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
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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
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D eclam ation C ontest
.
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-
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
.
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-
D ress P arad e
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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
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*
"
G rad u atio n E x ercises an d P resen tatio n of
D iplom as
.
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-
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.