AMERICANISMS
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Of the five sample " Americanisms " given in the 'review of Mi. Greig's book, Breaking Priscidn's Head, in the Spectator of February 11th, four are pure Scotch.
I remember my father's quoting the proverb, " A cock is dye croose on its ain midden," and telling a story of James VI.'s being puzzled by the expression, " A gowpen o' glaur," while " wairsh " and " swither " are still often used by Scotch people because they can find no English synonyms which -seem so expressive to them. It would he interesting to know how many modern " Americanisms " have been adopted from
[Our reviewer did not intend to convey that the words above-quoted were Americanisms. He agrees with the writer, however, that a number of expressive colloquialisms from both sides of the Tweed have crossed the Atlantic and enriched the vocabulary of the United States.—En. Spectator.]
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