

LANGUAGE 



213 



Pot luck. Come to dinner, if you will take pot Sheep's eyes. He made sheep's eyes [looked 

 luck [take things as they come]. lovingly] at her. 



Praties. Potatoes. 



Primp. To fuss up one's hair, necktie, etc., 

 after he is supposed to be all dressed. 



Put one's foot down. Is to insist upon a thing. 



Put up job. A swindle arranged in advance. 



Queer. To queer a deal is to upset it, to 

 spoil it. 



Shenanigan. None of your shenanigan [cheat- 

 ing or fooling]. 



Shine. He outshone [excelled] his friend in his 

 dress. 



Ship-shape. And Bristol fashion means in good 

 shape. 



Short. I am short [hard up] just now. 



Quiet. To do a thing on the quiet is to do it Short. On the Stock Exchange, means that 

 secretly. you have sold stock you do not possess on the 



Qu liter. He is a quitter : i. e.. He does not live expectation of a drop. 

 up to his agreements. Shucks. It is not worth shucks [is worthless]. 



-our racket now? What i> 

 your scheme? 



. To live at rack and manger, is to live on 

 the best at another's expense. 



Raise. A racket, is to be noisy; to kick up a 

 row. 



Raise Cain or raise Ned. Is to create a dis- 

 turbance. 



Rake-off. He gets a rake off [a reduction] on 

 everything he buys there. 



Rat. To smell a, is to suspect something. 



Rattler. He's a rattler [a hustling fellow]. 



RattliiKj. He's a rattling good fellow means he 

 is a very pleasant fellow. do contemptible things to injure another. 



Beater. Is one who is hired to vote early and Smash. He went to smash [failed utterly]. 

 often at elections. 



Rich. That's a rich [entertaining] story. 

 out. Well dressed, well got up. 

 To have one dead to rignts is to even 

 matters up. 



Ripsnorter. Is used of a great snow storm, 

 when the wind is high and all transportation is 

 block. 



Rope in. You can rope him in ; that is, swindle 

 him. 



Rough it. Is to put up with coarse food and 

 poor accommodations when in the wilds. 

 tn hoe. See hoe. 



Rub. There's the rub [difficulty]. 



Rubt>in<i it in. Is saying over and over again a 

 thing that will make another uncomfortable. 



Simon pure. Means of the best quality, gen- 

 uine. 



Skied. Used in reference to a picture hung 

 up at an exhibition. 



Sky parlor. Attic of the house. 



Sky pilot. A minister. 



Sky scraper. A very tall building such as are 

 going up in every large city in the United States. 



Slab. He is thin as a slab [very thin]. 



Slate. A list of candidates prepared before the 

 nomination. 



Slip up. He slipped up [failed] in that work. 



Small potatoes. Applied to anyone that will 



Sn<ike out. His team could snake out two hun- 

 dred stumps [pull out] in a day. 



Snippy. She is Miippy [puts on airs]. 

 nob. Is one that pretends to be what he is 



Si 

 not. 



Soft soap. Flattery. 



Soft thing. He has a soft thing [easy time] of it. 

 Spanking Breeze, is a fine breeze for sailing. 

 Spin. To take a spin is to take a bicycle ride. 

 Spotter. Is one who is hired to report short- 

 comings of employe's on railroads. 

 Square. He is on the square [honest]. 

 Square up. Is to pay up, to settle accounts. 

 Stag party. Is one composed entirely of men. 

 Stand pat. Is to be in on a deal. 

 Stick up for. He stuck up for [backed] the man. 



l{nn on a bank. Is when many depositors in a Stool pigeon. Is a "straw man," used as a de- 

 hank make a simultaneous demand for their coy in gambling or swindling processes. 

 mo:.. Street arabs. Are street gamins. 



Run it into the ground. Is to overdo the matter. Struck it rich. Means that he made a great 

 Rush it. Hurry it up. haul. 



Sack. To get the sack is to be discharged. Stump. He will take the stump for Roosevelt 



Salt down. Is to save money. in September, means that he will go out to make 



< irit. courage. political speeches for him. 



Saphead. A stupid person. Stunning. Very large, fine. 



Sass. Garden sass is taken from the kitchen 



garden. It is applied to the vegetables. 

 Sawbones. A surgeon. 

 ih. Is a non-union man. 



Swamped. He is swamped all right, means 

 that he cannot carry through the undertaking. 



Swelled head, or big head, means puffed up 

 with vanity. 



per. Is a railroad ticket broker or a man j Swop or swap. To exchange. 

 who deal- in small amounts of stock, usually in T. It suits to a T is it fits to a ni- 

 an irregular way. Tabooed. Forbidden 



Scare up. If I can scare up [find] a dollar, I'll i lo try one's power, either physical 



U'o. or intellectual. 



Scrap. He is always in a scrap [fight]. 7'/Av // <"// of on.-. To even matters up. 



Screw loose. There's a screw loose somewhere Talking shop. Is talking business out of hours, 

 [something is not well adjusted]. n. newly arrived in a mining 



Sea-dog. Is an old sailor. eountry. 



See you later. Means good-bye. Tm-strikc. II, miufa a teo-fltrikfl loaf da\. 



Shank's mare. To ride. Means to go afoot. 



windier. 



Shave. A close shave is a narrow escape. 



He made a successful deal. 



Terror \ holy terror, a man in passion. 

 It is too thin [not to be believed]. 



