Part 23
=Siberian dog=—the fur of a species of dog or wolf found in Siberia; resembles that of a fox in texture. Used for coats, caps, etc.
=Sicilian=—a plain-woven mohair fabric. See Mohair.
=Side-body=—tailor’s term for a part of a frock coat, stopping at arm scye and at waist, connecting forepart with backpart.
=Side-buckle trousers=—t. buckled at each side of the waist instead of behind, the straps and buckle being smaller than on back-buckled trousers.
=Side edge=—a sort of ornamental welt, placket or rever inserted into the plait seam of the (skirt-) back of skirted uniform and livery coats, variously shaped but usually contrived with 3 points, upon each of which a button is set.
=Side leather=—a shoemaking term applied to upper leathers made from cow hides which have been split down the backbone, a whole hide making two sides when so split; a term distinguishing certain class of upper l. as compared with calf l.
=Side of neck=—old name for shoulder point (qv).
=Side pocket=—the principal trousers p. with opening thru the side seam of trousers. Compare Top p.
=Side pocket=—a curious name given to a drinking saloon in an out-of-the-way place; a resort for thieves.
=Side prick stitch=—same as prick s. (qv)—so called from the way the s. is placed. See also Pricking back s.
=Side stitch=—made similarly to the prick s., the stitches, however, being laid just at the side of where the needle came thru. Employed for especial neatness and firmness.
=Side tabs=—trade term for standing shirt collars with small flaps on each side, beneath which the scarf is held and prevented from “riding”.
=Sideburns=—vernacular for short side whiskers.
=Signet ring=—see Seal r.
=Silesia=—a light, stout, closely woven, fine twilled, calendered cotton material used for linings.
=Silesia seam=—a strong s. finish employed in making garments of fabrics that are liable to slip or pull apart or that have little strength, specifically a strip of silesia laid under a seam and stitcht to same on both sides.
=Silk=—too exhaustiv for this book; you know what it is, or ought to, for it has been used since 3400 B. C. See encyclopedia for lengthy treatise.
=Silk beaver=—see Beaver.
=Silk braid=—a fine, firm tape or b. used by tailors for binding edges of garments, etc., woven fairly close but flexible, of various widths, denominated “lignes”, and also, according to purposes for which designed, known as flat b., half-and-half-b., trouser-b., etc.
=Silk braid button=—a b. made on a wooden or metal mold covered with silk braid, used on dress coats, waistcoats and overcoats.
=Silk hat=—an uncomfortable piece of aristocratic (?) headgear having the faculty of elongating the tall and stunting the short, and a style of headdress perennially threatened with retirement, but which seems to be quite as cheerfuly ineradicable as dandelions in a grass plot.
=Silk-mixt=—wool, cotton, linen, etc., intermixt with silk in the yarn.
=Silk mixtures=—trade name for worsted and woolen cloths, having decorativ threads of silk intersperst in the weaving, or woven partly of yarns in which the silk threads are twisted.
=Silk-plated=—a s. face on a cotton or wool body, as silk-p. hosiery.
=Silk stick=—a piece of wood about 2½ × 12 inches, partly covered with cloth, used by tailors for holding sewing silk in such a way that it may readily be drawn out, a needleful at a time, without snarling.
=Silk stocking=—epithet applied to aristocrats unexpectedly meddling in politics or other affairs that do not ordinarily concern them.
=Silk tests=—see Elasticity t., Flame t., Pure dye t., Weighted s. t., Cotton t., etc.
=Silker=—Briticism for silk hat.
=Silkopolis=—Paterson, N. J., where most of the domestic silk goods are manufactured.
=Silkworm=—bombyx mori, attacus ricini, attacus cynthia, telea polyphemus, et al.—all of which probably tells you little more than you know. Encyclopedias are good investments—get one.
=Silvalin=—a yarn or weaving material spun from a sort of paper obtained from wood, manufactured in Southern Germany. Probably an incorrect spelling of Xylolin (qv).
