Sabbaday, Sabberday: the Sabbath day.
- 1833: He makes poetry himself sabbadays- made more poetry 'an you could shake a stick at. John Neal, The Downeasters, p. 135
- 1848: Capting, I sorter recking it ain't entered into your kalkilation as this here is Sabberday. W.E. Burton, Waggeries, p.16
Sakes alive, Land/Law: exclamation; the equivalent of "Good heavens!"
- 1846: "Law sakes alive," was the reply, "I ain't no how." Mrs. Kirkland, Western Clearings, p. 78
Salt River: to row someone up Salt River is to beat him up or to give him hell.
- 1833: See if I don't row you up Salt River before you are many days older. J.K. Paulding, Banks of the Ohio, p. 133
- 1838: When you want to be rowed up Salt River again, just tip me with the wink. B. Drake, Tales and Sketches, p.36
- 1843: If I don't row you up Salt Crick in less nor no time, my name's not Sam Townsend. R. Carlton, The New Purchase, p.261
Sam Hill: euphemism for the devil.
- 1839: What in sam hill is that feller ballin' about? "Majorjack on a Whaler," Havana Republican, August 21
- 1868: He had bought him a little bobtailed mouse-colored mule, and was training him like Sam Hill. Mrs. Elizabeth Custer, Following the Guidon, p.142
Savage as a Meat Axe: extremely savage.
- 1835: A little dried up man, who was whetting his knife against the side of the fire-place, and looking as savage as a meat axe. James Hall, Tales of the Border, p.58
- 1842: Ridin' makes one as savage as a meat axe. Mrs. Kirkland, Forest Life, p.126
Savagerous: savage.
- 1837: The strongest man in Kentucky, and the most sevagerous at a tussle. R.M. Bird, Nick of the Woods, P.96
- 1849: The turtle popped out its head, and rolled its eyes, while a sort of wheeze issued from its savagerous mouth. Frontier Guardian, August 8
School-ma'am, school-marm: a woman teacher.
- 1840: At the age of fifteen were we qualified for the responsible station of country school ma'ams. Lowell Offering, p.74
- 1864: Before this day of larger ideas, to be a school-ma'am was to be a stiff, conceited, formal, critical character. J.G. Holland, Letters to the Joneses, p.254
- 1878: He up and married one o' them school-marms sent out from Boston. J.H. Beadle, Western Wilds, p.188
Seed: often used for saw or seen.
- 1825: Yah! How [the Indians] pulled foot, when they seed us comin. John Neal, Brother Jonathan, p.107
Set store by, set to, set by: to set value upon; to appreciate.
- 1840s: He observed very feelingly, that he set more store to this song than to all the rest. Hall, Letters from the West
Seven by nine: something or someone of inferior or common quality, originating from common window panes of that size.
- 1846: [The charge was] re-echoed by every little paltry seven by nine Locofoco print, and every brawling bar-room politician. Mr. Root, Ohio, House of Reps., Congressional Globe, December 24
Shakes, great: of great consequence.
- 1825: I'm no great shakes at braggin'- I never was. John Neal, Brother Jonathan, p.195
Shaver: slang for a young boy.
- 1860: I was a little shaver, helping the bigger boys Calvin and Enoch… to drive the cows hum of an evening. Knickerbocker Magazine, September
Shaw, pshaw!: an expression of contempt or incredulity.
- 1845: 0, shaw, 'taint gwine to rain, no how, and I'm all fixed. W. T. Thompson, Chronicles of Pineville, p. 165
- 1846: She hollered fur her fiddler, but oh, shaw, he couldn't do hir a bit of good. Quarter Race, p.89
- 1850: P'shaw, gal, your wits are turned through going to school. Knickerbocker Magazine, September
- 1857: Pshal nonsense! Will nothing satisfy you? Knickerbocker Magazine, May
Shecoonery: a corruption of chicanery.
- 1845: This town's got a monstrous bad name for meanery and shecoonery of all sorts. W.T. Thompson, Chronicles of Pineville, p.47
Shines, to cut: to pull practical jokes or tricks, to make funny business.
- 1839: We cut a few shines with the girls, and started to the tavern. History of Virgil A. Stewart, p.69
- 1842: It is said that some females in England cut up a shine in order to go to Botany Bay, where they are sure of finding husbands. Philadelphia Spirit of the Times, September 15
- 1851: My horse snorted, he kicked, he rared up, and cut more shines than a snapping turtle on hot iron. An Arkansaw Doctor, p.87
Shucks: worthless people or things (corn or pea shucks).
- 1847: He ain't wuth shucks, and ef you don't lick him for his onmannerly note, you ain't wuth shucks, nuther. Robb, Streaks of Squatter Life, p.135
- 1851: I kalkilated them curs o' hisn wasn't worth shucks in a bar fight. Polly Peablossom's Wedding, p.51
Shut pan: shut up; shut your mouth.
