April 1, 1886.] 



* KNOW^LEDGE 



179 



the close of the play, a man is poetically said to " pass in 

 his checks " when he die*. 



Chemiloon. A " combination " of chemise and pantaloon : 

 a feminine dress. Dr. Mary Walker, lecturing on dress, 

 said, " I wear suspenders, and I feel awfully good in my 

 chemiloon." See Bad. 



Cfiiclen- fixings. Originally a chicken fricassee, now 

 applied sometimes to any particularly fine arrangements, 

 as distinguished from " common doings." 



ChiM, This. Meaning "myself" Nigger American 

 (very popular). 



Chip in. Verb. To take part in proceedings originally 

 started by other folks. " They was taking Sam Willing to 



pieces like — Sheol — so I chipped in, and I says " but 



what he said is too profane to be quoted. 



Chipmzink. The striped squirrel. 



Chivaree (Fr. Charivari). When an elderly man marries 

 a young girl, it is a pleasing custom in Louisiana, Missouri, 

 and other States of the West and South- West, to serenade 

 the newly-married couple with bells, kettles, homs, and 

 whatever will make the most discordant uproar. The 

 respect shown by Americans to the fair sex is remaik- 

 able. 



Chop. First Chop means fii-st class. The expression is 

 borrowed from the Chinese. 



Chowder. A dish of fish, pork, onions, and biscuit. 



Chunk. A short thick object ; originally a piece of 

 wood. The term is used in its original sense in England. 

 But in America they talk of a chunk of a man, or even a 

 chunk of poetry. 



Chunky. Short and thickset. A chunky man is a short, 

 fat person. 



Cimlin. A squash. 



Cincinnati Oysters. Pigs' feet. 



Circumstance. A trifle. " K is a big man, but he's not 

 a circumstance to Mis. B. : it takes two men and a boy to 

 see her all at once." 



City. A small village. 



Claim. A place marked out as some one's property. 



Claim. Verb. To assert. ■' J. claimed to be unable to 



pay." 



Clam. Certain sheU-fish are called clams, as the h.ird 

 clam {Venits mercenaria), the soft clam {Mya arenaria). 



Clam Bake. Clams baked in the earth. 



Clam Chowder. See Chotoder, and include clams in the 

 dish. 



Chan Thing, The. What is right. " A low expression," 

 Bartlett says : I venture to diflfer from him. 



Clear Grit. Honest courage. 



Clearing. A piece of land cleared for cultivation. 



Clear Out. Verb. To get away. Sometimes used with- 

 out the preposition, " Gentlemen, will you please clear, is 

 American for " Get out ! " 



Clever. In American this word usually means well dis- 

 posed and good-natured. An English lady, told in America 

 that a girl was '" clever but not smart," thought she had 

 found just the kind of help she wanted, handy but not 

 dres-sy ; she found the girl kindly but stupid. 



Cleverly. Neatly and well, as in English : but also 

 pleasantly. 



Coasting. Sliding down a snow-covered hill : a method 

 of breaking limbs very popular in America. 



Cohhler. A drink made with wine, sugar, lemon, and 

 pounded rice, imbibed through a straw. 



Cocktail. A stimulating drink made of spirits, bitters, 

 sugar, and a suspicion (very vague) of water. 



C. 0. D. Collect on delivery. Often used as a colloquial 

 expression. 



Codding. Playing the fool. 



Colonel. A title applied in America, especially in the 

 south and west, to any one who has taken any part in 

 military or military niatters : also to many who have not. 



Collect. Verb. " To collect " is used short for to " collect 

 payments." 



Collide. To come into collision. Used by Dryden and 

 Burton. 



( 'ome. To " come it over an3'one," is to get the better of 

 him. To " come it strong " is to act or speak vigorously. 

 The expression is often used in England. 



Common Doings. Ordinary commonplace fare. See 

 "Chicken-fixings." 



Conceit. Verb. To think; to take a fancy or conceit. 



Conductor. The conductor of an American ti'ain corre- 

 sponds to our guard, but has a more responsible position, 

 and considerably more self-respect. 



Confidence. The Confidence Trick. Bartlett innocently 

 confides in the story that the confidence trick was first 

 played a few years ago in New York. It is hardlv necessary 

 to say that it is at least a century old in England. 



Connection. " In this connection." A New England 

 phrase for " in connection with this subject." 



Conniption Fit. A feminine expression, apparently 

 equivalent to a " fit of hj^steries." 



Considerable is often used in America as equivalent to 

 " a good deal." Thus " he is considerable of a judge " means 

 he is quite a judge. Also " considerable " is used as an 

 adverb, " considerable smart " for tolei-ablv smart, and so 

 on. English is spoken ^vith considerable of a change in the 

 United States, but is supposed (there) to be considerable 

 correct. 



Continental. This word was frequently used for "colonial " 

 in the time of the War of Independence. 



Contrabands. At that time negi'O slaves were called 

 " contrabands," because treated as contraband of wai-. The 

 same word was used (and mistakenly supposed to have been 

 invented) during the war between the North and South. 



Contraption. A contrivance. 



Cookery. A little cake. 



Coon. A raccoon. Also a member of the old Whig 

 party. A chap. A " gone coon " is a man whose case is 

 hopeless. 



Coon's Age. A coon's age means a long time. Vague. 



Coot. A small waterfowl. A silh' person. Also equiva- 

 lent to our Cockney word " cove." 



Copperhead. A kind of snake. The term was pleasantly 

 applied in the North to Northern sympathisers with the 

 South. Irving applies it to the Dutch colonists. 



Corduroy Rowt. A road made by laying logs side by 

 side over swamps. 



Corn in America always means Indian corn or maize. 

 What we call corn in England they call grain in America. 



Corn (Job. The spike on which the kernels of com grow. 



Corn Cracker. A Kentuckian. 



Corii Juice. Whisky. 



Corner. A corner is the purchase of a larger amount of 

 any kind of stock than is resdly in the market. 



Comer Lot. A house or building at a corner of a block. 



Corral. A pen for securing cattle. 



Cotbetty. Equivalent to the old English cotquean — a 

 man who meddles in women's business. 



Count. To reckon (used like " guess" and " calculate"). 



Cowboy. A cattle-herder in Texas and the Far West 

 generally. Used also generally for low ruffians or rowdies. 



CoiD-catcher. A contrivance for clearing animals out of a 

 train's way. 



Coyote. The prairie wolf. 



Cracker. What we call " biscuits " they call " crackerg " 

 in America. See Biscuits. 