=Silver fox=—the most valuable of all fox furs. Single skins are often sold as high as $500.
=Silver gilt=—(1) gilded silver; (2) spurious gilding of s. by means of a yellow lacquer.
=Silver headed=—getting along in years.
=Silver plated=—baser metal coated or plated with s.
=Silver stick=—same as gold s.
=Silver top=—jocular for a gray haired person.
=Simitar=—see Scimitar.
=Simulated cuff=—in tailoring, a welt, plait or other imitation of a turned back c., on a coat sleeve.
=Singeing=—the process of removing nap from the surface of fabrics by means of heat or flame.
=Single-breasted=—fastened with a single row of buttons or other fastening and having but one thickness or leaf of the garment or fabric at the breast. Compare Double-breasted.
=Single-breasted cutaway=—see C. frock coat and Frock coat.
=Single-breasted frock coat=—(1) a f. c. made with full straight hanging skirts and unspliced foreparts; a “s. b. Prince Albert”; (2) a cutaway f. c. See Frock c.
=Single-breasted Prince Albert=—(a misnomer, the “Prince Albert”, so-called, being strictly a double-breasted frock); except for a single row of buttons, of the same general style as the double-breasted or P. A. frock.
=Single-breasted sack coat=—see Sack c.
=Single crepe=—a black silk c., less crinkly and softer than double c. (qv); used for light mourning. See Crepe.
=Single cuff=—(1) an imitation coat sleeve c.; (2) an unfolded shirt c. Compare Double c.
=Single soled=—having but one sole; cheap; poor.
=Single-stitcht=—tailor’s term for an edge finish obtained by stitching on machine at a stated distance from the actual edge (as “1–16 in. s. s.”) the edges having first been joined and turned.
=Single-stitcht seam=—see Cord s.
=Single warp=—a term used (1) in reference to yarns, meaning that the warp threads are single and not two or more ply; also (2) in connection with fabric construction indicating a single system of warp threads with, say, a double system of weft or filling threads.
=Singles=—reeled filaments of raw silk twisted for firmness but not doubled.
=Singlestick=—a light ash rod or stick, used as a substitute for the sword in fencing exercises.
=Singlet=—(1) an aboriginal waistcloth; (2) an undershirt; (3) an unlined waistcoat similar to a doublet.
=Sir Knight’s coat=—(=Masonic=) a single-breasted frock c. of black cloth, with standing military collar, the front closing with 11 buttons. Compare Commander’s c. and Fatigue blouse.
=Sissy=—opposit of tomboy.
=Size=—a unit of measurement.
=Size=—to size up; to form an opinion concerning a person or thing, the equivalent of to take one’s measure.
=Size stick=—a shoe dealer’s foot measure.
=Size strap=—a foot measuring tape used by shoe dealers.
=Size ticket=—a small, square paper ticket with a big size number sewed or pinned to the tail of a coat—which the customer sometimes is allowed to wear away to show that he is a readymade man.
=Sizes=—trade term for an assortment or range of sizes and shapes.
=Sizes=—in the readymade clothing trade garments are classified as regular, long, stout, slim, short-stout, corpulent, extra stout, long-stout, long-slim, etc., indicating normal proportions and variations thereof; all of which see.
=Sizing=—(1) the process of strengthening warp yarns by means of a gummy preparation to enable them to withstand the weaving process without chafing or breaking; (2) a finishing operation, similarly achieved, applied to certain grades of cotton, linen or silk fabrics for purposes of fictitious weight and appearance. See Glaze and Washable.
=Sizing=—a process in hat manufacture where the hat, still in the large cone as delivered from the forming department, is carefully shrunken by continual rolling, sqeezing, dipping in hot water, etc., until reduced or fitted to its proper size, but still retaining the cone shape.
=Sizy=—overloaded with dressing.
=Skating cap=—(1) a knitted toque; (2) a turban c. of fur or cloth.
=Skating jacket=—a short, snug-fitting coat.
