"Paddywhack: Why do we call a light spank a 'paddywhack'?
The Irish call St. Patrick, their patron saint, Paidrag-and so an Irishman is called a 'Paddy.' Irish comedians in the English theater were very partial to the 'slapstick'-and so a 'paddywhack' is a harmless slap on the buttocks in jest."
"Lump it: How did the word 'lump' get into the expression 'if you don't like it you can lump it'?
A person's face will often look 'lumpy' after crying. So to 'lump it' is to sulk or look sulky-and the phrase 'like it or lump it' means 'like it or sulk.'"
"Dead as a Shotten Herring. What is the origin of the expression 'dead as a shotten herring'?
Probably no other fish will die as quickly as a herring when taken out of water. A 'shotten herring' is one that has just ejected its spawn-and should die even more rapidly after being taken from the water."
"Spick. Where did we get 'spick' as a nickname for a foreigner?
Its Navy slang, and a variant of 'spiggoty.' This name for a foreigner-particularly a native of a Latin-American country-was given to the natives of Central America and South America because of their frequent use of the phrase, 'No spick-a dee Ingles.'"
But you mustn't take my word for it. A cursory examination of the tome in question will enlighten one to not only the origins, but the very existence of such words and phrases as Lagniappe, Chinaman's Chance, Queer Card, Slide Kelly Slide, and Tommyrot. Additionally, one may take for what it is worth the author's declaration that the word dude simply comes from a contraction of "dud" (as in my oh my observe the dud's on that fine fellow) and "attitude" to result in a concise term to describe a gentleman going quite beyond the pale in his attempts to dandify himself in the eyes of society.
