ABSTRACT
it is impossible to look over the columns of a daily journal, especially during the progress of a spirited political campaign, without encountering numerous expressions and phrases, the meaning of which cannot be learned from any dictionary, but which, to one who is familiar with the current argot of the period, are often quite as vigorously expressive as the most picturesque slang of the streets. The vocabulary of the American politician has indeed become copious beyond what is generally believed, and the glossary presented herewith lays no claim to exhaustiveness. It includes, however, a number of phrases which can be found in no other compilation. Some of these have passed out of current use, others are defined according to the best authorities available 175—often that of gray-haired veterans who may have cast their first votes for Jackson or Clay, and who were in the prime of life during the “Hard Cider” campaign. Others, again, are of very recent origin.
