The comic English grammar [electronic resource]: a new and facetious introduction to the English tongue . musement unless regularly run down. This perhaps isthe reason why allowing an animal to start some little timebefore the pursuit is commenced, is called giving him lata. When one man runs away with another mans wife,and, being on that account challenged to fight a duel,shoots the aggrieved party through the head, the latter issaid to receive satisfaction. We never take a glass of wine at dinner without gettingsomebody else to do the same, as if we wanted encourage-ment ; and then, before w
The comic English grammar [electronic resource]: a new and facetious introduction to the English tongue . musement unless regularly run down. This perhaps isthe reason why allowing an animal to start some little timebefore the pursuit is commenced, is called giving him lata. When one man runs away with another mans wife,and, being on that account challenged to fight a duel,shoots the aggrieved party through the head, the latter issaid to receive satisfaction. We never take a glass of wine at dinner without gettingsomebody else to do the same, as if we wanted encourage-ment ; and then, before we venture to drink, we bow toeach other across the table, preserving all the while amost wonderful gravity. This, however, it may be said, isthe natural result of endeavouring to keep one another incountenance. The way in which we imitate foreign manners andcustoms is very amusing. Savages stick fish-bones throughtheir noses; our fair countrywomen have hoops of metalpoked through their ears. The Caribs flatten the fore-head ; the Chinese compress the foot; and we possess 10 THE COMIC ENGLISH Hes only a little prodigy of mine, Doctor. for arrangement, exasperate for aspirate, and thelike, is another. Slang, which consists in cant words and phrases, as dodge for sly trick, no go for failure, and carney to flatter, may be considered a third. Latinised English, or Fine English, sometimes assumesthe character of Comic English, especially when appliedto the purposes of common discourse; as Extinguishthe luminary, Agitate the communicator, Are yourcorporeal functions in a condition of salubrity ? A sablevisual orb, A sanguinary nasal protuberance. American English is Comic English in a pretty parti-cular considerable tarnation degree. ORTHOGRAPHY. 11 Among the various kinds of Comic English it would be tout-d -fait inexcusable, were we to manquer to men-tion one which has, so to speak, quite bouleverseA. theold-fashioned style of conversation ; French-English, thatis what no
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