The Breitmann Ballads
by
Charles G. Leland

Part 5 out of 5



Dunkelheit - Darkness.
Dursty,(Ger. Durstig) - Thirsty.

Earnsthaft, ernsthaft - Serious.
Eber,(Ger.) - Wild boar.
Eberschwein,(Ger.) - Wild boar.
Eckhartshausen - A German supernaturalist.
Eher,(Ger.) - Sooner. In the dialect it has the meaning
of "before."
Einander to sprechen mit,(Ger.) - To speak together.
Eins, zwei, drei - One, two, three.
Einsichen, to take up one's abode with.
Eldern
,(Ger. Eltern) - Parents.
Elfenbein,(Ger.) - Ivory.
Emerich - King Emerich, hero of a German legend.
Emsig Gruebler,(Ger.) - Assiduous inquirer.
Engel,(Ger.) - Angel.
Engländrinn,(Ger.) - English woman.
Entlang,(Ger.) - Along.
Erfinder,(Ger.) - Inventor.
Erfounden,(Ger. Erfunden) - Invented.
Ergeben,(Ger.) - Resigned.
Error-dom, Irrthum - Error.
Erstaun, Erstaunished, erstaunt - Astonished.
Erstarrt,(Ger.) - Aghast.
Erwaitin',(Ger. Erwartend) - Awaiting, expecting.
Euchre, Eucre - Sort of game played with cards, very much
in vogue
in the West.
Euchred - From Euchre, the game of cards.

Fackeltantz,(Ger.) - Torch dance.
Fancy craps or crabs - Fast horses.
Fanes, Wetterfahnen - Weathercocks.
Fass,(Ger.) - Barrel.
Fat - Printer's term.
Feldwebel,(Ger.) - A sergeant.
Feinslieb,(Ger.) - Fair or fine love.
Fenster - A window.
Fichte - A German philosopher.
Finster,(Ger.) - Dark, dismal.
Foal - Full.
Foll - To fall.
Foon - Fun.
Foors - First.
Fore-by - Literal translation of the German Vorbei.
Fore-lying - Literal translation of Vorliegend.
Foreschlag,(Ger. Vorschlag) - Proposal.
Foresetzen - To set, put (lay) before an audience.
Foxen,(Ger. Fuchsen) - Foxes.
Frank-tiroir - Franc-tireur.
François Villon - An old French humorous poet, whom
Boileau
speaks of as the first who began to write truly modern
French.
Frau,(Ger.) - Woman.
Freie,(Ger.) - Free.
Freischarlinger,(Ger. Freischaerler) - A member of
a Free Corps;
especially applied to those who belonged to the Free
Corps
formed in Southern Germany during the Revolution in 1848.
Freischuetz,(Ger.) - Free shot, one who shoots with
charmed
bullets, the name of Karl Maria Von Weber's celebrated
opera.
Friederich Rothbart - Frederic Barbarossa, the great
Emperor of
Germany and one of the German legendary heroes. He is
supposed
to sleep in the Kyffhauser in Thuringia, and to awaken
one day,
when he will bring great glory over Germany.
Frolic - Frohlich, merry.
Froze to de ready - Held fast to the money.
Fullenden - Vollenden - To complete, perfect.
Fuss,(Ger.) - Foot.
Fust or Faust - The partner of Gutemberg, the
inventor of the
art of printing.

Gambrinus - A mythical King of Brabant, supposed to have
been
the inventor of beer.
Gandertate - Candidate.
Ganz,(Ger.) - Ganz.
Gans egál - Quite the same.
Ganz und gar,(Ger.) - Altogether, all over.
Garce,(French) - Wench.
Gass und Strass,(Ger.) - Lane and street.
Gast,(Ger.) - Guest.
Gasbalgs - Bladder of gas.
Gauer - Valleys.
Gaul darn - G-- ---n.
Gaul dern - A Yankee oath.
Gauner-sprache,(Ger.) - Thieves' language.
Ge-bildet - Built, with the German augment.
Ge-birt',(Ger. Geburt) - Birth.
Geborn - Born, with the augment.
Ge-brudert,(formed like ge-schwister,) - Brothers.
Geh hin mein Puch,(German of the 16th century).
Gehst nit mit rechten Dingen zu - Dost not do it by any
natural
means; there is witchcraft in it.
Gekommene - Arrived(newly arrived).
Gekommen so,(Ger.) - Come thus.
Ge-kostet - Cost, with the German augment.)
Gesangverein,(Ger.) - Singing-society.
Ge-screech, Geschrei - Bawling, clamour.
Gesembled - Assembled, with the augment of the German
preterite.
Geshmasht - Smashed, with German augment.
Gespickt,(Ger.) - Larded.
Gestohlen - Stolen.
Gestohlen und bekannt,(Ger.) - Stolen, and known.
Gesundheit,(Ger.) - Health.
Gewehr,(Ger.) - Musket.
Gewiss - Certainly.
Gift,(Ger.) - Poison.
Gilt - In the ordinary sense, and also in the same verse,
"gilt,"
implying the meaning of the German verb "gelten,"
to be worth
something, and also guilt.
Glamour - Ocular deception by magic.
Glee-wine, Glueh-wein - Hot-spiced wine.
Glucky,(Ger. Gluecklich) - Lucky.
Glueck,(Ger.) - Luck.
Goblum - For goblin.
Gool - Cool.
Gottallmachty, (Ger. Gottallmächtig) - God
Almighty.
Gottashe - Cottage.
Gotteshaus,(Ger.) - House of God.
Gott-full, gottvoll - Glorious, divine.
Gottsdonnerkreuzschockschwerenoth,(Ger.) - Another variety
of big
swearing.
Gott's-doonder,(Ger. Gott's donner) - God's
thunder. See also
Gott's tausend, a thundering sort of oath, but
never preceded
by lightning, for it is only used as a kind of expletive to
express great surprise, or to give great emphasis to words
which, without it, would seem to be capable of none.
Gottstausend,(Ger.) - An abbreviation of Gott's tausend
donnerwetter
(God's thousand thunders), and therefore
the
comparative of Gott's doonder; with most of those who use
it a
meaningless phrase.
Gott weiss,(Ger.) - God knows!
Go von - Go one, bet on him.
Grillers - Guerillas.
Grod, gerad - Straight.
Gros,(Ger.) - Great.
Guestfriendlich, gastfreundlich - Hospitable.
Gummi lasticum - India rubber.
Gutemberg - The inventor of the art of printing.
Guve - Southern slang for give. Guv, for give, is
also
English slang as well as American.
Gyrotwistive - Snaky.

