[Ads-l] Antedating of "Hep"

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Next" was once pretty common, say c1900-20.  "Joseph" was far less common
than the not-much-used "joe."

"Playing fast and loose with parts of speech" is a common failing of these
amateur glossaries.

JL

On Sun, Aug 3, 2025 at 10:53 AM Stephen Goranson <
0000179d4093b2d6-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> New to me but Green's Do'Slang has
>
> next (to) adj (US)
> 1. aware, knowledgeable, informed, sophisticated; as n. a state of being
> thus informed, etc.
> 1896
> [[US]]
> F. Hutcheson
> Barkeep Stories<https://greensdictofslang.com/sources/10194>
>  44: ‘I was only askin’ t’ see wedder you was next to de graft er not’.
> and
> joseph adj.
> [ext. of joe adj. (1)<https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/2eqxfrq#sn1>]
> (US) aware, in the know; thus as n., one who is aware.
> 1896
> [[US]]
> F. Hutcheson
> Barkeep Stories<https://greensdictofslang.com/sources/10194>
>  142: ‘I never see him afore widout de harness on, an’ dat’s w’y I ain’t
> Joseph to him’.
> sg
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Shapiro, Fred <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Sunday, August 3, 2025 10:28 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Antedating of "Hep"
>
> hep (OED 1899)
>
> 1897 St, Louis Post-Dispatch 12 Sept. 20/5 (Newspapers.com)  Following is
> the Thieves' Dictionary, compiled by "Sleepy" Burk, ex-convict, and
> published in his new paper, "The National X-Ray." ... Hep — To understand.
>
> NOTE:  Strictly speaking, the Thieves' Dictionary is defining "hep" as a
> verb.  However, I think it is clear that Burk plays loosely with parts of
> speech.  For example, he defines "framed" as "a thorough understanding."
> Presumably he views "hep" as an adjective.  The following definitions show
> the part-of-speech looseness and confirm that he is using "hep" in its
> modern sense of "knowing":
>
> Joseph — Hep or next.
> Next — To know.
>
> I have no idea about the logic behind "Joseph" or "next" as slang terms.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
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