Page:Farmer - Slang and its analogues past and present - Volume 2.pdf/97

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Cheshire cat eating cheese—I have always heard 'evacuating bones,' which if less decent is more expressive.

1866. Dodgson ('Lewis Carroll'), Alice in Wonderland, ch. viii.

Chest. To chuck out one's chest, phr. (common).—To pull oneself together; stand firm; 'keep a stiff upper lip.'

Chestnut, subs. (American).—A stale joke or story; an old 'Joe'; something frequently said or done before. As to the variants of this phrase—their name is legion. The old songs are chestnut songs; he who would foist a stale jest is implored to spare the chestnut tree, not to rustle the chestnut leaves, not to set the chestnut bell a-ringing. [The Philadelphia Press (1888) attributes the introduction of the phrase to Mr. William Warren, a veteran Boston comedian. In a forgotten melodrama, by William Dillon, called The Broken Sword, there were two characters, one a Capt. Xavier, and the other the comedy part of Pablo. Says the captain, a sort of Munchausen, 'I entered the woods of Colloway, and suddenly from the thick boughs of a cork tree'—when Pablo interrupts him with the words: 'A chestnut, captain, a chestnut. 'Bah!' replies the captain. 'Booby, I say a cork tree.' 'A chestnut,' reiterates Pablo, 'I should know as well as you, having heard you tell the tale these twenty-seven times.' Warren, who had often played Pablo, was at a stage-dinner, where one of the men told a story of doubtful age and originality. 'A chestnut,' quoth Warren, 'I have heard you tell the tale these twenty-seven times.' The application pleased, and when the party broke up each member helped to spread the story and the commentary. This is the most plausible of many explanations.]

1882. Halkett Lord, in N. and Q., 7 S., vii., 53. I first heard the word [chestnut] in 1882, in a theatrical chop-house (Brown's) in New York. The explanation given to me by Mr. Brown—once a well-known member of Wallack's company—was 'Chestnut, because it is old enough to have grown a beard,' alluding to the prickly bristly husk of the nuts.

1886 Dram. Rev., March 27, p. 86 col. 2. Minnie Palmer will give £1000 to any one who will submit to her an idea for legitimate advertising Chestnut ideas not wanted. [m.]

1888. New York Sun, Jan. 24. 'May I venture to tell the old, old story, Miss Maud,' he said, tremulously; 'the old, old, yet ever new, story of—' 'Pardon me, Mr. Sampson, if I cause you pain,' interrupted the girl, gently, 'but to me the story you wish to tell is a chestnut.' 'A chestnut?' 'Yes, Mr. Sampson, I'm already engaged; but I will be a sister—' 'It isn't as wormy as that one,' murmured Mr. Sampson, feeling for his hat.

Chete.—See Cheat.

Chew, subs. (common).—A small portion of tobacco; a quid. Cf., Chew the cud.

1880. Jas. Greenwood, Gaol Birds at Large. A piece as large as a horse-bean, called a chew, is regarded as an equivalent for a twelve-ounce loaf and a meat ration.

To chew oneself, verbal phr. (American).—To get angry. For synonyms, see Nab the rust.

To chew the cud, verbal phr. (common).—To chew tobacco.

To chew the rag or fat, verbal phr. (military).—To grumble.