Hab' und Güter,(Ger.) - Property.
Hagel! Blitz! Kreuz Sakrament!(Ger.) - Another variety of
swearing.
Halberthier, for Halberdier - Halberthier means
half an animal.
Hand-shoe,(Ger. Handschuh) - Glove.
Hans Michel - A popular but not complimentary name for
Germany.
Hans Wurst - Merry Andrew; Zani; Jack Pudding - the latter
word
being a literal translation of the German Hans Wurst; the
pudding in either case referring to the sausages, or the
pretended sausage, which the Merry Andrew always appeared
to
be swallowing by the yard or fathom. See Blackley's
"Word
Gossip."
Harmlos,(Ger.) - Harmless.
Haul de pot - Take the stakes.
Hause - House.
Hegel - Name of the German philosopher.
Heine, Heinrich - German poet.
Heini von Steier - Heinrich von Ofterdingen.
Heldenbuch - Is the title of a collection of epic poems,
belonging
to the cycle of the German Saga.
Heller Glorie schein - Bright gloriole.
Hereauf, hierauf - Thereupon.
Herout,(Ger. Heraus) - Out.
Herr Je,(Ger.) - An abbreviation of Herr Jesus (O
Lord!); generally only used by those who are fond of
meaningless exclamations.
Her-re-liche, herrliche - Superb, grand, noble.
Hertsen - Herzen; hearts.
Hertzhog, Herzog,(Ger.) - Duke.
Herzlich,(Ger.) - Hearty.
Herzbruder,(Ger.) - Heart's brother.
Hexerei - Witchery, sorcery.
Himmel,(Ger.) - Heaven.
Himmels-Potz-Pumpen-Herrgott - A mild sort of a German
imprecation,
untranslatable.
Himmlisch' hoellisch' qual,(Ger.) - Heavenly-hellish pain.
Hip Herjé! - A common interjection.
Hobbiness - Happiness.
Hoellisch,(Ger.) - Hellish.
Honey fooglin', Honeyfuggle - Is believed to be
English
slang. In America it means blarneying, deceiving.
Hoockle perry, persimmoned - "A huckle-berry over
my
persimmon." Surpassed, out-done.
Hoof-irons,(Huf-eisen in Ger.) - Horse-shoe.
Hoofstad,(Flem.) - Capita.
Hop-sosa,(Ger.)int. - Hop; heyday!
Hundé - Dog.
Hundsfott,(Ger. Vulg.) - Mean scoundrel, hound.
Hunk,(Amer.) - Stout, solid, profitable. "To be all hunk"
means to
come out of a speculation with advantage. To be well
off.
Hut,(Ger.) - Hat.

I Gili romaneskro - This song is written in the German
gipsy
dialect. Eh! in third line of second verse, is
the
German word ehe, "ere," or before.
Kuribente
("in war,") is in the Slavonic and gipsy local
case,
or as Pott calls it (Die Zigeuner in Europa und
Asien
)
the Second Dative.
Ik leven,(Flem.) - I live.
Il diavolo in carnato,(Ital.) - The devil incarnate or in
carnation.
Immer - Ever.
In geburst - Burst.
In Sang und Klang dein Leben lang,(Ger.) - In music and
song all
thy life long.
Ita dixit,(Latin) - So said.

Jeff - A game played by throwing up types, generally for
"refreshments."
Joss-stick - A name given to small reeds, covered with the
dust of
odiferous woods, which the Chinese burn before their
idols.
Jungfernkranz,(Ger.) - Bridal garland.

Kaiser Karl - Charlemagne.
Kalt,(Ger.) - Cold.
Kanaster,(Ger.) - Canaster tobacco.
Kan ik. Ik kan,(Flem.) - I can.
Karfunkelstein,(Ger.) - Carbuncle.
Kartoffel,(Ger.) - Potato.
Kauder-Waelsch,(Ger.) - Gibberish.
Kellner,(Ger.) - Waiter.
Kermes - Annual Fair.
Kinder,(Ger.) - Children.
Kitin, a kitin - Flying or running rapidly.
Klein und gross - Small and great.
Kloster,(Ger.) - Cloister.
Knasterbart,(Ger.) - Literally, tobacco-beard; perhaps
denoting a
good old fellow, fond of his pipe.
Kneiperei,(Ger.) - Revel.
Knock dem out de shpots - Knock the spots out of them;
astonish
them.
Kœnig Etzel - King Attila.
Komm maidelein! Rothe waengelein,(Ger.) - Come maiden,
red cheeks.
Köng,(Ger. König) - Old Norse for king.
Kooken - Cake.
Kop,(Ger. Kopf) - Head.
Kreutzer - Frederick Creutzer, distinguished professor in
the
University of Heidelberg, author of a great work on
"Symbolik."
Krumm,(Ger.) - Crooked.
Kümmel,(Ger.) - Cumin brandy.
Kummel, kimmel,(Ger.) - Schnapps, dram. Hans, in
his tipsy
enthusiasm, ejaculates, "Oh, mein Gott in Kimmel!"
instead of
"im Himmel" (heaven), becoming guilty of an unconscious
alliteration, and confessing, according to the proverb
in
vino veritas
, where his God really abides; "whose God
is
their belly."
Künster,(Ger.) - Sacristan.

