Q: "jag" (n) & "dun" (n), 1930

[Joel S. Berson]

Yes, I'd forgotten "jag" = 'drunken spree' or similar -- and I hadn't
found it in the OED.  This would mean "carried" in the quote is used
both literally and figuratively (as the implied verb).

As for "dun", the 'letter from a bill collector' (for the price of
the ring) is plausible, but I didn't imagine the groom carrying it to
the wedding ceremony in his pocket together with a knife and the ring.

Joel

At 2/6/2010 04:38 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
>I think "jag" here means "state of drunkenness" or so. This is in DARE
>and HDAS. One can see some similar examples by searching for phrase
>"carrying a jag" at G-books. The preceding sentence indicates that the
>groom was "tight" (i.e., drunk or so, I think). I guess "get a jag on" =
>"get a load on", etc. = "get drunk" or so.
>
>-- Doug Wilson
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org