=Skating shoe=—a soft, flexible s. of less than regular hight.
=Skean dhu=—a Scottish highlander’s knife, worn in the stocking when in clan costume.
=Skees=—bed slats with footholds affording first-rate amusement to those fond of pitching head-first into snow banks.
=Skein=—a certain quantity of yarn or thread, wound, doubled and knotted. Compare Hank.
=Skein dyes=—trade term for fabrics dyed in the yarn before weaving. Compare Piece d., Ingrain d., Slub d., etc.
=Skeleton=—term applied to a coat made without lining.
=Skeleton suit=—a close-fitting s. of clothes, the jacket or vest having a series of buttons at the waist to which the trousers are attacht.
=Ski=—see Skees.
=Skilts=—a kind of short trousers worn by boys and farmhands in Colonial times; they reacht to just below the knee, were very broad in the legs, but fitted snugly at the waist, needing no brace to support them.
=Skimpt=—done in a superficial or careless way. (=Skimped.=)
=Skin= (=to=)—trade term for leather with grain so tender that it peels or barks easily.
=Skin wool=—see Pulled w.
=Skinner’s=—trade diminutiv for the general line of silk goods, especially lining silks and satins, made by Wm. Skinner Mfg. Co.
=Skins=—trade term for the hides of small animals, as sheep, goat, deer, etc., and for the lighter forms of leather. Compare Hides.
=Skirt=—the lower or hanging part of a coat, shirt, etc.; a peplum.
=Skirt pocket=—any p. made in the skirts or tail-part of a coat.
=Skirt strap=—a narrow band-like piece sewn to the waist seam of an evening dress coat, extending from the skirt (of which it is usually an integral part) to the front fore-edge.
=Skirted=—a term applied to certain wool fleeces imported into the U. S. from which the head, belly and breech wool (inferior parts) have been removed, to avoid full effect of the tariff.
=Skirty=—said of a coat with very full drapery.
=Skive=—in shoemaking, the process of shaving or paring leathers for joints, etc.
=Skiver=—(1) split leather; (2) a workman who burls edges of leather; (3) a machine for cutting counters and rands.
=Skull cap=—a light c., without peak or brim; closely fitting the skull.
=Sky piece=—slang for hat.
=Slanting pocket=—a p. placed at an angle.
=Slash=—a strip of tape, lace, braid, etc., worn on a non-commissioned officer’s sleeve to distinguish him from a private.
=Slash pocket=—see Slit p.
=Slasher=—a machine for sizing and finishing warp yarn.
=Slasht=—said of a garment as a doublet, having many decorativ slits underlaid or puft with fabric of different color. =(Slashed.)=
=Slater’s=—general term for standard flannels, uniform cloths, etc., made by S. Slater & Sons, Webster, Mass.
=Sleeping bag=—a large b.-like receptacle used at night by explorers, prospectors, campers, etc., usually of sheepskin with the wool on, waterproof duck, blanketing, etc., sometimes in combination with an air mattress, the individual creeping into it for warmth.
=Sleeping stockings=—see Bed socks.
=Sleeping suit=—a loose fitting, one-piece, sleeping garment, usually of canton flannel, or flannel, so fashioned as to cover the entire body except head and hands.
=Sleeve=—that part of a coat, or shirt, or other garment, covering the arm.
=Sleeve buttons=—in coat making, usually the same size as the waistcoat b. tho fashion is fickle.
=Sleeve head=—tailor’s term for that part of a s. where a join is made with the shoulder; if slightly puft or fulled on it is called full-headed (qv).
=Sleeve head seam=—juncture of s. and body; the scye.
=Sleeve holder=—a device for holding up or shortening one’s shirt sleeves to allow of freedom for forearm and protect the s. from undue soiling or injury.
=Sleeve lining=—(1) a fine quality of silesia with a lustrous face printed in fancy patterns, or with silk stripes, or both; (2) a fine quality of cambric similarly illuminated; (3) a light, thin silk.