Lanze,(Ger.) - Lance.
Lager, Lagerbeer, (Ger. Lagerbier, i.e.,
Stockbeer) - Sometimes in
these poems abbreviated into Lager. A kind of
beer introduced
into the American cities by the Germans, and now much in
vogue
among all classes.
Lager Wirthschaft,(Ger.) - Beerhouse.
Laibgartner,(Ger.) - Liebgard; bodyguard. The Swiss in
blundering
makes it "body-gardener."
Lam - To drub, beat soundly.
Larmen - The French word larmes, tears, made into a
German verb.
Lateinisch - Latin.
Laughen, lachen - Laughing.
Lavergne - A place between Nashville and Murfreesboro', in
the
state of Tennessee.
Lebe hoch! - Hurrah!
Leben - Life; living.
Lebenlang,(Ger.) - Life-long.
Lev'st du nock? - Liv'st thou yet?
Libby - The notorious Confederate prison at Richmond, Va.
Liddle Pills - Little bills, Legislative enactments.
Lieblich,(Ger.) - Charming.
Liedeken,(Flem.) - Song.
Lieder, Lieds,(Ger.) - Songs.
Liederkranz,(Ger.) - Glee-union.
Liederlich,(Ger.) - Loose, reckless, dissolute.
Lighthood,(Ger. Lichtheit) - Light.
Like spiders down their webs - Breitmann's soldiers are
supposed to
have been expert turners or gymnasts.)
Loafer,(Amer.) - A term which, considered as the German
pronunciation of lover, is a close translation of
rom, since this latter means both a gipsy and a
husband.
Los, los gehen,(Ger.) - To go at a thing, at
somebody.
Loosty,(Ger. Lustig) - Jolly, merry.
Loudet,(Lauten in Ger.) - To make sound.
L'Ubbriacone,(Ital.) - Drunkard.
Luftballon,(Ger.) - Air-balloon.
Lump,(Ger.) - Ragamuffin.
Lumpenglocke - An abusive term applied to bells,
especially to
those which are rung to give notice that the beer-houses
must
close.

Madel,(Ger.) - Girl.
Maedchen,(Ger.) - Girl, maiden.
Markgraefler - A pleasant light wine grown in the Grand
Duchy
of Baden.
Marmorbild - Marble statue.
Maskenzug,(Ger.) - Procession of masked persons.
Massenversammlung,(Ger.) - Mass meeting.
Mein Freund - My friend.
Mein Sohn - My son.
Meine Seel',(Ger.) - By my soul.
Meisjes,(Flem.) - Girls.
Middleolter(Mittelælter) - The Middle Ages.
Mijn lief gesellen,(Flem.) - My dear comrades.
Mineted - Minded.
Minnesinger - Poet of love. A name given to German lyric
poets,
who flourished from the twelfth to the fourteenth
centuries.
Mist-hauf,(Ger.) - Dung-hill.
Mit hoontin knife, &c.:-
"With her white hands so lovely,
She dug the Count his grave.
From her dark eyes sad weeping,
The holy water she gave."
- Old German Ballad.
Mitout - Without.
Mitternight, Mitternacht - Midnight.
Mitternocht, Mitternacht - Midnight.
Mohr, ein schwarzer,(Ger.) - A blackamoor.
Moleschott - Author of a celebrated work on physiology.
Mondenlight - Moonlight.
Mondenschein,(Ger.) - Moonlight.
Morgan - John Morgan, a notorious Confederate guerilla
during the
late war in America.
Morgen-het-ache - Morning headache.
Moskopolite,(Amer.) - Cosmopolite. Mossyhead is the
German student
phrase for an old student.
Mud-sill - The longitudinal timber laid upon the ground to
form the
foundation for a railway. Hence figuratively applied by
the
labour-despising Southern gentry to the labouring classes
as
the substratum of society.
Murmulte - Murmured.
Mutter,(Ger.) - Mother.

Naturalizationisds - The officers, &c., who give the
rights of
native citizens to foreigners.
Nibelungen Lied - The lay of the Nibelungen; the great
German
national epos.
Nieuw Jarsie - New Jersey, in America, famous inter
alia
for its
sandy beaches and high surf.
Nig - Nigger.
Nirwana - The Brahminical absorption into God.
Nix,(Ger. Nichts) - Nothing.
Nix cum raus - That I had not come out.
No sardine - Not a narrow-minded, small-hearted fellow.
Norate - To speak in an oration.
Noth,(Ger.) - Need, dire extremity. Das war des
Breitmann's Noth,
-That was Breitmann's sore trial. Imitated from the last
line
of the Nibelungen Lied.
Nun - Now.
Nun endlich,(Ger.) - Now at last.

O'Brady - An Irish giant.
Ochsen,(Ger.) - Oxen; stupid fellows. As a verb it also
is used
familiarly to mean hard study.
Odenwald - A thickly-wooded district in South Germany.
Oder - Other. See Preface.
Oltra tramontane; ultra tramontane - Applied to the
non-Italian
Catholic party.
On-belongs - Literal translation of Zugehört.
On de snap - All at once.
On-did to on-do - Literal translation of the German
anthun; to donn, to put on.
Onfang,(Ger. Anfang) - Beginning.
Oonendly - Unendlich.
Oonshpeakbarly,(Ger. unaussprechbarlich) -
Inexpressibly.
Oop-geclearéd,(Ger. Aufgeklaert) -
Enlightened.
Ooprighty,(Ger. Aufrichtig) - Upright.
Oopright-hood,(Ger. Aufrichtigkeit) - Uprightness.
Oop-sproong - For aufsprung.
Opple-yack - Apple-jack. Spirit distilled from cider.
Orgel-ton,(Ger.) - Organ sound.
Orkester - Orchestra.
Out-ge-poke-te - Out-poked.
Out-signed,(Ger. ausgezeichnete) - Distinguished,
signal.
Out-sprach - Outspoke.
Over again - Uebrigen.

