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Examples
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“I have cooled his capissens, as the saying is: I have played such a tune about his ears, that I’ll be bound he shan’t long for music this month.
yarb commented on the word capissens
“Yes, yes,” answered the publican, “I have cooled his capissens, as the saying is: I have played such a tune about his ears, that I'll be bound he shan't long for music this month. A goatish, man-faced rascal! Why, he's a perfect parish bull, as I hope to live.”
— Smollet, Peregrine Pickle
I have no idea what this refers to, and nor did James Garfield. In his diary for November 1872 we find the following remarks:
November 11th: "In the evening read further in Peregrine Pickle. I do not quite remember the date when it was written, but I am trying the experiment of determining its date from the internal evidence of the book, its historical reference and the state of the arts as exhibited in the peculiarity of speech and the like."
12th: "I find many words used in Peregrine Pickle, which are now nearly or quite obselete, such as "thof" for "though"; "wool" for "will"; "thingumbob", which though recognized, is now obsolescent; "rumbo", a kind of drink, does not appear in our modern dictionaries."
13th: "Smollett uses the word "tipping" for "giving"; "charleton", in the sense of "conjuror"; and "canal", in the sense of "medium." He uses, also, the word "capissens", which I do not find in the dictionary."
14th: "Peregrine Pickle becomes very weary with its endless repetitions and disagreeable intrigues. Taste in England must have been gauged on a low level if this story was popular."
January 21, 2022