=Sleeve protector=—see Oversleeve.
=Sleeve ticket=—a paper or paper-faced cotton-back ticket attacht to readymade coat sleeves having lot number, size and price marks printed thereon.
=Slender=—see Slim.
=Slick up=—to get drest.
=Slicker=—a waterproof overcoat; an oilskin.
=Slide=—see String out.
=Sliders=—overalls; term obsolete.
=Sliding pads=—adjustable articles worn by base-stealers as protection when making grand stand plays.
=Slim=—clothing trade term for readymade garments designed to fit slenderly built persons with waists of less than normal measure. Compare Long-slim.
=Slimsy=—slightly made; frail in build; flimsy in texture.
=Sling=—(1) a suspensory band for supporting an injured arm or leg; (2) an elementary article of apparel among savages; (3) a strap by means of which a rifle may be slung on the shoulders.
=Sling strap=—an attachment to a sword belt to which the scabbard is attacht.
=Slinks=—in the old Irish glove trade, a name given to skins of unborn calves from parturient cows purposely slaughtered.
=Slip=—an infant’s dress.
=Slip=—see String out.
=Slip collar=—a detachable c.
=Slip-on=—(1) a loose single-breasted sack overcoat, made without side seams; usually of waterproof material; (2) a raincoat; (3) a waterproof overcoat with skirts ample enough to cover saddle and legs.
=Slip-over=—a loose overcoat. Same as Slip-on.
=Slip sole=—a thin piece of sole leather placed between the outer s. and inner s. of a shoe to make the finisht edge of the bottom thicker.
=Slip stitch=—a s. slipt over the next succeeding s. without catching or knitting. See Drop-s.
=Slipper=—a low, light shoe, for indoor wear, into which (or out of which) the foot is easily slipt, fraught with boyish reminiscences.
=Slipper=—a workman who removes the newly formed hat body from the cone. See Coning, Slipping, etc.
=Slipping=—in hat making, the act of removing the body of a hat from the cone.
=Slipshod=—down at the heel.
=Slit pocket=—any p. without welt or flap. See Welt p., Flapt p., Jetted p., Raincoat p., etc.
=Slit welt=—the felled or hemmed opening in the palm of a glove.
=Sliver=—a soft, continuous rope or strand of wool, cotton or silk fibers, as obtained in the carding and combing processes.
=Slob=—one who is untidy or slovenly in his personal appearance.
=Sloonly=—badly attired; slovenly drest.
=Slop shop=—(English) a shop where sailor’s readymade clothes, small wares, etc., are sold.
=Slope of shoulder measure=—tailor’s term for (1) the upper or strap measurement (qv) as taken by the long m. system and (2) the depth of scye m. as taken by the short m. system. See Over-shoulder m.
=Slops=—English for readymade clothing of the cheaper grades and workingmen’s jeans; up to and including the year 1903 exports of clothing from the United Kingdom were officially classified as “apparel and slops”. In 16th century, a term applied promiscuously to all garments easily adjusted and imaginably ungainly, neglige or slipshoddy. The word itself is derived from “slip”.
=Slouch hat=—any soft felt h.; especially a fedora or alpine h.
=Slub=—see Slubbing.
=Slub dyed=—trade term for woolen and worsted fabrics woven of yarns dyed while still in the slub state. See Slubbing. Compare Skein d. and Piece d.
=Slubbing=—a slightly twisted or badly twisted roll of wool; also called slub and slubber.
=Slubbing machine=—a machine for drawing out and slightly twisting carded wool; now superseded by improved devices attacht to wool-cards.
=Slug=—an iron for heating hollow hat irons.
=Slug lugger=—the youngster who carries the hot iron slug used for heating hatter’s irons.
=Slugging=—a process in shoemaking performed by a s. machine which drives in round the edges of the surface of the finisht heel rows of brass or iron nails called slugs. A wire is put thru the machine and this wire is automatically driven into the leather and cut off, having the effect of leaving in the leather brass or iron nails.