Paardeken,(Flemish) - Palfrey.
Pabst, Der Pabst lebt, &c. - "The Pope he leads a
happy life," &c.,
beginning of a popular German song.
Palact,(Ger. Pallast) - Palace.
Péké - Belgian rye whisky.
Peeps - People. "Hard on the American peeps" - a phrase
for
anything exacting or severely pressing.
Pelznickel, Nick, Nickel - St. Nicolas,
muffled in fur, is one of
the few riders in the army of the saints, but, unlike St.
George and St. Martin, he oftener rides a donkey than a
horse,
more especially in that part of the German land which can
boast
of having given birth to the illustrious Hans. St.
Nicolas is
supposed, on the night preceding his name-day, the sixth
of
December, to pass over the house-tops on his long-eared
steed,
and having baskets suspended on either side filled with
sweets
and playthings, and to drop down through the chimneys
presents
for those children who have been good during the year,
but
birch-rods for those who have been naughty, would not go
to bed
early, or objected to being washed, &c. In the
expectation of
his coming, the children put, on the eve of St. Nicolas'
day,
either a shoe, or a stocking, or a little basket, into
the
chimney-piece of their parents' bedroom. We may remark,
by the
way, that St. Nicolas is the Christian successor of the
heathen
Nikudr, of ancient German mythology.
Pesser, besser,(Ger.) - Better.
Pestain - Stain, with the augment.
Pfaelzer - A man from the Rhenish Palatinate.
Pfeil,(Ger.) - Arrow.
Philosopede - Velocipede.
Pickel-haube,(Ger.) - The spiked helmet worn by Prussian
soldiers.
Pie the forms - Break and scatter the forms of types - the
greatest
disaster conceivable to a true typo.
Pig-sticker - Bowie-knife.
Pile-out,(Amer.) - Hurry out.
Pimeby - By and by.
"Plain" - Water plain, i.e., unmixed.
Plue goats - Blue coats, soldiers.
Plug-muss - Fight for a fire-plug. American fireman's
language.
Pokal, (Poculum) - Goblet.
Poker - A favourite game of cards among Western gamblers.
Poonkin - Pumpkin.
Pop-slets - Bob-sleds. A very rough kind of sledge.
Potzblitz,(Ger.) - int., The deuce.
Potztausend! Was ist das? - Zounds! What is that?
Poulderie - Poultry.
Poussiren - To court.
Pretzel,(Ger.) - A kind of fancy bread, twist or the like.
Prezackly - Pre(cisely), exactly.
Protocollirt, protocolliren - To register, record.
Pully, i.e., Bully - An Americanism, adjective.
Fine,
capital. A slang word, used in the same manner as the
English used the word crack; as, "a bully
horse," "a bully picture."
Pumpernickel - A heavy, hard sort of rye-bread, made in
Westphalia.
Put der Konig troo - To put through, (Amer.), to qualify,
to
imitate.
Pye - To buy.

Rapp(Rappe) - A black horse.
Raushlin', rauschend - Rustling.
Reb - An abbreviation of rebel.
Redakteur - Editor.
Red cock - Or make de red cock crow. Einem den
rothen
Hahn aufs Dach setzen. A German proverb signifying to
set
fire to a house.
Rede,(Ger.) - Speech.
Red-Waelsch, Roth-Waelsch,(Ger.) - Thieves'
language.
Reiten gaen,(Flemish) - Go riding.
Reiter,(Ger.) - Rider.
Reiver - Robber.
Reue,(Ger.) - Repentance.
Rheingraf,(Ger.) - Count of the Rhine districts.
Rheinweinbechers Klang - The Rhine wine goblet's sound.
Richter,(Jean Paul Fr.) - A distinguished German author.
Ridersmann,(Reitersmann in Ger.) - Rider.
Ring - A political clique or cabal.
Ringe,(Ger.) - Rings.
Ritter,(Ger.) - Knight.
Roland - One of the paladins of Charlemagne.
Rolette - Roulette.
Rollin' locks - Rolling logs, mutually aiding (used only
in
politics.)
Rosen,(Ger.) - Roses.
Rouse,(Ger. Heraus) - Out; come out.