- 1833: Shut pan, and sing small, or I'll throw you into the drink. J.K. Paulding, Banks of the Ohio, p.213
- 1835: I shut pan on the subject, and fell to eating my dinner. Colonel Crockett's Tour, p.102
- 1853: Spicer raised his hand to stop the speech, but the lawyer wouldn't shut pan. Paxton, A Stray Yankee in Texas, p.139
Sin to Moses, sin to Crockett: something that would shame either Moses or Davy Crockett.
- 1833: The way he fights is a sin to Crockett. Sketches of Davy Crockett, p.30
- 1838: "Ay, ay, sir; it's a sin to Moses, such a trade… said the stoker. E. Flagg, The Far West, p. 71
- 1861: The way some of your city wags stuff our honest clod-hoppers is a sin to Moses. Oregon Argus, March 23
Skedaddle: to flee.
- 1861: No sooner did the traitors discover their approach than they skedaddled, a phrase the Union boys up here apply to the good use the seceshers make of their legs in time of danger. Missouri Democrat, Augwi
- 1862: Skadaddle is a newly invented word, now greatly in vogue among our brave soldiers on the Potomac. It is equivalent to the verb to absquatulate, and is like that other army verb (to vamose) which our soldiers brought from their campaign in Mexico. Oregon Argus, January 18
Skeery, skeerd: to be afraid or cautious.
- 1845: I was skeery and bashful at first, in meeting with a young and beautiful creature like her. W.G. Simms, The Wigwam and the Cabin, p.108
- 1847: 1 ain't easy skeer'd, but I own up that old fellow did kind a make me skeery. Robb, Streaks of Squatter Life, p.144
- 1851: My! I feel so skeary-like, for I've never been aboard one of these steaming boats. Lady E.S. Wortley, Travels, p.108
Slantindicular: slanting.
- 1832: This is sorter a slantindickelar road, stranger (said the Yankee). Memoirs of a Nullifier, p.37
- 1833: He looked up at me slantendicular, and I looked down at him slantendicular; and he took out a chaw of turbaccur, and said he, "I don't value you that." Sketches of Davy Crockett, p.144
Slick: to fix or dress up.
- 1840: Mr. F. was slicked up for the occasion. Mrs. Kirkland, A New Home, p.243
- 1847: H. went to work, loading up his big bore, with as much care as a girl fixes herself when she slicks up. The Great Kalamazoo Hunt, p.44
Smart, right: a large quantity.
- 1842: I asked whether the people made much maple-sugar when a planter answered, "Yes, they do, I reckon, right smart," meaning in great quantities. J.S. Buckingham, Slave States, p.327
- 1855: Thar ain't been much rain lately, but thar's right smart of snow, and its about half melted snow. Famham, Travels in Prairie Land, p.361
- 1856: I sold right smart of eggs dis yer summer. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Dred, ch.39
Smart as a steel trap: particularly intelligent and quick.
- 1830: A feller with an eye like a hawk, and quick as a steel trap, for a trade. Seba Smith, Major Jack Downing, p.49
- 1856: [A little girl] with sparkling, intelligent eyes, thin, expressive lips, and as smart as a steel trap. Knickerbocker Magazine, September
Smile: a drink; to take a drink.
- 1852: I imbibed a final smile to my own health, and left my allies alone. Yale Literary Magazine
- 1870: [This gentleman] asked me to smile. I had learned by experience that this is the slang phrase for taking a drink. I smiled all the more readily, because the morning was intensely cold. W.F. Rae, Westward by Rail, p.337
- 1888: We took a smile of old Bourbon apiece. Chicago Inter-Ocean, February 6
Soaplock: a rowdy. Named after a hairstyle (cut short behind and long in front and parted to fall below the ears on the sides, sometimes as far as the collar) worn by such a rowdy.
- 1840: In that living, moving, ranting band, the boys, negroes, loafers, and a new species of the same animal, familiarly known in the city of New York as soap-locks, took the lead. Mr. Watterson, Tennessee, House of Reps., Congressional Globe, April 2, p.376
- 1840: The hostility between the Yankee soap locks and the Dutch musicians, in regard to Ellsler serenade, has come to a happy termination. Daily Pennant, St. Louis, September 12
- 1848: You will behave yourselves as men, patriots, and gentlemen should; and not like soaplocks and rowdies. Dow, Patent Sermons, p.164
Sockdologer: a powerful punch or blow.
- 1837: I hit him one polt -- it was what I call a sogdolloger -- that made him dance like a ducked cat. R.M Bird, The Hawks of Hawk-hollow, p.105
- 1848: As I aimed a sockdollager at him, he ducked his head. Jones's Fight, p.41
- 1860: Anti rushed on, with great force, and planted a sockdologer on the bridge of Wheel horse's smeller. Oregon Argus, June 16
Some pumpkins: someone or something impressive.
