| OCR Text |
Show The Meaning of "Cad." The word cad, as used by tha haw-haw exolusive of the English Universities to those who areon-members is not the short for cadet, neither doea it signify a man of lettere, as some might imagine, from the fact tbat Cadmus was the first man of letters of his time; but it is derived from the word cadger, a mean vulgar fellow, a beggar, one who importunes, a man who tries to worm something out of another, either money or information. Thus an omnibus conductor may be called a cad because of his asking or importuning passrB-by to become passengers. Iu Scotland a cad or cadie is a runner or messenger, probably prob-ably from the cadureue or emblem of power carried by Mercury, Jove's messenger. With the exception of these two last applications of the word, it is invariably meant as a term of reproach. |
