 | Stedman, Edmund C. and Hutchinson Ellen M. - 1888 - 564 pages
...the reign of George the Third, nor ever introduced into a serious poem until adopted bv Cowper —a word which, if we may judge of adjectives as we do...do not, however, use it in the same sense we do in New England, where we apply it to personal grace, and call a trim, well-built young man, clever—which... | |
 | Henry B. Wonham - Literary Criticism - 1993 - 218 pages
...word "clever," which the British frequently employ to mean "skillful" or "adroit." He observes that 70 Englishmen, from the peer to the peasant, cannot converse...do not, however, use it in the same sense we do in New England, where we apply it to personal grace, and call a trim, well-built young man, clever —... | |
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Cowper —a word which, if we may judge of adjectives as we do of men, by their associates, shows the baseness of its origin by the company it keeps, being generally coupled with fellow, a term I conceive of no respect except in courts and colleges. Englishmen,... 