Happy Birthday, Dr. Johnson

While we are contemplating the possibility of mass destruction by the pompous pompadour-coiffed popinjay in North Korea, we might take a few minutes to remind ourselves that every day is someone’s birthday.

Today just happens to be Dr. Samuel Johnson’s 308^th birthday.  And who is he, pray tell?  Why, I do thank you kindly for asking.  The esteemed Sr. Johnson was, among other things, a lexicographer, someone he defined as “a writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words”. He was also a poet, a critic, a satirist, an author and a dyed-in-the-wool conservative.

In regard to his birthday, he wrote: “The return of my birthday, if I remember it, fills me with thoughts which it seems to be the general care of humanity to escape.”  A few of his somewhat sardonic definitions follow:

Cough: A convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity.

Distiller: One who makes and sells pernicious and inflammatory spirits.

Dull: Not exhilaterating (sic); not delightful; as, to make dictionaries is dull work.

Excise: A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but by wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid.

Far-fetch: A deep stratagem. A ludicrous word.

Jobbernowl: Loggerhead; blockhead. (This is also spelled ‘jobbernoll’ by some Regency Romance authors.)

Oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people.

Patron: One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly, a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.

Pension: An allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country.

(N.B.: He might define it even more wittily and acerbically now.)

Politician: 1. One versed in the arts of government; one skilled in politicks. 2. A man of artifice; one of deep contrivance.

Rant:  high sounding language unsupported by dignity of thought.

Tory: One who adheres to the ancient constitution of the state, and the apostolical hierarchy of the church of England; opposed to a Whig.

Whig: The name of a faction; one of our unhappy terms of disunion. (He left out that Whig stands for We Hope In God, but did include the history of the term.)

To worm: To deprive a dog of something, nobody knows what, under his tongue, which is said to prevent him, nobody knows why, from running mad.

The meanings of some words have changed since 1755. For example, in Johnson’s time a cruise was “a small cup”, a high-flier was someone who “carries his opinions to extravagance,” a recipe was “a medical prescription”, and a urinator was “a diver; one who searches under water.”

When Dr. Johnson decided to catalog and define the English language, it was not the first attempt by anyone to do so. More than twenty dictionaries had appeared over the previous two hundred years, thanks to the use of movable type. The French (“immortals” of l’Académie Francaise) had spent 55 years compiling their four volume edition of the French language. Since Dr. Johnson took a dim view of the French, he stated firmly that he could do better, and in less time. It took him about eight years and six assistants, spent collecting and defining a vocabulary of words that were in common use in the 18^th century, but some of which are now obscure. His stated goal was to standardize the English language which was as much in flux in the 18^th century as it is now.

In his efforts to comprise his compendium of common and sometimes not so common words, he left us with a near-complete version of that tome of our recorded language, the dictionary of the English language, first published in 1755. His goal was to standardize the language. He also addressed grammar and spelling.

There are several versions of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary available on Amazon, if you’re interested.  Jack Lynch has compiled a compendium of acerbic observations by Mr. Johnson, titled “Samuel Johnson’s Insults: A Compendium of Snubs, Sneers, Slights and Effronteries from the Eighteenth-Century Master”, if you’re thinking of a need to expand your insult vocabulary.

There is also available a reproduction of the 1828 American Dictionary of English, compiled by Noah Webster, which may contain words which are now obscure and out of common use. In a hopefully brief age of political correctness, its contents may be a breath of fresh air.

I tend to prefer print books, in case I have no electronic resource engine available. Print books can be read by candlelight or oil lamp, whereas the electronic versions of everything require electricity when their batteries run down.

There is available online, Phrontistery, a website devoted to acquiring, defining and saving for future use, archaic, obscure and sometimes infrequently used words in the English language, for those who need a quick click option to find something useful. It should be considered  as valuable a resource for a writer as any dictionary.

The original version of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary in print form weighed 22 pounds. The Oxford Unabridged Dictionary, which is updated every year, weighs 137.2 pounds in the hardcover print edition, requires 6,243 pounds of ink (3.25 tons) to print. It’s a good thing that the Oxford Unabridged is available online.

Those Oxford Unabridged people give you everything, including the language of origin for words, as did Dr. Johnson, but some of his definitions, as quoted above, simply amuse us. It appears that Dr. Johnson’s lexicon might provide more laughter and less of a load on your back. It is not that he indulged in endless witticisms. He waxed rhapsodic, for example, over the various varieties of cabbages available for consumption, when defining cabbage. He was nothing if not thorough.

So do join me in lifting a glass of your favorite beverage to Samuel Johnson and wish him a happy 308^th birthday. Even Google gave him a Google icon today. We should all hope to carry on for so long.

Category: Historical