‘Flappers,’ ‘liquor lappers’ among slang 95 years ago

Dubuque Telegraph Herald

By Erik Hogstrom

May 12, 2016

A “flapper” could be so tired she’s “pounding her ear” and she might be “corned,” but perhaps not as badly as someone called a “liquor lapper,” according to slang terms used 95 years ago.

The Telegraph Herald explained some contemporary slang terms to readers in its May 15, 1921, edition.

USE OF SLANG IS PURELY AMERICAN

Slang, the typically American way of expressing things in a forceful way, is as changeable as the mind of a fickle woman.

Slang expressions come and go, new ones are constantly coming into existence, and it is only seldom that we find one that lasts for any length of time.

Some time ago, we said “skidoo” when the presence of a bystander was unwelcome. Later, we dropped that and said “beat it.” “Vamoose” was used for a time, but that too has disappeared.

Now, the popular one is “out of town.” It will be only a short time before some other new one will spring up and “out of town” will be relegated to the background.

When we wanted to say that we retired, we used to say he “hit the hay.” Now, we describe that welcome process as “pounding our ear.”

If mother used slang, she would yell: “Pry yourself loose from that bunk” or “hoist yourself” when she wanted us to arise.

The fair sex has been the recipient of more descriptive slang than anybody or anything else in the wide world. Witness the following words that are used to describe the young ladies: “skirt,” “dame,” “flapper,” broad” and “chicken.”

Policemen have been called “cops” since time immemorial. The word “cop” is one slang expression that has stuck through the ages. Several other expressions have been applied to the guardians of the peace but they are still “cops.”

In the olden days of wine, beer and whiskey, it was customary to describe the load of wet goods that a man carried as a “jag.” We say that he is “corned” or “bogged” or “steamed” or “loaded to the gills.”

We describe the man who likes his drinks too well as a “hootch hound” or a “liquor lapper.” He might also be called a “moonshine manipulator.”

So it is with all the slang expressions. They change with the times. They are not approved by the English teachers but they at least represent the spirit of the country that gave them birth.

Slang is typical of America and will be used by Americans until the country becomes the home of a flock of dumbbell outsiders who try to ruin it by forcing us to gargle the language in correct mouthfuls.