Ragging. In military parlance this word expresses the system of persecution by which an unpopular man suffers indignities at the hands of his comrades. It has the same meaning as the North Country “Rag,” to enrage or make angry, and “Bullyrag,” to administer a severe scolding. The latter, however, of which the former is an abbreviation, has not been derived from the Dutch bulderen, to scold or bully, as is generally supposed, but from the custom of the Spanish bullfighters of waving a red cloak in front of the bull in order to excite him to fury. This is the rag referred to. The corresponding United States term for “ragging” is “Hazing.”
Rag Money. American slang for paper money.
Rag Time. An Americanism for a dancing frolic of the “go-as-you-please” order, in which musical time and rhythm are, as it were, torn into shreds; a ragged, loose, disconnected, unconventional time. The term has been well explained by an authoritative writer in The Referee as follows:--“Rag time is the outcome of ‘Rag Speech,’ a speech that casts tradition, balance, beauty, elegance, and refinement to the winds, and that believes that more effect can be made by punching certain syllables into the brain of the listener. Technically speaking, ‘Rag Time’ shifts the strong accent from the first to the second beat of the bar. Against this there is a cross-rhythm with a kind of halting contrapuntal ornamentation in the accompaniment, which sometimes brings a stress on to the fourth beat of the bar. The result of this irregularity and false quantity is to destroy the rhythm to an extent that often makes it difficult to say whether the music is in duple or triple measure. The musical consequence is the breaking down of symmetrical form, and the tendency is to reduce the organised structure to its component parts.”
Railroad City. Indianapolis, a junction of the great trunk lines.
Railway King. The sobriquet of George Hudson, Chairman of the Midland Railway Company, who amassed a huge fortune by successful speculations in the early days of railway enterprise.
Rains Cats and Dogs. This expression is traceable to two distinct sources--popular superstition and Scandinavian mythology. Witches who rode the storm on broomsticks were believed to have the power of transforming themselves into cats at will, while the dog or wolf is represented as the attendant of Odin, the Storm King of the northern nations.
Rainy Day Smith. John Thomas Smith, the antiquary, whose chatty volume, “A Book for a Rainy Day,” brought him more money and reputation than all his other works put together.
Raise your Screw. This expression arose out of the custom of masters paying their employées’ wages screwed up in a tiny paper of uniform size. The more money it contained the less tightly the paper could be screwed; hence an advance of wages implied metaphorically giving the screw one turn backwards.
Rake the Pot. An American gambling phrase meaning to seize the stakes.
Ram and Teazle. A tavern sign common to the woollen manufacturing districts, this being the device of the Clothworkers’ Company.