Sachsen - Saxonia, Saxony.
Sacrin - Consecrating.
Sagen Cyclus - Cycle of legends.
Sass, Sassy, Sassin' - Sauce, saucy, &c.
Sauerkraut,(Ger.) - Pickled cabbage.
Saw it - Understood it.
Scatterin, Scotterin - Scattering.
Schatz - Sweetheart.
Schauer,(Ger.) - Awe.
Schenk aus,(Ger.) - Pour out.
Schenket ein,(Ger.) - Pour in (fill the glasses).
Schimmel,(Ger.) - Grey horse.
Schimpft und flucht gar laesterlich,(Ger.) - Swears and
blasphemes
abominably.
Schinken,(Ger.) - Ham.
Schlæger,(Ger.) - A kind of sword or broadsword; a
rapier used by
students for duelling or fighting matches.
Schlesierwein,(Ger.) - Wine grown in Silesia, proverbially
sour.
Schlimmer,(Ger.) - Worse.
Schlog him ober de kop - Knocked him on the head.
Schloss,(Ger.) - Castle.
Schmutz,(Ger.) - Dirt.
Schnapps,(Ger.) - Dram.
Schnitz - Pennsylvania German word for cut and dried
fruit.
Schnitz, schnitzen,(Ger.) - To chop, chip, snip.
Schönheitsidéal,(Ger.) - The ideal of beauty.
Schopenhauer - A celebrated German "philosophical
physiologist."
Schoppen,(Ger.) - A liquid measure, chopin, pint.
Schrocken(Erschrocken) - Frightened.
Schwaben - Suabia.
Schwan,(Ger.) - Swan.
Schweinblatt - (Swine) Dirty paper.
Schweitzer kase,(Ger.) - Swiss cheese.
Schwer,(Ger.) - Heavy.
Schwig, Swig, verb. - To drink by large draughts.
Schwigs, Swig, n. - A large draught.
Schweinpig,(Ger.) - Swinepig.
Scoop - Take in, get.
Scorched - Escorted. A negro malapropism.
Scrouged,(Amer.) - Pressed, jammed.
Seelen-Ideal - Soul's ideal.
Sefen-lefen - Seven or eleven(minutes).
Seins,(Ger.) - The Being.
Selbstanschauungsvermögen,(Ger.) - Capacity for
self-inspection.
Selfe,(Ger. Selbe) - Same.
Serenity - A transparency.
Shanty - A board cabin. Slang, for house.
Shapel - Chapel is an old word for a printing-office.
Sharman, Sherman - German.
Shings - Jingo; by jingo.
Shpicket - Spigot; a pin or peg to stop a small hole in a
cask of
liquor.
Shipsy - Gipsy.
Shlide - Slide. "Let it slide," vulgar for "let it go."
Shlide,(Amer.) - Depart.
Shlished, geschlitzt - Slit.
Shlop over - Go too far and upset or spill. Applied to
men who
venture too far in a success.
Shlopped - Slopped.
Shmysed,(Ger. Schmissen, from Schmeissen) -
Threw him out of doors.
Shnow-wice,(Ger. Schnee-weis) - Snow-white.
Shoopider - Jupiter.
Shooting-stick - A shooting-stick is used for closing up
the form
of types.
Show-spiel, Schauspiel - Play, piece.
Shpoons - Spoons, plunder.
Shtuhl,(Ger. Stuhl) - Stool, chair.
Silbern,(Ger.) - Silver.
Sinn,(Ger.) - Meaning.
Six mals - Six times.
Skeeted - Went fast, skated(?)
Skool - Skull.
Skyugle,(Amer.) - "Skyugle" is a word which had a short
run during
1864. It meant many things, but chiefly to disappear or
to
make disappear. Thus, a deserter "skyugled," and sometimes he
"skyugled" a coat or watch.
Slanganderin' - Foolishly slandering.
Slasher gaffs - Spurs for cocks, with cutting edges.
Slibovitz - A Bohemian schnapps.
Slumgoozlin' - Slum or sham guzzling, humbug.
Slumgullion - A Mississippi term for a legislator.
So mit,(Ger.) - Thus with.
Solidaten,(Ger. Soldaten) - Soldiers.
Sonntag,(Ger.) - Sunday.
Soplin - A sapling, young tree.
Sottelet,(Ger. Gesattelt) - Saddled.
Sound upon the goose - Bartlett, in his Dictionary of
Americanisms, states that this phrase originated in the
Kansas troubles, and signified true to the cause
of slavery. But this is erroneous, as the phrase
was common during the native American campaign,
and originated at Harrisburg, as described by Mr. Leland.
Souse und Brouse,(Ger. Saus und Braus) - Revelry
and rioting.
Speck,(Ger.) - Bacon.
Spiel,(Ger.) - Play.
Spielman,(Ger.) - Musician.
Splodderin' - Splattering.
Spook,(Ger. Spuk) - A ghost.
Sporn,(Ger.) - Spur.
Sports - Sporting men.
Squander,(Amer.) - Wander. Used in this sense in "The Big
Bear of
Arkansas."
Staub,(Ger.) - Dust.
Stein,(Ger.) - Stone.
Stille,(Ger.) - Stillness.
Stim,(Ger. Stimme) - Voice.
Stohr - Store.
Stone fence,(Amer.) - Rye whisky.
"I went in and got a horn
Of old stone fence."
- Jim Crow, 1832.
Straaten,(Flem.) - Streets.
Stracks - Straight ahead, or onwards.
Straight flush - In poker, all the cards of one suit.
Strassen,(Ger.) - Streets.
Strauss - Name of the celebrated Viennese valse player and
composer.
Strumpf,(Ger.) - Stocking.
Stunden,(Ger.) - Leagues. About four and a half English
miles.
Sturm und Drang,(Ger.) - Literally Storm and Violence.
Sturm und
Drang periode
, signifying a particular period of
German
literature.
Sweynheim and Pannartz - The first printers at Rome.

Takes - Allotments of copy to each printer.
Tantz,(Ger.) - Dance.
Tantzen,(Ger.) - To dance.
Tarnal - Eternal.
Taub, Taube,(Ger.) - Dove.
Taugenix, Taugenichts - Good-for-nothing fellow.
Teufelsjagersmann - Devil's huntsman.
Theil,(Ger.) - Part.
Thoom - Thumb.
Thrip,(Southern Amer.) - Threepence.
Thusnelda - The wife of Arminius,(Hermann,) the Duke of
the
Cheruskans and conqueror of Varus.
Tie a dog loose. Losbinden
Tiger - An American term for a gambling table.
Tixey - "I wish I was in Dixie." The origin of this song
is rather curious. Although now thoroughly adopted as a
Southern song, and "Dixie's Land" understood to mean the
Southern States of America, it was, about a century ago,
the estate of one Dixie, on Manhattan Island, who treated
his slaves well; and it was their lament, on being
deported
south, that is now known as "I wish I was in Dixie."
Todt,(Ger.) - Dead.
Todtengrips, Todtengerippe - Skeleton.
Tofe - Dove.
To House,(Ger. zu Hause) - At home.
Tortled - To tortle, to move off. From turtle.
Touch the dirt - Touch the road.
Treppe - Stairs.
Treu,(Ger.) - Faithful, true.
Throw him with ecks - Pelt him with eggs.
Turchin - Colonel Turchin's men ravaged the town of
Huntsville
(Ala.) during the civil war.
Turkas - Turquoise.
Turner,(Ger.) - Gymnast.
Turner Verein,(Ger. Turnverein) - Gymnastic
Society.
Tyfel, Teufel - Devil.
Tyfeled, Verteufelt - Devilish.
Tyfelfest - From Teufel, here in the sense of "best" or
"worst."
Tyfel-shnake, Teufelsschnaken - Devilries.
Tyfel-strikes, Teufels-streiche - Devil-strokes.
Tyfelwards - Devilwards.

