road monkey (antedating 1885 Feb 24) brush monkey (1885 Feb 24)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Those dates for both "road monkey" and "brush monkey" beat HDAS by many
years.

"Powder monkey" was virtually a standard term in the 19th C.  There was even
a stage song about "Little Powder Monkey Jim."

JL

On Sat, Jan 22, 2011 at 6:18 AM, William Palmer <palmerwil at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       William Palmer <palmerwil at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: road monkey (antedating 1885 Feb 24) brush monkey (1885
> Feb
>              24)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In the days of wooden ships and iron men, crew members who shuttled back
> and
> forth bringing gunpowder from the magazine to the gun deck,  were known as
> "powder monkeys". Usually young boys, because of their agility and speed.
>
> Bill Palmer
>
> On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 10:00 PM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      road monkey (antedating 1885 Feb 24) brush monkey (1885 Feb
> > 24)
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > OED (Third edition, August 2010; online version November 2010)
> > contains an entry for "road monkey" with a first cite in 1891:
> >
> > road monkey n. N. Amer. colloq. now hist. a person who repairs logging
> > roads.
> >
> > 1891    Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel 3 Jan.,  The road monkeys are
> > stationed at the steep inclines along the winter roadways over which
> > the heavy loads of logs are hauled.
> >
> > An 1885 article in a Michigan newspaper discusses the vocabulary used
> > by loggers in lumber camps and includes the terms "road monkey" and
> > "brush monkey". I could not find "brush monkey" in the OED.  There is
> > a match for the term "road monkey" somewhere in the Random House
> > Historical Dictionary of American Slang according to Google Books, but
> > there is no preview, and I could not find it as a boldface term under
> > "monkey" in the paper H-O volume. Entries under "road" are of course
> > unavailable.
> >
> > Cite: 1885 February 24, Muskegon Chronicle, Among the Loggers, Page 3,
> > Column 3, Muskegon, Michigan. (GenealogyBank)
> >
> > It is about a mile and a half from the shanty to where the pine is now
> > being cut. One man notches a tree, and two others cut it down. It is
> > then cut into proper lengths. The "brush monkeys" make a road to the
> > logs, and the skidders roll the logs upon skids ready for hauling. ...
> >
> > The "road monkey" is a curious individual whose business it is to keep
> > the road in good condition for travel.
> >
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>
>
>
> --
> Bill Palmer
> 4 Timberlyne Road
> Chapel Hill NC 27514
> 919-929-7431
> 919-593-5195 (Mobile)
>
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