Glossary of Salesmen's Terms (Sept. 1938)

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     From the BAR & GRILL JOURNAL, September 1938, pg. 18, col. 2:

     _Glossary of Salesmen's Terms_
By H. C. Glass
     Every business acquired certain unusual and peculiar language.  On
Boradway, among show folks, a hoofer is a dancer.  In the underworld a
detective is a dick or "the law."  So it is, in the liquor business.  Already
among the gentlemen that cover the retailers on behalf of the distillers,
brewers and wholesalers, there has grown up a body of technical terms.  We
present herewith some of the terms commonly used by liquor salesmen in
discussion among themselves:
HI-SPOTTING--The act of visiting key accounts who are expected almost
momentarily to do some heavy buying.
DUSTING OFF--The act of visiting accounts to learn when they will be ready
for "hi-spotting."
KNOCKING YOUR BRAINS OUT--The act of not getting anywhere.
PUNCHING--The act of working diligently.
A CAT AND A DOG--Unadvertised brands.
A STIFF--Brands that move slowly.
PRIMA DONNAS--The missionary men representing distillers.
A NATURAL--Licensees who are easy marks for salesmen who are pushing
unadvertised brands.
COLD TURKEY CANVASS--The act of approaching an account you have never yet
visited.
UNDER THE HAT--A Bartender who works under the union scale.
OUTLET--Any licensed retail place.
A WEAK SISTER--A salesman whose work is below the average.
SWINDLE--A deal or secret rebate.
A McGEE--A phony or a drinker who usually is seeking free drinks.  (This term
was borrowed from the hotel trade.  Bellhops use this term to indicate a gent
who checks in with a paper mache suitcase containing a phone book, just to
spend the night with his sweetheart.) (Not in RHHDAS--ed.)