Jun 5, 2011 · The exact etymology of this phrase is uncertain, but it appears to be derived from railroad terminology, in which a red ball is a fast freight train which has priority over other trains on the track. Given the importance of Baltimore in railroad history, vis a vis the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, this derivation seems quite plausible.

Feb 14, 2024 · Google Books and Library of Congress matches for 'hookey' and related terms. The earliest Google Books match for "on his own hook" is from a letter from Gerrit Smith to Edward Delavan (September 11, 1833), reprinted in "The Intemperate, and the Reformed" (1834):

CINCINNATI [Ohio], Jan. 18.—Edward Pettis, 17 years old, consumer of "Dead-Eye Dick" novels and would-be "bad man," rushed into the office of Stem, Heidman & Mehlhope, attorneys, in the traction building yesterday, flourishing a big six-shooter. Bringing it to the level of Attorney John Rohrer's eyes, the boy ordered him to write a check for $50.

Oct 13, 2015 · U.S. style guides. From [Merriam-]Webster's Standard American Style Manual (19885):. Words designating global, national, regional, or local political divisions are capitalized when they are essential elements of specific names.

Jan 5, 2016 · Lighter, in particular, offers extensive coverage of dope as a noun, identifying instances of slang usage that go back almost 200 years and extend across two dozen distinct meanings: "gravy" (first as doup, 1807), "a stupid person" (1851), "an unidentified unwholesome or poisonous liquid" (1872), "grease" (1876), "medicine or medication of any ...

The expression also appears in Todd Grossman, Shooting Action Sports: The Ultimate Guide to Extreme Filmmaking (2008): Jack-of-All-Trades, Master of None. We've all heard that expression, but what we rarely hear is the end of it. The original complete epithet reads: "Jack-of-all-trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of ...

Jonathon Green's sources (as cited in Brian Hooper's answer) notwithstanding, the limerick that appears in Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and Other Humorous …

Nov 15, 2012 · However, a slightly earlier instance occurs in "Letter from Observatory Hill, Cincinnati," dated 'Xenia [Ohio], July 13, 1863,' in the Xenia [Ohio] Sentinel (August 25, 1863): Gentlemen, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen!" We come to bury Vallandigham—"not to praise him. The evil that men do, lives after them;—the good is oft interred with their ...

In formal usage, it should definitely be is:. Neither of these options is available. This is the traditional rule (iirc, Fowler’s discusses this at length).

Mar 19, 2013 · Ether and its meaning is dependent on the context and origin of the statement. In the scientific context, it refers to what we once believed to be a sort of membrane that covered particular elements or particles such as light or a medium in …