jargon and to Mr. Roy L. McCardell. The names of drinks are discussed in AL4, pp. 148–50, and Supplement I, pp. 252–69.
7 Most of these terms are taken from An Historical Dictionary of Baseball Terminology, by Edward J. Nichols, “a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy at the Pennsylvania State College,” Jan., 1939. This is an admirably accurate, comprehensive and workmanlike study. It has not been published save in abstract, but microfilms and full-sized photographs of the MS. are obtainable from University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Mich. I have also made some use of Joe McGlone, Providence (R.I.) Evening Bulletin, Aug. 2, 1946, p. 30; Down in Front, by Richards Vidmer, New York Herald Tribune, June 7, 1941, p. 17; Baseball Guide and Record Book; New York, 1943, pp. 83–92; Gibberish, by C. M. Gibbs, Baltimore Sun, Jan. 31, 1935, and the Jargon of Sports-Writers, by Willis Stork; Lincoln (Neb.), 1934. Other papers on the subject are listed in Burke, pp. 115–16. I am indebted for friendly help to Dr. Nichols, Dr. Harold H. Bender, Messrs. Lawrence C. Salter, Fred Hamann, Leo C. Dean, H. Allen Smith, and A. H. Gurney, the late Dr. Logan Clendening, Dr. Victor Johnson, the late Admiral C. S. Butler, Medical Corps, U.S.N., and Messrs. Bill Bryson, Lloyd Lewis and Charles J. Lovell.
1 Gillette, of course, was suggested by close shave.
2 Traced by Nichols to Sporting Life, Oct. 4, 1902. Said to have been coined by William T. Hall, a Chicago sports reporter.
3 Traced by Nichols to 1888.
4 Bewildering are Slang Terms Used in Talk of Baseball Players, by Harold Parrott, Brooklyn Eagle, Aug. 9, 1936.
5 Introduced by the Baltimore Orioles and traced by Nichols to 1891. In his introduction to his Dictionary of Baseball Terminology and in Appendix II thereof he shows that of 100 terms for hit in vogue in 1938, 74 could be traced to 1918 or before.
6 Traced by Nichols to 1891. Dr. H. H. Bender, chief etymologist of Webster 1934, sent an agent to Bill Clarke, first baseman of the Baltimore Orioles, who said that it came from the name of Charley Esper, a left-handed pitcher, who walked like a lame horse. Lawrence C. Salter (private communication, Jan. 14, 1944) sent another agent to Billy Earle, an old-time catcher in the Western League, who said that it was suggested by a horse worked by one Charley, ground-keeper at Sioux City. The late Dr. Logan Clendening wrote to me on Nov. 20, 1943: “Charley horse is a ruptured muscle. It has exactly the same pathology as string-halt in a horse.” In Treatment of Charley Horse, Journal of the American Medical Association, Nov. 30, 1946,p. 821, it is described as “injury to a muscle, usually the quadriceps femoris.” This injury “consists first in a contusion, which results in a hematoma. Later the hematoma may organize into a myositis ossificans, forming soft bone in the muscle.” Other etymologies are in Charley Horse, by Bill Brandt, Letters, Nov. 11, 1935; American Notes & Queries, April, 1937, pp. 9–10, and My Thirty Years in Baseball, by John J. McGraw; New York, 1923, p. 52.
1 Also used on the race-track. Its etymology is discussed in Dick Smith, by Peter Tamony, San Francisco News-Letter & Wasp, Sept. 15, 1939, p. 12.
2 Also spelled -do, -dew, -dow, and dypsido. “This uncertainty as to spelling,” says Nichols, “is typical of terms invented by the players rather than the sports reporters.” Traced to 1932. At the start it was sometimes dinky-doo.
3 This is often assumed to be a back-formation from fanatic, but William Henry Nugent says in The Sports Section, American Mercury, March, 1929, p. 331, that it really comes from fancy, which has been in use in England to designate followers of the prize-ring since 1811. The steps, he says, were fance, fans, fan. In baseball use the DAE traces it to 1896.
4 Ducks on the Pond, by Joe Cummiskey, PM, April 21, 1943.
5 The etymology is uncertain. See Expedition Into Fungoland, Chicago Tribune (editorial page), Oct. 29, 1939, and Fungo and Bingo Again, by Peter Tamony, American Speech, Oct., 1937, pp. 243–44. Traced by the DAE to 1867.
