Monday, May 6, 2013

obscure word part 3

There is such a thing as, what I call, word demographics. It's the way words move and change over time like a population. There are many words that have survived the nineteenth century and are still with us but have ''changed'' in terms of their meaning. Here are a few of them and their nineteenth century definitions.
          1. Grocery : a bar or drinking establishment
               A. He took us all to the grocery to celebrate is success.
          2. Gum : lies, exaggerations
               A.His explanation was nothing but gum.
          3. Bummer : a lazy hobo or drunk
               A. The city is full of bummers by day and strumpets by night.
          4. Horn : a glass of liquor or ale
               A. It took only one horn to inebriate him.
          5. Picture : one's face, one's person
               A. She sure has a pretty picture to behold.
               B. He asked if I had any money on my picture.
          6. Smile : a drink, to take a drink
              A. Sit down with us and have a smile or two!
      So, the next time somebody ask you what your smiling about,  ask them if shows on your picture. Then, tell them you just came from the grocery and had few horns with a local bummer, and that's no gum!
              

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