Uber Stein and Schwein,(Ger.) - Over stone and swine.
Ueberschwengliche,(Ger.) - Transcendental, elevated.
Uhr,(Ger.) - Clock, watch, hour, time. Used for "hour" in
the
ballad.
Uhu,(Ger.) - Owl.
Uliverus - Oliver, another of the twelve Paladins of
Charlemagne,
who fell at Roncesvalles (a Roland for an Oliver).
Und lauter guter Ding,(Ger.) - And of thoroughly good
cheer.
Un-windoong,(Ger. Entwicklung?) - Unravelling.
Unvolkommene technik - Unfinished style or method.
Urbummeleid,(Ger. vulg.) - Arch-loafer's song.
Urlied,(Ger.) - The song of yore.

Van't klein komt men tot't groote,(Dutch) - Great things
have small
beginnings. (Concordia res parvæ crescunt - Legend
on the
Dutch ducats; or "Magna molimur parvi.")
Varus - The Roman commander in Germany, conquered by
Arminius.
Veilchen,(Ger.) - Violets.
Vercieren,(Flem.) - Adorn; exalt.
Verdammt,(Ger.) - D---d.
Verfluchter,(Ger.) - Accursed.
Verloren,(Ger.) - Forlorn.
Verstay, Verstehen - Understand.
Versteh, Verstehen,(Ger.) - To understand.
Vertyfeln, Verteufeln - To botch.
Villiam - William Street at New York, inhabited by many
Germans.
Vivat! - The same as vive! in French. Hurrah!
Vlaemsche - Flemish.
Von - One. See Preface.
Voonderly,(Ger. Wunderlich) - Wondrous, curious.
Vorüber,(Ger.) - Past.

Wachsen,(Ger.) - Waxen.
Wachsen,(Ger.) - To grow.
"Komm'ich in's galante Sachsen
Wo die schöne Maedchen wachsen."
- Old German Song.
Waechter,(Ger.) - Watchman.
Waelder,(Ger.) - Woods.
Wahlverwandtschaft,(Ger.) - Elective affinity, sympathy of
souls.
Wahrsagt,(Ger. Wahrsagen) - To foretell, soothsay.
Waidmannsheil,(Ger.) - Huntsman's weal.
Wald,(Ger.) - Wood.
Wallowin - Walloon.
Wälschen,(Ger.) - Of the Latin race.
Wappenshield(Waffenschild) - Coat of arms.
Ward all zu Steine,(Ger.) - Became all stone.
Ward zu Wind,(Ger.) - Became a wind.
Wechselbalg,(Ger.) - (formerly a popular superstitious
belief), a
changeling, brat, urchin.
Weihnachtsbaum,(Ger.) - Christmas tree.
Weihnachtslied,(Ger.) - Christmas song.
Weingarts, weingärten,(Ger.) - Vineyards.
Weingeist,(Ger.) - Vinous, ardent spirit.
Wein-handle,(Ger. Weinhandel or
Weinhandlung) -
Wine-trade, wine-shop.
Weinnachtstraum - Lit. Winenight's dream, for "Weihnacht,"
Christmas dream.
Wellen und Wogen,(Ger.) - Waves and billows.
Welshhen - Turkey hen.
Werda?(Ger.) - Who's there?
Werden, das Werden - The becoming to be.
Wete(Wette) - Bet.
We'uns, you'ns - We and you. A common vulgarism
through the Southern States.
"'Tis sad that we'uns from you'ns parts
When you'ns hev stolen we'uns' hearts.
Wie gehts,(Ger.) - How goes it? How are you?
Wie Milch und Blut - Like milk and blood.
Wild und Weh,(Ger.) - Wild and woebegone.
Wilde Jagd - Wild hunt.
Willkomm,(Ger.) - Welcome.
Windsbraut,(Ger. poet) - Storm, hurricane, gust of wind.
Wird,(Ger.) - Becomes.
Wise-hood,(Ger. Weisheit) - Wisdom.
Wised,(Ger. Wusste, from wissen) - Knew.
Witz,(Ger.) - A sally.
Wo bist du?(Ger.) - Where art?
Woe-moody,(Ger. Wehmüthig) - Moanful, doleful.
Wohl,(Ger.) - Well!
Wohlauf,(Ger.) - Well, come on, cheer up.
Wolfsschlucht,(Ger.) - Wolf's glen.
Wonnevol,(Ger. Wonnevoll) - Blissful.
Woon,(Ger. Wunde) - Wound.
Word-blay - Word-play, pun, quibble.
Wunderschéen(Wunderschœn) - Very
beautiful.
Wurst - A German student word for indifference.
Wurst,(Ger.) - Sausage.

Yaeger,(Ger.) - Huntsman.
Yaegersmann, Jaegersmann - Huntsman.
Yager,(Jager, Ger.) - Hunter.
Yar,(Ger. Jahr) - Year.
Yartausend, Jahrtausend - A thousand years.
Yellow pine - Mulatto.
Yonge maegden,(Flem.) - Young girls.
"I lost a maiden in that hour." - Byron.
Yoompers - Jumpers. Rude sledges.
Yungling, Jüngling,(Ger.) - Youth.

Zapfet aus,(Ger.) - Tap the barrel.
Zigeuner - Gipsy.
Zimmer,(Ger.) - Room.
Zukunftig,(Ger.) - In future.

1. Liederchor is the word which serves as a basis for this
designation.

2. Studio auf einer Reis',
Lebet halt auf auf eig'ner Weis'
Hungrig hier und hungrig dort,
Ist des Burschens Logungswort.

This, with the other verses, may be found in the German Student's
"Commersbücher."

3. Bachtallo dschaven is the prose form. Vide
Pott's
Zigeuner.

4. Stinging. An amusing instance of "Breitmannism" was
shown in the fact that an American German editor, in his
ignorance of English, actually believed that the word
stinging,
as here given, meant stinking, and was accordingly
indignant. It is needless to say that no such idea was
intended
to be conveyed.