=Slumber robe=—undertaker’s euphemism for shroud.
=Small=—tailor’s term for the hollow of the back at waistline (small-of-the-back).
=Small arms=—fire arms, carried in the hand, and fired from the hand or shoulder.
=Small-falls=—see Narrow f. and Front-f.
=Smalls=—close-fitting knee breeches.
=Smart=—a dandy of 1760 or thereabout.
=Smart set=—that element of our social organization that assumes to be better drest, better mannered, better financed and better in various other ways (not including morality) than the rest of us.
=Smock=—a large apron covering the person, such as is worn by butchers.
=Smock frock=—a yoked blouse or loose shirt of coarse linen or cotton, worn by field laborers (in Europe) over other clothes.
=Smock linen=—a coarse, linen material for smocks.
=Smoke helmet=—a protectiv head covering, similar to a diver’s h., worn by firemen and supplied with air from a comprest air receiver carried on the back.
=Smoked pearl=—dark, cloudy.
=Smoked spectacles=—s. with lenses of smoked glass.
=Smoking cap=—broadly, any c. worn indoors while smoking, more specifically, a fancy velvet, silk or cloth c. similar to a fez (qv).
=Smoking jacket=—any fancy coat for house (smoking) wear.
=Smoothing iron=—see Goose.
=Smudge=—to soil.
=Smuggler=—a dealer in contraband merchandise; an evader of customs duties; a fraudulent importer.
=Smut=—a soiled or dirty condition as of soot, coal dust, ink smears, etc.
=Smutch=—see Smudge.
=Snack basket=—a lunch b.
=Snag=—a broken tooth.
=Snail back=—see Wig.
=Snail pearl=—trade name for p. buttons, etc., in color, sometimes natural, but more often dyed, and usually dark blue or red.
=Snakeskin garters=—worn in 18th century “to ward off cramps in the legs”.
=Snap brim=—a hat b., flat structurally, tighter around the outer circumference so that it may be tilted up or down in front, back or sides; name probably from a snapping sound made in effecting the desired tilt.
=Snap button=—a self-locking b. for bachelors, widowers and men with negligent wives; especially useful when suspender buttons drop off.
=Snaps=—metal ball-and-socket clasps used on plackets, flies, gloves, etc.
=Snarled=—tangled.
=Sneakers=—slang for rubber soled shoes; rubber heels; overshoes.
=Snide=—base, imitation, undesirable, fraudulent.
=Snip=—an overdrest man; a coxcomb; a finical person.
=Snipe collar=—tailor’s term for a long and slender coat c.
=Snob=—an imaginary somebody; read Thackeray for elucidativ treatis.
=Snob=—a journeyman shoemaker; an old English usage which has well-nigh disappeared in the mother country, and is not much used in America, save in some parts of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
=Snow=—cant term for linen.
=Snow goggles=—see below.
=Snow spectacles=—(1) of various forms; commonly a slotted wood, celluloid or metal shield, contrived to permit vision while shutting off glare; (2) more loosely, smoked glass s.
=Snow shoe=—a sort of mammoth tennis racket affording easy means of suicide.
=Snub nose=—broad and tip-tilted.
=Snuff box=—a small b., often ornamental or costly, for snuff, carried in the pocket; in very general use in the days of the dandies—when may it not be revived?
=Soap=—a detergent—used for personal cleanliness, in the laundry, in wool preparation, mechanically, medicinally, and palaverously.
=Soap box=—a small b., usually fancy, of celluloid, metal or other material, used principally by travelers for carrying their personal cakes of s.
=Soap-chalk=—tailor’s marking c., compounded of pigment and soap or wax so as to disappear under a hot iron or by agency of benzine.
=Soap shrunk=—trade term relating to a process of contracting cloths and fabrics in soap and water, by which the maximum amount of shrinkage is obtained; the best process for heavy cotton goods, as duck, canvas, etc. Compare Steam s., Cold water s., etc.