- 1846: One of them thinks he's got a scrub (horse) that's some pumpkins. A Quarter Race in Kentucky, p. 118
- 1851: We went on until the third or fourth set, and I thought I was some pumpkins at dancing. An Arkansaw Doctor, p.97
- 1853: "Got a smart chunk of a pony thar." "Yes, Sir, he is some pumpkins sure; offered ten cows and calves for him; he's death on a quarter." Paxton, A Stray Yankee in Texas, p.44
Sot: a corruption of set or sat.
- 1833: The elegantest carriage that ever mortal man sot eyes on. James Hall, Legend of the West, p.185
- 1837: Why don't you buy a digestion of the laws, so as to know what's right and what's wrong? It's all sot down. J.C. Neal, Charcoal Sketches, p.189
- 1857: Well, Squire, I sot right down on a stone. J.G. Holland, The Bay Path, p.197
Sour on: to get sick of someone or something; to give up something out of disgust.
- 1862: Guess the M.P. will sour on William C., when he has seen him for about fifteen minutes. Rocky Mountain News, Denver, November 20
Spree: to go out on a spree is to go out and carouse; to party and get drunk.
- 1834: He is not quarrelsome, even when he gets caught in what they call in the West a spree. Albert Pike, Sketches, p.32
- 1846: [He had] struck him with a fire-brand, and burnt his body in several places, during a drunken spree. Rufus Sage, Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p.73
- 1864: You came into the neighborhood with a cigar in your mouth, and a reputation for spreeing. J. G. Holland, Letters to the Joneses, p.229
Square: sometimes used for Squire.
- 1850: Look o' here, Square, one o' them quarters you gin me last was a pistareen. Knickerbocker Magazine, February
- 1857: Well, Square, I don't feel in fighting trim. J.G. Holland, The Bay Path, p.55
Squatter: one who settles on land without legal title, a widespread practice in the West.
- 1809: This unceremonious mode of taking possession of new land was technically termed squatting, and hence is derived the appellation of squatters. Washington Irving, History of New York, p. 188
- 1810: If the nation were put to action against every Squatter, for the recovery of their lands, we should only have law suits, no lands for sale. Thomas Jefferson, 'The Battle at New Orleans," Works, VIII, p.588
- 1821: A squatter is a person who plants himself in the wilderness upon any piece of ground which he likes, without purchasing it of the proprietor. Large tracts have been occupied in this manner. T. Dwight, Travels, p.221
Squire: a justice of the peace or magistrate.
- 1817: He is not in the least danger of receiving an uncivil answer, even if he should address himself to a square. John Bradbury, Travels, p.320
- 1822: It was proposed by some of them to couple themselves, and go to a young justice and be married. This it was thought would be fine fun, and a clever joke on the young Squire. Massachusetts Spy, May 22
- 1844: I've snaked it about these woods for a week, looking for a squire to hitch us. Yale Literary Magazine, X, p.167
States, the: used in the western territories to denote the organized states back east.
- 1845: Here we met Dr. White, a sub-Indian agent, accompanied by three others, on their way from Oregon to the States. Joel Palmer, Journal, P.50
- 1854: President Young says he does not know of but one old bachelor in all the Territory of Utah, and he has gone to the States. Orson Hyde, at the Momon Tabernacle, Journal of Discourses, October 6, ii, p.84
- 1857: A man writing from Southern Oregon to the N.Y. Tribune says that some of the people are going to California, and others are talking of going back to America. New York Tribune
Steady habits: the land of steady habits was New England.
- 1813: Troops were assembled, ready to repel any invasion of the soil of steady habits. Massachusetts Spy, June 16
- 1828: Ours is the land of steady habits. And this town is remarkable for severity of religious discipline, if not for morality. Yankee, Portland, Maine, April 2
- 1830: A real blue-nose, fresh from the land of steady habits. Northern Watchman, Troy, New York, November 30
Store: the word shop was used most popularly throughout the 1700s but gradually gave way to store in the early 1800s.
- 1883: In America, the word shop is confined to the place where things are made or done, as barber-shop, carpenter-shop; a place where things are sold is a store. E.A. Freeman, impressions of the U.S., p.61
Streaked: frightened or annoyed.
- 1834: 1 felt streaked enough, for the balls were whistling over our heads. Seba Smith, Major Jack Downing, p. 18
- 1878: I felt orful streaked, but I knowed [my rifle] had never failed yet. J.H. Beadle, Western Wilds, p.416
Suspicion: to suspect.
- 1834: They began to suspicion, maybe, that they had got the wrong sow by the ear. The Kentuckian in New York, p.64
- 1836: I suspicion he's one of that bounding brotherhood. Knickerbocker Magazine, January
- 1851. He didn't know I was thar. If he had er suspicioned it, he'd no more swore than he'd dar'd kiss my Sal. Polly Peablossom's Wedding, p.51
- 1890: They kinder suspicioned from my looks that I had found good prospects. Haskins, Argonauts of California, p.250
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