5. Then only you will be ready in German.

6. In Music and Song all thy life long.

7. Thy feet are white as chalk, my love,
Thy arms are ivory bone,
Thy body is all satin soft,
Thy breast of marble stone
@ @ @ @ @ @
Smooth, tender, pure, and fair.
--Liederbuch Pauls von der Helst, 1602

8. Slibovitz.

9. The author does not know who wrote the first part of "Die
Schöne Wittwe." It appeared about 1856, and "went the
round
of the papers," accumulating as it went several additions
or rejoinders, one of which was that by Hans Breitmann.

10. I had not seen for many days
The handsome widow's face;
I saw her last night standing
By her counter, full of grace.
With cheeks as pure as milk and blood,
With eyes so bright and blue,
I kissèd her full well six times,
Indeed, and that is true.

11. This ballad is a parody of Das Hildebrandslied. Consult
Wackernagel's Lesebuch and Das klein Heldenbuch.
"Ich vill zum Land ausreiten,
Sprach sich Maister Hilteprand."

12. The Republicans in America were for a long time ridiculed by
their
opponents as if professing to be guided by Moral Ideas, i.e.
Emancipation, Progress, Harmony of Interests, &c.

13. Gling, glang, gloria, was a common refrain in the 16th
century, in German drinking songs. "Gling, glang, glorian,
Die
Sau hat ein Panzer an." - Tractatus de Ebrietate
Vitanda
.

14. The boot was a favourite drinking cup during the Middle Ages.
The writer has seen a boot-shaped mug, bearing the
inscription,
"Wer . sein . Stiefel . nit . trinken . kan .
Der . ist . fürwahr . kein . Teutscher . man."

There is an allusion to this boot-cup in Longfellow's "Golden
Legend," where mention is made of a jolly companion

----"who could pull
At once a postilion's jack-boot full,
And ask with a laugh, when that was done,
If they could not give him the other one."

15. The German equivalent for a native of Little Pedlington. It
is
a Suabian joke, commemorated in a popular song, to inquire in
foreign and remote regions, "Is there any good fellow from
Böblingen here?"

16. "Sonst etwas auf dem Rohr habem" - something else on the pipe
or tube - meaning a plan or idea, kept to one's self, is a
German
proverbial expression, which occurs in one of Langbein's
humorous
lyrics.

17. "Nom de garce," as an anagram of nom de grace,
occurs in Rabelais. G

18. An expression only used in reference to seeing again some
jolly old friend after long absence - "Uns kommt der alte
Schwed."

19. Wurst, literally sausage, is used by German students
to signify indiffer ence. When a sausage is on the table,
and
one is asked with mock courtesy which part he prefers, he
naturally replies - "Why, it is all sausage to me." I have
heard
an elderly man in New England reply to the query whether he
would
have "black meat or breast" - "Any part, thank'ee - I guess
it's
all turkey." There are, of course, divers ancient and
quaint puns in Pennsylvania, on such a word as wurst.
Thus
it is said that a northern pedlar, in being served with some
sausage of an inferior quality, was asked again if he would
have
some of the wurst. Not understanding the word, and
construing it as a slight, he replied to his hostess - "No,
thank
you, marm, this is quite bad enough." The literal meaning of
this line, which is borrowed from Scheffel's poem of
Perkéo, is
"indifferent, and equal, to me."

20. It was, I believe, Ragnar Lodbrog who, in his Death Song,
spoke, about as intelligently and clearly as Herr Breitmann,
of a
mass of weapons.

21. Is true art-enjoyment.

22. Where art thou Breitmann? - Believe it.

23. In the green wood.

24. Students in the streets.

25. Oh Fatherland! - how thou art far!
Oh Time! - how art thou long!

26. Full details of this excursion were published in a pamphlet,
entitled "Three Thousand Miles in a Railroad Car," and also
in
letters written by Mr. J. G. Hazzard for the New York
Tribune
.

27. In American-German festivals, cards are sometimes sold by the
quantity, which are "good" for refreshments. This is done to
avoid trouble in making change.

28. Breitmann and bride-man, breit and krumm (bride and groom),
or broad and crooked, &c.

29. This refers to the passage of bills in the Legislature of a
state by means of bribery. In Pennsylvania, as in many other
states, bills which have "nothing in them" - i.e. no
money
- are rarely allowed to pass.

30. "Die Welt gleicht einer Bierbouteille."

31. Harrisburg is the capital of the state of Pennsylvania.

32. In a certain edition of the Breitmann Ballads, this phrase is
said to have originated in 1845. In 1835, I heard it said
that
General Jackson in a letter spelt all correct "oll
korrekt
," and this I believe to be the real origin
of
the expression. - C.G.L.

33. This incident, and the one narrated in the preceding verse,
are literally true.

34. "No more interlect than a half-grown shad," is a phrase which
occurs, if the author remembers aright, in the Charcoal
Sketches,
by J. C. Neal. The Western people have carried this idea a
step
further, and applied it to sardines, as "small fishes," all
of an
average size, packed closely together in tin cans and
excluded
from the light of day. A man who has never travelled, and
has
during all his life been packed tightly among those who were
his
equals in ignorance and inexperience, is therefore a
"sardine."

35. The incident narrated in this part, is told in Pennsylvania
as having occurred to a well-known politician, who bore the
sobriquet of "With all due deference," from his habit of
beginning all his speeches with these words.

