Current Americanisms - A Dictionary Of Words And Phrases In Common Use (1897) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: vulgarism, which it is an awful pity to have imported into this country. Ax, to. To ask. Very old English; common in Chaucer. Lowell often puns upon it, as in the following example: " I du believe in any plan O' levyin; the taxes, Ez long ez, like a lumberman, I git jest what I axes." ?Biglow Papers. Azequia. See Acequia, Zequia. Back, to talk. To answer impudently. Backbone. Moral courage: firmness: will-power. Of political origin. Back down. To withdraw [a charge or accusation]. Back-house. A w.o. Back of. Behind. Back-out. (V. and N.) V. To abandon a position: N. the said abandonment. Synonym?"To take the back track." Back seat, to take a. To admit failure: -to retire: to " weaken." " Since Clay Ewing stepped out of the race for the supreme bench, Jefferson City has taken a back seat."?(J. W. Beverley) Missouri Republican, 1888. Back teeth afloat, to have one's. To be (metaphorically) full of liquid, either from excessive drinking or other causes. Badger State. Wisconsin. Bad lands. Waste ground. Baggage. Passengers' luggage. Baggage-car. Luggage-van. Baggage-smasher. A porter (erroneously) supposed to take care of luggage. With delightful unconsciousness of the humour of it, Bai'tlett defines it thus: "A man who transfers baggage to and from railroad cars, steamboats, etc. fo called from the reckless manner in which those persons handle the property of travellers, " Bail your own boat. To "paddle your own canoe": to rely upon your own exertions. Bake oven. Oven. Bake-shop. ...,, Bakery. A bakers shoP- Balance. Remainder. A mercantile term adopted into ordinary phraseology. Proctor heard '' Peter and Andrew, with the balance of the Twelve, stood around." "The word is used in Congress," says Pickeiing, ...