6 The late Admiral Butler, before mentioned (private communication, Nov. 30, 1943), described glass arm as usually myositis (inflammation) of the long tendon of the biceps muscle. “Its action,” he said, “is three- or four-fold and its relations to synovial sheaths, bursas and joints complicated. Damage of these structures often produces a stiffness and rigidity accompanied by loss of the power to supinate the forearm.… The arm feels rigid, and as if likely to break like glass.”
7 Dugout Slang, by Jimmy Powers, New York Daily News, Jan. 12, 1937.
8 Apparently from magnate.
9 Traced by the DAE to 1868.
1 Baseball American, by Ring W. Lardner, in The American Language, second edition; New York, 1921, pp. 392–93, and third edition, 1923, pp. 404–05.
2 Ball Talk, New York Times Magazine, July 14, 1946. H. Allen Smith, in Rhubarb; New York, 1946: “A colloquialism inserted into the Yankee vernacular by Red Barber, the baseball broadcaster. Mr. Barber in turn picked it up from the prose of Garry Schumacher.… A noisy altercation, a broil, a violent emotional upheaval brought on by an epical dispute —such as whether one grown man had touched another on the body with a ball the size of a smallish orange.”
3 First found by Nichols in the New York Press, July 8, 1890.
4 Nichols traces it no further back than 1920.
5 Dugout Slang, by Jimmy Powers, New York Sunday News, Jan. 17, 1937.
6 Traced by Nichols to 1881.
7 Southpaw is traced by Nichols to the Chicago Herald, July 24, 1891. Richard J. Finnegan, publisher of the Chicago Times, reports that it was coined by Charles Seymour (d. 1901). He says in a letter to Lloyd Lewis, Nov. 26, 1945: “The pitchers in the old baseball park on the Chicago West Side faced the west, and those who pitched left-handed did so with their south paws.” Baseball players believe that all left-handed pitchers are more or less balmy, just as musicians believe the same of oboe-players.
8 Traced by Nichols to 1866.
9 Nichols, in Appendix I of his Dictionary, lists many terms that baseball has given to the general speech, e.g., to go to bat for, play-by-play, three strikes and out, hit-and-run, minor league, to pinch hit, something on the ball, on to his curves, on the bench, two strikes on him, grandstand play, double-header, home run, to play ball and team-play. Some interesting history is in Nicknames of Baseball Clubs, by Joseph Curtin Gephart, Ameri
can Speech, April, 1941, pp. 100–03, and in Baseball and Rounders, by Robert W. Henderson, Bulletin of the New York Public Library, April, 1939, pp. 303–14.
1 Originally, a hair-dressing-parlor. Latterly a beauty-parlor, -shop, -shoppe (beauté-shoppe), -salon, -studio or -clinic. In the William Feather Magazine, May, 1938, beauty-marts, -bars, -chateaus and -laboratories are all reported, and the Modern Beauty Shop, 1945, pp. 131, adds -centers and -villas. See Supplement I, p. 573.
2 This recherché term has been recognized in State laws providing for the examination and licensing of practitioners of the science. Cosmetic, of Greek origin, is traced in English to 1650, and the adjective cosmetical to 1559. Cosmeticism appeared in England in 1821. Cosmetology is apparently American. It was preceded by cosmetician and still has a rival in beautician. Both of the latter were suggested by mortician. See Supplement I, pp. 567–74.
3 Modern Beauty Shop, Dec., 1945, p. 132: “[In dealing with] the dowager’s hump … I place my hands firmly on each shoulder, close to the neck. Using my thumbs only, I move them in a circular massage over the fatty area. Pressure is necessary.”
4 Who invented this elegant term I do not know, but it seems to be American and goes back at least to 1936. It has been adopted in England.
5 From pan, face.
6 American Notes & Queries, June, 1946, p. 40.
1 I am indebted here to Beauty-Parlor Slang, by E. E. Ericson, American Speech, Dec., 1941, p. 311, and to Miss Margaret Dempsey.
2 I am indebted here to News From the Rare Book Sellers, by Jacob Blanck, Publisher’s Weekly, July 14, 1945, and to Messrs. S. R. Shapiro and H. Allen Smith.
3 Most American brew-workers are Germans, and the rest understand German. This accounts for the number of terms from that language in their argot. I take all these from Lexicon of Trade Jargon.
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