=Soap-stiff=—tailor’s term for work, as of hems on the bottoms of trousers, stiffened with soap instead of, as is common (with cheaper work) with rubber tissue.
=Soapstone=—steatite or talc-rock, used as a marking-chalk on cloth.
=Social full dress=—(=revenue cutter service=) worn by commissioned officers on occasions of strictly social nature, conforming in material, cut, etc., to the evening dress of the navy, differing principally in that the coat has 5 buttons on each breast instead of 3.
=Society=—broadly, the intercourse of people of self asserted superiority, such as the new rich.
=Society man=—useless in business; good to sell clothes to.
=Sock=—(1) a knit or woven foot covering, having a leg shorter than that of a stocking, a term much less euphonious than hose; (2) the light shoe worn by comic actors in the Greek and Roman drama; (3) a warm insole; (4) a sandal or clog formerly worn by the Recollect friars.
=Sock lining=—a piece of felt, cloth or leather, placed on the inside of a shoe at the heel; used as a finishing method for covering up the ends of nails and tacks used for attaching the heels to the sole.
=Sock stick=—in a lumber camp, a pronged s. or tree branch on which the workmen hang their clothes near the fire.
=Soft finishing=—a process in hat manufacture whereby, after blocking and drying, soft hats are adjusted on wooden blocks, pounced and finisht smooth, ironed and trimmed to exact sizes of brim.
=Soft front=—a trade term for neglige shirts, more specifically those without plaits.
=Soft prest=—but lightly gone over with the iron; not creased. (Tailoring term.) Compare Hard p. (=S. pressed.=)
=Soft roll=—tailoring term, most commonly applied to lapels and coat fronts, meaning not made or prest hard or stiff, but workt to turn or handle freely; or lightly prest for same end.
=Soie=—French for silk.
=Soie ondee=—a species of thrown silk. See Throwing.
=Soiled=—ready to be “marked down”.
=Soisette=—proprietary name for a mercerized cotton cloth used for pajamas, outing shirts, etc.
=Solar tip=—proprietary name for a make of children’s shoes having heavy sole leather protectiv t.
=Sold out=—trade term expressiv of being out of a certain line and unable to make further deliveries.
=Sold up=—trade term expressiv of being in a condition to accept no more orders for delivery or manufacture.
=Soldiers’ uniforms=—see the various descriptions of army u. under Full dress, Dress u., White u., Service u., Fatigue u., etc.
=Sole=—the bottom or walked-on part of a shoe or stocking.
=Sole scouring=—one of the final processes in modern shoemaking, whereby all roughness of a s. is scoured off by holding against a machine having rolls covered with sandpaper. See Sandpapering.
=Sole leather=—thick, heavy cowhide or other l. used for soles.
=Sole plate=—same as Heel p.
=Solid gold=—24 carats pure.
=Soliel=—textil term for a shining, lustrous, finish on silk and woolen fabrics.
=Solitaire=—a ribbon of black silk tied loosely and worn around the neck, sometimes attacht to the bag of the wig and tuckt loosely into the front of the shirt (1760 or thereabout).
=Solitaire=—a diamond ring marking a great event in a young man’s life, afterward often becoming a commonplace happening in his relations with other men’s wives.
=Sombrero=—a broad-brimmed hat, usually of felt, common in Mexico and the Southwest; often lavishly ornamented with gold lace, etc.
=Sonabitch=—a small imperial or goatee (qv).
=Sons of wax=—humorous term for shoemakers.
=Sorting=—the first process in woolen manufacture; classifying the fibers of the fleece.
=Sorting kersey=—one of the old names for kersey (qv).
=Sorts=—trade term for sizes (qv), used specially when one is buying to fill in the range.
=Sour=—a chemical step or process in cotton and linen bleaching.
=Soupled=—in silk throwing, having the external gluey covering removed by heating in an acid bath.
=Soutache braid=—a narrow, roundish braid of the herringbone variety, of silk, mohair, tinsel, etc.; used decorativly.