“Toss the Turk”

Description

"One evening lately I dressed up nately, With Sunday clothes, plug had and all." The singer meets a gang which intends to rob him. But he backs up against a wall, and beats them off using tricks he learned at Donegal.

Notes

Eric Partridge's _A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English_ lists "Turk" as a gutter word for an Irishman, though it cannot trace it before 1949. This song gives evidence that it is much older, since "Toss the Turk" seems to mean "rob the Irishman." - RBW

References

  1. Dean, pp. 114-115, "Toss the Turk" (1 text)
  2. Roud #21718
  3. BI, Dean114

About

Author: Tom Cannon
Earliest date: 1877 (sheet music)
Keywords: fight
Found in: US(MW)