I was just looking up stuff about Chicago, I guess out of curiosity over what puts it head and shoulders above other American cities in terms of creating Popes. And I came across this article on Chicago-specific slang.
What struck me right away was the picture they had illustrating the word "gangway." It's very striking and the cats are beautiful, of course. But I doubt that there were just this many purely black cats hanging out together. I think there was a wrangler involved. Not a superstitious one, obbiously'
2 comments:
I understand popes have visited the US since 1965 when Pope Paul VI arrived to address the UN General Assembly where he said, 'Never again war!' If only.. It's good Leo XIII is an American and a Chicagoan at that. A little peace in that violent city would be a relief for everybody.
That was a very neat article about Chicago slang. A lot of the phrases have become commonly heard but then there are the others - the Hawk, Labbies, Out South, Pinners etc. Gangway for alley is also very unusual and they do harbor some lovely black cats :)
Did you check out the words? A number of them are common enough that they're easily recognized. Congrats to the people who ran down the original appearances.
Thinking of complicated English, my Grandad was a Geordie as was yours with the good news that my dad was easy to understand, not so much with mine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geordie
Pope Paul VI was the Pontiff when I was born. He was followed by the very short papacy of John Paul I. John Paul II is the first Pope I really remember well. Paul VI seems to have been an excellent man, though. And Chicago certainly could use a little peace, among other things.
"Gangway" for alley seems like a bit of archaic English that they held onto after everyone else had dropped it. And why not? It's certainly evocative. I know about "the Hawk" because I have a Lou Rawls CD that has "Dead End Street" on it. I guess pinners is the most accessible form of handball, at least in a lot of places.
"Gapers' block" is certainly one that I've never heard of before. But I feel like I'll be tempted to use it in the future. The situation still happens a lot.
I certainly remember the way Grandad spoke. Lilting, would probably sound a bit Scottish to Americans. But "not intelligible to many other native English speakers"? Come now.
Post a Comment