THE WORD "SLOGAN."

North Otago Times, Volume CVII, Issue 17748, 19 March 1927, Page 3

THE WORD "SLOGAN."

(By Professor Weekley). "Si'ogan" is a Lowland corruption of tbe Gaelic "Slaugh-ghairm'*' liost-yell, army shout, and the slogani of the High'Iandev,e. was the name of their clan. JtJorrowed in a mangled t'orm by ' the Loivlanclers, it became familiar on tlie Border, the Scotsman's' cry of "A Hamilton!" or "A Home!" bemg answered by the Souihxons with "A Fem wick!" or "A Musgrave!" With the passing of the liveliness; which &o long characterised the Dehatable Land, "sloand misused, like so many other words, gan" f'ell into disuse, to he revived. ^y Scott: — / To heaven the Border siogan fang, "St- Mary for the yoting Buccleuch!" Tt was no doubt, from Scott that it was borrowed by Macaulay, who was apparentl'y the first to use it or a party cry in politics. CHATTERTON' S MISTAKE The earliest dictionary in which I have found "siogan" is Worcester's (1860). He explains it as a. corruption of "Slug ijiome!" One has heard of a • 'home-thrust, ' t and also of the American camp preacher who translated the Biblical words "they left beating of Paul" into the homlier vernacular "they quit sluggmg Paul." IVorcester, I may remark, was an American. I have vague impression that the current use of "siogan" for a catch-word siifficiently stentorian to drown argument 01 criticism is of American origm. Most contemporary English is. , The Border iorm "sloggorn" oiisled Chatterton, who took it ror the name of a kmd of trumpet, and added it to his coHection of sham antiques. He uses it more than once in his Battle of Hastings : — Some caught a siughorne and an onseti woundb ; -a-ynS® Harolde hearde t'he charge and wondred at the sounde . This absurdity was copied by Browning whose capacity for perpetrating verbal howlers was almost inspirationDauntless the slug-horn to my lics I set ^ And blew. 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came '*