36. "Dese outpressions ish not to pe angeseen py anypodies ash
schvearin, boot ash inderesdin Norse or Sherman idioms. Goot
many refiewers vot refiewsed to admire soosh derms in de
earlier
editions ish politelich requestet to braise dem in future
nodices
from a transcendental philological standpoint." - FRITZ
SCHWACKENHAMMER

37. Requisish. An abbreviation of the word
requisition, which Breitmann had heard during the War
of
Emancipation. I once heard this cant term used in a droll
manner, about the end of the war, by a little girl, six years
old, the daughter of a quarter-master. She had
"confiscated," or
"foraged," or "skirmished," as it was indifferently called, a
toy
whip belonging to her little brother of four years, who was
clamorously demanding its return. "I cannot let you have the
whip," said she gravely, "as I need it for military purposes;
but
I can give you a requisish for it on my papa, who will give
you
an order on the United States Government." - C. G. L.

38. Bismarck.

39. Disraeli.

40. Uhu. An owl - the bird of kn-owl-edge.

41. Allons. Uhlan slang for go or went, as
in America, they use the Spanish word vamos to express
every person in every sense of the verb to go.
Pronounced
allon'd.

42. "O no, those are no angels
Which sail so smoothly on,
O no - they're cursèd Frenchmen,
All in an air-balloon."

43. "And when she came adown
Unto the earth's firm surface,
She was Mrs. Robinson."

44. Those are thrashed Frenchmen.

45. "Der Uhlan was not shenerally wear pickelhäube, but dis
tay
der Herr Breitmann gehappenet to hafe von on." - FRITZ
SCHWACKENHAMMER

46. "And art thou truly living?"

47. "All my property."

48. "O maiden fair in Heaven!"

49. Nancy, the "light of love" of Lorraine. - London
Times
, Dec. 6, 1870.

50. "I require you to surrender:
I have thirty thousand men
Not far from here, parbleu!
But give me first champagne:
I've a wondrous thirst, you know-
About a dozen cart-loads;
And then I'll let you go."

51. "O Lord, Lord, Lord!
We are ruined!"

52. "We will take the ready gelt."

53. "Yes, give a hundred thousand francs
'Tis all to me, you know."

54. "Ah, that will make you trouble,
Which I would not gladly see;
So follow all my counsels,
And take advice from me.
I have two thousand bottles,
The best"-

55. "From the wrath of the Northmen, deliver us, Lord!"

56. There is a German student's song which begins with this
couplet.

57. La Redoute - the gambling-room at Spa.

58. Spa is famous for painted ornamental wooden ware, such as
fans and boxes.

59. "And to him who sung this song,
God give a happy year!"

60. "If wine is better than loving,
Or if love doth much more than wine."

61. "Yes, when the flower is plucked,
And taken from the stem."

62. "What is sweeter than this drinking?
Yes - naught can better be
Naught is sweeter, though, than loving;
It tastes better than wine to me.
There's nothing like the maidens,
There's nothing like good beer,
And he who does not love them both
Can be no cavalier."

63. "The colours are not unknown to me."

64. "Ils etaient deux alors; ils sont mille aujourd'hui.
Sur ces temps primitifs le doux progrés a lui,
Et chacque jour le Rhin vers Cologne charrie
De nombreux Farinas, tous 'seul, 'tous 'Jean Marie.'"
- Le Maout,"Le Parfumeur," cited by Eugene Rimmel
in Le Livre des Parfums, Paris, 1870.

65. Bierstadt - Herr Schwackenhammer had evidently here in
view, not only the American artist BIERSTADT, but also the
great
city of Munich, specially famous for its manufacture of beer.

66. Rattenkönig, or Rat-king, is a term applied in German to
a
droll mixture of incidents or details. It is derived from an
extraordinary story of twelve rats, with one (their king) in
the
centre, which were found in a nest with their tails grown
together, firmly as the ligament which connects the Siamese
Twins.

67. "Lucifers." The first name applied in America to friction
matches, and one still used by many people.

68. Scalawag - an American word, of very doubtful origin,
signifying a low, worthless fellow.

69. "If we can in our monastery collect our rents, we do not care
a red cent for infallibility."

70. This verse is parodied from the lines of a ribald old Latin
song, "Viginti Jesuiti nuper convenêre."

71. "If I could throw myself outside of, or around, a glass of
Rhenish wine." "If I could see a glass of whisky," said an
American, "I'd throw myself outside of it mighty quick."
Since
writing the above, I have seen the expression thus given in a
copy of La Belle Sauvage. - Bill of the Play, London, June
27,
1870
.

"Nay these natives - simple creatures-
Had resolved that for the future
Each his own canoe would paddle,
Each his own hoe-cake would gobble,
And get outside his own whisky."

72. "Deus se fecit olim homo,"&c. A very curious epigram to this
effect was placed upon "Pasquin" while the writer was in
Rome,
during a past winter. It was as follows:- "Perchè Eva
mangio il
pomo Iddio per riscattarci si fece uomo, Ed ora il Nono Pio
Per
mantenerci schiavi, si fa Dio."

73. M'Closky. An Irish adventurer, admirably depicted by Mr.
Charles Lever.

74. "Do you not see that if you are infallible, and wish to give
it out."

75. "During its life."

76. "Thou art a very puppy."

77. This was the late Charles Astor Bristed of New York, to whom
many of these ballads were addressed in letters.

78. Lines from Gudrun, each of which is freely translated by the
lines following it.

79. "Go forth, my book, through all the world,
Bear what thy fate may be!
They may bite thee, they may tear thee,
So they do no harm to me!"

80. "Pull on your boots so rough and tough,
And whet your sword beside,
We have been lazy long enough,
The road is worth the ride."

81. Schicksal, Destiny.

82. Menschheitsidéal, Human Ideal.

83. A little stream in Cincinnati, beyond which lies the German
quarter, is known as the Rhine.

84. That was a dark young gypsy.

85. Ah, Rosalie, my lovely one!

86. Blood-coloured is the lovely rose.

87. Who roses picks his finger pricks
No matter what befall;
In winter-time he finds them gone
And gets no rose at all.
Our petting and caressing here,
Our joy or misery
It all shall rest sub rosa, love,
And our own secret be!

88. "Thou'rt right, my darling son."

89."Good-bye, my friend, my Frederick!"

90. Woppenshield, coat of arms.








 


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