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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1920)
PAG E 4 T H E C H E M A W A A M E R IC A N SOME OFT-USED ODD EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED T h ere are nu m ero u s q u ain t w ords and phrases in our language w hich are used to convey m eanings q u ite different from any th a t are indicated by any literal in terp retatio n of th e words. If we should trace them back to th e ir b eg in n in g we should doubtless find th a t all have in terestin g histories. Below are some th a t we often hear. R eaders w ill find it w orth w hile to in quire into the derivation of o th ers. E veryone has heard and perhaps used th e phrase, “ a p retty k ettle o f f is h ,” m eaning a "b a d m ess” or an u n fo rtu n ate, unsatisfactory tu rn of affairs. It is related th at years ago th e w arder of th e tow er of L o n don insisted th a t one of the inalienable perquisites of his office was the rig h t to tra p fish for his own use in the river ju st outside one of the gates. A ccordingly he regularly placed in the w ater a fishing basket or “ k id d le .” D enying his exclusive rig h t to catch fish th ere, the people system atically raided his kiddles. The w arder, on discovering th is interference, would exclaim each time: “ A p retty kiddle of fish, in d e ed !” T h e old-fashioned kiddle fell in to disuse and was forgotten but succeeding generations clu n g to the phrase and th e m eaning given it orig in ally by the w arder. It w as gradually changed, how ever, to a pretty k e ttle — or k ittle— of fish .’ Did you ever w onder w hy we have the rath er odd w ord “ te e to ta l,” expressive of com plete, absolute prohibition or abstention from the use of alcoholic b e v erages? T h is w ord, we are told, was accidentally coined by an early p ro hibitionist in E n g lan d , a man nam ed T u rn e r. H e was so ardent an enem y of d rin k th at he w ent about m ak in g p ro h ib itio n speeches, despite th e fact th a t he had the aw kw ard habit of stu tte rin g . On one occasion he w ound up a total abstinence address w ith the declaration: “ N o th in g b u t tee-tee-tee-total a b stin ence will d o —th a t o r n o w t” A fter th at “ te e to ta l” came to be used in a jo k in g wav b u t in tim e it found its wav into the everyday vocabulary of E n g lish sp eak ers and was recognized as a legitim ate word by dictionary m akers. W hen actors and actresses receive their salaries they say th e “ ghost has w a lk e d ;” w hen pav-dav conies around they com m only ask each o th er, “ is th e ghost w alking?” and w hen they w ould learn w h eth er a m anager unknow n to them can be depended on to pay his ju st debts to those in his em ploy they inquire: “ Does th e ghost w alk?” T h e phrase is also m uch used in this sense outside th eatrical circles. A crooked, trick y m anager in E n g lan d , th e story goes, had to be w atched closely or he would fo rg e t” to pay his actors and actresses th eir salaries w hen they w ere due. I t happened th a t he once had in his com pany an actor whose forte on the stage was the ghost in “ H a m le t.” T h is shrew d fellow quickly got onto th e m a n ag er’s little w ays and learned how to m ake him “ come a c ro ss.” If he learned on the m orning of the day w hen his salary for the week was due th a t it was not forthcom ing he would at once declare w ith d eter m ination: “ T hen th e ghost w on’t walk to n ig h t.” T h e m anager c o u ld n ’t afford to lose him or to have him miss a perform ance so he alw ays contrived to have his pay-envelope ready at the proper tim e. T he actor had no qualm s about ru in in g a perform ance by refu sin g to go on w hen his cue was given. H is heroic tactics proved a great boon to his fellow actors for obviously w hen th e m anager paid one he co u ld n ’t well avoid paying others. It is not su rp risin g , th e re fore, th a t they developed a keen interest in the 'w alk- in g of th e g h o st” and fell in to the habit of in q u ir in g on pay-days w hether “ the g host would w a lk .” OUR COMMENCEMENT F ollow ing will be found a table of the various events w hich will occur as a p art of our com m encem ent. W e believe they will prove of interest and we extend a cordial invitation to the general public to be present: Sunday, May Thirtieth 2:30 P. M . 4:30 P. M. 8:00 P. M. Band C oncert - D ress P arad e B accalaureate Serm on Monday, May Thirty-First Baseball G am e— E x celsio rs Vs. R eliance B and C oncert - - - D eclam ation C ontest . - - 2:00 P . M. 6:30 P. M. 8:00 P. M. Tuesday, June First In te r-C la ss F ie ld S ports Jo in t Society M eeting a n d S tu n ts on C am pus O p e retta — “ T h e E m p e ro r’s D a u g h te r’’ 9:00 A. M. 2:30 P. M. 8:00 P. M. Wednesday, June Second A cadem ic an d In d u s tria l D e p artm en ts O pen to In sp ectio n . - - D ress P arad e - - Physical C u ltu re E x h ib itio n , E tc. B and C oncert * S en io r P lay — “ S y lv ia” 9:30 2:00 2:30 6:30 8:00 A. P. P. P. P. M. M. M. M. M. Thursday, June Third C om petitive M ilitary D rill an d P arad e Law n S p o rts—Sm all Boys and S m all G irls B and C oncert - - * " G rad u atio n E x ercises an d P resen tatio n of D iplom as . - - 9:30 A. M. 2:00 P. M. 6:30 P . M. 8:00 P. M. Friday, June Fourth “ Jo lly U p ” an d P rese n tatio n of Prizes Baseball G am e—F a c u lty V s. S tu d e n ts Social—S tu d e n ts and E m p lo y es 9:30 A. M. 2:30 P. M. 7:30 P. M. FOR EXCHANGE en g in e, O ne “ C lim a x ” te n -h o rse pow er horizontal s m an u factu red bv th e C om stock M an u factu rin g C om pany of M ichigan. In good con d itio n ex cep t for b roken g o v ernor; value $150.00. To be e x ch an g ed for drygoods, clo th in g o r b la n k e ts to th e value of $150,00. F o r fu rth e r info rm atio n ad d ress F . M. C O N SE R , S u p e rin te n d e n t S h erm an In d ia n School, R iverside, Calif.
